Promises (Book One of The Syrenka Series) (13 page)

“
Don’t tell this one,” he
teased.

“
So what do you think she
meant about our journey not being long? Does that mean that
something is going to happen or that we are almost finished?
Because we’ll be at the coast tomorrow.”

Brendan ran his hand through his hair.
“It’s hard to say. They’re kind of like the genies when it comes to
evading and fortune telling.” I must have looked pitiful because
Brendan continued to explain. “Neither is known for giving you a
direct answer. And usually there will be a million different ways
to interpret it.”

“
So why did we come here?”
I asked.

He smiled. “To see if she was
real.”

“
Yeah, okay. That was
pretty cool,” I agreed. He squeezed me one more time before
standing. We dressed and walked the complicated path back to the
hotel. The moonlight was barely visible through the pines but our
night vision was good enough to get by. I let Brendan lead the way
and tried to step wherever he did.

My mind was wandering since we didn’t
really speak much on the return trip. Today was Sunday; my wedding
day. I wondered how things were going back at home with Kain and my
family. Did he get my note? Did he hate me more than anything? My
only comfort was in knowing that our friends were there and that
they could provide him some sort of comfort for a while. That
thought made me feel lonely when I realized that I’d also lost all
of my friends. I couldn’t even tell them about the naiad. It was
just Brendan and me now.

It was almost midnight before we made
it back to the room. I decided to take a shower and Brendan told me
that he was going to go and get us some snacks. We’d skipped dinner
to go swimming in the lake, but it had been worthwhile. The warm
shower water almost took the chill out of my body, but I suspected
that the remnants buried deep within wouldn’t go away any time
soon.

I was wrapped in the fluffy robe
supplied by the lodge when Brendan got back to the room. He stuck
his head around the door and called out to me. “Close your
eyes.”

“
Why?”

He stomped his foot. “Just close them.
And face the bathroom.” I did as he asked but listened to him shut
the door and sneak up behind me. Pretending not to hear him, I
stood still. “Okay, open them.”

I did. He was standing in front of me
in a pair of jeans, no shirt, and with a vending machine cupcake in
his hands. There was a single pink candle in the center and a cheap
lighter hidden in his palm. “Happy birthday, Evs.”

“
It’s not my birthday yet,”
I argued. He jerked his chin towards the bedside table behind me
and I turned to see that the clock showed that it was five minutes
past twelve. Today was my eighteenth birthday. I smiled at him and
felt a few tears building in my eyes. He remembered when I had
forgotten.

“
Make a wish,” he said. I
squeezed my eyes shut and wished for happiness. I know that was a
pretty vague wish, like asking for world peace, but I just wanted
everyone in my life to be happy and content. Especially those that
I left behind. I blew out the candle and wrapped my arms around his
waist. My head rested against his bare chest and my nerves began to
awaken again. We were totally alone and he was only partially
dressed. I looked up at him wanting to feel his lips against mine.
But when I lifted up on my toes, a piece of cupcake flew towards my
mouth. He smashed it against my teeth before I had a chance to take
a bite.

“
What’s wrong with you? Why
can’t you eat like a normal person?” he teased just before another
piece of chocolate was smeared down my cheek. I pushed at him, but
only half heartedly because I was laughing too. Every time I tried
to snatch the cupcake off of the plate, I would get another smear
of chocolate icing somewhere on my body.

“
I just took a shower you
know,” I yelled at him.

“
Well, if you would stop
smearing chocolate all over your face, you wouldn’t need another
one.” This continued until both cupcakes from the packet were gone
or smudged on our skin. I washed my face while Brendan picked up
the crumbs on the hardwood floor. When finished, he climbed into
the shower and I collapsed onto the bed. The soft sheets wrapped
smoothly around my naked body like a second skin.

I had decided to make my move. Brendan
had always been patient with me, but now I was eighteen and I
intended to stay with him the rest of my life. There was nothing
stopping us from moving forward in every aspect of our relationship
now. I heard the shower turn off and my heart climbed into my
throat. This was it.

The lights were out but I stayed
tucked under the covers anyway. I could hear him playing around in
his suitcase for what seemed like an hour before he finally crawled
into bed next to me. “Are you awake?” he whispered.

In response, I rolled over on top of
him and kissed his soft lips. My hands held his head in place and
he didn’t make any attempt to move at first. “You’re naked,” he
stated between breaths.

“
Yes and I’m eighteen.” I
continued to seduce him in the only way I knew how to. Soon, his
hands began to wander over my body, exploring areas that he was
already familiar with and some that were newly discovered for both
of us. I had never felt so close to anyone in my life and I just
knew that this was right for us. Here, in this amazing lodge, on my
birthday. I began to pull at the top of his pajama
pants.

His hand grabbed mine and stopped my
intentions. “Are you sure about this?” He was gasping for air and I
could tell that his control was slipping away with each
touch.

“
Yes,” I breathed into his
mouth and any last sign of restraint disappeared from both of us.
We spent a wonderful night together followed by a prolonged morning
enjoying each other’s company and love. It was perfect.

When the time came to check out of the
room, we reluctantly got out of bed but still managed to take one
last shower together. Breakfast had already ended in the
restaurant, so we got on the road and continued on our drive to the
Maryland coast. We held hands the entire time. It was like I
couldn’t get enough of him and breaking contact, for even a moment,
seemed wrong. We talked, and laughed, and planned for our future. I
was saturated in love and I knew that, no matter what the
consequences might be, I was meant to be with this man.

Ten

Three weeks had passed since we first
arrived in our new home. Well, it wasn’t a home exactly, but the
hotel efficiency was good enough for me. We were able to get a
discounted rate by staying here for longer than a month, and
although it was small and ancient, it worked. The tiny kitchenette
boasted appliances older than our parents. Chipped paint, cracks,
and water stains highlighted the cream walls while mismatched tile,
carpet, and linoleum made up the flooring. It had smelled a little
damp and very musty when we first moved in, but with enough air
fresheners and moisture traps, the smells were beginning to fade.
We’d hung some curtains and a few pictures to make it cozier and
soon it became ours.

It was almost time for Brendan to come
home. He’d started his job just a few days after we arrived and
every day was an adventure for him. The smile on his face was
enough for me to see how much he truly enjoyed this new life. I, on
the other hand, had not been able to find a job yet. There were a
few promising call backs, but most of the summer staff had been
hired months earlier. The best I could hope for was something
part-time or temporary but that would be sufficient.

Although I very much enjoyed playing
house with Brendan and cooking dinner when he came home, I was also
beginning to go stir crazy. We hadn’t been able to go swimming very
much and that was impacting both of us. The changes were a
necessary part of our existence…much like eating. It nourished and
replenished our bodies and kept us strong and healthy both
physically and mentally. I would get anxious and Brendan would get
sick if we postponed our changes for too long. The bathtub could
always work as a temporary solution, but our little residence did
not have the room for one.

“
Evs, I’m home!” Brendan
called from the door. I rushed over to him and jumped into his
arms. His laugh was muffled with my kiss and I tried to focus on
the smell of his sweat and essence and ignore the dead fish aroma
that saturated his clothes every evening. He held me in his arms
long enough to reach the bed, which was only a few steps away from
the front door. Collapsing down as one, we laughed as our heads
slammed together and completely ruined the romantic
moment.

“
Are we ever going to get
the hang of this?” I asked while rubbing the spot where I was sure
there would be a bump in a few hours. In response, Brendan rolled
on top of me and kissed my injury.

“
Yes, we will.” I drew his
face down to mine for a longer kiss before he pulled away. “Plus,
we have the rest of our lives to figure it out,” he said although
the words were muffled against the warmth of my lips. His green
eyes stared directly through my heart and I could see in them how
much he loved me. Every time that I was worried about Kain and my
friends from home, one look like this from Brendan would brush my
anxiety away.

Pushing himself up from the bed, he
removed his shoes and his shirt. His hands moved down his sides to
slowly unbuckle his belt and I watched with fascination and hunger
as he lowered his shorts to the ground. I thought that his little
strip tease was for me until he walked into the bathroom and turned
on the shower.

I threw my arms out to the side of the
bed and let out a loud sigh of frustration. His laughter echoed
through the tiny room like a chastity belt locking down my raging
hormones. I would make him pay for this later. While plotting my
evil ways, I made us a quick spaghetti dinner as I was hoping that
we could swim tonight. It didn’t take much to convince him, and
once the sun succumbed to the rising night, we headed off towards
the beach.

Since seals weren’t so common in this
part of the country and mermaids were just a fairy tale to humans,
we needed to be careful that we weren’t seen. Night swims were
pretty much the only way to guarantee privacy and safety, even
though I was dying to explore the warmer east coast waters during
the day.

We stopped the car at the park
entrance and walked through the dunes to an area typically blocked
off to swimmers. The rough rip current and large rock jetties made
this a dangerous place for humans and an unattractive spot for
fishermen. But it was perfect for us. Stripping quickly, we ran to
the water’s edge and I watched as Brendan slipped into his seal
skin. It was so graceful and natural for him and the ease in which
he transformed was always so fascinating to me. In less than a few
seconds, his fury vertical body was laying at my feet. I looked
down into his piercing green eyes and smiled.

“
You know that you look
like my pet right now?” I said while rubbing the top of his head.
He snorted and pushed against the side of my leg. I wiggled a
finger at him. “Now, now. Behave Fido or I’m taking you home.” That
earned me a nip on the ankle but before I could retaliate, he
disappeared into the water.

The breaking waves pierced the quiet
night with the slaps and murmurs of water from distant places. A
cool breeze rustled past my face soothing me yet also causing my
senses to suddenly tense. There, underneath the smell of the sea,
was something familiar yet unidentifiable. It was almost the scent
of another being, but I couldn’t quite place it. Goosebumps rose up
along the back of my neck and chills ran through my body. I looked
all around us down the beach and behind on the sand dunes. There
was no one there.

Brendan’s seal voice broke my
concentration; his grunting and chirping a sign that he was waiting
for me. Ignoring my concerns and trying to convince myself that we
were alone, I dove into the first wave I could reach and let my
body adapt to its second home.

From the moment I felt the waves
envelop me in their embrace; I knew that something was wrong. The
underwater world seemed to vibrate with an unfamiliar energy. It
was dark, my senses were heightened, and we were not the only two
out swimming tonight.

A shadow darted over my head but
quickly disappeared into the darkness. I stopped moving forward and
frantically turned in circles to see if I could identify our guest
or try to see Brendan. There was nothing but a sandy bottom below
and black water all around. The moon was only a sliver; not big
enough to provide light for me to identify the animal that just
made a horrible piercing scream nearby.

I swam to the surface to catch my
breath and survey the damage. Surely something had just died, but
the calm seas didn’t give away its secret. Diving back down to the
bottom I remained still, listening and sensing for something; some
sign that Brendan was alright.

It seemed like minutes passed before I
heard his signature snorts coming towards me and closing in fast.
Brendan dashed from the dark waters and crashed into my body. His
flippers pinned me down to the ground, but his eyes were scanning
the emptiness around us. A faint ray of moonlight pierced through
the depths and I thought that I saw a piece of his fur floating in
the water, hanging on by only a thread of skin. Looking more
closely, I noticed that he did in fact have a large section of his
shoulder ripped apart, exposing pink, muscled flesh underneath.
What could have possibly caused this injury? I reached up to put
the skin back where it belonged, but Brendan grunted and snapped
his teeth at me commanding me to stop. His body weight began
crushing me and at the first moment I could, I kicked out from
underneath him and spun my body around to face the oncoming
danger.