Forget Me Never by M J Rutter

I shrugged.
                  “I like your dad already,” he beamed holding out his hand, I slipped my hand into his and enjoyed the warmth it gave me.
     
    The lift opened and we walked to a table, I decided that I would just have a fruit salad. I needed something refreshing. Alec had ordered an omelette and fruit juice and I sipped warm tea while we waited. I smiled at him from across the table and tried very hard to convince myself that this was a holiday fling, that we would say goodbye in ten days and that would be the end of us. I wanted to believe it too, but something about him made me wonder if maybe we were meant to meet, maybe this was our destiny and maybe I was just some silly romantic who read too many books believing that valiant Knights fought for honour and that the good girl always gets the guy in the end.
                  “What’s on your mind?” he asked.
                  “Nothing,” I swallowed.
                  “Are you finished then? We really should get going.” Then he frowned. “It’s Daniel’s day off, I don’t know if there will be another driver available.”
                  “I have a sat nav, if you can put up with my driving, I will drive us.”
                  “If you are sure?” he checked. I nodded and stood.
                  “Come on, the dolphins and whales are calling us.”
     
    I drove us to San Diego along the I-5. Alec commented on my driving a few times as we headed out of LA, but had relaxed a little more once we were out of the city. I was nervous of having him in the car with me, scrutinising my every move, it had put me on edge, when he finally relaxed, I did too and my driving improved.
    We talked a lot more during the drive. He spoke proudly of his sister and her family, he told me more about his friends and how he felt sure they would like me. He reached over during the drive and lifted my hand, holding it on his lap as we rode the highway.
     
    We arrived at SeaWorld just as it opened and as it was a Saturday, it was extremely busy. It felt good using the other ticket I had pre-booked on Alec. Though he insisted he pay me for the ticket, I refused to take the money from him. Instead I agreed that he could buy a park guide so we could find our way around.
                 
    I had no idea that SeaWorld was actually a theme park with rides and shows. I just thought it was sharks and dolphins a penguin or two, not a massive theme park with screamers on roller coasters and humans cooking in animal costumes. It all looked amazing, don’t get me wrong, but not what I had built up in my mind.
                  We wondered around the many aquariums and tanks, we fed the ray fish and I actually touched the head of a dolphin, which is something I had always wanted to do. We watched the killer whale show and got soaked to the bone from the huge splashes they made in the pools. We laughed at the sea lions as they displayed their quirky little tricks and as the day progressed I enjoyed it a little more. Wandering around, hand in hand with Alec made me feel ten feet tall and I suppose as long as he was holding my hand, I would have gone anywhere.
     
    We found a practically empty snack bar hidden along the path just up from the penguins and ordered hot dogs for lunch. Then we sat at a table and ate them in the blistering sun. I drank my soda dry and gazed around at a family feeding their children,
    “Are you having a nice day?” he asked.
    “Yes,” I smiled, “are you?”
    “I am actually, although it has changed a lot since I was last here.” He replied.
    “Would you mind if we go? I honestly only want to see the sea life.” I asked.
    “Where shall we go next?”
    “I don’t know,” I frowned.
    “There are some beautiful beaches in the area, we could take a leisurely walk.” I knew what I wanted to do, I wanted to take him back to my room, but we had to