“I can drop you guys off,” Noel told him.“Where do they live?”
“Roseville, near Maidu Park,” Blake replied.Matt stirred, blinking up at Noel.
“Let’s stay at Celeste’s place,” he said, still groggy.“I don’t want you driving around too much in the middle of the night.It’s not safe.”
Lodgings arranged, the quartet made their way out to the parking garage.Blake and Marin climbed into the second row of Noel’s truck, while Matt took his helm in the passenger’s seat—it took approximately three minutes before he was slumped against the side window, snoring with his mouth open.
The ride went smoothly, and they arrived at Celeste’s home right as the first rays of dawn were staining the horizon grey.
“It feels a little weird going in while everyone else is sleeping.”Blake frowned as they approached the front door.He pushed it open, Marin and Noel trailed in after him, Matt draped over the latter’s back, still snoring soundly.
Bonbon and Kerby were snuggled on their cushion down the hall.Bonbon wuffed sleepily before placing his head back down and closing his eyes.Blake checked his texts.
“Ryan asked us to fill the dogs’ food and water before we go to bed,” he said.“There’s a dog door for them in the back, so we shouldn’t have to worry about one of them having an accident.I’ll go take care of that.According to him, there’s a guest room down here and a bed in the granny house out back—the passcode is 1885.”
“I’ll go put him in the guest room,” Noel said, hiking Matt up higher on his back.“Do you think Celeste would mind if I slept on a couch?”
“Mmm, ‘sokay.”Matt yawned against the nape of Noel’s neck.“We can share the bed.”
Noel flushed.
“If you’re sure…” he hedged before bidding goodnight to Marin and Blake: “Sleep well.”
“Thanks, you too,” Marin told him, disappearing out the back door with a brief wave.
Once again, Blake felt acutely aware of the fact that he was alone in a stranger’s house.He managed to find the kitchen and the dog food with ease, loading up the bowls with kibble and fresh water from the fridge.He stopped in the foyer to check that the ancient dog was still breathing before heading out into the backyard and—
Splash.
Blake’s gaze traveled from the back porch and to the pool.In the glowing water, he could see Marin’s naked silhouette, legs coalescing back into a fin.He breached through the surface a moment later, sighing and pushing his hair out of his face.He glanced up at Blake, and even from a distance Blake could see that his eyes, his fin, and the little frills on the tips of his ears were all alight with bioluminescence, reflecting the cycling colors of the pool lights.
Marin’s mouth curled into a smile.With a soft jerk of his head, he beckoned Blake towards the pool.
Blake approached, as if drawn forwards by an invisible force.He lay down on his stomach at the side of the pool, watching as Marin sliced through the water towards Blake with ease.
Without hesitance, Blake reached out towards him, fingertips caressing Marin’s damp, soft cheek.He remembered when he’d kissed him, how it had still been cool and spongy under his grip.Still fiberglass.
But the man in front of him now was warm, made real by the press of Blake’s lips.His eyes were glowing, tail undulating slowly beneath the water in order to keep himself afloat, lips still curved into a gentle, imploring smile.
In two days’ time, Marin had made a far more drastic transformation from just fiberglass to flesh: Blake had watched as his personality filled in, blossoming from the inside out.When he was by Blake’s side, Blake was nervous, yet reassured.Happy.Marin was firm without being cruel—fun, encouraging, opinionated, mysterious, and a little bit sad.
Blake wanted to kiss him again.
Fingertips gentle, he brought Marin closer towards him, until they were nose-to-nose, eye-to-eye.Marin’s head bobbed out of the water, but instead of going for Blake’s lips, he brushed their cheeks together, pressing his damp mouth up to the shell of his ear.
“If you want a kiss,” he whispered.“You’re going to have to come in here with me.”
He rocketed back into the water with a mischievous grin.Blake was left lying on the lip of the pool, smiling and gaping at Marin in disbelief.
“You heard me!”Marin laughed, ducking behind a decorative waterfall.Blake found himself laughing, too, stripping down to his boxers and jumping into the cool water.
For someone who worked summers at a waterpark, it had been a long time since Blake had been in a pool for pleasure, rather than for fishing out squirming children.He was reminded of the pool parties that they’d have after polo games in college, when he and the other guys would be able to mess around, playing chicken and volleyball, flopping around leisurely in the water.
Blake followed Marin through the crushing pressure of the waterfall, surprised to see that there was a little grotto behind.Marin sat on a rock shelf, his bioluminescence illuminating the cave in gentle pulses of green and blue.He reached out to Blake as he drew near, pulling him in by the shoulders.
“I’m in here with you,” Blake said, reaching out to hold Marin’s cheeks.
“So you are,” Marin smiled, and closed his eyes.
