Chapter 14- Skyler
THE BIRDS, BEES, and butterflies buzz about on this unseasonably warm Sunday afternoon.
The scent of pollen fills my nose, and the last tree with leaves grants us shade above.
Reed and I lounge about on the red checkered picnic blanket, breathing in the November air.
My man has prepared us a picture-perfect lunch here at a local park.
That’s right, he’s my man. Today is date five, not that anyone is counting. We’ve been having so much fun, both in and out of bed. Having all types of sex with him is thrilling. Even if the dates don’t always end in me riding his cock, I’m genuinely enjoying dating Reed Sung.
And considering the handsome smile he shoots me after he tosses a grape into his mouth, he’s enjoying me, too. Clad in a brown blazer and black turtleneck sweater, the man looks like an international supermodel. I can’t believe this wealthy stud wants to date me.
Lifting up my DSLR camera from my neck, I zoom in on a bush a few yards away.
One orange butterfly lands on a leaf, so I take advantage of the moment and capture a few shots.
I wonder if it’s a bug-shifter person. As a human, I can never tell; I heard maritime monsters can’t recognize other shifters either unless they’re ocean-based creatures.
Speaking of maritime monsters, I turn my lens toward Reed. He chuckles and says, “What?”
“I can’t take a picture of you?” I ask in what I hope is a flirty tone.
“You can. But aren’t there better subjects you wanna snapshot?”
“Not likely,” I murmur with a smile.
He laughs and leans back. “You can if you want.”
“Only if you don’t mind.” Putting down the camera, my smile wavers. “I won’t share them.”
“I know.” He leans on one elbow. “I’m just not a model type.”
Lasciviously gazing up and down at him, I reply, “Hard disagree.”
He titters and stares off in the distance, and I take one quick picture of him. When I track what he’s looking at, I notice a gaggle of kids at a distant playground.
My smile drops; now is as good a time as any to address the elephant in the room. “How’s Aisen?” I ask.
A flash of sadness passes over Reed’s face for a moment before he looks at me with a neutral gaze. “He’s good. Texted me a few times. There’s a lot of adjustment.”
“I can imagine. Living on a boat, joining the circus as a teen. Puberty is already rough.”
“Exactly. I only hope his parents treat him right.”
After putting down my camera, I munch on a chicken salad finger sandwich. “You don’t have to tell me, but…”
Reed sips on a water bottle, then says, “You want to know about Aisen’s parents.”
I nod, and he wipes his mouth with his wrist. “Not much to say. My brother and I grew distant after childhood. We were cold to each other, just like everyone in the Sung family. And that was before I became a kraken and he became a merman.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. Eventually, he found a wife to dominate his life.” He laughs bitterly. “I sank my gay self into work. My folks moved back to Korea. Ryan and Shannon joined a monster circus. Life went on.”
“And Aisen moved in with you?”
“One day, Shannon dropped him off without much fanfare. I was the uncle who spoiled him, then the next day, I was his legal guardian.”
His facetious tone makes me frown. “Was the kid already a kraken shifter?”
“Yup.”
A nagging question leaves my lips before I can stop it. “You think that’s why they just let you have him? Because you’re the same monsters?”
Reed stares off at the park and eats a grape. “Don’t tell anyone this, but that’s one-hundred-percent the reason. They wanted a mermaid kid to join their circus, but didn’t know what to do with a kraken.”
“But now that he’s an octopus shifter…” I say, reading his mind.
“Yup. Octopi are apparently super revered in the circus world. Now he’s worthy to join their lifestyle,” he replies in a bitter tone.
He frowns, and I want to take away his pain. I crawl over to him on the picnic blanket and pull him in. My mouth is on his, and I kiss him slowly, knowing it won’t ramp up to sex out here in the open.
“You are every kind of worthy,” I murmur against his mouth.
He smiles and pulls me in for another kiss. That’s how we spend the rest of our date number five—kissing and taking photos of random animals fluttering about the park. Like all days with Reed, it’s a series of precious moments I catalogue in my heart.
The day before Thanksgiving is not particularly crowded at MM Institute.
There are no school field trips, so there’s less foot traffic.
I’m assigned the thrilling task of decorating the main entrance with Christmas décor.
The ladder is sturdy, so it’s an easy assignment.
In fact, it’s so boring and monotonous, I find my mind wandering as I tape up ornaments and silver tinsel to a far wall.
What should I get Reed for Christmas? The man has more money than he knows what to do with. My past exes only wanted sex as a present, but I want to give more than just my body. Besides, he gets my ass for free.
But I haven’t gotten all of him. He still won’t show me his kraken form. We’ve barely talked about it other than that one-time, mid-orgasm. I don’t know how to broach the topic. Hey man, you know what would be super cool? If you fucked me with your tentacles!
The very thought has my heart beating faster. Reed looked so strong, manhandling Andrew by the beach. Imagine if he did that to me, I’d be at that sea monster’s mercy.
Getting a boner while on a ladder at work would be inconvenient. Shaking my head, I try to focus on the tinsel in my hands, and not the fantasy of caressing Reed’s tentacles.
“Tinsel and tentacles,” I murmur to myself with a grin.
“Who are you talking to, Skyler?” The deep voice startles me so much I spin and nearly drop the box of decorations.
In reaching forward, I lose my balance and sway off the ladder. “Whoa!” Fear spikes for a second before I’m successfully caught by a giant shark.
“Skyler Dillinger. Are you alright?”
Razorjaw holds me with ease as I catch my breath. “Mr. Shaughnessy! You scared me.”
“I did not mean to.” He puts me down, and I dust off my shirt.
“It’s fine.”
“Sky!” Karlo approaches. “I saw you fall. Are you okay?”
I laugh. “I’m good, thanks to your man here.” I tap Razorjaw’s shoulder and the monster smiles at me.
Karlo frowns. “Babe, you shouldn’t sneak up on people on ladders.”
“I apologize.” Razorjaw shifts into his human form. “I did not mean to startle you, Skyler.”
“It’s okay, babe.” Karlo takes Razorjaw’s hand and squeezes it. “You saved him. No harm done.”
My heart warms seeing my two friends be so couple-y. The usual jealousy in my soul is gone, though. Instead, I see visions of…
“Reed Sung,” RJ says, and I turn around. Sure enough, my boyfriend―squeal!―is walking through the front doors. He looks sexy as ever in his dark suit with an orange tie. He shoots me a knowing grin, and I’ll never get over seeing him walk through the doors of my job.
“Hey, you!” I say, straightening my back.
“Is it Christmas already?” Reed asks with a coy grin.
“No. I was informed Christmas is on December twenty-fifth, not today,” Razorjaw says.
We all chuckle and Reed turns to them. “Hi, Razorjaw. Karlo.”
“Hey, Reed,” Karlo says as my friends shake hands with him. “You here to see some sea turtles?”
“No. I was actually hoping to have lunch with my boyfriend.” Hearing him say the B-word sends a wave of contentment through my body. “Would you two like to join?” he asks.
“Sure,” Karlo says.
The four of us walk towards the café. “This is such a pleasant surprise,” I say, bumping my hip into his.
“I have to eat lunch, figured you do too.”
“But it’s sweet of you to come all the way here.”
“Were you at work?” Karlo asks.
“Yes, but I have some time for a break.”
“The hospital is all the way across town,” I remark as we stand in line for food.
He shrugs like it’s no big deal. “Driving isn’t a burden. I wanted to see you.”
Swoon! “Aw,” Karlo says. “You’re a charmer, Mr. Sung.”
“I thought he was a kraken,” RJ says.
We laugh and chat before we order food and find a table. It feels utterly domestic to be on this impromptu double date. As we eat, Reed seems genuinely interested in Karlo’s most recent projects. The man fits in so well with my friends. I can see myself growing really serious with him.
But that would require him to meet my family and visit my apartment. They’re so overbearing, and my place is so shabby, I don’t wanna scare the dude away. I wonder if I can marry him without either of those happening…?
“Any plans for Thanksgiving?” Reed asks Karlo, pulling me out of my daydreams.
“RJ and I are traveling upstate to visit my parents.”
“Yes, I am looking forward to celebrating giving thanks with your family.” RJ squeezes Karlo’s hand. “Even though wearing a sweater vest is quite uncomfortable, I will do it for you.”
We laugh, and Karlo affectionately bumps his shoulder into RJ’s. Meanwhile, Reed turns to me. “What about you?”
I shrug. How do I tell him I’ve been dodging my parents’ calls without sounding like an asshole? I love them, but they’re too much to take on a holiday. “Um, no plans.”
“Really?” Reed smiles and brushes his knuckles against mine. “I’m doing nothing, too. Maybe we should do nothing together.”
Arousal courses through my veins at his words. “I’d like that.”
“I thought you said your family is coming to visit?” Karlo asks.
I give my bestie a pointed look that should get him to drop the subject. “No,” I say through gritted teeth. “I said they texted, asking to visit. But I told them I’m busy…sort of.”
“What do you mean sort of?” Reed asks.
Don’t tell him you’ve been dodging your overbearing parents’ calls.
“They know I’m really occupied with…this job and stuff.”
“Ah, okay.” Reed takes a bite of his sandwich, then says, “You want to celebrate at your place? I’m off.”
He really wants to see where I live, huh? “Oh, no, you don’t want to come to my place,” I say.
Reed opens his mouth, but his words are cut off by Karlo leaning in. “Um, Sky?”
“Yeah?”
“You said your parents know you’re too busy for Thanksgiving tomorrow, right?”
“Mhm,” I say, sipping my Ghosta Cola.
“Well, is that not them right there?”
I turn around and immediately spit out my drink onto the floor.
My folks. Are here. At MM Institute.
“There’s our Skyler!” Mom rushes up to us with Dad and Gramps in tow.
I quickly wipe my mouth and stand up.
“Mom?! Dad?! What are you…?”
“And your Gramps,” he says with a wave. He holds up his phone. “And your sister is here on video chat!”
“Hi,” my sister Eartha says in the tiny screen on Gramps’s phone.
Mom and Dad rush to hug me, their wider bodies encompassing my tiny frame in a classic Dillinger bear hug. “My boy!” Mom says.
“We found you!” Dad says with a smile.
“What…what are you doing here?”
“We wanted to see you and your big maritime lifestyle! Is that your Filipino friend over there?” Mom asks.
She waves to the group a few feet behind me, and Karlo waves back. Reed, meanwhile, studies us with mild curiosity.
“But…but…”
“We wanted to surprise our big gay son!” Dad says. “Now, where’s that gay boyfriend of yours?”
“Dad,” I mutter with a whine. I thought my parents would stop embarrassing me as I got older, but each year, I’m mistaken.
“We’re all about pride!” Gramps says, still holding up the phone. “So, where is that beau of yours?”
“I think that’s him at the table,” Eartha chirps.
“Hi, Eartha,” I say with barely restrained irritation. “Why aren’t you here?”
“I’m with my husband,” she remarks. “Where’s your man?”
“Is that him over there?” Mom asks loudly.
“Mom,” I whine.
“Uh, hello,” Reed says, standing up. “I am…Reed.”
“Wow!” Dad says, looking up at him. “You’re the boyfriend, huh?”
“Yes, sir.” Reed, meanwhile, gazes at everyone with mild discomfort. I get it; they’re a lot to take in. I look like neither of my folks―they’re huskier than Eartha and me―but Gramps resembles me with gray hair.
“What…what brings you here?” I ask.
“We brought Thanksgiving to you!” Mom says. She rushes to Reed’s side and gives him a half-hug. “Hi, I’m Mama Dillinger! Are you having Thanksgiving with us?”
“What, where? We’re not going to Arizona!” I yelp. I glance at Karlo and RJ sitting at the table, and they stare at the scene in shock.
“Obviously. We’re having the holiday at your place! We’ll cook all the Dillinger favorites!” Dad says. He gives Reed a hard slap on the back. “Do you like marble cake, young man?”
“You’re all being too much. You haven’t even asked the gay boyfriend if he wants to come!” Gramps exclaims.
I freeze up, but my folks simply laugh.
“Of course.” Mom holds my boyfriend close, and I wish the ground would swallow me whole. “If you don’t have plans, honey, would you like to join us?”
Reed glances at me, and mentally I urge him to say no. I don’t need my folks’ huge personalities scaring him away when we haven’t been dating for more than a month. Time slows down as he gazes at Gramps, then Mom and Dad.
Reed gives a polite smile while Mom and Dad sandwich him. “No plans. I’d love to celebrate Thanksgiving with you all.”