“Thanks.” He took a healthy gulp of the hot coffee, winced, then lifted his gaze to mine. “Would you sit with me?”
Yes!“Sorry, I’m working,” I said, even though my body was already leaning towards the chair.
“Just for a moment. There’s no one here.” Only a corner of his lips lifted, but eyes crinkled with a smile. The sight sent tiny tingles to my abdomen, and I caved.
He was right—it was ridiculously empty even for a Tuesday evening.
“Sure.” I sat opposite him, keeping the chair sideways to the table in case I had to spring back to work.
“I like the song you’ve been humming.” He leaned back and chewed on his bottom lip in a way that made me want to ask if he needed help with the biting.
“Yeah.” I chuckled. “It’s been stuck in my head for days.” I wasn’t ready to admit that I had listened to theSwimming with the Sharksdebut album on a loop for days.
“I need distraction, or actually, I could use an honest opinion.” Rick drummed his fingers on the edge of the table.
My lower tentacles twitched at the idea of distracting him and I had to reposition to keep my legs wider.
What the fuck was wrong with me? Sure, I got randomly horny, I was twenty-four for fuck’s sake, but not from just looking at someone. “Opinion about what?”
“I’ve been looking for a sound, or rather trying to create one from a mix of others.” He waved a hand in the air, as if erasing a thought. “I’m explaining it wrong. Could you listen to this?” He offered me his headphones, and I leaned in like a prince being crowned. The soft padding fit over my ears and I inhaled Rick’s gentle cologne just as his finger grazed my cheek. My gaze snapped to him but he was setting up his laptop, his locks obscuring his expression.
A beat with a deep electronic boom followed by a prolonged guitar chord sounded in my ears.
I frowned; it was a unique combination but there was something off about it. “What’s it for? A commercial? A jingle? A song?”
“Never mind.” Rick closed his laptop. “It was a bad idea. Forget it.”
I sat back and crossed my arms. “You were the one who asked me. It’s a decent sound but it’s incomplete. Lacks that umpf.” I snapped my tentacle in the air like a whip.
Rick followed my movement and pursed his lips. “True. I just don’t want this to become public before it’s ready.”
“Your secrets are safe with me.” I assured him, my interest piqued even more. “Are you a musical FBI agent? Song-writing secret service?”
Rick’s chuckle was low. “It’s for a song. A video I watched online inspired me. I’m not looking for the exact sound but the vibe, if that makes sense.”
“What’s the video?” I asked as I leaned over, bracing my elbows and my tentacles on the table.
“We’re closing!” Santiago yelled from the kitchen, his footsteps approaching behind me. “Apologies, I didn’t know there was anyone left.” He took Rick’s plate and glared at me.
“I was just leaving.” Rick stood up and packed his laptop into a backpack.
“You’re welcome to come in the morning, Sir. We open at nine.” He nodded at Rick and backed away, motioning for me to follow. “Ner, make sure everything is in order at the back when you’re done.”
After taking Rick’s payment, we bumped fists, and he left. I let myself admire him crossing the street towards the beach, his jeans stretched on his biteable ass.
Unwilling to face Santiago’s scrutiny again, I ran to the back to help close up.
The humidity hit me in the face when I stepped out the restaurant half an hour later. I sighed with relief as moist air stuck to my skin, replenishing the dryness caused by hours spent in air conditioning
South Beach on a winter night was a lot emptier than in the summer. Only snowbirds, sunburned Canadians with coolers from Costco, wandered around sometimes. The beach looked empty, and even if it wasn’t, a water creature going into the ocean shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone.
I undressed and tucked my backpack into the bushes. Shivers ran through me and goose bumps broke on my skin, my body quickly adjusting to the change of temperature. The wet sand was wonderful on my tired feet, and I looked into the expanse of the ocean before me. I took several steps forward until the water reached my thighs before I closed my eyes and inhaled slowly. The meditation-like technique of focusing on my body and my surroundings helped me to shift quickly. I listened to the hum of the waves, the call of the ocean, the song of my ancestors…
The gills on the sides of my neck expanded, but other than that, from the waist up I remained the same. With a squelch, my legs turned into another set of tentacles, pulsing against the sand as I slithered into the ocean.
The cold water welcomed me.
I relished it on my body as I swam deeper and deeper still, until I could stretch all my tentacles to their full length, propelling myself alongside a Miami Grouper and a school of smaller fish. One moment, I was here among them, but the next, I might be serving them to a customer.
