‘It’s an “I can’t stop you”.’
‘So… a yes?’
‘Oh my God. Yes. It’s a yes.’
‘Because if you don’t want me to get in while you’re in there, I won’t. I can go back to the cabin, and come back later, when you’ve finished. If you’d prefer.’
‘It’s fine.’
‘You’re sure?’
‘Just stop talking and get in the water.’
‘OK.’ My eyes had adjusted to the dark, and I could make out more details about her now. She had long hair piled in a messy bun on the top of her head with flyaway bits hanging down, exposing a long, slender neck. Lean, athletic shoulders above the waterline. When she turned her head, the moon highlighted the lines of her face. Her cheekbones and jaw, the tip of her nose.
Stepping forward, I curled my toes over the edge of the rocks on the side of the pool. ‘I’m going to dive into the water now.’
‘Do you always announce everything before you do it?’
‘Not always,’ I replied, then tucked my head between my arms and dove into the end where I knew the water was deepest, disturbing the black mirror surface that reflected the stars. The water was cold and refreshing. Coming back up for air, I shook my head, wiping the water from my eyes, smiling because I couldn’t help it. These night swims had a way of calming my mind. Resetting the day. As I did a lazy breaststroke to the opposite side of the pool from her, a playful breeze swirled around me, carrying the salty scent of the sea and, briefly, something not quite as pleasant. A dead fish washed up on the beach, maybe, rotting under the heat of the sun. Then the breeze changed direction and the smell was gone. ‘I just wanted to warn you.’
5
TAYLOR
I frowned as I processed his last words. ‘Did you just saywarnme?’
‘No, sorry… warn wasn’t the right word. What I meant was, I just wanted to make you aware that I was getting into the water, so you weren’t frightened.’
I weighed up my options, which were few and far between. If this guy wanted to harm me there wouldn’t be a hell of a lot I could do about it, apart from fight back. Down here on the beach no one would hear a call for help, and although I was pretty fast on my feet, I’d still have to get out of the pool and past him before I could try and get up the path to the house. But my instincts weren’t screaming at me like they had in past situations where there had been even a hint of danger. The vibes Jack was giving off were more like golden retriever vibes. Harmless and potentially adorable.
‘Do I need to be frightened?’ I asked.
‘No,’ he said, sounding offended by the very thought. ‘God no. Never. I would never hurt you. In any shape or form.’
‘That’s a pretty big promise to make. What if we kept meeting in the pool every night and fell in love and then you decided that you couldn’t be with a mermaid after all so broke it off and I spent the rest of my life here, pining under the stars.’
‘Uh…’
I swam slowly to the other side of the pool and he did the same, as if we were sharks, circling each other. Somewhere down the bay, a seal barked. Just the once, as if that’s all he could be bothered with in the heat. ‘Just kidding. It’d be more likely to be me who did the dumping.’
‘How do you figure that?’
‘We mermaids are transient folk. Don’t like to be tied down to any one place in particular.’
‘I suppose you prefer to keep a sailor in every port.’
‘God no. Imagine the effort involved. Trying to remember the right name every time. The potential to muck it up would be huge.’
He laughed. ‘So, why weren’t you?’
‘Scared?’
‘Yeah. I mean, we’re far enough from town that I’d say we’re pretty much on our own out here, and the closest house is what… four or five hundred yards away? I’m pretty sure it’s a summer vacation home too, currently uninhabited. The grass by the gate hasn’t been cut for a month or so, and there’ve been no new tire tracks on the drive. Even after we had all that rain a couple weeks back.’
I was taken aback. ‘Who even notices things like that?’
‘I do. I like to keep aware of my surroundings. Anyway, I’ve only met your uncle a couple of times, but I can’t imagine he’d be able to get here very fast if you screamed, or offer you much assistance if I attacked you.’
