Free Sea Change by Aimee Friedman Page A

Mitchum deodorant.
    “He wants out,” Leo whispered as Maurice blinked patiently at me. “All his buddies do. They want to run free.”
    I shook my head, a laugh escaping my mouth. “You don’t need to talk to animals to guess that. A natural habitat is always preferable.”
    As he had yesterday, Leo rested his eyes on my face for a long moment, so long that I knew my cheeks turned crimson. The voices of other people milling about the room sounded faint and distant.
    “If that’s how you feel,” Leo said at last, turning away and gently placing Maurice back in the tank with his brethren, “you should come on one of our sea creature beach walks. I’m giving one today at six o’clock, right when the center closes.”
    I thought of standing on Siren Beach with Leo again. Onlythis time we were exploring, looking for sand dollars and seashells on the shoreline. A smile I couldn’t control crossed my face.
    “I’ll take that as a yes?” Leo said as he brushed his hands on his shorts.
    I nodded, then tried to force my lips back into a straight line. “Is that where you, um, were headed yesterday?” I asked, tightening my ponytail. “To give a beach walk?”
    Leo shook his head, scratching the back of his browned neck. “The center’s closed on Thursdays, so that’s when I help out my dad—he’s a fisherman. When you saw me yesterday, I was going to meet him on his boat.”
    I remembered CeeCee’s remark, something about Fisherman’s Village.
    “I see,” I said, choosing my words carefully. “I, um, I wouldn’t have pegged you as someone who works at a science center.”
    Leo grinned and the wicked glint reappeared in his eyes. “I’m full of surprises.”
    I swallowed hard and was preparing a response when Leo clapped his hands and called, “All right, everyone! It’s time to resume the tour!”
    I looked down at my Converse. I couldn’t. I couldn’t continue the tour. Maybe it was a combination of my hot cheeks and my pounding heart, or maybe it was the knowledge thatI’d be going on a better tour later. In any case, as the visitors swarmed back around Leo, I glanced at him, mouthed “See you at six,” and turned to go.
    As I walked through the lobby and out into the sunshine, I felt my breathing even out. I stared at the crystal blue of the ocean, which washed white and foamy onto the sand. Two guys in swim trunks were wading into the surf with their boogie boards, and a tugboat sliding past the horizon honked its horn. The air was thick as always.
    CeeCee was sitting on the wooden steps that led down to the beach, her ever-present BlackBerry in her hands. “I hate boys,” she moaned when I sat down beside her.
    “Why?” I asked, thinking of Leo. Had she seen us talking and disapproved?
    CeeCee scowled down at her BlackBerry. “I texted Bobby about hanging out tonight, but supposedly he’s got some sort of a family dinner. My gosh. ” She rolled her eyes. “If he seriously wanted me, he’d skip the stupid dinner, don’t you think?”
    “I have no idea,” I replied honestly. What did I know about male creatures?
    CeeCee gave me a you’re hopeless look, then glanced at her BlackBerry again. A seagull strutted by the boardwalk, pecking at a discarded hot dog bun. “The good news,” CeeCee spoke, smiling up at me, “is that I texted T.J. and he is free this evening. You should definitely meet up with him, Miranda!”
    My stomach jumped. I’d forgotten that, in the flush of my earlier bravado, I’d suggested hanging out with the summer picks, a plan that didn’t jibe so well with the beach walk I’d just agreed to attend. Plus, the prospect of spending the evening one-on-one with T.J. felt distinctly…datelike.
    “Don’t look so scared!” CeeCee laughed, squeezing my arm. “T.J.’s too much of a gentleman to make a move on you right away.”
    Adrenaline raced through me. Did T.J. want to make a move? A piece of me suddenly yearned to experience it: the warmth of T.J.’s