Page 63 of The Scars of Us

Ryker smiled proudly as Mike led us into an adjoining room. “Put these on and meet me back in the waiting area when you’re finished.”

He handed Ryker and me a pair of the pants that fisherman wear over their clothes when they walk in shallow areas of water to fish. They reminded me of rubber overalls as I slipped into them. Excitement began to fill me again, and I felt terrible for accusing Ryker of something he didn’t do when he was planning something special for me. I locked eyes with him as I apologized again, “I’m really sorry. Thank you for this.”

He wrapped me in a hug, “Don’t worry about it, Warrior. Let’s have some fun.”

Draping an arm over my shoulder, he led me back into the waiting area. Mike then took us through the doors outside to the pool where the seals were.

There were five seals swimming in the water, along with another employee in a scuba suit. Mike got in before us, then Ryker followed and helped me in. Mike then introduced us to the other trainer, Sarah, before giving us more information about what we were going to be doing.

“During your interaction, you can feed and touch the seals. You’ll probably get wet, but this is definitely an experience you’ll never forget so have some fun with it.”

Some of the seals had started swimming around us in circles, while the others jumped in and out of the water a short distance away. Reaching out to the one that was closest to me, I placed my hand on it as it glided by. I laughed as it turned around and stuck its flipper out of the water and waved as it came back toward me.

“It wants to shake your hand,” Sarah commented.

I looked at Ryker, who nodded. Focusing back on the seal, I tentatively stretched my hand toward its flipper and grasped it. It wiggled in my hold as I shook it and giggled. When I pulled away, it sat up in the water and swam to me before kissing me on the cheek and diving back under the water.

“Did you see that?” I exclaimed with a huge smile as I turned toward Ryker.

He laughed, “Yeah. I think he likes you. Should I be jealous?”

“I don’t know, he was pretty cute,” I joked.

“Maybe I need to show him that you’re my girl,” he replied before moving toward me and kissing me deeply. “Think he gets the picture?”

“I don’t know, I think you need to show him again,” I teased before smiling up at him.

Ryker pressed his lips against mine again as he pulled me into him, framing my face in his hands. As usual, his kiss left me slightly breathless when we broke apart, and I hoped that never changed.

We spent another twenty minutes playing with the seals before we fed them and exited the tank. Before we left, Mike stopped us and said, “We took some pictures of your interaction. Would you like to see them?”

“Sure,” I replied enthusiastically. I definitely wanted some mementos to remind me of our experience, even though I knew that I’d never forget it.

Mike led us to a computer before pulling up our photos on the screen. I wasn’t great with photos, but I was able to deal with them better than mirrors. There were some great candid shots, but the one that caught my eye was of when Ryker kissed me.

The shot was of right before our lips met. Ryker’s hands cupped my face and my arms were wrapped around his waist. Both of our eyes were closed as we anticipated the kiss, and the look on our faces… well, it reminded me of two people in love. I was no expert, but I’d seen couples in love before. They had that stupid, enamored look that I’d always envied because I thought I’d never have it. And there I was, on that screen, with it plastered all over my face. And so was Ryker.

There was a sign on the wall behind the desk where the computer was that listed the prices of the photos. I pulled my wallet out of my purse as I told Mike, “I want to buy some, please.”

“I’ll get them, baby,” Ryker offered.

“It’s okay, I can pay for them—you’ve spent enough today.”

Ryker scoffed and firmly stated, “You’re not paying.”

As I was about to argue more, Mike interrupted, “Write down the numbers of the ones you want and I’ll get them processed while you two figure out the payment.”

“I’m paying,” Ryker repeated as I started to write down the numbers of the ones I wanted. I wanted them all, but it would’ve cost way too much, so I chose the five that I liked best before sliding the paper to Ryker. He wrote down only three, including the one of us right before we kissed.

He handed the sheet to Mike, who began typing on the keyboard. Once he finished, he stood and said, “I’ll be right back with your pictures.”

When he returned, he held two photo envelopes and a disc. “These are on the house.”

“No, Mike, you’ve done enough today. I—”

Mike interrupted Ryker’s statement, “I insist. It’s the least I can do after everything.”

“I was just doing my job—you really don’t have to do this.”

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