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The first stretch, the “rough part” as Jamie put it, was about five miles long. It was in a heavily populated area, but it was also along the water and the scenery was gorgeous. Lucy was enjoying being out in the fresh air, but she found out when they hit the railroad tracks that Jamie wasn’t kidding. Her already sore woman parts were quite jarred by the time she finished crossing them.
Once they got past the first five miles, the route turned into a bike path called the Bayshore Bikeway and the trail smoothed out. They traveled into San Diego across a bridge that was so pretty Lucy had to stop and take pictures. She made Jamie get into some of them, and then she took a selfie of them both.
They continued on their path until it dead-ended at the entrance to something called The Living Coast Discovery Center. Lucy stopped her bike and looked at it. It looked like a giant aquarium.
“It’s interactive,” Jamie said. “They have an exhibit where you can pet the sting rays and sharks. You can feed the sea turtles and—”
“Let’s go in,” she said, feeling like a little girl about to go to the circus.
* * *
This was a side of Lucy Jamie hadn’t seen before and he was definitely liking it, a lot. They parked their bikes near the front of the aquarium and Lucy asked for her purse from his backpack. After he handed it to her, she paid for their tickets. She shot him a challenging look, as if daring him to protest, but he knew better than to do that.
“Thanks,” he simply said.
“No problem.”
Lucy went in ahead of him and before he could even get through the turnstile she’d taken off across the floor and stopped in front of a tank full of jellyfish. When he caught up to her, she said, “Where are their internal organs?”
Jamie looked at the jellyfish, which hung suspended, practically invisible thanks to their see-through bodies. He laughed and said, “I really have no idea.”
She slanted him a teasing look. “What? I thought you were a big environmentalist.”
“Yes, but I’m not a marine biologist.”
“Humph.”
She walked off, leaving him to call after her, “What’s that mean?”
She just looked over her shoulder at him and grinned, then moved on to a display of black jellies and then from there to one of sea horses. She stood in front of each exhibit with her eyes wide and filled with wonder, and Jamie was having more fun watching her than looking at the marine life. He let her lead the way, and although he’d been there a dozen or more times, with her it was as if he was seeing it all again for the first time.
At one point, she pointed to a sign for the Shark and Ray Exhibit, and took his hand, pulling him with her. The affectionate gesture made his throat close up.
They washed their hands as instructed, then found an open spot along the side of the pool where the rays were swimming.
“Oh look at him! He’s huge!” she said in fascination.
“Are you going to touch one?” Jamie asked her.
“Of course,” she said, flopping down onto her belly across the cement barrier. Jamie was still standing there, watching her and she looked up at him and said, “Come on, Professor Whitcomb. You may not be a marine biologist, but a little hands-on research never hurt anyone.”
God, he wanted to be doing some hands on research. On her.
He pushed his right sleeve all the way up and lay down next to her. They dipped their arms down into the pool and held them still. As the rays swam by, the tops of their backs would touch the palms of their hands. Each time one touched her, Lucy would squeal.
Then one of the rays smacked the water with its fin, giving Jamie an impromptu, fishy shower, and she burst into giggles.
“You think that’s funny, do you?” he said.
She was still laughing as she nodded.
Jamie looked around to make sure the attendants weren’t watching and then he scooped up a handful of water and splashed it in Lucy’s direction. She squealed again and started to splash him back until an attendant shot them a disapproving stare and said, “Please don’t do that. We’re trying to set a good example for the children.” Lucy and Jamie apologized and slunk out, but when they got to the shower area outside to wash their hands, the giggling and splashing started back up until they were asked to move along.
“You’re a terrible influence,” he said as they walked towards something called Raptor Row.
“Me?” she said, with indignation in her voice. “You started it.”
“Yes, but it was your influence that made me do it.”
