Chapter 20
Gil
Set out to prove that I indeed have embarrassing hobbies, the two of us sit at the kitchen table with my scrapbooking supplies. With the smirk on her face, it really does seem like there’s nothing I could show Marina that would make her want to be next to me any less.
If my lack of experience and theremin haven’t scared her off, nothing will—I’m glad.
Seeing the girl I’ve been searching for sipping lemonade across from me is surreal.
Clawrece has abandoned her usual post at my side to sit by Marina, lovingly gazing up at her. She wasn’t only missed by me, clearly.
“There’s something soothing about it, don’t you think?” I ask, passing her the wavy scissors. “Here, I’ve never been able to use these.” I stretch my fingers out to show off the webbing between them.
She tilts her head. “Then how did you do this?” she asks, holding up a page with intricate cuts and waves for a friend’s baby shower card; the grooves are a little uneven, so it went into the scrap pile, though with the way she’s looking at it, you’d think it was fine art.
“Like this,” I begin, pulling a colorful sheet of paper out of the stack and extending my claws. With practiced hands, I cut out a simple design using the tips of my claws.
“Is there anything you can’t do?”
“I told you, darlin,’ I can’t use the wavy scissors,” I say, pushing them toward her.
Her face brightens with a grin before she hesitates. “I just—everything is so neat, I don’t want to mess it up,” she says, running her fingers through her hair.
“It’s not possible. Every little marker smudge is a memory.
Like this one here.” I grab a work-in-progress from the pile with a scribble on the front cover.
“This is for my sister Goldie’s youngest guppy, who as you can see, already got a head start on the design.
Rather than trying to cover up the scribbles, I’m using them as a part of the birthday scrapbook for her. ”
“That’s sweet,” she says, eyeing it thoughtfully, and I nod. The best kind of art is the sort you make together. There’s no denying it, especially after the music Marina and I made all but an hour ago.
“Anything you’d add?” I ask, watching her turn it over in her hands.
“More glitter for sure,” she says without missing a beat. I notice her hands trace some pictures, ones of me with my family, along with a few snapshots of Magnus and me from around the time we met at the campground.
I wish we had an album of all those memories, but back then, I didn’t think to take pictures. Most kids assume things last forever.
“See,” I say, grabbing a tube of glitter glue to trace out a heart. Sure enough, the puff paint adds just the right touch.
“You’re only making things better,” I say, watching her cheeks flush a deeper shade of pink.
“You really think so?”
“I know so.”
She stares out the window, and I’m unable to tell what it is I’m seeing on her face— exhaustion, regret, boredom? There’s something here that she’s not telling me.
“Why don’t we get some fresh air?” I ask gently.
“Alright, yeah,” Marina says, walking ahead of me toward the dock. I grab some drinks for the two of us, and by the time I return, she’s staring out at the water.
“Is something wrong?”
“I keep wondering, what’s the catch?”
“Me, I’m hoping.” I laugh, but Marina doesn’t smile. Uncertainty builds as I puff up my gills and think through the question. “Ah, you mean: what am I hiding? Besides the theremin and scrapbooking.”
“It’s gotta be something bad if you’re this perfect. Normally, by date three, I have a sordid back story, but you… Gil, I don’t even think I know your last name.”
I let out a deep breath, holding my webbed hands up. “Darlin’, ’m a giant fish man—that is the bad thing,” I say slowly and watch her wrinkle her nose. “And my last name is Cichlid.”
“That’s cute,” she says, moving a little closer.
“And yours if you want it,” I reply, far too cocky for someone who’s admitted they’ve never been kissed.
“Um.” Marina’s jaw is slack as she points off in the distance. Her skyward eyes are wide and—oh no.
Not tonight. My shoulders slump as I shake my head, looking at the red-haired menace flying toward the dock.
I understand Magnus is going through a hard time after a slew of romantic woes and drama with his court. He’s been spending more time on the water than at his castle—which would be fine if his destination of choice wasn’t always my damn house.
“That, darlin’, is the king of the vampires—and unfortunately, my best friend.”
I suppose they’d meet sooner or later, but I was hoping for later—much later.
“Your best…” She gapes. “Wait, king of the what?”
I give her an awkward look as Magnus thuds on the dock and starts prattling on about royal politics.
As usual, he isn’t paying attention to his surroundings and rants about anything and everything, from his lackluster dating life to court drama.
Within milliseconds, he’s spilled that his mother is giving him the silent treatment—again.
I would offer some words of comfort if he’d let me get a word in. But it’s Magnus we’re talking about, which means it’s ages before he looks up. His gaze falls on Marina, and for once in his life, the vampire king is stunned silent.
“Oh…” he begins, his big purple eyes flaring as he examines the two of us. “Don’t tell me my advice worked, and you have yourself a date.”
He’s a little too pleased with himself, and I pull Marina closer, feeling somehow protective in the moment.
By human standards, he’s more beautiful than any model—as is she.
Hell, by aesthetics alone, Magnus would be better suited for her.
I fight the urge to shield her eyes from him, for fear that she’ll be charmed by a single glance.
“I do.” I nod my head toward Marina, who shyly waves. “This is Marina.”
“You’re kidding!” Magnus says, rushing toward the two of us. He moves to kiss Marina’s hand but stops when he notices my warning look. It becomes a lopsided handshake instead.
“Well, it is a pleasure to finally meet you. I’m sure Gil has told you all about me—Magnus, his oldest and most treasured friend.”
“Um, actually,” she squeaks, and he turns a scornful eye toward me.
“Gilbert, really,” he grumbles, “how dare you not tell your dearest about such an important presence in your life?”
“I think you can take it down a notch,” I groan. Magnus is known for being dramatic but… Goddesses.
“Well, you must tell me all about yourself!” Magnus says, taking a seat adjacent to us in a way that feels like he’s trying to wedge himself between Marina and me.
“Oh, well, I…” Marina’s shoulders shrink. I narrow my eyes at my vampire friend, a low growl emitting from my throat, rising in volume with every second he makes her uncomfortable.
“Magnus,” I say warningly, but as always, he’s too oblivious to stop.
“I understand why our dear Gil has thought of nothing but you over the past decade.”
“Magnus,” I growl for the second time, “if you flirt with my girlfriend again, I will push you off this dock so fast.”
“What? I am simply complimenting—” He stops, slowly turning, his purple eyes dancing with pure glee.
“Girlfriend? Oh, now, you must tell me everything. How shall we spend the rest of our daylight hours, hm? Perhaps one of those board games you have been trying to bully me into playing. I do not know if you have heard this, Marina, but our Gil has the hobbies of a grandparent, something you’ll have to become accustomed to as his girlfriend. ”
Girlfriend.
I used the word “girlfriend,” and he’s not letting me forget it.
I steal a small look at Marina, who is gaping at Magnus, open-mouthed and wide-eyed. I swallow, trying to glean interest from her expression, but if it’s there, it’s masked by shock.
He continues to tease the word, and as much as I’d like Marina and Magnus to become acquainted, there’s no way he’s staying.
“Girlfriend I am on a date with,” I clarify.
“Yes, yes, and I wonder what we might all get up to next—a round of cards, perhaps?”
I clear my throat as I watch him inch closer to Marina. When I threatened to throw him off the dock, I was teasing at first, but now I truly am considering it.
“A date you haven’t been invited on,” I add, giving him one more chance to take the not-so-subtle direction I’m giving him.
“Oh. Oh!” Magnus says, slowly at first, before a giddy smile spreads across his face. I brace myself for whatever embarrassment is about to follow, but to my surprise, he turns heel. “Then, I take it that’s my cue to leave and return to my life of eternal loneliness?”
“You’ve got it, pal,” I say, still holding Marina tight but offering him a small grin. He’ll have to find someone else to be his personal therapist tonight.
Sorry, Grampy.
“Well,” Magnus rises, offering Marina a formal bow, “it has been a pleasure.”
Marina quietly repeats the sentiment, and I wonder what it was that made her feel so off.
Can she accept a world of swamp creatures but not vampires?
Or was she just so stunned by his good looks that she can’t get her thoughts together?
With another bow—and a wink towards me I choose to ignore, Magnus flies off just as dramatically as he arrived.
“He’s the one in all those pictures,” Marina says slowly. I think for a moment, unsure of what she’s referring to, until I remember my old scrapbooking supplies mixed in the new ones—Magnus is prominent in most of the old photos with my family.
“The two of us got into quite a bit of trouble around his castle,” I admit, but there’s something more than curiosity building in her eyes that I can’t place.
“You two seem really close,” she says, hugging her knees to her chest. “I think the only one I have like that is Grams. It must be nice.”
“Sometimes,” I chuckle. “Honestly, I’ve become his unofficial royal advisor and dating coach lately, and I don’t know if I’m all that good at either.”
“Hm, well, your girlfriend over here thinks you’re doing okay,” she says, smirking to herself before kicking her legs into the water. “Is that really what I am: your girlfriend?”
“Do you want to be?” I ask. To be honest, the title slipped out of my hands like butter, with no chance to catch it.
“Well,” she says, making the word as long and drawn out as possible. “Considering you offered me your last name a few minutes ago, I think girlfriend is a pretty reasonable first step.”