by Jade Parker
“What if we showed a movie?”
“I don’t get it,” Whitney said. “Like in the little theater they use for talent shows every now and then? What’s special about that?”
“No, not indoors. Outdoors. Like when they used to have drive-in theaters. But this would be a float-in theater.”
“I still don’t get it.”
I was doing a lousy job of explaining.
“Well, you know that big white wall behind Tsunami?”
“Yeah.”
“We could set up a projector on the roof of the pavilion across from it and show a movie on that wall. Have people in inner tubes in the pool area, not run the waves of course, or maybe we would — I don’t know. But we could do a movie like Jaws or Open Water — kinda like, not only watch it but experience it.”
Whitney smiled. “That’s not a bad idea. As a matter of fact, it could be genius. I mean, if it works for the employees, then maybe we could have a movie night for guests — something special. I like it. I’ll talk to my dad about it,” Whitney said.
“Why would your dad care?” I asked.
“Oh, he wouldn’t, but he does a lot of business stuff, so maybe he’ll have an idea about it, can tell me how to pitch it so the TPTB are convinced.”
“You really think they’ll go for it?”
“Most definitely,” Whitney said. “Trust me. I always get what I want.”
The next morning on the ride into work, I told Sean and Caitlin all about the party. I was pretty pumped, talking like I’d had way too much caffeine. Whitney had called me last night to let me know that the party had been approved and that they were even looking into my movie idea.
“Can you believe it?” I asked. “Whitney says that if the float-in movie works for the party, they might even do it as a special night at the park for guests.”
“Do you know how many times you’ve mentioned her name since you got in the car?” Caitlin asked.
“Well, she’s part of this. I mean, we planned this together.”
“Didn’t I tell you that you’d like Whitney?” Sean said, grinning.
“I don’t know if I’d go that far. Well, maybe I would. She seemed so different yesterday. Well, except for the whole limo experience.”
“I can’t believe you went driving around in a limo and didn’t call me,” Caitlin said.
“You were busy.”
“Still.”
When we got to the water park, Caitlin and I hung back while Sean hurried to get to work. He had another supervisors’ meeting, which worked for Caitlin and me because it gave us a chance to talk.
“So how were things with Tanner yesterday?” I asked.
“Awesome.” She grinned broadly. “He gave me a ride home.”
“Did he kiss you?”
“No, but I think he wants to. Or at least I want him to. I found out he plays on his high school football team so he can only work through July — then he’ll have to start practice.”
“So that’s the reason he looks so strong.”
“Yeah,” she said, bobbing her head. “Because he’s really a jock. Pretty cool, huh?”
“Very cool.”
When we got to the employee locker rooms, we discovered flyers announcing EMPLOYEE GET ACQUAINTED NIGHT taped to every locker.
“Wow! Whitney works fast,” Caitlin said, taking the flyer off her locker. “I really hope this gives me a chance to hang out with Tanner when he’s not working.”
Caitlin and I had always hung out at the water park together. I couldn’t imagine going through the park, rushing down the slides, experiencing all the thrills and spills that the park had to offer without her. But I guess it was only fair — things between us were changing a little. Me missing lunch. Me hanging out with Whitney.
“So you and Tanner — you like each other that much already? I mean, to hang out together, for the whole night?”
“Yeah. I think so. Or at least that’s what I’m planning on.”
Which meant I had to find a guy to hang out with — and quick.
* * *
“Okay, we need to stop by the mall on the way home,” Caitlin said after we got in the car. It was Saturday evening after work and the big bash was tomorrow. “Employee Get Acquainted Night — I need a new bathing suit.”
“I thought you just bought one,” Sean said.
“I did, but I need another one.”
“Caitlin —”
“Come on, Sean. It’ll be almost eight thirty when we get there, so I’ll be forced to shop fast. It’s thirty minutes out of your life.”
He grumbled some more, before agreeing to take us to the mall. As we drove, I wondered where Caitlin got the energy to go shopping. I was exhausted. Maybe it was more tiring watching little kids all day instead of cute guys. And in typical Caitlin fashion, she’d figured if she needed to shop for a bathing suit, I did, too.
For most of lunch, Whitney and I had listened to Caitlin talking about how much she liked Tanner, every cute thing that he did, and how she planned to spend time with him during the employee bash. I was glad he was showing interest in her. Really, I was. But how many different ways could you say a guy was cute?
The good thing, if there was a good thing, was that Caitlin and Whitney weren’t being catty toward each other anymore. I couldn’t tell if they really liked each other yet, but at least they weren’t putting each other down.
When we got to the mall, Sean parked near the main entrance. As we walked inside, Sean said, “Call me when you’re ready. I’ll be at the food court.”
“Oh, that sounds so good,” I said, without thinking.
Caitlin looked at me like I’d just told her the mall had disappeared. She’s a shop-till-she-drops kind of girl. Usually I am, too, but tonight I was tired, hungry, and didn’t need a bathing suit.
“What about the employee party?” she asked.
“I’ve got something to wear.”
She pulled me aside. “That night is our chance —”
“I know, but I’m tired and hungry.”
“Fine. I’ll meet y’all at the food court.”
She headed off and I felt the need to yell an apology after her. Then I realized it was just Sean and me. I had an urge to run after her then. I’d responded from survival instincts — wanting to eat. And now —
Sean was looking at me like it had just dawned on him that I was joining him at the food court and he didn’t know what to do with me.
“We should probably get up there before they start shutting down,” he said.
“Yeah.”
Okay, it was just Sean, Caitlin’s brother. It wasn’t like he was on my “Top Ten Guys” list.
Although he certainly could be. Quite honestly, I was a little confused about how I was feeling about him these days. I was thinking about him way too much.
We took the escalators to the second floor and the food court. We parted ways. He went to the left, I went to the right. We both ended up standing in line for quick Chinese. After we got our food — he went with a noodle bowl, I went with fried rice — we sat at a table at the edge of the food court.
“I like to people-watch,” he said.
“Usually I like to shop,” I said, which I guess made me one of the people he might have watched. “But I’m so tired.”
“Caitlin has some sort of crazy shopping gene,” he said.
I tried not to stare at him; it was really weird sitting here with him and almost talking like two people who liked each other.
“So, really, how do you like working at the park?” he asked.
“Really?”
He grinned, nodded, before using chopsticks to gather up his noodles. I’d never mastered the use of chopsticks, which made me feel self-conscious as I used my fork.
“It’s not nearly as exciting as I thought it would be. I’m really just standing around watching people.”
“It’s definitely more fun to be a guest.”
“How do you like being a
supervisor?”
“It’s harder than I thought — especially when I have to get after someone for misbehaving. I never realized how many people goof off.”
“People like Whitney?”
“She’s doing better.”
He was always defending her. “Do you like her?” I asked.
“Well, yeah, don’t you?”
Guys can be so dense. “I meant, like, you know. Girlfriend, like.”
He laughed. “What is it with you and Caitlin? Always trying to figure out who I like.”
“Is there someone you like?” I asked.
He poked his noodles. “Yeah, there is.”
I didn’t know why I was disappointed to hear that.
“Do I know her?”
He looked up, held my gaze. “Yeah, I think you do.”
“Are you going to tell me who?” I asked.
“I don’t think so. At least not yet. So, is there someone you like?” he asked.
Okay, this was weird. It was like a question Caitlin would ask, something I’d tell her. Not something I’d tell her older brother, who also happened to be my supervisor.
“I like a lot of people,” I said.
“Not fair. I confessed.”
“You didn’t confess. You hinted.”
He went back to eating his noodles. I went back to eating my rice.
What had we been doing? Talking, sure, but it seemed like there was more to it. Maybe a little what? Flirting?
No, we were just killing time.
“Hey, guys,” Caitlin said, dropping down in a chair between us.
Sean and I both jumped, like maybe we’d been doing something we weren’t supposed to.
“I found the cutest red bikini,” Caitlin said.
“You’ve got a red bathing suit,” Sean said.
“That’s my uniform. It doesn’t count. You just so don’t get it.”
He’d finished off his noodles, and I was stuffed. They announced that the mall would be closing in five minutes.
“Guess we’d better go,” Sean said.
We tossed our trash. He was walking ahead of us as we went toward the exit. Caitlin opened her bag.
“Look, isn’t it the cutest?”
I know she was talking about the bathing suit, like I could really see what it looked like, folded up at the bottom of the bag.
But when I said, “Yes, totally cute,” I didn’t think I was talking about the bikini. I thought maybe I was talking about her brother.
What kind of party had rules?
Ours did.
Any ride that required someone actually work it — like Screaming Falls — was closed. Since no lifeguards were officially on duty — but lifeguards were everywhere — we had access to all other areas of the park. We were supposed to watch out for each other, always do things in pairs. No one, according to Mr. T when he made the announcement, was supposed to be a lone wolf.
The kiosks with drinks and ice cream and snacks were left full and unattended. We could just take what we wanted.
For the first hour, Mr. T and the manager of each section were at Scavenger’s cooking up free hot dogs for anyone who wanted them.
“This is really cool,” I said to Whitney when we sat at a table with our dogs. “Did you have any idea that they’d do all this for us?”
She shrugged and took a bite. “I’d hoped.”
“It must be costing them a fortune.”
“Not really. Hot dogs are cheap. So what if all the employees have a couple of them? It’s not that much. We’ll have happy employees and happy employees work harder.”
She sounded like some sort of commercial.
“Including you?”
She laughed. “Not me. This was just an excuse for a party.” She nodded her head to the side. “So, it looks like Caitlin got her guy.”
I looked over my shoulder. Caitlin was sitting at a table with Tanner. She was smiling, looking happy.
“Yeah, I think she did.” I wondered if he’d kiss her tonight.
“Hey.”
I jerked around at the familiar voice. Sean sat between Whitney and me.
“This is pretty cool,” he said before taking a bite of a hot dog. He was wearing black swim trunks, a black tank top, and black flip-flops.
“You’re really into black, aren’t you?” I said.
“You know it. Wearing the park uniform … it’s torture to put it on every day.”
“Guys, I’m going to go get us all an ice cream,” Whitney said.
It looked like Sean was going to object, maybe offer to go with her, but she’d headed out before she’d finished telling us what she planned to do. Which left me alone with Sean. It wasn’t that I really felt uncomfortable being with him. I was just having a difficult time understanding our relationship. Quite honestly, I was spending more time talking to him lately than I was spending with Caitlin.
Sean finished off his hot dog. I tried to make an origami swan with my limp napkin — which really didn’t work too well.
“So … have you been on the Bermuda Triangle this year?” he asked.
“All work and no play —”
“Makes us both dull, right?”
I smiled. “I’m not dull.” Or maybe I was, I thought, as I looked at my limp swan.
“Hey, guys,” Whitney said, coming back over without ice cream. “We’re going to do a train at the Bermuda Triangle. Come on, let’s go.”
She had about a dozen people with her. Nick and Jake and a couple of other guys and some girls I hadn’t met.
Before I could even decide if this was something I wanted to do, Sean grabbed my hand. “All work and no play — we’re the two dullest people here.”
“Speak for yourself,” I said, laughing.
“Caitlin, Tanner! Come on,” Whitney called out. “We’re going to break the Guinness World Record with a train of people going down a slide.”
“Is that even a record that’s recorded?” Sean asked me.
“I don’t know.”
He was still holding my hand, but I figured it was just, I don’t know, reflex maybe. I was sure it didn’t mean anything — to him at least.
It was kind of a strange thing to realize that it actually meant something to me. I wondered when I started to like him — as more than Caitlin’s brother, as more than my supervisor. The truth was I didn’t want anyone else holding my hand. I didn’t want to go down the slide with anyone else.
But there were so many people that I realized I probably could end up with someone else — unless Sean didn’t let go of my hand. So I did something that I, shy Robyn, never did. I held on so he couldn’t let go.
When we got to the Bermuda Triangle, everyone gathered around the stairs that would take us to the top of the slide. Gathered because Whitney was blocking the entrance.
“Okay, everyone listen. We have to go up boy girl boy girl. At the top, we all sit down, put our arms around the person in front of us, then the train will start going down the slide — don’t let go.”
“Is this safe?” someone asked.
“Probably not. But who cares? Chickens stay behind. The rest of you, let’s go.”
“As a supervisor, I probably shouldn’t do this,” Sean said as people edged past us.
“You’re not a supervisor right now,” I said. “At this moment, you’re just an employee.”
“I guess. Okay, I’ll do it. Let’s go.”
When we got to the top, we were the last in line. I put my arms around Tanner who had his arms around Caitlin. Sean put his arms around me and I almost stopped breathing. I liked it so much. I liked him holding me.
“Everyone ready!” Whitney yelled.
A resounding chorus of “Yes!” echoed around us.
“Let’s do it,” she shouted.
We heard screams as people started going down the slide. Of course, we hadn’t given any thought to the logistics of moving forward to the edge of the slide while still sitting.
“Ah!” Caitl
in yelled. “The chain broke.”
“That’s okay,” Tanner said. “Two’s more fun anyway.”
I let go of him, and he and Caitlin moved to the edge of the slide and went over together.
“Guess it’s just us,” Sean said.
I looked back at him. “I guess so.”
“So, do you want to do it solo?”
I shook my head. “Not really.”
“Okay.”
We moved to the top of the slide and sat down. He put his arms around me. “Ready,” he asked near my ear.
A shiver went down my spine. I nodded.
“Here we go!”
He shoved off, pushing himself and me over the edge. We were hurtling down the slide —
And suddenly there was no slide. Just the emptiness. I don’t know how he held on to me, but he did and we plunged into the water together. Sean was heavier, he was going deeper so he let go of me.
When I broke through to the surface, I was sputtering and laughing. Sean popped up just a few seconds later.
“That was fun,” he said. “Maybe I’ve spent too much of my life trying to do the right thing.”
It seemed like a confession of sorts. I didn’t totally understand why, but it made me feel like he was talking about something else. Suddenly I was very much aware of him as a guy — not as Caitlin’s brother.
“Race you to the edge of the pool,” I said.
I swam as hard as I could, trying not to think about all these crazy feelings and thoughts that were jumbling around inside me. But no matter how hard I swam, I was no match for Sean. He reached the edge of the pool first and hefted himself out of the water. Then he reached down to give me a hand up.
I put my hand in his and wondered when he’d gotten so strong. When he pulled me out of the water, and I was standing in front of him breathing heavily, I wondered when being close to him started making my heart thump.
“So what’s next?” he asked.
“The rapids?”
“Let’s go.”
He took my hand again, and it made me wonder what he’d say if I told him the truth — that what I really wanted next was a kiss.
* * *
It was kinda strange. Sean and I ended up doing all of the rides together. Whitney had disappeared to who-knows-where, with who-knows-who, and Caitlin was hanging out with Tanner.
