Their gazes locked and he felt something stirring inside of him. Everything else was forgotten in that moment. All the insecurities and self-doubt, they melted away. Gazing into her eyes, they sparkled with something more, with the same feeling he was sure was sparking deep down in the pit of his soul
“You didn’t correct Pierre when he assumed you were my girlfriend.”
“You didn’t correct him either,” she countered. Then Pearl took a step closer to him. So close he could smell her sweet scent. She always reminded him of the water lilies that bloomed at night in his swamp.
They were his favorite thing on the property.
At night, in the summer, he would sit out there and watch them bloom while fireflies danced over the water. His swamp was fairly surrounded by large cedar trees and moss. It was almost like a little enclosure of perfection during those nights.
Perfect except for one thing—she wasn’t there with him.
“Pearl, I care for you.”
Her expression softened. “I care for you too.”
“It’s just…I can’t provide for you, and I worry if I can’t provide for you, then I can’t protect you. If something were to happen to you?—”
Pearl touched his lips with her finger. “You don’t have to worry about that.”
“I know what happens during the full moon, when you shift. Finn told me about the trap last year and I remember how sickyou were. I lost my parents already and I can’t bear to lose you too.”
“When I bolt, I run to you,” Pearl stated.
Shock rushed through him, his pulse pounding between his ears. Pearl was running to him? “You run to me during the full moon?”
She nodded. “That’s where I go. Your swamp is outside of Harmony Glen and my unicorn runs to you, but unfortunately, I get a little lost and I’m a bit manic, I don’t always find my way, or Finn catches me before I can get too far. The point is, I feel safe with you, Phineas. You are my safety, and the fact that you’ve been keeping your distance from me for the last several months is killing me.”
He scrubbed a hand over his face. “Pearl, I care for you very much. I just didn’t think?—”
“That’s right. You didn’t.” She grinned. “I would like to date you. I know I have to go back to school at the end of the summer, but maybe this summer we can try being together?”
Phineas nodded and it felt as if he were about to float off into outer space, his heart was soaring so high. “I would like that.”
“Good, but here’s the thing, you have to arrange the first date.”
“Oh!” Now he was at a loss for what to do. He rubbed the back of his neck. “I’d suggest tonight, but we’re meeting Pierre.”
“And that’s important. You figure it out and text me.” Pearl released his hand and then stood on her tiptoes, her breath brushing his gills on his neck, making his cold blood sizzle. She kissed him tenderly on the cheek. “I’ll see you tonight to meet with Pierre, but as for the first date, I’ll leave that to you. Just don’t leave me hanging.”
Pearl turned on her heel and slipped around the corner of Short Street.
Phineas stood there, still a bit stunned as he touched his cheek, the feel of her lips still burning against his scales. The woman he loved just told him she cared for him, she wanted to be with him.
The problem was he didn’t know a thing about dating or how to even arrange a good first date.
And then there was this situation with the other gill man proclaiming to be his brother? It was a lot to process and he didn’t have much time to figure it out. At three he had a job to do for Finn and then at seven he was going with Pearl to meet Pierre to get more information about his claim of being his brother.
Just when he thought it was going to be a boring day and that he was going nowhere.
Phineas scrubbed a hand over his face. He needed some help.
Chapter
Five
Somehow, Pearl managed to get through her quick interview with the hospital’s human resources department to set up her work placement for the summer, but the whole time she was going through paperwork and talking about her duties, all she could think about was Phineas and that she had finally told him to ask her out.
Maybe it was the fact that he didn’t want her to leave when faced with life-altering news. That she could be there and support him through it meant the world to her.
