18. Charlie
Charlie
Never did I ever imagine I’d be playing mermaids in a billionaire’s penthouse pool, with said billionaire, but here I am.
I guess it’s more like I’m playing mermaid, and Niko is being supportive.
He sits on the pool’s edge, shirtless, in swim trunks, forearms resting on his knees.
I know he’s watching every kick of my legs, every slosh and sprawl, but he isn’t giving feedback unless I ask.
He’s just quietly sitting there, watching with a smile like my existence is a little show just for him.
I do a dramatic underwater somersault, breaking the surface in a spray of water and pool chemicals, hair in my eyes. “How many points?” I wheeze.
“Ten out of ten, baby boy.”
I roll onto my back and float, arms spread, letting the sky burn into my retinas. The air out here is chilly on wet skin, but the water is perfect, heated to that not-quite-body-temperature sweet spot.
I was hesitant when he suggested swimming, but I’m so glad I got in the water. To be honest, I ache all over from last night. I realized after a few minutes in the pool that Niko had suggested it on purpose, as a way for me to stretch all the muscles he overworked.
When my arms start to ache more than my ass, I decide it’s time for a break, paddling to the side and hauling myself onto the steps, breathing hard.
There’s a fresh towel next to Niko, thick and hotel-white, but he doesn’t pass it to me.
He waits, hands open, so I decide to humor him and stand there, dripping all over his patio stone, until he pulls me into a towel wrap and then into his lap, both at once.
“You’re so warm, jeez,” I murmur. My lips brush the side of his neck accidentally.
He smells so good. I snuggle into his chest, letting the towel and his arms do the drying.
My hair is a wet mess against his collarbone.
He pets it anyway, running fingers through the worst knots with patient little tugs.
Nikolaus’s voice is low and close to my ear. “As much as I want to keep you as my mermaid forever, I think it’s almost lunchtime. We can eat out here if you want.”
I nod. “Out here. But not too close to the edge, please.”
“Course not, baby. I’d get my Daddy card revoked.” He stands as I giggle at him, then lifts me with him and sets us on a deck lounger on the inner part of the terrace.
He fetches water from inside while I drip-dry under the glassy blue sky. It’s almost noon; the city below is loud and busy, but up here, it’s just us.
Nikolaus returns with a glass and a bottle, and even pours it for me. “Lunch will be served shortly. Elise made hamburgers.” He sits next to me, towel around his hips, arms folded.
“That sounds yummy.”
I’m not expecting Nikolaus to have a quiet moment, but he waits until I’ve had three big gulps of water before he says, “Your birthday is in four days.”
I go still. “Oh.”
The number lands in my stomach like a penny in a dry well. The date had been looming over me like a dark cloud just a week ago, but with everything going on, I hadn’t needed to think about it.
He leans his head toward me, dark hair catching the sunlight. “I want to do something for you. Anything. What would make you happiest?”
It’s such a normal question that I almost laugh. I have zero clue how to answer it. It’s been a while since my life could afford the luxury of party-planning.
“I mean, I’m already here,” I say. “That’s kind of…plenty.”
Nikolaus grins, but it’s a soft smile, like he’s inspecting me for cracks.
“While it makes me happy to hear you say that, I need some actual ideas. You could ask for anything. A trip, a present, something silly or serious. Dream a little. We could spend the week in Monaco, or go to a theme park. I can rent one of those party ponies to hang out up here with us, or buy you a horse farm outside the city. Whatever you want.”
“I don’t know. I’m not even sure where Monaco is.”
My brain jumps back to classroom birthdays in elementary school, a few out-of-state phone calls with my parents in recent years, and the sad pizza party at the club last year, where I showed up, got a cupcake, and left before the playroom closed.
The rest of me wants to crawl out of my own skin. “I wasn’t really expecting to make it to this birthday, honestly.” It comes out like a joke, but with an edge that surprises even me. I watch condensation crawl down the cold water glass in my hand, and suddenly, the city haze is all I can see.
Nikolaus does not look away. “Sweetheart… Talk to me.”
I shrug, picking at the soft loops of towel between my knees. “Last year, when I got that new round of tests, I was sure they’d find something terminal.” I laugh, miserable. “Guess my present is that I just get to keep feeling like this for another year.”
He touches my arm, just above the towel, with enough pressure to keep me from floating off into the stratosphere. “That isn’t how I see it at all.” His words settle themselves in my chest, hot and heavy. “And maybe we don’t have to do a big thing right now. Maybe we just… do what you want.”
I want to say something about not being a burden, but I know what he’ll say—that I’m not, that he wants this, that taking care of me makes him feel good. I don’t have the energy to argue.
“What if I just want to be with you?” I ask, honest and a little scared. “Not with horses or world travel or whatever.”
“Then that’s what happens. We can do everything you want that day. Start thinking about it, okay?”
I nod, and he squeezes my knee through the towel, and we just sit there for a minute while I try to think about what a good birthday would even look like. The sliding door opens behind us, and I hear the soft click of Elise’s shoes on the patio stone.
“Lunch is served, Mr. Makris. And Charlie.”
I turn, and there she is, holding a tray with two plates on it, each one with a burger that’s bigger than my face.
There’s a little ramekin of fries on each side, and a small salad I know I won’t eat, and two glasses of something iced and pink.
She sets the tray on the low table beside our lounger and gives a small nod to Nikolaus, who doesn’t say anything, just tilts his head in acknowledgment.
“Thank you,” I say, earning a smile from her. “It looks delicious.”
“I hope it is! I’ll be in the kitchen if you’d like anything else.” Beaming, she turns and disappears back inside, sliding the door shut behind her.
“Wow,” I breathe, turning my attention back to the meal in front of me. The burger is stacked with bacon, cheese, tomato, and lettuce, and the bun is soft and glazed with butter. My stomach growls so loudly that Niko laughs.
“Go ahead, baby.”
I pick up the burger with both hands, feeling the warmth seep into my palms. The first bite is almost embarrassingly good—juicy, savory, with a hint of sweetness from the sauce. I close my eyes for a second, chewing slowly, letting myself just enjoy it.
“Good?” Niko asks, already knowing the answer.
“Amazing,” I mumble around my mouthful. I take another bite, then another, barely coming up for air.
Niko watches me with that expression again—the one that makes me feel like I’m the most fascinating thing he’s ever seen. He hasn’t touched his food yet, just sits there with his legs stretched out, one arm behind my back.
“You should eat too,” I say, gesturing to his plate with my burger.
“In a minute.”
I’m halfway through demolishing the burger when Niko’s phone starts to vibrate on the side table. He glances at the screen, frowns, and wipes his hands on the towel before he picks up.
“Excuse me, baby,” he says, his voice soft but a little exasperated.
“Yes, Constantine.” He stands, turning his back so he can pace without dripping pool water on the phone.
I watch him as he murmurs into the receiver.
His Greek gets thicker when he’s annoyed; I can’t understand a word, but the tone is clear as glass.
I use the distraction to eat more, licking sauce from my fingers and soaking in the sun. I don’t mean to eavesdrop, but there’s not much else to do. He’s talking about numbers, meetings, something with a deadline. I hear my own name once, like a pebble in a stream—just for a moment, then gone.
After a few minutes, Niko ends the call. He stands for a second, staring out over the glass edge of the balcony, before sitting down again next to me. He sighs, then kisses my temple, the way you’d kiss a sleeping pet. I set my burger down.
“Work stuff?” I ask, even though it’s obvious.
He nods. “Constantine needs me on a call in twenty. I’ll have to go inside for a bit.”
“That’s okay.” I stretch out on the lounger, feeling lazy and full, and watch as he drains his glass of pink lemonade in a few long gulps. “You should try to eat before, though.”
He snorts, but with fondness, and picks up his own burger, demolishing it with a few efficient bites.
Watching him, I’m reminded that even when he’s soft with me—stroking my hair, peeling clementines, reading me stories—he still has these sharp, wolfish edges.
He’s powerful. He’s used to winning and getting what he wants.
Sometimes I look at his arms and shoulders, and I remember, violently, that I am only here because he decided to come and take me.
It’s not a scary realization, not today. Just a fact—like the pool water, like the patio stone, like the way the sun will burn my skin if I’m not careful.
Being Charlie is sometimes a little like passenger-ing in my own body. It’s not so bad if the ride is nice.
I alternate fries and sips of my drink, and when I can’t eat another bite, I flop back on the lounger and sigh.
My eyelids feel heavy and decadent. With the pool water still drying on my skin, with food warm in my belly, time ceases to exist until Niko has to go inside to work like a normal adult, not one who could play mermaids all day if he had the choice.