Chapter 8

A few hours prior to his date with Kylie, Lenny had decided to go for a short swim through the reef to settle his developing nerves. This kind of behavior was to be expected from a guy like him, who hadn't exactly been on many dates before. And it wasn't exactly helpful that this date was with the most beautiful girl he'd ever laid his eyes on. Once or twice, he would say to himself, "Hey, maybe she's just as nervous as I am." This thought did not stay with him long. A girl as beautiful and outgoing as Kylie must've been on plenty of dates before.

Lenny tried to shut his mind to the whole thing. There were still a few hours before he would meet Kylie at the café on the second floor of the shipwreck. He had plenty of time to find something to take his mind off his nerves. No such luck. Everywhere he looked he saw couples holding fins, posters for movies made to attract young lovers, and, this one really made his heart stop, the flower shop. Now he was really in a panic.

"Ah man," Lenny said to himself. "Why didn't I think of this earlier? I'm goin' on a date with Kylie of all people and I never thought about what to give her." He brushed this thought off quickly. "Oh well. Might as well do it old school. Flowers. I've heard that Kylie likes blue carnations." That idea didn't last long either. Kylie was a unique and original free spirit. If Lenny wanted to impress her, he was going to have to think unique. Flowers were too predictable. Maybe jewelry? As if. Like he had enough money for some pearl necklace or whatever.

Then the shop door opened and two high school aged great whites came out. Each of them had a small, clear box that contained an individual corsage.

"You think she'll like this one?" Lenny heard one of them ask his friend.

"Guess we'll just have to find out," the other replied. "You're lucky you got exactly what your date asked for. Abby wants a pink carnation but all that's left is blue. I hope she won't mind."

Lenny's first thought on this conversation was, "It must be Prom night." But then the corsages gave him an idea. He had nearly had a panic attack deciding what he should give to Kylie on their date, flowers alone were too unoriginal, and jewelry was too expensive. A corsage was a combination of both. And the best part was that the shop had Kylie's favorite flower in stock. Lenny speedily dashed into the shop and bought the corsage he knew would make Kylie happy.

At eight o'clock that night, Lenny was anxiously waiting outside the café. He felt so stupid right now. His fins were vacant of the corsage or any gift for that matter. He hadn't lost the corsage. You'll find out why he doesn't have it now later in the chapter. But for now, he was waiting for Kylie to show up… and hoping that when she did show up, she wouldn't think badly of him for having no gift for her on their first date.

When Kylie finally arrived, Lenny stood upright making sure he wasn't slouching. He didn't want her to think he had bad posture. So far, so good. She didn't look disappointed with him not having a present. Lenny inhaled deeply and told himself that the worst was now officially behind him and began to enjoy the night.

"Hey, you," Kylie said with a smile.

"Hey," Lenny said in return. "You look gorgeous."

Kylie scoffed. "I look exactly like I would any other day." She was right of course. She was still wearing the same floral blue scarf she wore every other time Lenny had seen her.

"I know," Lenny replied. "I guess it's just, ya know, seeing you outside of work and all. It's kinda nice."

"As long as we're speaking of work," said Kylie, "are you gonna tell me what Uncle Patrick said today or what?"

"First things first," said Lenny. "Let's go in, grab a table, and get our coffee. Then we can talk." He held the door open for her in a gentlemanly way. "After you, Miss."

Kylie was flattered by his manners. "Thank you, Sir."

After having coffee and sharing the news about Lenny's incredible promotion, the two of them went outside and took a short swim on the ship's boat deck. It was a beautiful night. The full moon illuminated the darkness in such a way that Lenny had never seen before. He couldn't help but notice how beautiful Kylie looked in the pale blue light. Once or twice, she actually caught him staring at her. He would smile nervously and look away quickly feeling silly. She only chuckled.

While the night was still young, the two of them found a couple of deck chairs and decided to lie down and take a breather. They spent a few minutes in silence to catch their breath and then Lenny shyly broke the ice.

"Sure is a nice night, huh?" he asked.

"Maybe the best I've ever seen," Kylie agreed looking up at the full moon. "If I didn't know any better I'd say it was daytime. It's so beautiful, isn't it?"

"Yeah… it is." Lenny was referring to something entirely different. He had once again managed to just glance at Kylie and then become captivated by how she looked in the moonlight.

"Anyway, congratulations on that promotion."

Lenny's trance ended and he regained access to the real world. "Thanks," he said flatly. He cleared his throat and said, "Thanks a lot."

"Are you nervous?"

Lenny thought she meant nervous to be around her. "Uh… just a little. I haven't been on too many dates before and being around a girl…"

Kylie chuckled. "No, I meant are you nervous about becoming co-president."

"…Oh. That." Lenny chuckled and nervously rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah I knew that's what you meant. Uh, no not really. I mean I didn't really see it coming, but no I'm not nervous."

Kylie smiled. "Maybe you didn't see it coming, but we sure did."

"Who's we?"

"Everybody. We all agree that you're the best employee we've ever had because you love the kids so much."

"Well, I wouldn't say the best," said Lenny. "You're pretty good with them too."

"Thanks," said Kylie. "I guess that's what happens when you're the oldest in a family of seven kids."

"Ya know, I remember you telling me that, but I still find it hard to believe," Lenny admitted. "Seven kids and they're all girls?"

"Well, why we're all girls is still a bit of a mystery. As for the big family, I bet you'd like an explanation, huh?"

Lenny nodded. "I'm listening."

Kylie took a deep breath and began telling the origin of her family. "Well it's pretty simple really. My mom, Kara, grew up with six brothers and sisters and loved every minute of it. As for my dad, Kurtis, his only sibling was my uncle Patrick who was a lot older than him. So he spent most of his childhood wishing he had more siblings who were closer to him in age. Mom and Dad ended up meeting through work and after just one hour of talking they realized that they had one major similarity: they both wanted seven kids. And there you have it. The wedding was pretty laid back. Nothing too fancy. Then a year later, they had their first."

"You?" Lenny guessed.

"Yup. Then when I was three, Kandice came along then two years later, Kayla."

"Wait, one quick question," Lenny interrupted. "Does everyone in your family start with K?"

Kylie sighed. "Yes, I was leading up to that."

"Okay, sorry to interrupt. Continue."

"Anyway, it was shortly after this when my dad started hoping that eventually they'd have a boy. Not that he didn't love the three of us, but being the only guy in a family of nine was gonna be weird for him. When my mom became pregnant for the fourth time, she and my dad made a bet. He said that if they had one more girl, he'd eat his pet sea slug. My mom, who was eager to see that happen, agreed to the bet. Then she went into labor and luckily for dad, they had, not one, but two girls. The twins, Karissa and Katrina. So even though it wasn't what Dad meant by 'one more girl', his sea slug was let off the hook. After that, he couldn't care less what the last two babies would be. Two years later, Kelsey was born. She was a tough baby for a girl, so Dad figured she was close enough to a boy. So six girls. Did they have their fins full? Yes. Was it enough? Oh no. Two years later, Kimmy got them to their desired number seven. Thus, our family was both happy and complete."

"Wow," said Lenny. "That is some family."

"Yeah, just wait 'til you meet them. Anyway, enough about my family, what about yours?"

Lenny had hoped she wouldn't ask that. His estranged father and deceased brother were the last people he ever wanted to think about. "Uh, well the thing is," he explained. "I don't feel comfortable talking about my family much."

Kylie gave him a sad face. "You miss them?"

"Not exactly. I do miss my mom, but that's about it. You remember I told you I ran away?"

"Yeah I do," said Kylie. "And I never got to ask you why."

"Well I can explain the reason in two simple words; my dad."

"Ah yes, the mob boss."

Lenny nodded. "He always hated that I was a vegetarian. And when my brother died, I guess everything got worse. I couldn't stay there anymore so I left and I'm never going back."

Kylie put a caring fin on his shoulder. "I'm sorry."

"For a long time, I lived by what my brother used to tell me. How can a shark be normal if he isn't a killer?" He paused for a moment and said miserably. "Who could ever love a vegetarian shark?"

Kylie sympathetically inched herself a little closer to him. "Maybe another vegetarian shark?" she asked, taking him by the fin.

Lenny, slightly surprised, looked at the position of their fins and then looked her straight in the olive green eyes. What she'd just said made him jump for joy on the inside. "You mean it?" he asked.

"I do," said Kylie.

"Oh wow…" Lenny figured this moment would not be complete without him presenting her with some sort of token of his feelings. "Okay, I wasn't gonna do this but now I really think I have to. Wait here just a quick moment."

"Don't be too long."

Lenny quickly went inside and swam to his room to fetch the corsage he'd bought. He returned barely three minutes later and removed the corsage from its case. "Here, I bought this for you."

Kylie gasped. "Oh, Lenny… Where are the other petals?"

Now you know why Lenny refused to give it to her earlier. It was a blue carnation alright, but only four of its petals were still intact. But just a note, the corsage did not look like that when Lenny bought it.

Now Lenny was nervous all over again. "I, uh, got kinda nervous… and hungry."

Kylie scoffed and playfully shoved him. "You are such a boy."

Lenny laughed. "So, do you not want it or…?"

"Of course I do," said Kylie. "It may not be a whole flower, but it's from you. And it reminds me that you have a bizarre sense of humor."

Lenny smiled. "Then let's see how it looks on you."

Kylie held out her fin and Lenny fastened the corsage around her wrist. Kylie admired it for a few seconds and then, to Lenny's surprise, plucked one of the few remaining petals right off.

"What are you doing?" Lenny asked.

"Seeing if the taste was worth it," Kylie teased. She popped the petal into her mouth and chewed it. After she swallowed, she smiled in a dreamy sort of way.

"So how was it?" Lenny asked.

"Mm, that may have been the second sweetest thing I've ever tasted."

Lenny looked puzzled. "Second?"

Then it happened. Without any warning whatsoever, Kylie approached his face and kissed him right on the lips. Lenny swore he almost felt his eyes being pulled from his sockets and his heart beating out of his chest. He'd never felt this feeling before in his life. Part of him was shocked and flustered but the other part was intrigued and never wanted this moment to stop. It did though after a few seconds.

"That was the first," Kylie said in a dreamy voice.

Lenny was speechless. He had no idea what he should say to her, so he said nothing. It was clear to him now that he and Kylie were in love and they were both ready to admit it to each other without any nerves present. He returned the dreamy smile and kissed her back on the cheek. Then they nuzzled and Kylie rested her head against his shoulder. This was truly a date neither of them would ever forget.

End of chapter