And somehow, the thought of both of them at once made my chest ache with confusion, longing, and excitement.
I shook my head, forcing my thoughts away from theimpossible swirl of feelings. Focusing on walking the path ahead, my eyes landed on a small animal shelter tucked along the side street I usually passed. I’d walked by it a thousand times, but something made me slow my pace, almost like a whisper tugging at the back of my mind.
I wondered if they had any fish I could adopt.
At first, I brushed the thought away. Adopting a fish? Was that even a thing?
But the thought of Talon’s empty fish tank glowing behind him in that picture, all beautiful coral and zero life, for some reason had my heart clenching at the sight.
Why the thought of gifting a fish to Talon would be a good idea was beyond me. But before I could stop myself, my feet were carrying me over to the small building. And yeah, maybe it was silly, maybe it was overthinking—but maybe it was also a way to show him that our friendship mattered. That I was thinking of him, in some small unexpected way.
I pushed open the shelter’s door, greeted by the soft chatter of two employees and the faint scent of animals.
“Hi,” I said, approaching the counter. “This might sound like a weird question, but … do you … have any fish?”
The worker’s eyes lit up. “We do! Just a few, mostly for small freshwater tanks. Not a huge selection, but they’re adorable.”
I followed her to the row of tanks and peered inside. Tiny neon tetras, a couple of goldfish, even a betta or two, swimming lazily in their glass worlds. My mindwandered to Talon again and his empty tank, the way he had joked about being terrible at keeping fish alive. And then an idea sparked: Dory.
A blue tang. That brilliant, electric blue that seemed to light up the screen in everyFinding Nemoclip I’d ever watched.
“Do you happen to have a blue tang?” I asked hopefully, looking around the pieces of coral and a small sunken ship.
She shook her head. “Not here. But there’s a bigger shelter a little ways into the city, Fur-Ever Homes—they’re an international shelter and sometimes here in Florida, they have exotic species, including blue tangs. I could call them and see if they have one.”
I clapped my hands together, a smile spreading across my face. “That would be amazing! Thank you.”
Back on the sidewalk, the idea made me feel happy in a way I hadn’t expected. It was silly and maybe impulsive—but I wanted to do something nice for him, something tangible that said I was thinking of him and what he’d shared with me at the café.
Although this idea of giving a fish to Talon wasn’t helping untangle the complicated mess of feelings I had for both him andTheWriteGuy. But I’d have to think about that later because it was time to focus on work and not on two guys who kept taking up all the space in my head.
The only problem was, I couldn’t stop thinking about blue tangs, their vibrant colors, the care they needed to thrive, and how I could even help set up the tank that wouldgive one a proper home. So, between meetings and spreadsheets, I started scribbling notes, researching water temperature, tank size, feeding schedules—anything to make sure Talon could provide the right environment if I went through with this. I just hoped, after all the research, that his tank would actually work the way it was supposed to.
When my phone buzzed against my desk, I jumped. Looking over at the screen, an unknown number was calling me, and I hoped it was the animal shelter.
“Hello?” I answered.
“Hi, Livvi,” the worker said, cheerful. “Fur-Ever Homes called me back. They actually do have a blue tang right now. I told them about you, and they said you could come by later today if you wanted to see it in person.”
My heart skipped. “I … yes! Absolutely, I’d love to come by. Thank you so much.”
She gave me the address, and I hurried to jot it down on a sticky note. As soon as I was done with work, I’d drive out to Fur-Ever Homes and possibly adopt a fish.
There was a sentence I never thought I would say, but I was surprisingly very excited about it.
The rest of the day passed in a haze of anticipation. Once work was done, I headed straight to Fur-Ever Homes, a thirty-minute drive, my mind racing with thoughts of Talon’s empty tank, the perfect fish, and the small smile I imagined might spread across his face if I could pull this off.
The Fur-Ever Homes shelter was bigger than I expected, bright glass windows reflecting the late afternoon sun as I parked. Inside, I found a variety of animals, along with the hum of bubbling tanks and the soft squeak of shoes against tile.
When the worker led me to the back row of tanks, my breath caught.
There it was.
The blue tang darted between rocks and coral, its scales shimmering like liquid sapphire. A flash of yellow on its tail caught the light, making it look like it was glowing.
“Wow,” I whispered, pressing my hand lightly to the glass. The fish moved toward me as if curious, and for a second it almost felt like it saw me too.
“She’s healthy, a good age, and we’ve had her a little while,” he said. “We don’t get them very often, so you came at the right time. You seem like you really want her.”