“Coney Island,” I answer, the sound of our feet on the wooden bridge right at the entrance. “We are at the New York Aquarium,” I tell her, and her mouth opens when we stop at the blue and white sign right in front. I open the door, and she follows me in. “The whole place is closed for us. Where do you want to start?”

She looks around and then back at me. “What do you mean?”

I walk toward the underground aquarium. “Well, I wanted to have dinner with you under the sea,” I tell her and then enter the tunnel with the glass surrounding us. The lights illuminate, and you can see the fish all around us. A table with two chairs sits in the middle. “This,” I tell her, letting go of her hand, “is under the sea.” I shrug. “Well, as under the sea as I could get in short notice.”

She turns in a circle, her mouth hanging open as she takes in where we are. “You closed down the aquarium for us to have dinner here?”

“I did,” I tell her, and she walks to the glass now. Putting her hand on it, she watches fish swim by her. “This is …” she starts, turning around. “It’s incredible.”

“No,” I tell her, not moving from my spot. “You’re incredible.”

She turns and looks back at the fish. The whole time, she doesn’t sense the beating of my heart or the fact that I held my breath, hoping she didn’t laugh at this ridiculous plan.

Chapter Eleven

Vivienne

“No.” His voice comes out softly, his eyes staring straight into mine. “You’re incredible.” I don’t say anything to him. I just turn and look at the colors in the water.

When I answered his text, I picked up my phone about seventy times to cancel it. It was silly to go out on this date. The main reason was I don’t date. Ever. But every time I would draft up a “sorry, something came up” text, I would erase it and go in search of an outfit. Each time, I was thinking I was stupid to even do this because I was leading him on. But the next time I picked up my phone, instead of texting him, I googled what does one wear to a date when it’s under the sea. I got lots of floral advice, but then I went into my closet and the cheetah print shorts were the closest I came to flowers. So I went online and ordered five flower dresses.

“Thank you.” I feel his hands on my arms and look over my shoulder to see him right behind me.