The Etiquette of Smoking

Closer

I watched the tiny silver fish swim above me, skittering quickly within their school. One fat gray fish floating lazily overhead, uncaring of the attention from me or the other visitors. His face looked comically smashed in, like he'd been flattened by a panini press. I laughed quietly at him as his chubby little body wiggled by and disappeared behind the pink artificial coral.

The room was crowded with tourists, squeezing by and flashing the fish with their phones. I knew what Max and Niki meant when they expressed their disdain for tourist traps. I could only imagine how packed Coney Island must be.

I watched a couple of tiny colorful fish swim past before a large man in a red hat saddled up beside me and began taking pictures on his phone with the flash on, scaring the little fish away. He grunted, watching them hide before looking over his shoulder and waving his arm through the air.

"Linda, come get a look at this fucker!" He laughed loudly, peering greedily at the glass where the chubby gray fish was popping his head out from a hole in the coral. I decided it was best to take my leave then, turning and scanning the room for my friends who were a couple feet away looking up at the baby sharks that swam above their heads. I joined them just as Linda, I presume, shoved past me and took my place beside the loud man.

"Look at that one, it's got a fucking chunk missing!" Ian exclaimed, pointing at one of the sharks. There was, indeed, a bite taken out of its tail as it glided over us and towards the other side of the tank. I stood behind Ian, watching the sharks with him and Joji quietly until they noticed me.
"Next room? It's getting crowded in here." Ian murmured as a girl beside him raised her phone and took a selfie with the aquarium behind her.

We walked through the rest of the building where it was a little less populated. We stop briefly at a stingray tank where the large, white creatures glided easily through the water. Joji made a bitter comment about Steve Irwin and I laughed, pushing on his back to keep him moving while he flipped off the fish.

When we came to a jellyfish tank, Ian's phone rang. I watched the jellyfish float gracefully up and down within the large cylinder-shaped tank as Ian talked on the phone. Joji pointed to a nearly invisible jelly blob that was only discernable by its tiny organs and I looked closer in amazement.

"That was Max, I'm gonna go get him." Ian sighed, pocketing his phone and walking back in the direction we'd come from. I watched the see-through jelly as it puffed its way to the top of the tank and slowly sank back down. The jellies glowed with the brilliant blue that lit the bottom of the tank. Some were more opaque than others, some were cloudy white, and a few were barely even visible. They were all beautiful, regardless. Their tentacles absorbing the blue light, ruffling gently beneath them as they danced.

"So um," Joji mumbled beside me, pulling back from the tank and standing straight. I followed him with my eyes, watching as he glanced around the room at the people around us. "about earlier..."

I didn't interrupt, too curious as to what he had to say about what happened earlier. I was confused about it myself. It had been something I've thought about before but I didn't expect myself to actually do it. I waited as he collected himself, finally meeting my eyes and holding them.

"I'm not sure what happened." Was all he muttered, looking deeply into my eyes, searching for something though I'm not sure what.

"I don't know either." I admitted. The side of his face closest to the tank glowed blue, much like how the lights of the club colored him. Beautiful like a work of art.

"I liked it." He breathed, watching me intently. My heart picked up at his words. Maybe he felt the same, I just hadn't seen it yet.

"Me too." I whispered, feeling my throat tighten as the adrenaline rushed through my veins. A small smile formed at the corner of his mouth before spreading across his entire face. His hands wrapped around mine that hung at my sides, pulling me the tiniest bit closer. I could feel my heartbeat in my throat as I watched Joji's face move closer to mine. He watched me carefully, his brown eyes shone with the tiniest glimmer of blue from the light beside us. There was his hot breath again, fanning over my face and sending me into the same trance I came over at the beach just a little bit ago. His eyes closed and his mouth opened just enough to barely touch my bottom lip with his. Electricity coursed throughout my entire body, forcing my eyes shut and my heart to pound intensely against my ribcage. I tilted my head up, willing him to close the distance between us.