That evening, my phone buzzed.
Drew: Are you free tomorrow?
It was a Saturday, so I grinned with my reply.
Me: Yes, but I’m planning the date again.
“Are you punishing him?” Audrey asked with a laugh as she tossed some protein bars in her backpack.
I shrugged as I leaned against the doorway to her bedroom. “Maybe a little bit. But also, he would end up collecting trash with me regardless.”
“That’s true.” Audrey nodded as she grabbed her hoodie and zipped it up. She and Liam were heading back to Enhavenn to formally announce Audrey as his mate, per Ada’s suggestion. His sister wanted to give them space to enjoy their new mating bond in peace, but the prince of Enharra finding his mate, was newsworthy to his people. Audrey and Liam would spend the next couple of days conducting interviews, visiting families in his territory, and engaging in general royal activities.
Plus, they had to delicately handle the PR aspect of announcing Audrey’s true lineage, without also announcing how they discovered this news.
Audrey already had a target on her back from Ilia as is. Liam’s sister agreed that they would wait to tell Hyvenmere Audrey’s real identity. Until it was a more stable time to be half siren and mated to the Fae Prince.
When I asked if they’d heard from Hush yet, Audrey shook her head.
“Maybe I’m being irresponsible,” Audrey said. “But I need to not focus on Ilia or the nereids or the gates. I just want to keep focusing on the fact that Liam and I are mates for a little longer, no matter how selfish that makes me sound.” I did not envy Audrey. The relationship that she had been yearning for, for years, suddenly got a thousand times more complicated.
I, however, was just grateful to be casually dating a basic human man.
Part of me wondered how Drustan would react to the knowledge of my situationship with a human, since he seemed to be hitting on me. Though, most of his flirting felt like a mockery. Like a handsome popular kid in middle school teasing the nerd with braces and acne.
Mine, one of the first words Drustan ever said to me. But then I reminded myself that it didn’t matter how Drustan felt about me. Who I dated was no one’s business but mine, and mine alone.
So, when Audrey and Liam waved goodbye, promising to be back the next day, just in case Drew (hopefully) decided to take our relationship to the next level, I focused on which swimsuit I wanted to wear when I took him out on the boat. Most of the ones I had in mind would show off my many tan lines—the cost of being a white woman who perked up like a flower as soon as direct sunlight touched her skin—so trying to hide those was out.
Which swimsuit successfully portrayed the message that IwantedDrew? I respected his boundary, but as soon as he gave the green light, he could take me right then and there on the boat.
Pulling my hair back into a braid, I checked my phone one last time.
The last message we sent was me texting him the address of where to meet up. Just outside the docks. Slipping my sandals on, I did a little happy shimmy with my shoulders as I grabbed my backpack and headed out.
Later that day, Drew and I were out on my boat, rocking with the gentle waves of the ocean on a clear, sunny day.
Our relationship was burning slowly, which wasn’t something I was used to. I was a proudly sexual woman. I didn’t mind jumping into bed the first night if that’s what felt right for me. However, Drew putting up some clear boundaries at the beginning of all this didn’t upset me either.
Taking things slowly made me feel like what we had could become special. It felt like he intended to gain a deeper understanding than men usually wanted to have with me, while still being super horny for each other.
“Ready?” I asked as I slid my cutoff jean shorts down my legs. Obviously, I did it as seductively as possible. Just because we hadn’t gotten naked in bed yet didn’t mean I wasn’t ready to do so whenever he gave the okay.
His dark eyes tracked the movement of my shorts as he replied, “Yes.”
I grabbed a mesh bag before snapping goggles over my eyes. I had oxygen tanks and masks on the boat in case of an emergency, but I had also spent time training my lungs to hold my breath for longer periods. I could do it for almost a solid minute. Plus, the ocean floor wasn’t that far beneath the boat on this spot. I wouldn’t have to dive as deep to pick out trash from the coral.
Following my lead, Drew pulled his shirt off, folded it, and gently set it on the bench seat next to him. I smiled and shook my head, not surprised at how much he cared for his clothes.
His sculpted chest was…magnificent. Perfectly sun-kissed, not a farmer’s tan in sight. He must have shaved his chest, because there wasn’t any chest hair on it.Maybe he’d be willing to grow a little out for me. Focusing back on our date, I walked toward the ladder before waving him over.
“Cannonball?” I asked him.
He tilted his head at me as he inspected the goggles I gave him. “What?”
“Want to do a cannonball?”
“What’s that?” he asked with a smile.
