Damarian (A Merman's Kiss Novel)

by Dee J. Stone

  Cassie lies down on the bed and stretches her arms upward. Her shirt slightly lifts and reveals a small portion of her stomach. Another one of those profound, strange sensations passes through me, causing moisture to gather in my mouth.

  “It’s just called a king-sized bed because it’s big,” Cassie tells me. “When my parents first got married, I guess they thought they’d have many guests. This is my favorite bed in the entire house. As a kid, I used to sneak in here in the middle of the night and crawl in. My mom got so mad.”

  I walk over to the bed and sit down. It is so soft that it nearly swallows my body. I have never felt something like this. “How it differs from my bed,” I say.

  Cassie’s eyes light up. She raises herself and folds her legs beneath her. She asks me what the beds are like in the sea. When I inform her we sleep in large oyster shells, she appears somewhat surprised. Then she smiles.

  Suddenly, I feel a little ill. I stand and ask Cassie if I can swim in the pool. She is more than willing to comply. We descend the stairs and enter the pool room. Though I am ill and my body is in desperate need of seawater, unease fills me.

  “What’s wrong?” Cassie asks.

  “The transformation…it is quite painful.”

  She takes hold of my hand and slides her fingers through mine. “I’m sorry.”

  No. I do not wish for her to feel any guilt. I am more than overjoyed to be here with her. I cannot remember the last time I felt this happiness.

  But the pain is starting to grow. I raise my arms to dive into the pool.

  “Wait.”

  I glance at Cassie. She tells me I should shed my clothing, and covers her face. Though I do not fully understand the shame humans feel when they are bare, I appreciate that Cassie is considerate of my feelings. Since the pain is intensifying, I hurry to remove my clothes and leap into the pool. A second later, I am engulfed in searing pain. My body writhes as my legs shift into my tail. After what seems like thirty seconds, the pain vanishes.

  I open my eyes and look down. My sapphire tail has returned.

  Cassie stares at the lower half of my body as though she is mesmerized. When her eyes move upward and meet mine, she smiles. It causes my chest to feel warm, though not as warm as it does when I am in my human form. It is as though my emotions are more profound when I am human.

  Twisting my body, I dive into the water, to where it is deep. I miss the depths of the sea terribly. But unlike in the sea, here in Cassie’s home I am safe from the probing eyes of humans. I leap into the air as high as I can, enjoying how free I feel. I am momentarily blinded by a sharp, warm light, and it takes a second to realize it is once again the sun peeking through the clear panes on the wall.

  When I return to Cassie, I no longer feel any unease or worry.

  “You can’t do that in the ocean, can you?” she asks. “Leap in the air like that.”

  I shake my head. “My grandfather has told me tales of when he was a fry and had the freedom to soar in the air. But humans can detect us if we were to swim past the surface of the sea. Therefore, leaping is considered highly dangerous and has been banned.”

  Her eyes scan me as though she has heard something quite absurd. “Fry?” she asks. “What’s that?”

  I do not understand. She is not aware of what fry is? Perhaps humans do not have…no, I have seen quite many human fry on the beach and when I journeyed to Cassie’s home. “Young,” I say.

  “Oh, you mean merkids. Fry.” She laughs. “That’s really cute.”

  I do not know why the humans refer to us as “mermaids,” “merpeople,” or any other title that is comprised of “mer.” But I very much enjoy Cassie’s laugh.

  We grow silent. Cassie’s eyes search mine, and I cannot understand what she is thinking. She rises off the floor, as though she believes I wish for her to leave. But I do not want that. I say, “Join me.”

  She stares at me with a surprised expression.

  I touch the water. “Join me.”

  Her cheeks turn slightly red. She is uncomfortable. Perhaps it was unwise for me to ask her to join me. Perhaps she fears me or is disgusted by me. I am ready to ask her to forgive me, but I notice an emotion enter her eyes. Excitement. Shy excitement.

  She leaves the pool room to change into the garment she wears when she is in the water. While she is gone, I swim the entire length of the pool. Obviously it does not compare to the sea, but it is large and contains a lot of space for a child of the sea. I increase my speed, enjoying the total freedom.

  I hear a slight tremor on the opposite side of the pool, as though someone has touched the water. Cassie must have returned. I turn around and see her sitting on the edge of the pool. I hurry toward her, halting a short distance away, my movement so abrupt that I spray her with water. For a moment, I worry I offended her, but the manner in which she laughs and covers her face informs me that she is not upset. I grab the edge of the pool and rest on my elbows, giving her a large smile. She laughs again, although this one is more profound, more alive.

  She lifts her leg and prods my shoulder. “Some people don’t like the taste of salt water.”

  “You live in the sea almost as much as I do.” I drop on my back and float, raising my tail above me. This is another thing I cannot do in the sea often, for it would cause me to not be vigilant and I may not notice humans wandering about in their vessels.

  Cassie rests her hands on the edge of the pool and lowers herself inside. I straighten myself so I can face her. We float in the water with very little distance between us. I move closer. “Now we are in my world.”

  We are in the shallow side, and her legs touch the floor of the pool. I feel and hear her legs twitch. I close the distance between us and take her hand, watching the way her chest rises and falls more wildly, a sure sign she is uneasy with our close proximity. Just as I am. Though it is not an unpleasant unease but a wonderful one, something I have never experienced with another being. The temperature of the water is cool, but I feel the warmth leaving her body.

  I guide her behind me, then take her other hand, pulling her as close to me as possible. I stretch her arms around the back of my neck. “Place your legs around my torso.”

  Her body grows rigid, though I feel her unsteady breathing on the back of my neck. It causes my heart to beat fast and for me to lose feeling in my fingers and tail. I give my tail a light shake so that I don’t sink to the bottom of the pool with Cassie.

  Slowly, she lifts one of her legs and wraps it around my middle. My heart pumps wildly and I once again lose feeling in my tail. I quickly give it another shake. Cassie raises her leg even higher, binding it around my chest. Her skin is so warm and so soft, and my eyes shut as I soak it all in. When she slides her other leg up my body, I wonder if I will plummet to the pool floor. I open my eyes and force myself to focus on anything but her body so close to mine. I am comforted by the knowledge that she feels all this as well, for her breathing has grown laborious and she trembles slightly. I give her the opportunity to detach herself from me, hoping she does not. I almost sigh in relief when she remains.

  “Do not release your arms and legs,” I instruct.

  I leap into the air. Cassie is momentarily shocked, surprised, stunned, perhaps even horrified in the first few seconds, for she remains completely still. Then her arms and legs tighten around me. We dive into the water and then leap in the air again.

  I have dived many times deep in the sea, with either Doria or Zarya latched onto me in the same manner. But I have never done so out of water, or with a human. It feels special, as though this is something only Cassie and I will share.

  We dive and leap like this a few more times before I float in the water, waiting for her to untangle herself from around me. When she does not, I worry something may have happened—perhaps she has been injured or perhaps she is too shocked. But after a few moments, she slides off me and into the water. I did not notice that we are in the deep side of the pool. This does not seem to bother Cassie,
though, for she is comfortable in the water as though she is a child of the sea.

  My tail periodically touches her legs. It causes me to feel that electricity again.

  I look into her eyes. Did she enjoy the way we leaped and dove into the water? Did she also feel how special it was?

  “That was the best thing I’ve ever experienced in my life,” she says, her eyes bright.

  Relief exits my body. I do not know why it was so imperative that she enjoy it. Perhaps…perhaps because I do not know how else I can bring her joy.

  “I have always wished to do so with my sisters,” I say, “but we cannot leap in the sea, as you know.”

  She smiles.

  I say, “Let us have a competition.” I am certain that will bring her joy, for it always does to Zarya.

  “You mean a race?” she asks.

  “Yes.”

  “No fair. We all know who’s going to win.”

  I hold out my arms and drop on my back. “You cannot be so certain. Zarya has defeated me quite a few times. I admit I allowed her to do so twice or thrice, but she is only a fry.”

  “Zarya. Your sister?”

  “Yes.”

  The current my tail is creating causes me to drift farther away from Cassie. She swims closer to me, lays her hands on my chest, and lifts her body onto mine. Her legs part and hang off on either side of me.

  I swallow a big swallow as I stare at her, at her beautiful face looking at me unsurely and embarrassed, for she is sitting on me.

  “I’m sorry,” she says, turning her head. Her voice is barely audible and shaking. “I’ll get off.”

  I stretch my hand toward her cheek and move her face so that her eyes are locked on mine. “Do not apologize, Cassie.”

  She does not meet my gaze. “I’m riding you. This is so humiliating.”

  “I do not believe it is, for I know we both very much enjoy it.”

  She does not say anything or move her eyes to me, but her face is dark red and her breathing is uneven. Such intense sensations pass through me and my tail bounces. It takes a lot of willpower for me to keep my body afloat. I raise my tail as high as I can so that I do not sink with her.

  She glances at my tail, at my fin, her eyes lit with curiosity and intrigue. She shifts her body and bends toward my fin. But she is too far from it. She sits on her knees and once again stretches her hand toward my fin. No one has ever touched me there, and the anticipation causes me to feel discomfort, unease, excitement, and wonder. As soon as her skin touches mine, she startles. I do not know what she is thinking, but I hope she is not appalled.

  I lose whatever energy I have left, and my tail plummets into the water. Cassie sways and nearly tips over. I quickly raise it and apologize.

  She turns around and slides toward my chest. “It’s okay.” Her body quivers, too.

  We gaze into each other’s eyes. After a moment or two, Cassie lowers herself into the pool and swims toward one of the walls, clutching onto it. Her shoulders tremble as she continues to breathe heavily.

  “M-maybe we should get out,” she says.

  “Yes,” I say, “perhaps we shall.”

  She swims toward a silver-colored object that resembles the stairs that lead to the upstairs quarters, and climbs out of the pool. She does not look my way. Is she perhaps upset with me? But after what feels like a very long time, she turns her head and smiles at me.

  It is such a sweet smile that causes every inch of me to feel light, as though I float in the air. And in this moment, I understand that whatever I feel for her, she feels for me, too, and she also wishes to explore it.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Now in my human form, Cassie and I sit side by side on the couch. We are wrapped in towels, with me bare and Cassie dressed in her wetsuit. We have not exchanged many words since we left the pool. There is so much I wish to say, but also so much I do not know what to say. Perhaps Cassie feels the same, for she shuts her eyes many times and squeezes her hands together between her knees. She pulls the towel closer to her body and shudders. I do not have the opportunity to ask her if I can somehow cause her to feel warm, for a familiar sound echoes throughout the house.

  Cassie glances at me with unease in her eyes. “Damarian, someone’s at the door. Um, just in case it’s my uncle or my mom, act natural, okay?”

  “Natural…you wish for me to return to the pool and reacquire my tail?”

  Cassie laughs. “No. I mean, pretend you’re a human. Your name is Damian and you’re my friend. We met on the beach.”

  Damian? What an absurd name. But I am beginning to understand. Cassie and I must do everything possible to safeguard my true identity. “I understand,” I say. “Thank you.”

  “For what?”

  “For concealing my secret.”

  She raises her arms as though she wishes to give me a hug, as she had done when I returned to the sea. But she closes her hand into a fist and gently hits my shoulder. “Always.”

  She walks to the door and opens it. “Decided to go with horror tonight,” the familiar voice of Leah says. “What’s wrong?”

  Cassie remains standing at the door.

  “Oh my God, you have a guy over.” Leah’s tone is quite exuberant. “Do I know him?”

  Cassie mutters words I cannot hear. Her shoulders are quite stiff. Is she all right? I stand and make my way to them.

  “You totally have a guy over!” Leah says. “This is awesome.” Her eyes move past Cassie and focus on me. They grow wide.

  Cassie turns around and looks surprised to see me standing here. Her eyes move to the towel wrapped around me.

  Leah’s face has now transformed into a different color—white. She is sputtering words I cannot understand. Perhaps it is not proper for a male human to be dressed in only a towel. It was not my intention to impose on Cassie and her friend.

  Cassie motions for Leah to enter the house. She does so hesitantly, her eyes not leaving me. Will she discover my true identity? She is a good friend of Cassie, but I cannot trust another human with my secret. I cannot risk putting my family and the entire children of the sea at risk.

  “Damian,” Cassie says, “this is my best friend, Leah.”

  Leah appears a little confused. She steps forward and holds out her hand. “Nice to meet you.”

  I look down at her hand.

  “Right. Handshakes. You don’t do handshakes.”

  I am quite confused.

  The three of us look at one another.

  With her back facing the door, Leah walks toward it. “So I thought we were having our Girls’ Night In like we usually do on Wednesday nights, but now that I see you have a guest, I’ll just make a quick exit and leave you two to enjoy each other’s company.”

  She is now at the door.

  Cassie excuses herself and rushes after her friend. I return to the living room and sit down. They speak many words, though I cannot hear, nor do I wish to. I am quite certain they are discussing me. Will Cassie inform her of my true nature?

  I lift the device called a remote and turn on the TV. Cassie taught me when I was on land the first time how to navigate this device to a more interesting view.

  When she returns to the living room, I look at her face. No, she has not betrayed my trust and I know she never will.

  The TV portrays the sea. I still do not understand how the device before me operates, but Cassie has told me that what is shown is not the reality. I cannot walk into the screen and swim in the sea. The images are so accurate and realistic it is as though I am back home and swimming along with Zarya or the twins. I wonder how they fare. I hope they do not miss me too much.

  “You must really miss home,” Cassie says in a gentle tone.

  It takes a moment to move my eyes from the sea, for even though it is my home, it is quite captivating. I do not wish for Cassie to think I regret coming on land. I say, “I have only been on land for a short while.”

  “It doesn’t matter. It’s your second time away from
home, right?”

  I nod.

  She takes hold of one of the soft objects on the couch called a cushion. “I’ll be leaving home in a few months. For college.”

  “College.” I recall the word, though I am not sure when I heard it. Most likely once when I swam to the surface and overhead humans say it.

  “Higher education,” Cassie says.

  I do not understand.

  “You have schools in the ocean? Places that provide kids with an education?”

  “Is that not the responsibility of the parent?”

  She lies back on the couch. “Well, yeah. It’s the job of the parents to raise the kids with morals, teach them right and wrong. But when it comes to the hard things, like how to read and write and math and science, trained professionals take over.”

  I lean back in the same manner. “Yes, I have heard that humans have other means of communication in addition to tongue.” Many times, I observed humans lounging on the beach with their eyes concentrated on objects in front of them. I learned it is called reading.

  Cassie sweeps something off the table. I believe she referred to it as a fashion magazine the other time I was here. “Yep. Reading and writing,” she says.

  I hold the fashion magazine in my hand and study it. A female human’s face and body is captured here. “Who is this woman?”

  “A model. Someone who’s hired to wear these clothes and jewelry and sell them to other people.”

  My eyes move to the items I have noticed spread around the room. Captured reflections of Cassie and a woman whom I believe is her mother. “I understand humans have the means to capture their reflection.”

  “It’s like seeing your reflection in the water,” she says.

  She tells me the strange symbols on the magazine are the words humans write and others read. I wonder…will I ever learn how to read and write? I look into Cassie’s face. Will she want me to learn to be a human?

  Her gaze moves to the lower half of my body, where the towel is wrapped around me. I do not know why it causes me to grow hot and cold simultaneously. “I’m so sorry,” she says. “You’re probably cold, wearing nothing under there.”