Dash had pulled her aside before she had a chance to get dressed, the bathing suit already in hand. According to him, red happened to be Peter’s favorite color, and it had already been fitted to her exact measurements – so who was she to say no? Maggie remembered hesitating but the excited look on Dash’s face was enough for her to offer no disagreement. It was a beautiful outfit for sure, but Maggie never considered herself pretty enough to pull off something like it. The skirt was shorterthan anything she was used to, even the dresses the Lost Boys had already gotten for her were longer. Though the color made her happier than she realized, Maggie still itched to try and force the dress to be longer than it really was.
Peter almost skidded into a tall tree before swooping in the opposite direction, his hold tightening around Maggie’s limbs. He carried her through Neverland’s skies as they went toward the oceans, reaching the bay where they’d meet the sisterly Princesses. It wasn’t the first time in their trek that he had almost slammed into something. His balance was entirely off, too, making him lean back and forth, making her stomach sway in a way that was very unamusing.
Maggie could give a few reasons as to whyshe’dbe distracted, but not him. He was dressed in a bathing suit like her, though that mainly meant a pair of loose fitting trunks. Everything else was bare and uncovered, her hands pressed against his warm skin. Though she had already seen his bare chest before, there was something about being pressed against him in the middle of the sky, in the middle of the day, that brought a newfound embarrassment to Maggie’s cheeks. She tightened her arms around his neck, though it only brought her even closer to his naked chest.
Shoot.
Maggie’s eyes snapped up to catch Peter looking down at her in an odd way as he held her. He quickly jerked away from her, looking up just in time to narrowly miss a jutting cliffside. Peter skidded by a series of mountains, ducking and weaving as though he hadn’t been paying attention the entire time. Once they reached the opposite side, where there was hardly a thing in his way, Maggie tried to gather up her courage.
“It’s because of how silly I look, isn’t it?”
Peter looked at her as though he was surprised to hear her. “What?”
Don’t make me say it again.But she drew in a long breath and forced herself to put on her big girl pants once more. “Look,” she said, “I knew this outfit was ridiculous the moment Dash handed it to me. I-I don’t know what I was thinking of actuallywearing it! It’s silly. It’s silly and I look silly. I know.”
Peter raised a brow. “Don’t tell me that’s what you actually think, Magpie.”
“Why wouldn’t I?” She laughed, though it sounded more like she was choking. “I mean, look at me!”
“I am,” Peter replied with a smirk. “Believe me – Iam.”
A fire began to smolder beneath Maggie’s skin. It wasn’t like he had said anything outrightly naughty, but his eyes said everything, making her a blushing mess in his arms.
“Haven’t you noticed how badly I’m flying?”
Maggie shrugged, though she very much knew.
“I can barely remember where we’re supposed to be going,” Peter admitted, still grinning. “How can I be expected to remember when you’re looking this good?”
The heat surged ten fold as Peter began to fly lower, the water coming closer and closer. Maggie wanted to bury her face in his neck, to demand that they go back to the treehouse so she could simmer in her embarrassment and happiness. She wanted to spend the entire day simply looking at him and remembering the words he spoke. He was distracted byher.He couldn’t concentrate because ofher.He almost slammed face-first into many things because ofher.
Maggie held back her girlish giggle as they neared a pair of heads floating in the rolling waves. Just below Peter’s feet, Coralyn and Selina waded through the water. Their colorings exactly as Maggie remembered. Coralyn favoring blue and Selina glistening in pinks. They matched seamlessly, despite the very different colors.
“You ready?” Peter asked in her ear.
She gave him a small nod, and they dropped into the water alongside them. Suddenly, both swimming in the waves, trying to keep their own heads above water.
“Maggie!” Coralyn wrapped her arms around Maggie’s neck in a tight embrace. “Lovethat suit!”
Selina offered her a wide smile. “I feel almost underdressed!”
Maggie swallowed her overwhelming embarrassment and hung clung to Peter as the warm ocean waves enveloped them. “Thank you both for helping us,” she called out.
Selina beamed. “I’ll always take the opportunity to show off my inventions!”
“Inventions?”
“Don’t worry,” she reassured her. “This spell is tried and true, just ask Coralyn.”
Her sister nodded, though there was a bit of hesitation in her blue eyes.
“I have crafted magical bubbles that will surround your entire body,” Selina explained. “They will last for however long you need them to, until the very moment you wish to pop them. The thing about mermaid kingdom isn’t being able to breathe underwater – it’s being able to reach the bottom of the sea floor. Luckily for you two,myinvention is capable of doing just that.”
Peter nodded. “So how would we pop them when the time came?”
“You’ll need to tell them to pop,” Coralyn replied. She lifted her finger, demonstrating popping the bubbles as though they were along her skin. “And poke them, too.”
Selina readied herself. “Are you both ready?”
