Chapter 9- Skyler
DAGAT, THE WATERSIDE bar and club, is bustling tonight.
That checks out since it’s Halloween, the number one party day of the year.
Allegedly, it was already a popular event before the Halloween Wave morphed a chunk of the populace into monsters.
Harpies and ogres intermingle with humans on the dance floor as the bass pumps out pop music.
I snicker at the shifters dressed as other monsters as their Halloween costumes.
But there’s only one monster I’m interested in. My heart lifts when I see the handsome Korean man walk through the doors carrying a small gift bag. He looks utterly nervous, but mighty fine in his light blue button-down and black slacks. The dancing crowd seems to part as he approaches our table.
“Reed!” I wave, not caring about how eager I’m acting for a guy who doesn’t want to date me.
His growing smile as he gets closer is so worth it. “Skyler. I almost didn’t recognize you.” He points to his face, and I adjust the mask on my cheeks.
“Ah, yeah. Incognito mode.” We share a chuckle, and I readjust the dark cape on my shoulders. “Generic superhero costume alert.”
“You wear it well.” Maybe it’s the delusion talking, but I swear he looks me up and down. Maybe he likes the black tank top and matching leather pants combo I’m rocking.
“And you? What about you? What are you supposed to be? And don’t say hospital administrator!” I point at his plain clothes, and we both laugh.
“I didn’t know we needed costumes!”
“This is a Halloween party!”
“I’ve never been to an adult Halloween birthday thing!”
“You could always just shift.”
His smile falls, and I kick myself for making him uncomfortable. Still, I want so badly for Reed to show me his monster form. And maybe the rest of his naked body…
The awkwardness is halted when the rest of my friends return to the table with the drinks. “Reed Sung!” Razorjaw says. He’s flanked by a smiling Karlo. Ardsley and Tyson are behind them, with all four dressed as different playing cards.
“Mr. Shaughnessy,” Reed says. “I heard it was someone’s birthday.”
“Me! It is my birthday!” Razorjaw grins and puts out his arms. He looks adorable with black spades all over his shirt.
Reed chuckles and hands him the little gift bag. “I got you something.”
RJ promptly digs into the bag and pulls out the present. “A bottle!” he proclaims.
“It’s filled with sparkling wine, babe,” Karlo says.
“Ah,” RJ replies. “Thank you, regardless.”
“Now we’ve got plenty of drinks,” Ardsley says. His shirt is cluttered with red diamonds, a perfect contrast to Tyson wearing white clovers over a black tank top. “Hi, Reed.”
“Hi, Ardsley.” Reed turns to Tyson. “Nice to meet you. I’m Reed.”
“You’re Reed?” Tyson asks in disbelief. He turns to Ardsley. “Babe, you weren’t kidding. Skyler has good taste.”
My face burns up, and Ardsley slaps his boyfriend’s massive bicep. “Stop,” Ardsley murmurs with a grin. Meanwhile, I’m praying the music is loud enough that Reed doesn’t notice.
I turn to see more happy patrons dancing on the linoleum floor, and an idea strikes me. “Let’s dance, Sung.”
“Oh, no, I don’t―”
Ignoring him, I take his hand and drag the man forward. We’re in the middle of throngs of happy, drunk people, and I start doing what I do best. I shimmy and shake without abandon while the pop music ramps up in speed.
“I’m not much of a dancer!” he says. Noticeably, he’s still smiling and moving his shoulders.
“Just get loose with it!” I shout over the thumping percussion. “It’s a party!”
“I’m not even wearing a costume!”
I laugh and undo my cape while shaking my hips to the beat. In moments, I have Reed draped in the dark fabric. “There!”
“What am I supposed to be?” He moves to the beat, loosening up as I pull him around by the cape.
“Like a sexy, cape man!” I dance and try not to freak out that I let it slip about how attractive I find him. That one margarita I had must be hitting me hard. To his credit, Reed just laughs.
And we continue dancing. We’re swaying bodies to the beat, having a good time. I spin, and he laughs, and all is right in the world. It’s just him, me, and the music.
But all perfect moments must come to an end. A hand touches my shoulder, and I turn around. My smile falls when I recognize the guy in a white tank top and jeans.
“Hey, sex kitten,” he purrs.
“Andrew?!” My annoying ex-boyfriend stands before me.
“Your ass looks great in those leather pants.” He makes a grab for my butt, but I manage to dodge him.
“What are you doing here?” When I look past the crowd, my friends are engrossed in each other. Turning around, Reed stares at me in confusion.
“I’m at a Halloween party, dancing with the hottest guy I’ve ever seen.” He touches my shoulder, and I flinch away. Where was this affection all the times I wanted commitment? He wanted to fuck around, I cut him loose, and now he’s suddenly enchanted by me?
“Is something wrong?” Reed asks over the music.
“No!” I smile at him, then turn to Andrew. “Can we take this outside?”
“Hell yeah.”
I guide the one person I never wanted to see again down the sidewalk, leading to the beach. The crashing waves are the only soundtrack around us while the stars shine down. “Do you wanna get naked on the beach?” Andrew asks in that smug tone.
“No!” I spin around at him, not caring that sand is getting in my shoes. “You said you didn’t want me, Andrew.”
“I didn’t want to be boyfriends.” He smirks and flexes his admittedly nice muscles at me. “But now that we’re here…”
“There is no we. You wanted other men; you can have them. Not me.”
“Come on, Skyler baby. You’re being ridiculous.”
He reeks of cheap booze. “Andrew, I don’t want to be with you.”
“But remember all the good sex we had?”
I frown. “We want different things. I’m respecting that, so stop trying to touch me.”
“How can I stop when your ass in those trousers is asking for it?”
“What?!”
“I’m here at the party, you’re here, it’s fate.” He crowds my space, and I step back. “Let’s let fate happen and do what we do best.”
He tries to hold me again, and I shuck him off. “No!”
“Don’t you wanna fuck here on the beach?”
“Hell no. I just didn’t want my friends to see you. I wanted to privately tell you that I’m not interested in getting with you again.”
“We don’t have to get anything.” He grabs my waist, binding me up. “Except to get it on.”
He crashes his mouth into mine, and I try in vain to push away. I move my mouth around him and mutter. “No…get the fuck off…”
“Come on, baby.” He pushes his lips on mine, and I struggle to get free. “You know you want this dick.”
“You’re the dick!” His huge arms hold me in place, and panic sets in. “Get off and get out of my life!”
“That’s not what you really want.”
“Stop!” I continue to try to shove him off. I’m going to be a victim, aren’t I? My eyes sting, and I continue to try to kick or push him off, to no avail.
“Just let this happen!”
“No!”
“You know you want―”
His words are cut off, and he’s gone from my body. I gasp and fall to the sand, trying to regain my bearings. When I look up in the darkness, it takes a moment to understand what’s happening.
Andrew is struggling in the air. He’s being held up by…purple tentacles?
“What…what the fuck?” Andrew yelps.
A kraken shifter has his hands tied up. In moments, his feet and mouth get bound up as well. The purple creature drags him along the sand towards the water. In my fear and confusion, I find myself following them.
The monster dangles Andrew above the waves. “Leave…Skyler…alone,” he growls. That voice…
“Reed?” I ask.
“Do you UNDERSTAND me?!” The kraken howls at Andrew as he’s bound above the water. My ex seems to be crying, and I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t satisfying. The dude just tried to assault me two seconds ago.
“Mmph,” Andrew says with a mouth wrapped in tentacle.
“Skyler is under the protection of the beings of the ocean. If you ever touch him or talk to him again, I will find you and bring you to your watery grave. Do I make myself clear?” I’m frozen in shock, and in the night sky, Andrew’s eyes well up.
The kraken lets him slip an inch down. “I said, DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR?”
Andrew nods. In a blur, he’s flung to another part of the beach, landing on his torso. In moments, he runs off, like the insecure punk I’ve known him to be. To my left, my four friends appear.
“Skyler, what happened?” Karlo asks, dashing up to me. They all look distressed, but not as confused as me.
I turn back to my kraken savior, to see him gone. His head disappears into the water, and in the dark, I’m the only one to witness him. I approach my friends and shake my head. “Um…”
“Are you okay?” Ardsley asks.
Karlo touches my bare shoulder, and I nod. “I’m fine, I just...”
“A man ran off,” RJ says, pointing to his left.
“That was my ex. I told him to leave, and…he did.” My friends don’t need to know what just occurred. Hell, I don’t even know.
“Good riddance,” Ardsley mutters.
“Glad you’re okay. Let’s go back inside,” Tyson says.
I turn back to the dark ocean. “Um, give me a minute.”
“Reed disappeared,” Karlo says.
“He, uh, went to his car,” I reply. “So I’m gonna make sure he’s okay.”
Karlo and Ardsley share concerned looks, and I try to send them best friend telepathy to let them know I’m okay.
“You text us when you get home,” Karlo says with conviction. In moments, my buddies leave. At last, it’s just me, the ocean, and the night sky.
I walk down to a small dock with a lamplight shining above. I step on the wood and walk closer to the water “Reed!” I call. “Reed, are you here?”
Bubbles appear from the water, and a head breaches the surface. In the singular light, I can clearly see a purple version of Reed. His face is filled with discomfort and contrition.
I lean toward the water. “Reed?” I ask, breathlessly.
“Sorry,” he murmurs.
“Why are you sorry?” I sit down. “You saved me. I almost became a victim.”
Reed growls and crawls onto the dock. He sits down, and his tentacles flop into the water. I shouldn’t be surprised, considering all the research we’ve done with his nephew. But still, he never confirmed what his maritime monster form was.
And now I’m sitting here with a kraken. My crush has tentacles. That’s equal parts shocking and sexy.
“If he goes near you again, I’m taking his fingers.”
I snicker. “You’re my hero.”
He grimaces. “I’m…not. And I’m sorry again.”
“You are. And why are you apologizing?”
“Because…look at me.”
“Are you seriously apologizing for being a monster?” I laugh. “Something you can’t change? Something I find very…”
I let my voice trail off, and we glance at each other for a moment before staring at the ocean again. “I work with monsters day in and day out,” I murmur.
“Well, I’m sorry for not revealing myself to you sooner.”
“You showed me who you were when you were ready. It’s okay, Reed.”
“Truth is, I wasn’t ready. But seeing that guy touch you…”
“Hey, you rescued me.” I give his hand a squeeze; he’s just mildly slimy.
Reed seems shocked by the hand contact. If only this dude knew how attractive I still find him.
His smooth, purple skin has patterns of bumps, like those of cephalopods, but he retains his lean, humanoid musculature.
And of course, his long appendages are tantalizing. Like several tongues I want to kiss…
“So, thanks,” I add.
“Yes, well…friends protect each other.”
“My very own maritime angel.” We both laugh softly, and I let go. Friends. Of course he still doesn’t want to cross that line. “I won’t tell anyone about your monster form if you don’t want.”
“Thanks, Skyler,” he says, his voice nearly a whisper. He clears his throat. “This wasn’t how you wanted your Halloween to pan out, was it?”
I lick my lips and stare at the water below us. “Maybe not. But whatever life throws at you, you have no choice but to roll with it, right?”
“Right,” he replies.
And that’s how I spend the next several minutes. I sit by the ocean, chatting with the kraken who’s slowly taking more and more pieces of my heart. All I can hope for is that one day he sees me as more than a friend.