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Me:I’m waiting at the aquarium. Should we meet at my house tonight and do a recap?

There isn’t a response for several moments. A sound in my ear causes me to glance up and see a woman walking toward me–Melissa, who loves books and traveling.

“Hi,” I say, reaching out my hand to shake. Instead, she keeps moving and wraps her arms around me in a big hug. What is it with these women that make them so informal? It took several times for Kenzie to come close enough for a hug. And now, I’m wishing it was Kenzie I’m holding and not feeling the rise of nerves from the several cameras pointed toward us.

“It’s nice to meet you, Trey. I’m a huge fan,” Melissa says.

“That’s cool,” I say. Usually when women say that, I have to figure out their true intentions. “Do you watch a lot of hockey?”

She nods. “My brothers and dad have been a huge fan of the Breeze for most of my life. I still don’t understand how icing the puck works, but I understand most of the rules.”

I smile, nodding. “It took me a while to figure out icing too. What are some of your favorite things to do?” I need to keep the conversation going and not focus on the cameras I can see out of the corner of my eye.

“I actually do a lot of reading. I’m a bookstagrammer and spend a lot of time creating content for that when I’m not reading.”

“So, you post about the books you read on social media? Are there a lot of people who respond to those?”

Melissa grins. “There is quite the community of book loving fans out there. One lady messaged me once that I need to read more so I can get out recommendations faster. She reads like two books a day.”

“That’s crazy,” I say. “Now I feel like a slacker. It’s been a while since I’ve read a book I’ve loved.” Probably since high school at least. I wonder if Kenzie likes to read. She’s like the Energizer Bunny and can barely sit still for a movie, let alone reading a book that would take multiple hours.

“What’s your favorite type of books?” she asks as we start walking toward the aquarium.

“Great question,” I say, trying to think back to those days. “I mean, I enjoy a good mystery, but that’s because I watch a lot of detective shows.”

Melissa nods. “That still translates to books. I read mostly romance, but it would be good to venture out and read something different. We should pick a book and read it together.”

What in the first date book club?

“I can’t make any promises on that. Preseason training starts soon and once we get going, I’m mostly watching film from our games as well as our opponents.”

Her smile falls a bit and I feel bad. Glancing around, I’m excited to see what’s here.

“Where do you want to start?” I ask.

“How about the tropical fish? Those are my favorite.”

I nod, wishing we were seeing the bigger sea animals instead. “Turtles and sea lions next?” I ask.

“Yeah, we can do that.”

We wander through the aquarium for over an hour. I’m excited about seeing the turtles and go off on several random facts about them.

“Did you know sea turtles don’t retract their head and their flippers like the land ones?” I watch as two large turtles swim through the water, admiring the easy way they do it. “They can also hold their breath for over five hours.”

“I take it turtles are your favorite?” Melissa asks, smiling.

Nodding, I say, “I rescued a land turtle when we went to the beach one year and that ignited my love for all turtles. What do you think of them?”

“They’re cool,” she says. But I can tell the excitement isn’t there like it was for the fluorescent-colored fish. Understandable.

We continue heading for the devil rays. The conversation hasn’t been the best, but I also haven’t been trying that hard. I’ve been distracted wondering what Kenzie would say if she were here and wondering what her next date looks like. Would he have warts too? Or would he be the kind of guy to sweep her off her feet?

I frown, trying to picture Kenzie getting that excited about something like that. Then again, she was giddy while we watchedHitchthe other night.

“Are you okay? I’ve been talking and I don’t think you heard a word.” Melissa raises an eyebrow and looks concerned.

“I’m fine. Sorry. I just was thinking about something. What do you want to do now?”