Sealed With A Kiss - Short Story

Sealed With A Kiss

As I waited by the marine mammal pool, a seal exploded out of the water beside me.  He barked joyfully then swam away, leaving me drenched in the wall of water he left in his wake.

“Oh no!”  I’d been dreaming for years about landing a job at Sea World, and I’d dressed immaculately for my first day as a show announcer.  My alarm had sounded at six, giving me ample time to blow-dry and flat-iron my hair, then I’d spent an hour applying precise make-up to appear as though I wasn’t wearing any at all.

Now, all of that was ruined.  My hair twisted into limp blonde waves, while mascara ran down my cheeks.  My bright aqua Sea World shirt lay plastered against my chest, the water sending the material see-through.

“Oh… bother!” I said in despair.

“Hi!  Are you okay?”  An amused voice sent liquid heat pouring down my spine.

I turned to face a trainer in a navy wetsuit, standing by the gate to the backstage area.  With his dark slicked-back hair and tanned skin, he actually resembled the animals in his care.  He wore a smile of bewildered pleasure.  “Wow!  Hey, I’m Ben.  Are you the new announcer I’m meant to show around?”

Flummoxed by the double-whammy of being seal-soaked and meeting a sexy co-worker, I stammered, “Um… yeah, I-I’m Kate.  I’m not normally this… wet.”

What was that?  I’d always been comfortable around guys, even though I’d never really dated them, and now, ten seconds with Ben and I was a blathering mess.

“I see you’ve already met Sax.”  Ben’s sea-blue eyes glinted in knowing mischief as the seal returned to the side of the pool, popping his silky head up out of the water.

“Yup.”  I indicated my dripping body.  “Are his hello’s always so soggy?”

Ben laughed, a happy, open sound.  “Pretty much.”  His eyes dropped to my transparent shirt and he swallowed heavily.  “Would you like a towel?”

Looking down, I realised my lucky pink bra was showing through.  I folded my arms over my chest, blushing furiously.  “No, I’m fine.  I have to go to Dolphin Waters soon, so let’s just do this thing.”

“Great.”

He opened the gate wide for me, and as I slid past him, I caught a hint of his scent: coconut sunscreen and salt water.  The mix was heady, and I breathed it in deeply, trying not to look like a mad sniffer dog.

“So, this is Seal City,” Ben said, indicating the stage, which extended far over the water.  On the other side of the pool, empty banks of seating rose for the audiences who flocked to watch the animals play.  “We do two shows a day with the seals.  It’s good if you can learn a little about them, because you’ll be the one on mic when stuff goes wrong, and it helps to have things to talk about.”

We walked onto the floating stage, which bobbed a little with our weight.  “Does stuff go wrong?”

“All the time.”  Ben walked around to the side of the stage and pulled on the door of a concealed fridge.

“Like what?”

He pulled a fish-filled steel bucket about the size of a small jug from the fridge and clipped it to the belt he wore.  “Almost anything.  Sax here, he’s a Californian sea lion.”

Ben tapped the metal ring on his finger against the side of the bucket, and a surprisingly loud clang rang out over the pool.  Immediately, the dark shape of the seal tuned under the surface and tracked towards us like a torpedo.

“Hey, boy!”  The mammoth mammal leapt from the pool and onto the stage, sending water flowing everywhere around our feet.  Ben threw him a fish and explained.  “Cali’s have great personalities and they’re tons of fun – but not very bright.  Sax is scared of birds, butterflies, bright colours, rain jackets, wind, loud noises, soft noises, invisible stuff…”