Just One Year(37)

“Nothing more important than getting to see you walk around the city as a dolphin.” I smiled. “I’d better find tap shoes in men’s size twelve before then.”

Shelley stuck out her bottom lip in a pout. “Can I come?”

“Of course,” I said. “The bigger the audience the better.”

***

It was funnier than I ever expected. Teagan looked absolutely ridiculous as we walked down Hanover Street. She was supposed to be a dolphin, but she could also have passed as a gigantic blue banana.

She turned to me. “Why am I doing this again?”

I loved when she turned to look at me because she had to turn her entire body. It was hysterical. Teagan’s face was the only part of her not completely covered in blue fur. She was perpetually peeking through a hole.

Children would stop us occasionally to take photos, and I’d have my camera ready, too.

The whole thing was crazy, but perhaps the best part was getting to see Teagan and Shelley bonding over the ridiculousness. I’d never seen them laugh more together than today. That alone made it worth it.

We’d decided we were going to the most exclusive restaurant in the entire North End. Dinner was on me, of course. A two-hundred-dollar meal was a lot cheaper than the one-thousand dollars this experience was originally going to cost.

My tap shoes, which I was able to rent from a local dancing school, were in a black bag I’d slung over my shoulder. Our plan was to have dinner and then visit one of the famous Italian pastry places for dessert before I topped off the night with a tap dance routine somewhere on the streets of Boston. I hadn’t tapped in over a decade, so I couldn’t be sure if the steps would come back to me.

Shuffle, ball change. That was all I could remember.

When we arrived at the restaurant, the hostess didn’t seem too amused.

She gave Teagan a once-over. “Can I help you?”

“I have a reservation,” I said in my most serious tone.

“The name?”

“Dolphina.”

Teagan chuckled.

The hostess looked up our name in the computer. “Um…I’m not sure she can come in here like that.”

“Why not?”

“Isn’t it obvious?”

I had to stop myself from laughing. “Are you discriminating against her? Dolphins are mammals. We’re all mammals. What’s the problem?”

Teagan snorted, and Shelley was practically crying.

The ever-so-polite hostess with no sense of humor rolled her eyes and hesitantly grabbed a few menus. “Follow me.”

Once seated, the waitress was a lot more gracious than the hostess had been, seeming to get the humor in it all.

After I explained that I’d put Teagan up to it as part of a bet, the server said, “I might do anything you asked me to as well.” She winked.

Okay. I hadn’t been expecting that—or the eye-fucking that went with it.

The dirty look Teagan flashed her was priceless, even though the waitress hadn’t noticed. Teagan’s little face poking through the opening was ten times cuter when it wore a frown.

I ended up ordering the steak, while Shelley got a loaded burger. Teagan insisted on sticking to what dolphins eat, so she ordered mackerel. I also got a beer, hoping it would help me unwind a bit before my dance performance later.

We amused ourselves by laughing at all the strange looks Teagan received, and when the food arrived, it was phenomenal. I knew every last morsel on my plate would be properly demolished.

A little while later, the waitress came back and placed another beer in front of me.

I looked up. “Oh, I didn’t order another.”

“I know.” She smiled flirtatiously. “It’s on the house.”

She seemed to hope I’d give her at least a massive tip, possibly more.

Even Shelley picked up on it. “I think she likes you. Too bad you have a girlfriend.”

That comment gave me pause. I hadn’t yet announced that I’d ended things with Veronica. Now she’d given me a good opportunity to bring it up.

I cleared my throat. “Actually, I don’t anymore.” My eyes immediately went to Teagan, who I found looking down into her mackerel.

She whipped her head up. Her mouth was full. “What?”

“Yeah...we broke up.”

“She broke up with you?” Shelley asked.

Maybe it had been a mistake bringing this up. I didn’t want to get into the details in front of Shelley. But Teagan’s eyes were locked on mine now, awaiting my answer, so I had to explain further.

“I was actually the one who ended things.”

Shelley looked almost sad. “You broke her heart?”

How am I supposed to answer that? “I hope it’s not totally broken. But it was the right decision, all things considered.”

“Wow. I wasn’t expecting that.” Teagan said, the look on her face contradicting the silliness of her attire. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah. I am.”

We returned to eating dinner, but over the course of the next several minutes, Teagan’s face turned redder than I had ever seen it.

“Are you alright?” I asked her.

“Honestly, I think I need to get out of this fur. I’m burning up.”

“Well, you’ve more than paid your dues. You should’ve said something sooner. Go get out of that thing.”