by Rinelle Grey
“First thing,” Damrian agreed.
Chapter 11
Waiting for a day off to go searching the reef for possible mermaid scales was maddening. Zara kept scanning the coral each trip out, but she saw no further sign of anything out of the ordinary. Once or twice, she began to wonder if she’d imagined it.
But then she’d picture the moment in her mind, and she was sure that it had been real. Which led her to seethe with impatience again.
Luckily, her new projects did keep her busy. When she wasn’t talking to visitors about the beauty of the reef, she reviewed and picked out a reef safe sunscreen to stock in the resort store, and Damien ordered it. Picking a suitable charity for visitors wanting to donate to help the reef too took even more care.
She discussed all the options with Damien and eventually settled on a research company that she felt showed promise.
But finally, she finished her last day’s work, and she and Damien headed down to the Fins and Ships after work to plan their excursion the next day.
As they ate and shared some banter about the day, it hit Zara that she’d almost forgotten about that kiss. The last few days had been hectic and busy, and every moment she wasn’t busy, she was wondering about that mermaid scale. She hadn’t even had a chance to stop and wonder if Damien was seeing her as a friend or a possible romantic interest. Or if she was.
They’d settled back into the same easy friendship they’d always had.
Why had she worried so much about this? Why had she been so afraid that if she acknowledged the fact that she might have feelings for him, she’d suddenly be unable to resist him? Why had she let things get built up in her mind to the point where she hadn’t spoken to him for four years?
How had she even managed to stay out of contact for so long? Each afternoon after they parted ways and she’d returned to her own hut alone, she’d always thought of one more thing to tell him. And she’d called him on the phone to do so. They’d spent hours on the phone, probably less than a hundred metres away from each other, talking about their day while she’d cooked dinner and eaten.
And it had all felt perfectly normal and natural. Just as it always had.
Her heart warmed as she looked at him. His expression was focused as he used his last chip to mop up the last of his gravy while Zara sketched a map on a napkin, outlining their search pattern for the next day.
She was so glad she hadn’t lost this. She wasn’t sure she could bear to lose him again.
He looked up then, giving her a lopsided smile. “So, where do we start?”
Zara slid the napkin across the table and showed him. “This is the plan.”
Damien gave it a cursory look, nodding. “I bow to your superior search pattern planning. I would have just gone out there and swum round and round in circles and gotten frustrated when I couldn’t find anything.”
Zara gave a chuckle at that. “Well, this isn’t the first search of the ocean floor I’ve been on. Usually we’re recording details of the density of certain marine life, but I figure it’ll work just as well for searching for mermaid scales.”
Even as she said the words, excitement burbled up. This didn’t feel like any of those other serious, staid research projects. This felt like an adventure.
One she was going on with her best friend.
Her heart filled with anticipation, and she wondered how she’d ever wait until the next morning. “So we’re going at first light, right?” She couldn’t wait until later in the day. Wasn’t even sure she could wait until the sun rose.
Damien chuckled. “I doubt I could hold you off any longer than that.” His voice crackled with excitement too.
They shared an eager smile.
How many times, as children, had they planned great adventures they’d go on together? Then, their adventures had been limited to a day out sailing, or exploring one of the forbidden caves. Now that they were adults, their plans were a lot more fun.
Zara grinned at him.
“Well, I suppose we should head home and get an early night,” Damien said, sliding the napkin back across to her. “We want to be well rested.”
His suggestion made sense, but somehow, Zara didn’t think she was going to be able to sleep. Her blood hummed in her veins, and she wasn’t sure if she could sit still, let alone close her eyes.
“Why don’t we go dancing?” she suggested impulsively.
It was Friday night. There would be dancing at the Fireside Reef until late. She could hear the beat of the music over the sound of the waves outside. It called to her. Promised that if she danced for a few hours, she’d be tired enough to sleep. Maybe.
Damien raised an eyebrow. “Dancing?”
Zara shrugged. “I need to wear myself out, or I’ll be too wired to sleep.”
“Well, what are we waiting for?” Damien said immediately. He stood up and held out his hand.
Putting hers in it and following him out of the Fins and Ships and down the path to the Fireside Reef felt as natural and normal as it ever had.
Except they’d never gone dancing together before. The Fireside Reef was the only licenced restaurant on the island, and as kids, they hadn’t been allowed in. Sure, they’d hung around outside in the dark and moved to the music.
Somehow, this felt different.
As she followed him into the building, and the beat of the music thumped through her body, the lights flashing, she wondered if she’d crossed some sort of line. Two friends could go dancing together, couldn’t they?
She stared around at other couples, moving up against each other, their bodies merging together, the beat connecting them and wondered if she’d made a big mistake.
But the smile Damien gave her didn’t hold any hint of romance. Only a light of mischief. “We used to dream of the day we’d be old enough to hang out in here, didn’t we?”
Zara couldn’t help grinning back. “I had big plans on what I was going to wear, too.”
She’d planned on a tight black dress, gold hoop earrings, and a lipstick that was far darker than anything her father had ever let her wear. And here she was in jeans and a t-shirt. A t-shirt emblazoned with the resort logo, no less. She gave a wry smile.
“If we’d had the chance, we would have gone in with whatever we had on,” Damien reminded her. He squeezed her hand. “Might as well enjoy it.”
She could hardly argue with that. The music surged through her, and she couldn’t help swaying in time. The beat reverberated with the beat of her heart, stirring up the excitement she’d felt earlier into a frenzy.
Zara let Damien take her hand and pull her into the crowd.
They found a space, between couples and singles, all swaying in time to the music. Suddenly, Zara felt a little self-conscious. As kids, they’d danced in the dark, not caring how they looked, only considering how it felt.
But suddenly she was all too aware of every move she made, as though Damien was watching her.
He seemed unconcerned by any such thoughts and began to sway and gyrate. He grinned at her, that twinkle in his eye reminding her of how much they’d dreamed of this.
And yet, it wasn’t quite how she’d expected it to be. For one thing, Damien looked a lot hotter. His movements were smooth and rhythmic. A far cry from them throwing their arms and legs around as kids.
He looked like he’d done this before. And was good at it.
Well, she had too. Done it before, anyway. She’d gone out to nightclubs with her girlfriends and hadn’t made too much of a fool of herself. Why was this any different?
Zara took a deep breath and made herself join in.
The first few movements felt awkward and strange, but that feeling faded pretty quickly, and she began to enjoy herself. She’d been right, the movement, the beat, the loud music, all helped smooth away the adrenaline she’d been feeling.
It felt good to have some vigorous exercise and some pure and simple fun.
And it was fun. Once she pushed past the initial nerves, it
was surprisingly enjoyable.
Damien was fun to be with. He didn’t put any pressure on her, he kept his distance and kept every glance friendly. And yet, she couldn’t help feeling the heat emanating from his body. She tried to tell herself that it was the exercise, the crowd, the closed in space.
But she was acutely aware of his every movement, every time his arm or fingers brushed against hers. With the music thumping in her ears, it was almost hard to think straight. Next to impossible to remember why she’d felt she needed to avoid this, to keep her distance.
Suddenly, she and Damien being together seemed like the most natural thing in the world.
The space they were dancing in seemed to shrink, as other people moved in the room. Zara found herself dancing almost pressed up against Damien. It felt almost natural that she would step in a little closer, to avoid people crowding in on her.
It had nothing to do with the way her body was responding to his. The way she was acutely aware of every movement he made and the space he kept between them.
Next to them, a couple had stopped moving, their arms around each other, their lips locked together. They appeared completely unaware of the crowd around them, off in their own little happy world.
Zara couldn’t help smiling. She nudged Damien and nodded towards the couple. He gave her a grin, and mouthed, “Five bucks says they’re honeymooners.”
Zara laughed, not even willing to take a bet on that one. There were a lot of couples on their honeymoon at the resort, all with varying levels of sappiness.
For a moment, she wondered what it would be like, to care about someone so much you wanted to spend the rest of your life with them? To perhaps consider giving up something important, because it wasn’t anywhere near as important as being with them was. It must be amazing.
But she’d never dated anyone who she could even imagine that with.
Spending your life with someone was about more than chemistry. More than sex. To be able to be with the same person each and every day, to make sacrifices for them, you had to have something more than attraction, you’d have to be best friends.
It hit her, like a punch to the gut.
How had she missed it all this time?
The only person she’d ever been able to imagine spending that kind of time with was Damien. With him, she could easily imagine them never running out of things to say to each other. They were comfortable even in silence, as though they had a language that went deeper than mere words.
They’d never had an argument they couldn’t sort out.
Until she’d stopped speaking to him four years ago over a little kiss.
But it hadn’t been over that kiss, had it, it had been about the fact that she was attracted to him, and that had scared her. She’d been afraid she’d give up her plans because of that attraction and resent it later.
But this wasn’t just a physical attraction. This was so much more than that.
This had the potential to be so much more.
Ignoring a physical attraction to focus on her career was sensible and logical, but what she and Damien had, their close friendship combined with that attraction, that was something you didn’t come by often.
Was she making a mistake in ignoring this? Would a career be there to comfort her when she was old and alone?
She stopped in the middle of the dance floor, stunned by the realisation.
Someone bumped her from behind, and she stumbled forwards, into Damien.
He caught her with an arm around her waist, pulling her up against his hip. “Are you all right?” His breath, as he leaned in close to be heard over the music, brushed across her cheek. She could feel his hard, lean body pressed up against her.
And she didn’t want to move away.
This felt so comfortable. So right. She’d been around Damien so long that even their separation was quickly forgotten, the closeness back. This just felt like an extension of that. The next step in their relationship.
For the first time, she could understand how he’d just bent down and kissed her that day four years ago. How it could easily have been nothing more than an impulsive urge. She could see why he hadn’t felt any need to discuss the idea beforehand.
Because right now, leaning into his warmth and kissing him would have felt as natural as breathing did.
And somehow, all the reasons why she’d been holding back seemed unimportant. Distant.
She was older and wiser now. Surely they could find some way to make this work and for both of them to continue to achieve the things they wanted in life? It might have been hard before, when she’d been planning years at uni, but she could write her thesis from anywhere.
If she was successful tomorrow, she might even find herself spending a lot of time right here, researching.
She’d avoided this because she thought Damien would distract her from all the other things she wanted to do. Now she realised that Damien wouldn’t be a distraction. Being with him would enhance every other part of her life. They could share their future together.
There was no need to run from this anymore.
They’d been friends forever. They cared about each other. Trusted each other.
Could there possibly be anything better to base a relationship on?
So she didn’t pull back, out of his arms. She let him keep hold of her as he swayed in time to the music. Let herself enjoy the strong, safe feeling of his body up against hers.
He bent his head and rested his forehead against hers, the closeness of the gesture almost more intimate than a kiss. It represented friendship. Trust.
There was nothing to fear in this. No reason to pull back. She could let herself enjoy it without guilt.
The music swelled around them, but Zara barely noticed or cared. She was wrapped in a safe cocoon, happy and content. Damien’s arms were around her, strong and sure. He didn’t pull back either.
He lifted his head to look down at her, and Zara tilted hers up to meet his eyes.
His lips hovered just above hers, and the temptation to lift up to meet them overwhelmed her.
But Zara wanted more than that. She wanted this to be special, to make sure Damien knew this wasn’t just an impulse. The crowd around them still pressed in, and what had felt intimate a moment ago just felt uncomfortable now. “It’s too busy here. I need to get out.”
Damien rose quickly to the rescue, pushing his way through the crowd and clearing a path to the door for her. Once they were outside, her mind cleared. But the closeness and intimacy remained.
“Are you okay?” Damien asked again, his voice concerned. He ducked his head a little and attempted to search her eyes. “Maybe we’d better get home and get some sleep. We do have a big day tomorrow.”
A declaration of how she felt hovered on the tip of her tongue, but somehow, it wouldn’t quite come out. She didn’t know how to put all she’d just realised into words. Where to even start.
“Yeah, some sleep is probably a good idea,” she agreed.
But neither of them moved.
Damien shoved his hands in his pockets and stared out at the night. From the veranda of the Fireside Reef, they could see the beach. The sound of the waves was just barely audible above the music inside.
Zara stared at him, drinking in his presence. Being with Damien would feel warm. Comfortable. Right. She could trust him with her heart without a moment’s thought. He’d never let her down. Never hurt her.
Letting herself get close to him would be like coming home.
She could easily imagine him putting his arm around her shoulders and walking back to her hut with her. They’d talk nonstop about everything and about nothing.
Then, when they were alone, they’d take off all their clothes and be closer than she’d ever imagined they could be.
The thought heated her body and seared her soul.
It didn’t get any better than this, did it, falling in love with your best friend?
As soon as the thought entered her mind, s
he knew it was true. She was falling in love with Damien. Maybe she always had loved him, because this didn’t feel any different to the way she’d always felt. Only deeper, more certain, more special.
“Look, Damien, I…”
His eyes flicked towards her, the yearning in them causing her to forget what she’d been about to say.
What did they need words for anyway? He felt the same way she did, she could see it in his eyes. Feel it in the way his body swayed towards her.
Zara took a step forwards, closing the distance between them. She slid her arms around his waist and leaned into him.
It felt right. Like this was where she was meant to be.
Damien groaned, and pulled her into him, his lips touching her hair. He breathed her name, his voice a sigh.
Zara lifted her head towards his, and he stared down at her. His lips hovered just inches above hers, tantalising her.
His eyes were such a deep shade of blue it was as though she were staring into the depths of the ocean. Any doubts she’d had melted away, and she touched her lips to his.
Blinding heat surged through her as his arms tightened. He groaned against her lips. A groan of desperation, of surrender. The sound moved something in Zara’s belly, and suddenly she felt just as desperate.
She’d wanted this for a long time, she just hadn’t allowed herself to feel it.
Chapter 12
As Zara took his hand and pulled Damrian back towards her hut, he knew he should protest. Knew he should stop her and say they shouldn’t do this. Only a few days ago, she’d been insisting that they keep things platonic.
What if she woke up tomorrow morning and regretted it?
What if she didn’t? What if she wanted to continue? He knew that was impossible without telling her everything, and his family had insisted that wasn’t an option.
Either way, he couldn’t see how this could work. It was a bad idea. He knew that.
But every part of him was screaming at him to let go, to just enjoy this.
To worry about the consequences later.
