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…”
As if to highlight his point, Sax suddenly flinched at nothing and dove from the stage into the safety of the water. I giggled, while Ben shook his head. “What a scaredy-cat.”
“He’s just a sensitive soul,” I said. “I’ve known a few guys like that.”
“Really?” He tilted his head at me, and I noticed a shiny fish scale stuck to his cheek. “You’re into dudes who freak out easily?”
“I wouldn’t say I’m into them...”
“What kind of guys are you into, then?” His gaze was steady on my eyes and I trembled slightly, unable to understand why I felt simultaneously so comfortable and so off-balance around someone I’d just met.
“Tall, dark and handsome. Just like this guy,” I said, just as Sax joined us back on the deck. “So, can you show me his moves?”
“Sure. We can start with a flipper shake, if you like.”
Ben held his hand out to the side, cuing Sax to thrust a flipper toward me. I grasped the smooth appendage, surprised at how warm it was. Close to the seal, I felt dwarfed by his size, but his chocolate eyes were soft and friendly, and I found myself smiling as I shook his flipper. “That’s so cool!”
“Do you want a kiss?”
Ben’s question was innocent, but suddenly I wanted to scream, ‘Yes, please!’ until I realised he meant the seal. “Oh… Sure!”
“Put your arm around him and bend down a little. He’ll do the rest.”
I walked beside Sax, gently curling my arm around his furry back. My fingers didn’t ever reach half-way across his bulk as I leaned over. Immediately, Sax whipped his flexible neck towards me and planted a moist kiss on my cheek. His whiskers pressed into my soft skin, and as he held the kiss, he groaned a little in the back of his throat, as if he was truly enjoying our tryst.
Ben called out from behind us, “Okay, big guy, that’s far enough for a first date. Off you go.” Ben threw Sax three more fish and a squid, then allowed the beast to slither back into the pool.
“That was awesome!” I said, unable to keep a goofy grin from pulling my cheeks high on my face. “You must love your job!”
“I really do. I used to work down at Taronga Zoo in Sydney. I’ve only been on the Gold Coast for a few months, moved up on my own after a break-up. I’m still getting to know people here, so it’s nice to meet a new face.”
“Likewise.” Think, Kate, think! I didn’t want the conversation to grind to a halt, when I was beginning to realise I could spend the rest of my days staring into those aqua eyes. “Can you tell me how you train a seal? It must take ages.”
He shrugged a little. “It depends on the behaviour. A wave is pretty easy; something like that kiss takes a bit longer. Here, I’ll show you.”
He held up his hand. “Say you’ve already been trained to put your nose on my palm, that every time you do that, I’ll give you an M&M.”
“Ooo!” My love of all things chocolate compelled me to press my face forward until my nose touched his hand.
“Works every time,” he laughed. “Okay, the next step would be to move the hand closer to where I want the seal to ‘kiss,’ and reward again.” This time, he put his palm against his cheek.
After only a fleeting second of consideration, I touched my nose to his hand again, allowing my lips to tilt up and brush against his skin. My reward was watching him shiver, and delight welled inside me at knowing he was feeling something too.
“Last, you remove the hand, and just offer the cheek.” An expression of pure hope flitted across his features as he leaned towards me and proffered his face forward.
“Well, I’ll do anything if there’s chocolate on the line.” I moved close to him and prepared to kiss his cheek. Hot bursts of pleasure coursed through me at his nearness; I could see the gold flecks in his eyes and the stray eyebrow hair sticking well up above the others. He was gorgeous.
The instant before my lips landed, Ben swiftly twisted his head around, and my mouth landed directly on his.
Too startled to do anything but enjoy the stolen moment, I leaned into the kiss. Our lips melded together as the sun-dappled water flowed around our feet.
Both of us leaned back, grinning. “That was smooth, Benjamin. Do you have all the ladies in your life trained so well?”
“Nope. Actually, you’re the first girl I’ve ever tried a sealy move with.”
“I’m honoured.”
He reached for my hand. “I couldn’t let Sax be the only one to steal a kiss from the most beautiful girl I’ve ever met.”
Five years later, we welcomed our first-born into the world. We named him Ronan; it means ‘little seal.’
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