Free The Crushes by Pamela Wells

Drew turned. He sped up, hitting fifty miles an hour quickly and bringing the car up to seventy as he merged onto the highway.
    “I just like the side streets,” Sydney said. “The highway is so…boring. It’s just traffic and concrete.”
    Drew took her hand in his, squeezing gently. “We’ll take the side streets next time. And you can bring your camera if you want. We can make a day of it.”
    She nodded, liking the sound of that. “Okay.”
    At one in the afternoon, traffic wasn’t too bad. Drew drove at a steady seventy-five miles an hour passing only two cars on the way to the fish store. Sydney stared out the passenger-side window, silent, zoning out as the green interstate signs became a blur.
    When they got off the freeway, slowing down felt good. Sydney snapped out of the quiet. “I’ve been thinking about buying an aquarium,” she said as they waited beneath a stoplight.
    “Oh yeah? I’ve been thinking about getting a dog.”
    Sydney instantly tensed. “What kind of dog?”
    Sydney liked dogs, she just didn’t like big dogs. When she was eight, the neighbor’s chow mix bit her on the hand when she got too close to his food. Ever since then, big dogs freaked her out to the point she felt like panicking whenever she was around one.
    “I don’t know,” Drew said. “I guess whatever kind I find that I like.”
    “Just not anything too big?”
    He shrugged, barely glancing at her. “I guess it’ll just depend on what I find.”
    He pulled into the parking lot of the large strip mall, and they got out, the sun shining through thin, white clouds. Sydney took Drew’s hand as they walked up. This felt good, the two of them together, getting out and doing something.
    “You mind if I go to Pet Shop real quick? See the dogs?” Drew asked. “Then I’ll come to the fish store.”
    Sydney nodded, letting go of his hand. “Sure.”
    They parted, Drew going inside Pet Shop on the left, Sydney going inside the fish store on the right. Inside the small specialty shop, the outside world faded away. Here, there were no ceiling lights, only the soft glow of aquarium lights. With dozens of aquariums lined up together on every side of the shop, it almost felt like Sydney was in the ocean itself.
    “Hi there,” a man said behind the counter. “Anything I can help you with?”
    “Just looking, thanks.”
    Sydney bypassed the shelves of empty aquariums, the display of aquarium stones and sculptures, heading directly to the fish. She started at the goldfish, ducking down to watch their orange bodies darting around one another. She moved on to the guppies and fancy goldfish and then the tropical fish.
    A display tank took up almost an entire wall. A sign above it said T HE G REAT C ORAL R EEF . There was green fluorescent mushroom coral and yellow colony polyp among other things. There were a few anemones and sponges.
    Two vibrant clown fish swam lazily in front. A blue tang poked its head out from behind a rock as an auriga buttefly-fish swam past.
    Sydney moved on to the other same-species tanks, stopping to admire the black sea horses. They were, by far, her favorite. She could sit and watch them all day as they seemed to float in the water.
    How much would it cost to put together a new tank? Would her dad help her with the expenses? Maybe Drew would—“Syd!”
    She startled and straightened as Drew rushed over. “Come to the pet store,” he said, grabbing her hand and dragging her next door. He held the door open at Pet Shop, smiling like a kid in a toy store. Sydney went in, and a cacophony of barking dogs sounded from the back. It smelled like wet dog and dry cat food here. Not a bad smell, just not something Sydney was used to.
    “In the back,” Drew said, winding through the aisles of dog and cat food and then the hamster cages and plastic exercise balls. They finally reached the back corner of the store, where an arched opening led to another room. Above the archway read P ET L AND in big, blocky