The kids mutter in disappointment. I blow them kisses as their parents come to collect them. “I loved meeting all of you little guppies. Farewell.”
“How about one last question?” Sully asks, leaning against a column with a smirk that kills me a little inside.
Arthur steps forward, thinking he’s a creep. We’ve had a few before. “He’s harmless,” I say.
“Hmm.” Arthur moves back but doesn’t leave.
“How did you know I was here?”
Sully pulls up a chair and straddles it backwards, draping his long arms around the back of it. God, to be that chair.
“What the question should be is, why did you never tell me I was with a mermaid? Sounds like something a guy should know about.”
I twirl a lock of hair around my finger, teasing. “You worried I put a spell on you?”
“Maybe,” he says, his voice low. “Are you a siren?”
A soft laugh escapes me. “Something like that.” I shift slightly in the inflatable seashell, trying to ignore how long I’ve been sitting still. “Since you’ve come all this way…I suppose we can have dinner.”
“Great. I have the perfect table.” Sully stands and waves his phone in the air. “I also have a lot of fantastic footage.” With that, he leaves.
“Was that Sully?” Arthur asks, picking me up.
“Yeah.” I hook an arm around his shoulder.
“And you didn’t tell him about this place?”
“Nope. Guess who did.”
He chuckles. “Your best friend.”
“Who’s going to be fed to the sharks.”
Arthur sets me on the bench in the break room and glances around. “Looks like she’s hiding at the bar.”
“I know where she lives.” I grab a towel and dry my hair.
“Don’t be so harsh on her.” He waves before exiting.
I shimmy out of my tail and hang it up before exchanging my seashell bra for a nice cotton one paired with a solid black shirt. Then I trade mypink scaled leggings for a fresh pair with leopard print. After tying my hair into a ponytail, I grab my phone and purse from my locker. Out of curiosity, I read over my texts with Sully, and sure enough, Alice sent him one during my show inviting him to the restaurant.
For our first date I’d rather not smell of chlorine and have my eyes sting, but what can a girl do? After adding pink gloss to my lips, I leave to meet Sully.
He sits at the bar with two wine glasses in front of him. When he spots me, he picks them up and offers me one.
“Thanks.” I take a sip. It’s my favorite. Alice already knows she’s in deep water.
“Hope you don’t mind I ordered chicken wings and fries. Your friend said you’d love them.”
I eye Alice across the bar. She’s busy shining the whiskey bottles with a rag, which she never does.
The food arrives, and I grab a chicken wing, rip it in half, and take a bite. Damn, this is good.
Sully grabs a fry and watches me, his gaze amused and a little curious. “Who knew swimming caused such an appetite,” he chuckles, eating the fry.
“Sorry.” I lick my fingers and dip the other half of the wing into the ranch.
“When were you going to tell me about this place?” He waves his finger around in a circle. “It’s incredible.”
