Page 39 of Waste Some Time
Things were already pretty great.
Katie had a job she loved, with the best furry coworkers ever. She had a best friend she adored. And she couldn’t imagine living anywhere else.
So she decided to focus this upcoming year on what she had. Not what she didn’t have. Yet.
No matter how much walking away from Sydney had felt like ice shards flying into her heart.
But Katie was still certain she’d done the right thing. Sydney needed space to settle into her new life, so Katie was giving her that space.
Mel grabbed the water bottle and hobbled over to the “recycling bin” while Katie gave her last speech about being responsible and remembering to keep otters like Mel safe in the wild.
With Mel’s little goodbye wave, the crowd cheered and children giggled on the other side of the glass. Mel dove back into the water, then Katie tossed in a small ice block along with some loose shellfish.
The crowd dispersed, while Katie smiled at the few people who stuck around to watch the otters pick at treats poking out of the ice block. One little boy waved at her, which made Katie’s smile stretch wider. It wasn’t often she got attention from the onlookers.
Then her expression fell as her eyes widened.
Beside the little boy was a familiar set of green eyes staring back at her. The woman gave a tiny, hesitant wave, melting the ice shards that had been lodged in her heart.
There, on the other side of the glass, was Sydney.
16
SYDNEY
An obviously surprisedKatie waved back from the other side of the glass.
It was strange seeing her in the aquarium’s blue polo and tight khaki pants. The uniform somehow softened her. Although Sydney already knew about Katie’s soft side.
Butterflies swarmed Sydney’s stomach.
Would this be it?
A wave, then back to work for Katie?
It might be too late. Sydney may have taken too long to say what she came here to confess. And, after all, she’d ambushed Katie at her place of employment.
But Katie pointed towards the side of the exhibit, exciting those butterflies to dance around even more.
“Is that your girlfriend?”
Sydney looked down at the young boy, who was staring at her inquisitively. His mother flashed a mortified look and apologized, but Sydney just grinned at the kid.
“Not yet.”
The mother whispered, “Good luck,” then she shuffled her son away from the exhibit.
“Thanks.”
Sydney then headed to the area Katie had motioned towards and found a staff door that cracked open a moment later. Heat rose along the back of Sydney’s neck when Katie appeared in the doorway. But that heat soon turned to ice as she realized Katie wasn’t as happy to see her as she’d hoped.
Katie nodded her head sideways. “In here.”
Sydney entered the small hallway that apparently ran alongside the otter exhibit.
It had been so heartwarming to watch Katie with those otters. Sydney knew what she did for a living, of course, but seeing her in action felt like witnessing something really special.
If she hadn’t already been head over heels for this woman, that would have sealed the deal.
