Mer Tales 01 - Everblue

at about 8:30, unable to wait any longer. Uncle Al and Colin had left a pile of dirty dishes in the sink and a rotting lemon, a loaf of stale bread, and a jug of expired milk in the fridge. My stomach clenched for some type of nourishment.
    My parents weren’t on the ground floor or in the pool, and I wasn’t about to go looking for them upstairs. I understood the bond too well and being with Ash was all I could think about.
    I was at her door in minutes, hoping she’d be just as anxious. Her figure, once she opened the door, took my breath away. I fought the urge to take her in my arms and kiss her right there.
    “ I’m early,” I said and flashed the Jeep keys in front of her. “Wanna go get some breakfast?”
    Her face lit up. “Yeah,” she said and grabbed her coat off the wall. “Bye, Mom.”
    I took her hand in mine and squeezed as we walked back to my place for the Jeep. Her sweet honeysuckle perfume hit me in the enclosed cab. Desires to nuzzle my nose in her neck distracted me from driving and I missed the turn.
    “ Don’t you mean to—?” She asked sweetly with a casual point of her finger.
    “ You make it impossible to concentrate,” I confessed and enjoyed the color of her cheeks changing to a rosy red that matched her curls.
    On a table inside the door of the diner, an abandoned Tahoe Daily Tribune’s headlines said, “Explosion in Lake Tahoe Causes Tsunami.” I swallowed hard. This was an unforgivable crime in the King’s eyes. Worse yet, we’d made a fool out of him during the attempted promising ceremony by challenging his word and escaping. Returning would be a death sentence. How could we ever rescue Tatch?
    Ash and I snuggled in on the same side of the booth and pressed our bodies against one another. After ordering, Ash laid her head against my chest as I put my arm over her shoulder. I still wanted to get closer.
    “ So, if you’ve managed to upset the—” She looked up with thoughtful eyes and paused for a moment. “—the King, won’t he come back and arrest you or something?”
    “ It’s a little difficult to come back with the gate destroyed,” I whispered. “He’d have to get across the state somehow from the Pacific Ocean to Tahoe during sunlit hours and he just ruined his only West Coast connection—my dad. And his insistence that mers avoid human contact is now going to work against him.”
    “ So I’ve made you a wanted man?” she asked with a coy smile.
    I kissed the top of her head. “Ever since you stole my heart, yes.”
    She giggled before becoming serious again. “Do you think you’re safe here?”
    “ Dad seems to think it’s okay for now and that’s a good thing. I can’t imagine leaving you.”
    She hummed and drew her finger over my knuckles, tickling my skin and driving me crazy. In her presence, I’d lost my appetite and wondered why we even ordered food. A secluded place to curl under a blanket sounded so much more appealing than a restaurant. Our bond made my desire to let my hands wander increase a hundred-fold.
    In the early morning, I’d decided to do the right thing and make an honest woman of her first. Her parents seemed to like me and I wanted to keep it that way. Would they approve of her marrying at such a young age? I’m sure they wouldn’t if they knew my secret.
    “ What are you thinking?” she asked, breaking my moment of life planning with her sweet voice.
    “ What to do next,” I said and hugged her tighter.
    “ As long as I’m with you, I’m up for anything,” she purred in my ear, nibbling my earlobe gently.
    I curled my toes to restrain my hands. Luckily the waitress showed up with our food before I could return the favor.
    We hurried up and ate, then headed for the park. The ground was still wet from the melted snow, which meant we’d have to sit on a bench. We found a spot with the lake in view and snuggled under a blanket.
    “ So,” she said hesitantly and I knew the question before she asked it. “How’d you become a merman actually?”
    “ I was born this way.”
    “ Born? Hmmm. I bet you were the cutest little merboy in Natatoria.”
    “ We call our babies merlings. But I don’t know. You’ll have to ask my mom.”
    “ Aw, that’s cute,” she giggled but tensed next to me.
    I wasn’t sure what I’d said that made her uncomfortable. Was she afraid if we had kids, we’d end up with merlings? I actually didn’t know what kind of kids we’d have, her being human. But that was