Chapter 2
Delmar
Exceptionally loud music and drunken singing woke me up. I’d slept the day away on a stern bench, comfortable with the gentle rocking of the sailboat against the pier and the sound of seals and seagulls in my ears.
Now it was fully dark, and my peaceful slumber had been interrupted by some obnoxious humans. One of my tentacles emerged from my back and helped me sit up while I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes.
All the noise was coming from the large yacht nearby.
“Zak!” I grumbled. When I found out he was hosting a party tonight, I should’ve sailed back out to sea instead of falling asleep. Well, that was easily fixed!
I got up, stretched, and then began the process of getting my boat ready to leave.
“No, baby, I fixed this drink just for you. Wait, where are you going?”
I recognized the loud voice as one of Zak’s friends. He was at every party and event, but I’d never bothered to find out his name. I wouldn’t know Zak if he wasn’t always trying to talk everyone he met into investing in one of his schemes.
“Hey, no, don’t do that,” he said, making me pop my head up to see what was going on.
As I watched, a woman jumped from the stern of the boat onto the dock.
The size of Zak’s yacht meant it wasn't a small jump, but she landed with ease and strode off without looking back.
This woman was athletic and determined. I already admired her, then she came around a pile of boxes, and I could fully see her.
Unlike so many of the human women I saw on the docks, she wasn’t frightfully thin. Her round body bounced delightfully with every step, drawing my eye to her generous chest and perfectly round hips. She was exactly the shape a woman should be.
All my tentacles emerged, desperate to grab hold and wrap her up tightly so she couldn’t get away.
“Back off,” I hissed, forcing them to retreat into my body before anyone saw.
I moved to the edge of my boat, going through opening lines that wouldn’t get me slapped when I saw the guy from the yacht stumbling down the gangplank to the dock.
“Hey!” I called out to her, waving frantically.
She was coming even with my boat and turned to look at me with an angry expression. What happened to piss her off that much?
Again, I had to fight my tentacles because now they wanted revenge on her behalf.
“Some guy is calling for you,” I said. “I saw him on the ramp, heading this way. Hide in here until he goes away.”
I expected her to refuse and was prepared to jump off my boat and walk her safely to her car. Instead she acted with the speed of an action star.
Without hesitation, she took a running step and landed on my boat right next to me. Then she dove into the cabin as the guy came jogging up the dock. It was amazing that someone that unsteady could stay on his feet.
“Baby? Honey? Wait up! Let me walk you out!” the guy yelled. It took a lot of willpower, but I didn’t look at where she was hiding.
“Oh, hey,” he said, noticing me watching him. He moved to the edge of the dock next to my boat. “I’m Hank. I’m one of the owners of the yacht over there. Did you see a girl?”
“Girl?” I asked. “You mean a child? You shouldn’t leave children unattended on the docks.”
“No man,” he said, thinking I was teasing him. “She’s full-grown. Like, you know, full grown!” He held his hands up to his chest in a parody of large breasts. “Have you seen her? She tossed the drink I gave her, so I made this one”
He held up a solo cup so full, some of it sloshed out the sides. He was close enough that some of the drink hit my chest.
I could smell the drugs he’d put in it! Fucking bastard!
It took all my self-control to remain still when all I wanted to do was beat the man to a bloody pulp. Times like this made me wish I was a vampire and was able to put this twit under thrall. Then I’d make him swallow down that entire drink and send him off to wander the streets of San Diego.
“I haven’t seen anyone,” I said between clenched teeth.
“You’d remember if you saw this chick,” the guy continued, oblivious to my scowl. “She acted all stuck up, but you know bitches like that. All I need to do is loosen them up, and then they’re all about sucking dick.”
That was it. I couldn’t take it anymore. I could only hope he was so inebriated he wouldn't understand what happened.
“Hey, is that her over there?” I asked, pointing behind him.
He drunkenly turned, almost tumbling into my boat. I let one of my tentacles loose. The appendage was excited to grow large, grab him around the waist, and toss him into the bay.
It all happened so fast that he didn’t get a chance to scream, and I heard a satisfying splash. If we were lucky, he’d get swept out to sea, never to be seen again.
Turning around, I stepped down into the cabin to find the stranger standing there, arms crossed over her chest, eyes blazing with anger.
“Chick? Stuck up? Loosen me up?” Each word sounded more like a threat than a question or comment. “I’m going to find him on social media and make sure everyone knows that his computer search history includes penis enlargement surgery and holistic cures for gonorrhea.”
I snorted. “I’d help, but I don’t know anything about that stuff.”
She focused her eyes on me. “Did I hear a splash?”
“He tumbled into the water,” I said. “He’s really drunk.”
“Good,” she said. “It’s the least he deserves. Every guy there was wasted. I was one of only three women, and they wouldn’t leave us alone. This is the last time I let Janice guilt me into going with her to a party.”
“It must’ve been bad for you to jump to the dock,” I said, leaning against the doorframe.
Her anger faded a little. “You saw that?”
I nodded. “It was impressive. That wasn’t a short distance. You landed like a superhero, then strode off like it wasn’t a big deal.”
She must’ve seen the honesty in my expression. Her frown transformed into a smile. “It really wasn’t that high.”
“What sports do you do?” I asked.
“You think I do sports?” she asked, looking genuinely surprised.
I was confused. “Why wouldn’t I?”
She pointed to her body. “I’m not thin, so people just assume I don’t do anything physical.”
Why did humans equate thinness with athleticism? Any sea creature could tell you, a little padding didn’t make an orca any less deadly!
“You move with strength and confidence,” I said. “You must do something.”
She gave me a pleased look. “I do a lot of different things. Right now I’m mostly into cycling, weightlifting, and rock climbing.
I like to try things, get obsessed for a while, then move on to something else.
I have a garage full of equipment from old hobbies.
And sometimes I have a hard time letting go of stuff because I might want to get back into it. ”
“Like what?” I asked, desperate to know more about this fascinating human.
“I did live action sword fighting for a while, so I have several swords and a custom-made set of plate armor,” she said with a chuckle. “It was so expensive that I plan to be buried in that outfit!”
If I wasn’t already enamored, I would’ve been by the time she finished talking.
“I don’t know what plate armor is, but it sounds heavy. That probably wouldn’t be compatible with living on a boat,” I said with a grin, hoping my grin was as irresistible as my mom said it was.
“You live here?” she asked, looking around.
I realized that I was standing in the doorway and blocking her exit. The last thing I wanted was for her to feel trapped!
I moved a little further into the cabin and plopped down on a built-in bench seat. “This has been home for the last six years. My parents raised me on a boat. They said I learned to swim before I could crawl.”
She moved, but not to leave. Leaning against the counter that made up my kitchen area, she rested her hands on the rounded wood edge on either side of her hips.
“It’s nice in here, cozy,” she said, glancing out the open cabin door. “I’m going to hang out here for a while, if that’s okay. I don’t want Hank to see me when they fish him out of the water.”
“Stay as long as you like!” I said. I was probably being way too eager, but the idea of spending more time together was the best news all week. That even included finding the shipwreck. “Are you thirsty?”
Her expression turned suspicious. “No.”
The scent of drugs in the drink Hank had popped into my head, making me wish I’d squeezed him too tight before tossing him.
“There’s stuff in here if you change your mind,” I said, opening the small fridge to show her the sealed water bottles and beer.
“Oh, I’ll take a water,” she said. The moment I handed it to her, she uncapped it and drank the entire thing. When she was done, she gave me a grateful look. “They didn’t have a single drink that wasn’t open at the party. Call me paranoid, but I’m not taking anything from one of those guys.”
I wish I could tell her how accurate her instincts had been.
“I’ve met Zak once or twice,” I said. “I don’t blame you at all.”
She chuckled, then slumped a little. “I left Janice at the party. I should go back and try to get her to leave.”
I stood up, ready to be a hero. “Do you have a picture? I could go find her and bring her to you.”
Her tired expression turned hopeful. “Really?”
“For you, I’m willing to brave the crypto-bros,” I said.
She laughed. “Crypto-bros? That’s the best name for them. I was there twenty minutes and had no less than three guys try to talk me into investing in something.”
I nodded. “I hide every time I see them on the docks.”
“That makes your sacrifice even more meaningful,” she said with a teasing smile.
I puffed out my chest and put my hands on my hips. “I’ll seek out your friend, my lady, and bring her back to you.”
My ridiculous behavior was rewarded with a laugh. “Thanks, um, what’s your name?”
“Delmar,” I said, holding out my hand. “Delmar Maris. It’s nice to meet you.”
“Nina,” she said, pushing away from the counter to shake my hand. The moment our palms touched, I felt the rightness.