“I don’t know. This jacket is keeping me pretty warm.” She smirked. “You said I have the right to judge the severity and punish accordingly. I think your outburst was pretty severe.”
“No, I said if I ever do it again. Keyword, Siren.Again.That means the agreement is validafterthe initial crime is committed.”
“I see your lips moving, but all I hear is that I’m the one holding Themis’s scales of justice and you, my friend, have tipped out of balance.”
“Fucking hell,” he sighed. “You’re going to make me regret the day I ever talked back to you in my head.”
“I’m going to make you regret a lot more than that, buttercup.” Xia threw him another smile and stood with the grace of agoddess. Her movement disturbed the air and filled it with his favorite scent in the world— sea salt and sunshine.
Xia shook the jacket from her shoulders and took off toward the water, silver light gleaming against her skin with an ethereal shine.
“We’re in so much trouble,”he thought to Chaos as he swallowed.
I’ve been craving a challenge for our entire existence. If I had a dick right now, it would be hard.
“Seriously?”
“Brooks!” Xia called. “What are you waiting for? Come on!”
“Keep it in your pants. This is not the time.”
It is always the time.
Brooks stood and took a deep breath before walking toward the water. Xia disappeared beneath water, bubbles surfacing from her exhale before she reappeared. Her white hair turned silver as the hazy light of the moon reflected off the water soaking her hair.
When he got to the water's edge, he hesitated while debating whether or not to take his clothes off. His well of chaos was near empty, so summoning the dry clothes wouldn’t be an option. The bigger problem, however, was that Brooks was naked under his pants.
It was an all or nothing scenario that he wasn’t sure how to navigate.
Don’t be such a bitch. Get in the water.
“I will make your life miserable if you don’t shut up and go the hell away.”
“You’re not scared of water, are you?” Xia asked. She was chest deep in the river now and staring at him with a half smile.
“Uh, no. I–” he stopped and blew out a heavy breath. “I would like to come back to dry clothes after our incredibly questionable night swim.”
“So leave your underwear on.”
“I didn’t think about those when I dressed myself.”
His Siren threw her head back and cackled up to the night sky and, though he loved the sound of her laugh, it didn't help his predicament.
“You know, I haven’t been in this world very long but I’m pretty sure it’s a universal rule that you don’t laugh at a man when he talks about getting undressed.”
“I’m so sorry,” she said around laughs and pressed her hand to her mouth. “You just caught me off guard.”
Just so we’re clear, I’m laughing, too.
“How about this,” Xia interrupted before he could let the insults fly. “You get undressed so your clothes stay dry, and I’ll turn around while you get in. I promise I won’t peek.”
Tell her she should definitely peek. We have a lot to be proud of.
“You’re dead,”Brooks seethed.
You wish.
Xia’s eyes flicked down, a faint blush tinting her cheeks, before she turned around. Brooks exhaled, already regretting his poor decision making. He pulled the gray shirt over his head and popped the button of his pants free, sliding them down to his ankles. He tossed both toward the grass and stepped into the water.
