#merman!tom

I stuck my tongue out at him.  He had been there for nearly every reenactment of Ariel emerging from the waves that I had performed.  Summers spent with my aunt and cousins, splashing in their pool and the trips with them to the beach, had given me plenty of chances to perfect my performance, well into my teens.

“I dunno, do you think if I sing, I could enchant one of them enough to get legs and be my plus one to the wedding?”

“Oh no, please don’t sing!”

“AaaaAAahhh!” I warbled in my best Scuttle impression, my mouth wide open and head thrown back for effect.

“Stop it!  Stop!” Paul laughed as he whacked me with his book. “You’re more likely to get them to flee to another ocean that way.”

I humphed and tossed my hair back over my shoulder.  “Any good merman would be smitten with my singing.  I’m a treasure, he would fall for me instantly.”

“We’ve got a few days.  If you find one, ask if he has a friend for me, then.”  He opened his book again, saying something about windsurfing.

I turned back to the sparkling sapphire ocean.  It’s so beautiful.

As soon as I could after checking in and hugging Audrey (assuring her that she looked beautiful and that everything would go off without a hitch,) I headed to the beach, slathered in sunscreen.  The sand scorched my feet, growing softer and cooler the closer I got to the surf.  I dropped my water bottle, towel, and beach bag to the ground before rushing into the waves.

I dove under the waves, spinning, twirling, letting my long hair swirl around me.  Breaking the surface, I gasped in a huge breath, wiping the saltwater from my face. I was blissfully alone out here. Sure, there was a group of guys playing with a volleyball a dozen yards away (volleyball in the water? Is that a thing?  Is that water polo?  Note to self, look up water polo.) but I only heard faint shouts from them when the wind shifted.  The shore was a comforting distance, not too far, not too close.

With a smile, I kicked my legs up until I was floating on my back.  I spread my arms, closing my eyes to the glare of the sun.  Wonderful.  The waves pushed me gently up and down, the air was warm, the water was cool.  A perfect day.

Splash!

I jerked and flailed upright.  A volleyball bobbed nearby- the impact of it hitting the water had startled me. I had drifted closer to the group of guys without realizing.

“Sorry, sorry.  So sorry.” One of the guys was cutting through the waves, moving with impressive speed.  He reached out, wrapping one long arm around the ball.  “So sorry,” he said again, with a sheepish grin.

“Oh, um, it’s no problem.”  I was taken aback by the soft English accent- I had been prepared for Standard American DudeBro™: Tourist Edition.  His smile was infectious, and it sparkled all the way up to his blue eyes.

Those eyes flicked down my chest, pausing for a split-second on my lips on their way back up.  “I love your suit.  You look like a proper Nereid- ah… a sea sprite.”

I splashed a little water his way to cover my blush, the faux pearl seashell top of my bikini feeling too tight around my ribs. “Thank you.  I have a pinkish one too.”

“I’d like to see that.  I bet the color is lovely with your hair.  All you need is a crown of coral to complete the look. We’ll leave out Polyphemos- I’m sorry, I studied ancient Greek, I don’t know why. Polyphemos loved a Nereid.”  His hand ran through his own thick hair, slicking back stray wavy locks.  “You’re here for vacation?”

My treading faltered for a second, distracted by the way his hand traveled down his slim neck and chest before returning to the water.  “Yeah, yes- I’m here for my cousin’s wedding, then some extra.  You?”

An annoyed shout of “Tom!  You coming back with the ball or what?” came from the forgotten group of men.

Tom laughed, a rich, infectious sound that had me grinning too.

“Guess that’s my cue.  It was very nice to meet you.”  He started to turn around,then said over his shoulder, “Maybe I’ll see you around the ocean, sprite.”  With a wink, he threw the ball towards the group and his arms stroked through the water, following it.

Nice of him not to kick water in my face, I thought as I watched his pale back getting smaller.  “Bye, Tom,” I called, starting my own journey to shore.

I turned to look back at the waves, shading my eyes to try and pick out his form in the group before I picked up my stuff and headed back to the resort.  After a shower, I joined my cousins and their friends for dinner.

“Does anyone want to come out to the grotto with me tomorrow morning?” I asked after a mouthful of silky, buttery mashed potatoes.  “It’s close by, just a short hike up the beach and then you can swim in through a tunnel and it’s supposed to be beautiful.”

All I got were no’s, though, so in the morning I packed a backpack and set out by myself.  I splashed my feet in the surf as I walked, humming to myself.  The sand squished coldly between my toes, the morning breeze just a touch too chilly until the sun got further up in the sky.

At the sign for the grotto, I set down my bag and stripped off my shorts and t-shirt to swim in my bikini.  I was plenty warm now as I put on my goggles, I was looking forward to plunging into the water.

Once through the short tunnel, I looked up.  And up.  The walls were sheer and ragged, green with moss.  There was a huge hole in the ceiling of the cave, the blue sky hovering high above the vegetation on the surface.  I stared in awe.

“Ahem.”

I splashed with a shriek, flailing in the direction of the sound.

“I’m so sorry, sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you-”

I drew in a deep breath.  “Tom?” I found him treading water on the far side of the grotto, looking sheepish.  “I, um, I didn’t think… I mean, I thought I was alone.”  I swept my arms gently, drifting back towards the tunnel.

“Oh no, I really am very sorry.  I must be coming across like a creeper.”  He swam to the edge of the water and hauled himself out of the water to sit on a rocky ledge.

If it could be called sitting.

Against my better instincts, I crept forward, not caring that I was staring. With my mouth gaping open.

“You… y-you…”

It wasn’t until I got within ten feet of him that I really believed what I was seeing.  The light from above glinted off the shiny blue scales, the muscles underneath flexing and moving with the lapping of the water.  Tom was leaning back on his arms, his bare torso pale and sparkling with droplets.

“You have a tail,” I managed to whisper.  I found the floor of the pool and put my weight on my feet, feeling more secure even if more than half of me was still underwater.

Said tail flicked its flipper and showered me with water.  “Yes,” he said with a smile.

I reached out but froze, hesitant to touch him.  ‘Blue’ didn’t do him justice- his tail was beautiful, shifting from aquamarine to a rich cerulean with each movement.  The scales transformed into smooth skin just at his hips, leaving his Adonis belt well on display.  I swallowed, looking up into his eyes, which seemed to take on the color of the water around us.

“You can tell the ones who care,” he said.  “You can tell the ones who have the ocean in their blood, the ones who hate to leave the water- any water- the ones who splash and twist like they were born to it.  The ones who believe.”

I nodded slowly, transfixed by his voice, soft and deep.

“I could tell when I talked to you yesterday.  You’re one of those.  You have the sea in your veins, some ancestor… Nereid, selkie, mamogashwa, there are so many of us around the world- or there were…”  He shook his head, pushing himself up straight.  “I knew it when I saw you.  The seashells were just an extra clue,” he chuckled.  “I was right, the pink looks lovely on you.”

I rubbed my hands over my face.  I couldn’t even talk.  This couldn’t be real. I wanted to laugh, a wild unhinged laugh.  I wanted to slap his stupid angelic face for making fun of me.

But I knew he wasn’t.  He was being honest with me.  This was no costume or special effect.  I stroked my fingertips over the scales- small, tightly overlapping, iridescent perfection.  This was real.

This was real.

“So…?” I prompted him, meeting his eyes again.  He was looking at me with a calm but focused intensity.

He held out a necklace, the chain tangled in his long fingers.  No, it wasn’t a chain; it was a string of impossibly tiny shells, I realized.  Hanging from it was the most amazing shell I had ever seen, dark purple at the edges, teal and cream mixing in swirls along the sides.

“This is ancient magic.  It will speak to the sea in you, help you breathe and see.”

He slid the necklace over my head, adjusting it so that the pendant hung perfectly centered above my bikini top.  He smiled at me, and it was such a warm, joyous smile that I had to return it,even with the butterflies thrashing in my stomach.

He held out his hand.  “Will you take a swim with me, sprite?”

The missing wall finally convinces the mayor to upgrade her lighthouse.

“It was lightning.” She tells the contractors when they ask (they buy it because she’s a terrific liar (not really, but Tom’s very convincing)).

She and Tom move into the tiny bed and breakfast on the far side of town to avoid the construction. They share a room so she can wake him up when he has nightmares. It’s disturbing, the things he says when he’s dreaming, partially because she doesn’t understand his merman language, mostly because he sounds horrified and angry and the words crawl into her ears and gnaw on her brain. She’ll shake him awake then, when he starts rambling, tossing and turning, scales flashing blue, pink, blue. Stop. ‘Wake up,’ she’ll tell him and he does.

And she lets him crush her in his arms so he’ll have something to hold on to.

..

“Argh!”

He thrashes around violently and knocks her off the bed. Still half asleep, nails changed into steely blue claws, tearing through pillows like shark’s teeth through brittle bones.

“Thomas!” She shouts and he stops long enough for her to get her arms around him. “Shh,” she mumbles soothing nonsense and smoothes his hair back with trembling fingers. And she decides then, that they couldn’t stay here.

..

“Pack your things sugar. We’re going on a road trip.”

..

She bumps into a stranger on her way out of the mayor’s office after tying up some loose ends (what do you mean you’re going on vacation?)

“Careful there Miss.” He smells like smoke and rum and wow that giant feathered hat is totally not flamboyant at all.

“You’re the guy who blew up my house aren’t you?”

“Captain James.” He announces, like he didn’t try to murder her and her almost significant other last week. He smiles at her, all teeth and something sickly sweet.

“Yeah, we can’t be friends.”

He steps closer, hovers his face above hers, “perhaps I can change your mind yet.” He says lowly, not quite a threat.

He’s on the ground in less than five seconds, sporting a lovely bruise on his jaw.

“What the hell do you have in there a metal plate?” She shakes out her throbbing hand. There’s a brief moment of awkward staring before she runs for her car.

..

“There you are. I was getting worried.”

“We need to go now.”

They barely make it past the town welcome sign before a freaking sniper pirate shoots out her fucking tires.

The pirates surround them in a semi circle of bad teeth and pitiful hygiene. The captain leans on her window like a cat, grips her face in one large hand.

“You’re not going anywhere sweetheart.”

..

And suddenly everything stops because they’re underwater. She shuts her eyes against the stinging salt and fumbles for her seatbelt. The sound of ripping metal is warped by the water in her ears, and next thing she knows the car roof is cut clean in half and she feels herself being dragged up, up, up.

..

She clings to her fair haired blue scaled merman, gasping for air when they reach the surface.

“Are you alright?”

“Barely,” she coughs. “Did you do that? With the giant tidal wave thing?”

“I’m sorry, I had to do something.”

She stares at him with a kind of awe and reverence he’s not used to. “Thank you for saving me.” She whispers, resting her forehead against his.

“Any time, Dimples.”

They’re close enough to kiss now, except he decides to move back because ‘personal space, Thomas!’

“Damn it, Thomas!” (Will he never learn?)

She grabs him by the back of his head and kisses him. It’s not as soft as she imagined, and a lot more slippery and there’s salt water everywhere and it’s perfect.

And oh my god she just said that last part out loud didn’t she? Tom’s laughing into her hair.

“Oh shut up, you owe me a new car.”