All That I Know #4
“I feel exactly the same way,” Reed whispered, holding her gaze just a little longer.
Reluctantly, he allowed her to crawl out of the cozy bed he adored. Their bed. In their beachside cottage, with the sound of
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the waves lapping against the shore just outside and the salty breeze drifting in from the open window.
He reached for Tempest’s wrist, pulling her toward him with a little tug. As soon as she was close enough, he took her cheek in his other hand and stretched up onto his knees to kiss her good morning properly. Those soft pink lips parted ever so slightly as Reed caressed her cheek with his thumb.
“Have a good day at work, Little Storm,” he whispered into her ear, relishing the little shiver that coursed through her at his proximity.
Her bright smile made his heart leap in his chest. His sweet witch slipped from his fingers, heading out into the kitchen to make her strange morning drink. No amount of chocolate could make the bitter taste of coffee bearable for his palate, which amused her to no end.
Reed sank back down into the blankets, still warm from her body heat, and closed his eyes.
He soaked in the small sounds of Tempest moving quietly about the house.
Pulling a coffee mug from the cabinet, pulling the iced coffee from the fridge, stirring in her mocha sauce just the way that she liked.
He wanted to memorize every little detail. To be able to make her coffee for her some day soon—he hoped the kind people at the cafe might teach him how to do so properly so Reed could surprise her.
Sooner than he would have liked, his storm witch slipped back into the bedroom and changed into her wetsuit. The way his hands itched to latch onto the curve of her hips and pull her to him hit him like a tidal wave.
Shaking his head, Reed tried his best to clear his mind of such thoughts. “Have a wonderful day, Little Storm. Say hi to Elliot for me. I’ll see you tonight.”
“See you tonight, Reed,” Tempest smiled, genuine adoration shining in her eyes. “I can’t wait to come home to you.”
Happiness swelled in his chest as the merman waved her off. Another exciting day full of new things had officially begun. He pulled one of his new shirts from a hanger in Tempest’s closet and picked out a pair of shorts from the dresser drawer that she had given him for his human clothing.
Like he belonged there, his things side by side with hers, together. Reed admired himself in the mirror, taking a moment to truly observe his human form. He hadn’t considered how he looked terribly much when he had lived under the sea, but humans seemed to value this factor far more than the pod.
His inky black hair, tousled the way the shopkeeper had shown him, fell into his eyes.
Behind the wisps, his hazel eyes shone in the sunlight that streamed through the window behind him.
The clothing still felt a bit weird to him, but Reed was slowly acclimating to the idea of fitting into human society. Or Crescent Cove, at least.
Satisfied with his appearance, the merman walked to the front door and stepped out onto the porch. He breathed in the salt and brine of the sea, his hair dancing on the breeze as he stared out toward the horizon. It was truly the best of both worlds—land and sea. For Reed, it was more than enough.
Two blonde heads popped out of the water then, their bright blue eyes blinking in surprise at the brightness of the sun from their new vantage point. Celeste and Lumina had agreed to let him show them around Crescent Cove for the next few days.
He was determined to make them fall in love with the sleepy little beach town every bit as much as he had.
“Mermaids, welcome to our humble little town,” called Reed. “If you will pull yourselves to shore, I’ve got clothing for you to wear while we sightsee.”
“To shore?” gasped Lumina, as if she had forgotten the entire point of their journey.
“Can’t you help us?” whined Celeste, her lower lip sticking out in a childish pout.
“Of course, starfish. But you must swim inland first,” the merman tried to suppress his chuckle.
Their turquoise tails shimmered in the sunlight as they dragged their bodies through the sand toward him.
Reed stepped closer to the water’s edge, his hazel eyes trained on Celeste, who outpaced her sister by several yards.
When she came into range, he tucked his hands under her armpits and tugged her further out of the water.
The mermaid shuddered, the refreshing sea breeze likely feeling substantially cooler to her after being submerged in the warm summer waters her whole life. Though more than ten suns older than Reed, she had a childlike quality that had never really endeared her to him.
Sure enough, as she began to dry out, Celeste cried out.
He did not bother to warn her that transforming her tail into a pair of human legs would be far more unpleasant than simply not being completely soaked in seawater.
In a matter of moments, the process began on its own, and the mermaid wailed dramatically.
Her twin sister, watching in abject horror, paused in her efforts to pull herself out of the surf. Those big blue eyes swiveled to him, wide with concern and fear, as Celeste’s scales disappeared. Only to be replaced by two peach colored legs that ended in dainty little pale feet.
“You’re okay, Celeste,” Reed spoke softly, crouching down to drop the dress over her shoulders. “I know it hurts. The pain will fade in a few moments. You can do this.”
“I-I have feet!” the mermaid gasped, reaching for her wiggling toes.
Her sister’s voice wavered as she called out. “Was it awful? Did it hurt very much?”
“Yes,” whined Celeste loudly, her frown severe. “Oh, but Lumina, look at my perfect human legs! Do you think I could dance with them?”
She turned pleading blue eyes up toward Reed and he smiled at her. “Give me your hands. I’ll help you stand and show you how to walk.”
“To walk? On land?!” Lumina’s shrill voice grew two octaves higher.
With all the practice he had from the past week, Reed managed to get the mermaid to her feet, despite her lack of coordination and balance.
He wondered if this was how he had appeared to the people of Crescent Cove when he had first arrived—surely this was why he had run into Tempest and fallen on his bottom though she barely nudged him.
A fond smile graced his face as he recalled that fateful night, the Moonlight Market, the Boardwalk, and Tempest’s beautiful face. Once Celeste could stand on her own, Reed hurried over to Lumina and offered her his assistance.
They managed to get her far enough from the saltwater to allow her to transform for the first time, and he slipped another one of Tempest’s dresses over her head. The older of the two, Lumina bit back her cries at the pain of the shift, but Reed didn’t miss the tears in her wide blue eyes.
He talked her through the process of standing with quiet, coaxing words until she faced him on the sand.
“I did it!” the mermaid cheered. “Celeste, we did it!”
Properly clothed enough for the beach and Boardwalk, Reed led the two slowly toward the epicenter of Crescent Cove. Both mermaids leaned on his arms, relying on him to keep them upright. They asked a million questions, and he did his level best to answer as many as possible as they walked.
As the wooden pier grew closer and the sights and sounds of the busy Boardwalk reached them, Reed let the pride seep into his voice.
“Welcome to Crescent Cove, starfish.”
He showed them around, taking their time as the mermaids slowly grew accustomed to their new legs. Everywhere they went, eyes followed them - new folks were not very common in town, and two such beautiful women certainly garnered a good amount of attention.
Lumina finger-combed her tresses as her hair dried for the first time in the summer sun. She took in the town, the shops, the shifters with wide blue eyes.
I Love You, Little Storm
TEMPEST
B
y the end of the week, the mermaids had grown fairly comfortable in their human forms. Tempest had given them lessons on how to dress in the appropriate layers, how to care for their hair and bodies while on land.
They had been surprisingly receptive to her lessons, which she would be forever thankful for.
The four of them leaned on the banister of the Boardwalk, looking out toward the horizon and soaking up the sunshine. A soft throat-clearing sound caught her attention and Tempest turned. Standing there in the afternoon light were her sisters, Viola and Zinnia.
“You made it,” she breathed out.
“It’s been so long since we’ve seen you,” Zinnia spoke first. “We thought something was wrong. That maybe you were hurt.”
Tempest shook her head, trying to reassure them. “Nothing is wrong. All is well, in fact. There’s someone I want you to meet.”
Both surprised faces turned as she gestured to the darkhaired merman beside her. With a smile, Reed held out his
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hand for them to shake. She loved that he was getting the hang of human customs and wanted to try to put her sisters at ease.
“I’m Reed,” he said brightly. “From the Cascadia pod of merfolk that live nearby. These mermaids are from my pod as well.”
“I’m Celeste,” announced the first, attempting to curtsy. Her sister giggled as she watched. “And I’m Lumina!” “Mermaids?” Viola gasped. “There have never been
mermaid sightings in Crescent Cove. How can this be?” “It seems that they were completely unaware that our
magical town existed, so they kept their distance,” explained
Tempest.
“Your sister tells us you are healers,” Celeste turned her
attention to the witches. “That you help plants grow and cast
away illness. We have never seen such magic.”
“Would you please, please show us?” interrupted Lumina
excitedly.
Her sisters blinked slowly, clearly caught off guard by the
earnest request. After a moment, Viola recovered her wits. “Do
you have an illness that needs to be cured?”
“Oh, yes, a very serious condition,” said Lumina in a whiny
voice. “For two generations, our pod has struggled to conceive.