THIRTEEN
Luke
Mia’s small hand in mine chases away some of the unsettling tug of my insecurities. Beneath our feet, the boards of the wooden jetty creek softly. Somewhere in the darkness a seabird calls.
She stops by the bench where I first spoke to her and looks around at me. “Do you remember the first thing you ever said to me?”
“I’m pretty sure it was something stupid,” I mumble. “I was too busy being in awe of your talent.” I scuff my foot against the wooden boards of the jetty, feeling pretty silly. I wish it had been something romantic or clever .
But Mia squeezes my hand. “I don’t think anyone has ever made me feel the way you do.”
Surprised, I look up. “Huh?”
“The way you see me. I don’t think anyone has ever looked at me the way you do. Like I’m special.”
“You are!”
“ See . You make me believe it too. You make me believe in myself. I still remember how good it felt when you complimented my art and invited me to the beach. I’m glad we met and I’m glad you’re back in my life. I don’t want to rush into anything, but you should know how amazing I think you are.”
Yeah, I’m feeling a hell of a lot better now. I wrap my arm around her and tuck her against my side now that no one is looking. “Well you deserve it, gorgeous girl. You deserve all that and more.”
We’re quiet for a while, looking out over the inlet. The tide is high and the water laps at the edge of the boardwalk.
After a moment, Mia giggles. “You know I always thought kraken would have like sea monster names, not regular everyday names like Luke and I always thought you’d live under the sea.”
I laugh. “Yeah, well Luke’s not my full name. My parents gave us all kraken names, but we got so used to shortening them everywhere it kind of stuck.”
“Oh really? So what’s your full name?”
I shift uncomfortably. I’ve never admitted this to anyone. No one outside my family knows. “Lukvenar.”
“I like that,” Mia says softly .
“And as for living under the sea, there’s a secret you don’t know about the old Inlet Views. Not many people do.”
“What is it?”
“There’s a hatch and a ladder leading straight down into the water. At night, when all the guests were in bed, my family and I used to sneak down there for the night.”
Mia stares at me. “Really? What’s it like?”
“I could show you, if you wanted to see.”
“Right now?”
“Right now.”
Before I’m prepared for it, Mia steps forward and I think for a moment she’s going to jump off the boardwalk fully clothed. Then she looks back at me and lifts her dress over her head and drops it at her feet.
I’m still staring at her in the thin pale blue underwear which is the only thing she now has on, when she steps up and hoists one leg over the handrail. Then I’m jolted to my senses. Quickly I strip off, praying she doesn’t mind that I’m not leaving my underwear on. I won’t fit them properly when I shift anyway so there’s no point.
There’s a splash and a shriek as Mia hits the water and I follow close behind. It’s cold. I gasp until I shift and my skin changes to the thicker, muscle rich flesh of my water form. My glow lights up the sea around us and Mia makes a soft noise and turns, treading water to look at me.
Self conscious, I wrap my arm around her and draw her close. My cock is already semi-erect just being this close to her, but I will it to behave. “Stay close. I can breathe for you, but not if you panic. ”
“OK.” She gives me a nod to show she understands and I wait until she draws in a deep breath, then I submerge us both beneath the surface. The water is dark save for where my glow illuminates the area around us. As we move, tiny fish flit into view as if to welcome us.
This section of the inlet is rocky. There’s an ancient bike, submerged before my brothers and I were born and slowly rusting away. Even that has been transformed into a thing of beauty by the sea. The rusted wheels have grown seaweed and sunk so far into the sand that they look like they belong here.
There’s a little cave in the rocks in a deeper section of water. Dad has grown weeds across the entrance. I pause here and bring Mia’s face to mine with a gentle hand under her chin. She’s still and calm as I lean in and close our lips together. As I breathe softly into her mouth she catches on. Soon she’s drawing air from me easily while I breathe through the gills that opened on my neck as soon as I shifted.
I release her reluctantly, knowing that if I let myself get carried away this will turn into more than sightseeing. My cock stirs against her leg and she giggles, releasing a flurry of bubbles.
To distract us both, I brush aside the weeds with one tentacle and lead her inside the cave. It’s cozy inside. In the first cavern there’s room for five or six people, but as you go deeper, the spaces grow smaller. At the back are the smaller rooms my dad carved out for me and my brothers. Roots of trees from above and holes in the rock make great places to grab onto with tentacles. I pause to give her more air, finding it harder to pull away this time.
When I release her, she drifts away from my arms and I force myself to let her explore .
Her small hands run over the crevices and curves of my childhood room. It warms my heart. She turns back to me with a smile of wonder I can’t help returning.
I love how she takes all this in her stride. The way she accepts my monstrous nature as if it’s every bit as much a part of her as it is me. I should never have doubted her. Mia’s not the sort of girl to let that be the thing that comes between us. I refuse to believe that.
When she returns to my arms for more air though, her skin is cold to the touch and she’s shivering. I’ve kept her in the water too long.
Quickly, I give her the air she needs and wrap my arms around her. A tiny sound escapes Mia as I dart from the cavern and back out into the inlet. My tentacles propel us at speed through the water and we break the surface moments later.
Mia draws in a long breath. “Wow. It’s s-s-so lovely down there.”
I frown. “You’re cold.”
“Only a little.” The way her teeth chatter as she says this gives her away. “I didn’t notice last time you shifted, but your tentacles glow so brightly in the dark.” She’s staring.
I want to tell her why, but I don’t want to freak her out. Instead I move us toward a ladder on the side of the boardwalk and help her out. “Come on. I have towels in my truck.”
I carry her over to the truck and dig out three towels, wrapping her in two until she stops shaking. Then I dry myself off enough to shift and throw on a pair of jeans I have in the back. I start the engine and turn the heater up to make sure she’s warm enough and drive her up the hill back to her house, mind running over the dinner and her reaction to the underwater cave and yeah more than a few times over every inch of what I saw of her gorgeous body and her hard nipples dark beneath the pale blue of her bra.
It’s going to be another long night, I can tell.