Page 82 of The Dating Game

“Sleeping with the fishies?” I snort. “Yeah, I’m thinking we don’t phrase it that way with the parents.”

Chapter 30

Will

It’sactuallyprettyfunspending the night at the zoo. Harry, the zookeeper who lets us in, feels so bad about the ordeal we’ve been through that he offers to take us on a tour, so we walk the zoo in the descending darkness. I guess they felt the effects of the earthquake at the zoo, but were far enough from the epicenter (which, incidentally, was exactly where we were located) that they didn’t sustain any serious damage. Still, Harry said the animals have been restless since it happened.

“Unfortunately there’s nothing to be done about it,” he adds as we stand outside the gorilla enclosure. “They’ll get past it in a day or two. But it does mean a few of them are more active than usual. See that one.” He points to a gorilla in the middle of the enclosure. “That’s Kong. He’s usually fast asleep by now. He’s on edge, though.”

“Oh, that’s so sad,” Brooke murmurs.

“Yep,” Harry agrees. “But he’ll move past it. He’s a fighter, that one.”

I ask Harry if they have any otters, and when we get to them Silas’s face lights up. The otters are all playing and splashing, and I swear we’re all smiling when we leave their habitat.

Not long after we settle in our respective buildings, I fall asleep thinking about Brooke.

***

Iwakeupearlythe next morning as does everyone else. The sun streaming through the windows of the reptile house is not conducive to staying asleep. Not to mention, we didn’t have our sleeping bags or pillows, so it wasn’t a very comfortable night.

We head outside in search of the girls, but all is quiet when we arrive outside the aquarium.

I don’t really have a plan for breakfast, but I’m about to suggest we go in search of some vending machines when a loud, rushing noise fills the sky. My honest to God first thought is that we cannot handle a tornado on top of an earthquake, but then one of the kids shouts, “It’s a helicopter!” and I look up to see he’s right. There is in fact a helicopter circling over us.

“Must be some sort of aid sent for the earthquake victims,” I guess. The aquarium door pops open, and a few girls peek their heads out, eyes going to the sky. We all watch the helicopter as it travels away from us.

“Man, I was hoping they’d throw down some food like they do in the news,” Lee comments. “I’m starving.”

There’s a general murmur of assent. Dinner last night consisted of a hodgepodge of snack food purchased at the one place we passed that was open—a rundown gas station. We’re all hungry.

And grumpy.

Myself included. I must be getting old because my back is not happy after a night spent on the floor using my shirt as a pillow.

The doors to the aquarium open again and this time the group of girls that emerges is followed by Brooke. Just the sight of her lifts my spirits. Her eyes immediately seek me out, and she offers me asmile and a little wave. I smile and wave back without even thinking about it. Then I notice that the girls with her are all holding bags of chips.

“There are vending machines inside the aquarium!” Brooke calls to a group of boys who have also clearly spotted the food. “Harry gave me the key last night, but it’s one item per customer, okay? Debbie is standing guard, so don’t try to be cute and take two things. This is only to tide you over until we get something more substantial.”

“Brooke!” From far away someone shouts her name, and everybody turns to look. It’s her sister Jill. She’s running toward us. And she’s not alone. Close behind her comes her husband, Max, Luke, Hannah, Sydney…and is that Corbin?

ItisCorbin. What is my brother-in-law doing here?

“Jill?” Brooke sounds as surprised as I feel, but a beat later she starts running too. The distance between her and the group disappears within seconds. Jill throws her arms around Brooke. As soon as they reach them, Hannah and Sydney pile onto the hug. Hannah pulls Luke into the mix too and even Max joins in, though he gives a more reserved version of an extended hug, choosing to simply put one arm around Brooke and give her a quick squeeze before letting her sisters and friend continue to squash her.

Unlike the others, Corbin heads straight for me. “Will,” he says my name as a relieved exhale.

“Corbin.” I give him a bemused look. “You’re here. In Texas.”

“Yeah.”

“Why?”

“I came on Max’s friend’s helicopter. Everyone was worried about you.”

I raise my eyebrows. “I sent you all a text that I was okay.”

Corbin shrugs sheepishly. “Sydney invited me along. Paisley was already spendingthe night at your parents, so I came.”

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