Page 88 of What I Like About You

Chapter Twenty-Nine

“Zee,”Antwan’s voice called out, sounding more than a little exasperated, as he entered her apartment and found her in the exact same spot on the couch he’d left her in.

In the ten days since they’d arrived back in Atlanta, Zara hadn’t moved from this spot a whole lot. From the bed to the couch, from the couch to the bed, with occasional trips to the bathroom and kitchen as needed. Her kitchen and living room were littered with takeout containers from her favorite restaurants, as well as her go-to junk food snacks. The poor doorman was probably to the point of just automatically approving anyone who arrived and said they were with one of the many food delivery apps that she had taken to using, they’d come by so often. It’d been a long time since she’d felt like this, and she wasn’t proud of herself, but here she was nonetheless. Why couldn’t she be one of those women who worked out, or crafted, or did something productive when she was sad? Why did she have to be the one who ate her feelings?

“When was the last time you showered?” he asked her, taking in the mess that surrounded them.

“Ummmm…good question…” she said, trying to figure out the answer. Yesterday? No…two days ago…maybe….

“Girl, this is not healthy,” he declared, waving his hand in the general direction of the chaos. “It looks like a bomb went off in here.”

“That’s kinda how my life feels,” she told him, not hiding her sullen attitude.

Nothing had felt right since they left the Indigo Royal. Hell, all the food she’d ordered hadn’t tasted right either. She’d managed to get her review of Cherish Spa written at some point last week and sent off to Drea, before scheduling it to post to her blog in a couple of days. As promised, she hadn’t let what had transpired between her and Dalton have any bearing on her review, and gave the spa the glowing recommendation that it deserved. In her response, Drea thanked her for the great write-up, but also asked how she was doing and if she’d heard from Dalton. Zara knew that she meant well, but even her concern was too much to deal with. Until she could find her footing again and make her heart stop aching, everything was just going to be off-kilter.

“How about we get up off the couch, shower, and then go out?” He pulled her up off the couch and pushed her toward the bathroom. Turning on the shower, he waited for it to warm up before saying, “In you go!”

“I don’t want to go anywhere,” she whined, stepping into the shower. The hot water felt good against her skin, and she let her muscles relax underneath it.

“Too bad!” he called, already having sauntered back into the living room.

With a deep sigh, she reached for the shampoo bottle and got to work. As she washed her body, she couldn’t help but remember the feel of Dalton’s hands against her skin as he caressed her curves. She had never felt as sexy as she did while he was touching her, telling her how much he loved her body and how much she turned him on. She’d give anything for him to be here right now, standing behind her in the shower, running the loofah over her body. But then his words on her last night there came back to her, and she could hear his voice once again telling her she wasn’t worth fighting for.

Ugh, so much for this shower making me feeling better…

An hour later, after she’d gotten dressed and Antwan had tossed all the take-out containers, they found themselves getting out of a Lyft in front of the aquarium. The large blue and gray building loomed in front of them as streams of people weaved around them, taking advantage of the beautiful day to be out and about downtown. She could hear the screams and giggles of kids waft over from the adjacent Centennial Olympic Park, where they were probably playing in the in-ground water fountain fashioned after the Olympic rings. On any given day being here, listening to such sounds, would have filled her heart with joy. But today, it only served in making her want to cry again. As much as she hated to be the girl whose brain went there, all she could think about was how it would never be her and Dalton doing this.

“Let’s go, we don’t want to miss the waddle walk!” Antwan told her, dragging her to the ticket counter.

Once inside, they found a front-row spot near the curved ramp in the center of the main atrium. A glance at her watch told her they had a few minutes until it started, so she leaned against the railing, trying to get comfortable. She knew that she should be a lot more excited than she was. The waddle walk was one of her favorite things at the aquarium. Once or twice a day, depending on how busy the aquarium was at the time, the trainers there would lead a few of the resident African penguins on a stroll through the main part of the building, letting them strut their stuff for guests, all while helping educate people about the wonderful little creatures. The talk was usually the same facts every time, but Zara didn’t care, she just liked watching the little guys and gals show off as they made their way down the ramp.

Right on time, one of the staff members started talking into a microphone, telling everyone who had congregated around them all about the birds who were very happily the center of attention at the moment. Everyone oohed and aahed at them, and Zara couldn’t help but smile when the little girl next to them pointed to the shortest little guy and told her parents she wanted to take him home.

Just as the show was finishing up, Zara saw a flurry out of the corner of her eye. She turned to find a new penguin making its way to them rather quickly, almost as if it were running. A little sign hung around its neck, and she strained to see what it said.

“Does his neck sign say ‘I’m sorry’?” she asked, to whomever might have been listening, as the penguins waddled right past her. But before she could get an answer, another one of the birds strolled their way, carrying something in his beak, stopping right in front of her.

“I think this is for you,” the older gentleman in the aquarium staff shirt said with a wink as he handed her the folded-up piece of paper the penguin transported.

Zara took it from him, very confused by what was going on. She turned to find Antwan but was shocked to find he was no longer by her side. Unfolding the piece of paper, she found simple instructions typed onto it.

Meet me by the big tank.

The big tank? What the hell?she thought as she turned around, hoping to find Antwan. Instead, all she found was the crowd dispersing and families of small children fighting with strollers. Where did he go? Why would he want to meet her at the big tank? She was getting more and more frustrated by the minute. She didn’t even want to leave the comfort of her couch, and now her best friend was sending her on some strange little scavenger hunt.

Doing as she was told, she spun around and made her way to the section of the aquarium labeled Ocean Voyager, which housed the 6.3-million-gallon tank filled with all sorts of different sea creatures. This had always been her favorite exhibit, and she loved to do nothing more than come and sit in the dark gallery’s tiered-platform seating area, watching as the fish swam by. It was hypnotic and relaxing, and in a way, romantic. All the times she and Dalton had come here as teenagers, she always imagined that maybe someday they would come here as more than friends, and his embrace that she was cuddled into would be decidedly non-buddy-like. So much for that dream.

Walking through the oddly deserted exhibit, she entered the large viewing room, expecting to finally come upon the crowd but only finding Dalton. Holding the ‘I’m sorry’ penguin.

“Hi, beautiful,” he said.

“What…what are you doing here?” she sputtered. There were so many things going through her head right now, and she didn’t even know where to start processing the thoughts, much less find the words to articulate them.

“I needed to tell you I was sorry, and I needed to do it in a big way. I thought maybe with some help from my little buddy here,” he said, lifting the penguin slightly in his arm, “that maybe you’d hear me out.”

“There’s nothing for me to hear, Tripp. You said it all back at the Indigo Royal. You aren’t interested in a life here in Atlanta, and you aren’t interested in a compromise, so that’s it,” she told him, nervously fiddling with the bracelet she was still wearing, against her better judgment. That was a habit she really needed to break.

Dalton handed the penguin back to the trainer who was standing not far from him and wiped a couple of feathers from his shirt.