Grabbing her sunglasses, she left the house and headed for the aquarium. She walked slowly, not wanting to arrive all hot and sweaty. Passing Johnny’s, she didn’t even look to see if Nick was working. She thought vaguely about maybe calling Nicole one of these days, just to see what happened if the three of them really did hang out. But if she knew guys, Nick had probably already made up some bullshit story to tell Nicole. Probably he’d told her that Caddie had come on to him and that it wasn’t a good idea to get too friendly. And I’m sure she believed every word, Caddie thought disdainfully.

When she reached the aquarium, she approached the ticket window. “I’m here to meet one of the volunteers,” she told the woman behind the glass. “His name is Brian—” She stopped, realizing she didn’t know Brian’s last name. “He does the show in the kelp tank,” she said.

“Brian Foster,” the woman said. “Are you here for volunteer training?”

From the woman’s tone, Caddie got the impression that saying no would result in her being asked to pay the admission fee, so she nodded. “Yeah, I’m thinking about it.”

“Go in and head to the left,” the woman instructed her. “All the way back. You’ll see a door that says STAFF ONLY. Go in and ask for Brian. They’ll know where he is.”

“Thanks,” Caddie said as the woman turned her attention to the next person in line. She pushed open one of the big doors and went inside. Following instructions, she walked toward the kelp tank area and found the door. She half expected an alarm to sound when she pushed on the handle, but the door swung open without incident, admitting her into a room filled with tanks and machinery.

“Can I help you?” asked a young man wearing an aquarium T-shirt like the one Brian had.

“I’m looking for Brian Foster,” Caddie said.

The guy pointed. “Over there,” he said. “He just finished his show.”

Caddie walked in the indicated direction. Turning a corner, she found Brian standing in his wet suit. Seeing her, he smiled. “You’re just in time to watch me strip,” he said.

“Do I have to put a dollar in your wet suit?” Caddie asked.

Brian pulled a cord at the rear of his suit, drawing a zipper down. He tugged the front of the wet suit down, sliding first one arm and then the other out. His chest was bare, and Caddie admired his lean, well-defined physique.

“You’re checking me out,” Brian said as he bent over and tugged the suit down past his waist.

“Right,” Caddie said. “I’m overcome with desire. Please, fish boy.”