“Well, Silver’s a ham and likes people,” Micah explained. “Bonnie is going back out into the wild when she’s all better. Silver can swim with people because this is his forever home, and he’s good with the dolphins that come in and out. But we don’t want Bonnie to get used to people because sometimes that makes it so they can’t be happy out in the ocean.”
By be happy he meant survive, but they were kids.
“Let’s get cleaned up and changed, and we have to say thank you to Mr. Micah for today, remember?” Daniel told his kids. “Only really special people get to swim with Mr. Micah’s dolphin.”
“Thank you!” both kids chorused, and they all went to shower and change in the staff locker rooms.
“Would you like to go out to dinner?” Tabby asked, when they met back up. The kids looked tired but happy, especially when Micah gave them both a stuffed dolphin from the gift shop to take home. “We’d love to treat you, as a thank-you.”
“Aw, thanks, but I actually have a few things to finish up here.” Micah did have to finish up with Silver, and he wasn’t of a mind to intrude. He knew Daniel had a fairly intense road trip coming up soon, and didn’t want to take time away from his family.
Which made him feel...something. Envious? Definitely, he’d always wanted a family and Daniel’s kids were adorable; smart, inquisitive and clearly adored by their parents. And Tabby and Daniel really did get along, so much so that they seemed more like a couple than co-parents. Micah wondered if maybe they’d reconcile and get back together, and if so—
What? You’re not together. You haven’t done anything but lust after him. Maybe it was silly to think that he didn’t have a chance, when he hadn’t even mentioned to Daniel that he was interested. But he was also remembering his friends’ warning that night they’d watched the game, about how what Micah wanted was a stable relationship with someone he could count on. If Daniel and Tabby—who got along, had kids, and were clearly friends even now—couldn’t make it work, and Tabby could move with Daniel’s job, then what chance did Micah have?
Stop marrying yourself off and just go with the flow, you study the ocean, come on.
“Thank you, really,” Tabby said to him, with a warm smile. “I’m so glad you and Daniel reconnected. He talked about you all the time.” Her smile turned a little sly. “Just wanted to say that I’m glad you two found your way back to each other.”
“Ah, yeah, it’s—it’s great.” Was she—was she giving him her blessing? Was it silly to think that?
“Anyway, Daniel, we’ll be heading out!” Tabby gave Daniel a hug and the kids piled in his arms, kissing him and giving him the sort of exuberant hugs at which children so excelled.
Then they both did the same to Micah, and Nate and Gretchen both implored him to give Silver one more fish, and could he please tell Dudley the turtle that if he didn’t like the wild, he could come live in their pool? Gretchen also promised Micah that they’d make sure the stuffed dolphins didn’t get sea-foam fever, and Micah laughed and promised they could call if they did—the treatment was, of course, snuggles and M&Ms.
After they left, Micah realized that Daniel was still there and wondered if he was imagining the tension steadily growing between them. “So, I’ll probably head out, too,” Daniel said. His dark hair was slowly drying into a mess of curls, and Micah had to stop himself from reaching up and running his fingers through it.
“Yeah,” Micah said, and realized that not only were the kids and Tabby gone, they were the only two in the reception area. His heart started to pound.
“You want me to hang around?” Daniel asked. “We could go grab some dinner, if you want. I have to eat some baked chicken and avoid alcohol since I’ve got that road trip, but I wouldn’t mind the company.”
Micah wanted to say yes, so badly. But he couldn’t help wondering why—because they were old friends, because he was trying to replace the easy warmth and affection of his ex, or because he just didn’t want to be alone since his kids were with Tabby? Or was it because he was interested in Micah?
Micah really needed to know the answer, because he was pretty sure he could easily fall for Daniel Bellamy. But not until he knew for sure what Daniel was thinking, and if there was any chance he might be reconciling with his wife. Micah wanted his old friend back, and he definitely wanted more...but he did not want to be collateral, or end up with his heart broken and lose Daniel. This time, it would hurt a lot more than it did when he was thirteen.
“Hey,” Micah said, heart pounding. “I—when you’re back, let’s go to the beach.” All this talking about reminiscing was making him remember lazy days at the beach, playing in the water and worrying about nothing more than their Capri Suns getting too warm or remembering to slather Micah with sunscreen so he didn’t get sunburned. “I learned how to surf, and I bet you’d like it, Mr. Athlete.” They’d never progressed much beyond boogie boards, as kids.
“Hey, yeah, that would be great!” Daniel said, and smiled. “Then I’ll say thanks, too. That was great, and you really—you really did it, man. Your dream job, just like you used to pretend to have when we were kids. I’m so proud.”
“Thanks,” Micah said. “So did you! I’ll even watch your games when you’re on your road trip. See if I can figure out all these rules.”
“My team scores enough penalties, you’ll figure those out soon enough,” Daniel said with a wince. “Especially the too many men one.”
Micah laughed, then realized he was serious. “Wait, is that a thing? Doesn’t sound too bad to me,” he joked, and Daniel laughed.
When Micah was alone again, he watched Daniel head to his car then went back to the dolphin enclosure. He did, as promised, give Silver a couple of fish. “I think I’m in trouble, buddy.”
Silver chirped. It kind of sounded like he was laughing.
Laughed at by a dolphin. Great.
Chapter Eleven
The Thunder had one last road trip before Thanksgiving, but it was a rough schedule—three games in five nights against a few eastern Canadian teams. Their record was abysmal, and they had the unpleasant distinction of still being dead last in the standings. Worse yet, they were squaring off against the Montreal Maroons, who were third in the rankings behind the Marauders and the Venom. The Maroons currently had the best power play in the league and one of the lead goal scorers. They were a deep threat, and the Thunder had suffered an embarrassing loss against them the last time they’d played against each other. Daniel’s teammates weren’t going into this game with a positive attitude—then again, when did they ever?