Rain Check?

~13~

  Dempsey POV

  The children were raring to go as soon as they felt the bus come to a stop, pushing and shoving each other in an attempt to be the first ones off the bus. 

  "Woah, woah, woah!" I call out, returning to my teacher voice. "Hold your horses, guys and gals. I'm gonna step inside, check in and grab our guide, while you all hang here and wait for instructions. Understood?" That last question pointed more towards the adults who I would be leaving on the bus in my absence. 

  As my hand reaches for the entrance doors I step back as a young man comes out. He gives me a questioning look, "Mrs. Abrams?"

  "Miss Abrams, yes that's me." 

He steps back inside long enough to grab a file folder before he's stepping back out into the cool evening air. "My name is Paul and I'm going to be one of the guides for your overnight adventure with us here at the aquarium.  Bernie will be joining us in a little bit." He passes a bag over to me. "Each student and parent will need to wear one of these. Since we close in thirty minutes this will help the other workers identify those who should be staying."

  I take the bag of lanyards from Paul before returning to the bus. I remind the students of their groups and pass out the badges to the parents, and well, Chris. I watch as he slips his cap off, quickly putting the lanyard around his neck before replacing his cap, pulling it down a little further than it was earlier on the ride. 

  The students and chaperones gather round Paul just outside the entryway, listening intently to the rules and expectations of the night. Before he can finish, a tall, slender blonde walks out to meet us. "And this is Bernie," Paul gestures towards the woman. 

  "But that's a boy's name. You're not a boy," Molly Mae calls out. I give her my teacher look of 'you can't be serious,' while her mother just giggles behind her. 

  Bernie doesn't miss a beat though. "It's short for Bernice, actually," she says with a sweet smile. "Let's head on in, shall we?" She holds the door open as we all file in, myself hanging towards the back making sure they all enter the building.

  "I am so sorry!" I tell her, my hand resting over my chest. 

  She gives me a wink, "Nonsense! It's not the first time I've heard that before. I've got four brothers. I think they just didn't like having a sister so it was easier to give me a boy's nickname." 

  We rejoin Paul and the group as he's passing out map guides to everyone. Most of the kids are with their parent while a couple have already formed little groups trying to decide what they want to see first. Chris stands behind Ethan, his hands on his shoulders peering over his head looking at the map he's holding. 

  Paul glances down at his watch, telling everyone the time. "We're going to split you into two groups, one will go with me and the other with Bernie. When it gets to be about 1 AM we're gonna come back together on Level 1 for something I think you'll really enjoy."

  "I think I'll be hoping to see the inside of my eyelids by then," I mutter under my breath. Apparently I wasn't quiet enough as Chris looks over at me with a small smile. I mouth a 'Sorry' in which he shakes his head at me. 

  "Let's split up into our two groups and we'll get started," Bernie suggests. I take the lead and section them off, careful to keep the rowdy ones away from one another as much as I can. "Feel free to move between each group if you want," she tells me.

  "Miss Abrams, come with us!" Ethan calls out rushing towards me. He grabs a hold of my hand and starts pulling me towards his group. 

  I smile at his enthusiasm. "I guess I'll start with you guys." The thirteen children in the group jump up and down cheering while the parents just laugh. 

  "At least you know you're loved," Chris points out as we begin following Bernie towards the first exhibit. 

  "Probably not as much as I love them, but it's alright. Gotta be the bad guy sometimes." Which I realize is now as I see one of the boys beginning to climb on the railing near the touch tanks. Of course it is one of mine whose parent did not come. I remind him of the rules and let him know that unless he wants to be glued to my side all night he'll need to pay closer attention to the rules. He frowns, but gives me a 'yes, ma'am' before rejoining the group.

  I pull my cell from my bag and start taking photos of the kids as they experience touching the sting rays and smaller size sharks. I grab a great one of Ethan making a funny face, exclaiming how the sting ray feels slimy. I send that one right to Carly's email, hoping it'll help her feel better knowing that he's enjoying himself. 

  There's an announcement made over the speakers, alerting the regular pass holders that the aquarium is closing. We see just a few stragglers walk past us towards the exit. I someone from the front come over to our exhibit, giving us all a once over, checking for our badges before exiting. 

  After another fifteen minutes everyone, who wanted to anyways, had managed to pet their fair share of sharks and stingrays. Bernie ushers us towards the open air Marine Mammal Center. I hang towards the back again, just for the sake of being able to keep my eyes on everyone as much as possible. Chris comes and stands a couple feet off to my side, taking his cap off and turning it around now. 

  I move my attention back as she introduces the sea lions to us. I notice her voice kind of stutter all of a sudden in the middle of a sentence as she's looking back towards myself and Chris. Of course, she's realized how gorgeous he is too. 

  'Wait, what did you just say,' my brain asks myself before I focus on what's going on in front of me. 

  Chris seems to realize how she noticed him as well. He starts shuffling a bit on his feet, crossing his arms against his chest. 

  I slide over to stand right beside him. "Good karma might be on your side tonight, Chris." 

  "What do you mean?" he asks, utterly confused. 

So am I though because I can't believe how forward I'm about to be.

  "You bringing Ethan tonight for Carly. Play your cards right and you might leave here with a date."

Chris POV

  'Damn it,' I think to myself as I realize Bernie recognized me. I'd already had a couple of those moments with parents and students alike on the bus when Dempsey went inside. I try not to let my sudden fear of discomfort come across.

  "Good karma might be on your side tonight, Chris." 

  I'm not sure what exactly Dempsey is referring to. "What do you mean?"

  She leans in a little closer. "You bringing Ethan tonight for Carly. Play your cards right and you might leave here with a date." 

  There's two ways I could play this. 

One, laugh it off with her as I realize that she noticed how the guide faltered when looking at me. Make a huge joke out of it, maybe enjoy a laugh at my own expense.

 Or two, which is my favorite.

  Ask her out right now.