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I couldn’t help the confused frown that tugged on my lips. “You want to go to the zoo?”
“Yeah, why not?” He shrugged and side-eyed me. “Come on, it’ll be fun. We could see Puff.”
“I don’t understand what all the excitement over that bird is about.”
“He’s our team bird.” Under the bill of his hat, his face lit in a smile. “Come on. Once you see him, you’ll understand. You’re gonna love him.”
I very much doubted that.
Walking around the Boston Zoo with Aurora quickly lifted my spirits. I loved spending time with her, and this change of scenery was what I needed to adjust my attitude. I had to stop being so difficult, otherwise I worried that Dr. Anderson would question her abilities. She was great at what she did. I was the problem here. And despite how cranky I’d been, I wouldn’t want anyone else here with me. So I was determined to chill and enjoy our time together.
She had drawn her lines, and until she gave me signals that she wanted more, I’d respect that this was a platonic day of fun. I’d done that more times than I could count in high school. I should be used to it.
Rather than wander and look at the other animals, I led Aurora straight to the Puffin Penguin house.
“Even the sign has a baseball on it,” she mused, her chin tipped up as she regarded the sign that hung above the door. The image Gianna, Dragon’s sister, had designed was of a puffin with a baseball and a penguin with a hockey puck.
I chuckled. “Puff’s a Rev, remember?” I pulled the door open and stood back so she could enter the huge space in front of me. The viewing area was large, but the majority of the space in the building was for the animals. Behind the floor-to-ceiling glass was an expanse of water and rocks. It only took a minute to find Puff. He was easy to pick out because of the blue and white friendship bracelet around his leg.
“Is he wearing a beaded bracelet?” Aurora asked beside me.
I chuckled and stepped closer to the glass. “Yup. Dragon wears one that matches. They never take them off.”
She tilted her chin and watched me through narrowed eyes like she couldn’t decide whether I was messing with her.
With a tap on the glass, I got Puff’s attention, and the little guy waddled our way. I hadn’t expected to feel so relieved when I set foot in this place, but already, being here with Puff made me feel like I was with the team. When he approached, he tapped on the glass with his beak, imitating me. I stole a glance at Aurora to make sure she was watching. The sweet smile she gave me made my stomach tighten. Damn. The need to impress her, to make her laugh, was all consuming.
Everything about her was consuming me. But her job mattered, and I respected that I couldn’t cross her lines. Those lines, though, didn’t include making her laugh.
Turning back to the puffin on the other side of the glass, I waved a hand. In response, he bobbed his head from side to side.
Aurora brought her fingers to her lips and giggled. “Are you doing that?”
Holding back a smirk, I shrugged, but then I made a circle in the air with one finger.
Her eyes widened as Puff dove into the water and swam in a complete circle. “Are you making that bird dance?”
“Yeah.” I couldn’t help but smile at the little guy. “They’re really trainable.”
She watched him with a softness in her expression I’d never seen, then scanned the rest of the birds before she caught sight of the plaque off to the side of the glass that credited the Revs for Puff’s exhibit. “Did you all really donate this?”
“Yeah.” I lifted a brow. “Dragon pretty much made us. He’s obsessed with Puff Daddy.”
Avery, Dragon’s girlfriend, appeared behind Aurora then, her hands on her hips. “Are you torturing my bird?”
“No, of course not.”
Her response was a huff and a roll of her eyes.
I bit back a smirk. “Big day’s coming up soon, right?”
Dragon had been talking nonstop about Puff and his girl and the eggs that were set to hatch soon.
“Yep. We’ve got less than two weeks now.” Avery nodded. “We moved the nest into the back. The dads were getting a little agitated with so many people coming in. Made everyone happier.”
“How many babies are there?” Aurora asked, eyeing the birds a little warily. Although she’d smiled and laughed at Puff’s antics, her shoulders were pulled up a little, and she kept scanning the rocks and the water like she might be a bit uncomfortable.
“Puff and Puffette have three, and another couple has two. If all goes well, we’ll have five new residents soon.” Avery turned to me and gave me a sympathetic smile. “How are you feeling? Chris said you were really out of it the other day after the game.”
