zoo boy ~ robert irwin

four

i got out of my car, and walked into the zoo through the employee gate.

once again i went through the office and signed in.

it was becoming a routine.

robert and i were scheduled to guide a group later on in the day, and weirdly enough, we both had early scheduled breaks.

"hey evie" robert said when i walked into the break room.

"oh hey" i replied.

"i've been thinking"

oh.

"what about" i said, had i done something wrong?

"well, since you are only new here, and i have been here my whole life, it's only fair that you get a tour of the zoo by none other than myself."

wait, was robert irwin offering to take me on a private zoo tour?

"actually, i kind of wanted to see what happens behind the scenes in the rest of the zoo, so sure i guess!" i told him, smiling.

"okay then let's go" he said and he grabbed my arm and started to jog out of the room.

"woah, robert slow down!" i said laughing.

we decided to go and visit the giraffes first, and we got to feed them carrots.

giraffes are one of my favourite types of animals, i kind of wish i had super long eyelashes like them.

after we finished feeding the giraffes, we went to see the crocodiles being fed, they were HUGE!

so we continued on our little tour, and as we were walking, i had a sudden thought: should i hold his hand.

uhm evelyn.

that may be going a bit fast - and you don't even know if he thinks of you that way!

i found myself reasoning.

but someone must have been thinking the same thing as me, because i felt fingers intertwine with mine.

i glanced at robert, shocked but trying to play it cool.

he looked at me and grinned and then coughed awkwardly, "i...uh...this is okay isn't it".

was he...nervous too?

"yes it's okay rob" i reassured him.

i swear we are both so awkward, but at least i know he is a gentleman - not that i ever thought he wasn't.

i found myself having nervous butterflies in my stomach, even though robert kept making me laugh with funny jokes.

i couldn't keep the negative thoughts away.

he doesn't really like me does he.

i bet this is all a big joke.

why would he like me?

my thoughts were interrupted.

"evie, stand in-front of that parrot enclosure, i want to take a photo of you" robert said.

i didn't mention that robert had brought his camera, he really does love his photography.

i guess i must have still looked uncertain because before i knew it, robert had stopped trying to take photos and walked over to me.

"are you okay evie? you look upset" he questioned me.

"uh... no, why?" i did not sound convincing at all.

"you don't have to tell me anything you don't want to evie" robert said.

"but i do want to show you something" he added.

oh?

i really liked that he wasn't going to pressure me to share, it takes time for me to open up.

i also realised that i really enjoyed spending time with him.

a couple minutes of walking later and robert had led me to a garden bed in an isolated part of the zoo.

he then led me through one of the tall hedges, revealing another beautiful little garden, with pictures of his dad, steve irwin, hanging everywhere.

"i found this secret empty spot a couple years back, and i made it into a garden in memory of my dad".

he showed me all the pictures individually, he must miss him so much.

then robert moved closer to me, and leant in and kissed me.

it was a short kiss, but it felt magical, like there were fireworks exploding all around us.

afterwards i could not stop blushing, no matter how hard i tried.

"you look adorable when you blush evelyn" robert told me.

"and i was also wondering, would you be my girlfriend?"

"yes!" i said.

i was so happy because the guy of my dreams just asked me to be his girlfriend.

robert then grabbed my hand again and we left the beautiful garden, and started walking back to the break room, laughing at each other's stupid jokes the whole way.