by Charlie Hart
And if my legs are changing, what else is going to change?
Tears suddenly flood my eyes.
“I’m scared.” I wrap my arms around myself, wondering what might happen to me next. The guys called me a mermaid. Their siren. My voice was hoarse last night from a call I don’t really remember making.
What am I becoming?
“Oh, Harlow,” Chloe says, wrapping her arms around me. But it doesn’t work that well with her nine-months-pregnant belly. “It’s gonna be okay. I mean, maybe...,” She takes a shaky breath. “Maybe you are made for something a lot bigger than you know.”
“I’m just scared of losing the life I have ... my family and friends...what if ...” I start crying again and can’t finish my thoughts.
“Hey,” Chloe says softly, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear and fixing her eyes on mine. “No matter what happens--if you become some fish or mermaid or whatever--you’ll still be my best friend. Always.”
“Promise?”
She smiles. “Yeah, but it also means you can’t shift into some sea creature before I have this baby. I need you at the hospital.”
“I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”
“Okay. Then go get cleaned up. I want to buy you a birthday drink, even if it’s a day late.”
Chapter 13
Harlow
In the shower, I revel in the water. Like, full on giddy, as I dip my head under the showerhead, letting the water cover me.
I don’t know what’s happening, but it turns out water is becoming some sort of aphrodisiac.
My fingers run along my skin, as the memories of the night before flood my senses. My nipples get tight as I think about Kai licking them, my core turns to jelly as I picture Crew spreading my thighs, the way Eric filled me with himself, the way West pushed me against the wall.
My leg lifts to the wall of the tub, and my finger moves along my opening, then a second. I circle my clit, eyes closed, as warm water runs in rivulets between my breasts. I imagine Crew’s mouth pressed against my pussy, breathing hot air against me, as I came.
My breath catches as an orgasm rushes through me, my legs shaking as the walls of my pussy tighten, as my core heats up. I whimper under my own touch.
It feels so good, my finger grinding against myself, harder and harder at the memories.
I need them again.
I call out, the cry filling the bathroom with a melody I know from someplace deep inside. I call out, to them, my sailors, as I climax.
But then my thigh burns, the tattoo brightening--drawing my attention to it. I press my hand against it and bite my bottom lip to avoid calling out in pain.
Any heated thought I just had about my sailors is gone in a flash as I remember the words of warning from the selkie: “You belong to me.”
I turn off the water, catching my breath.
I don’t know where I belong, but in this moment, I know where I want to be.
On my back with my four men surrounding me.
-----
“Cheers!” Noah shouts, raising a pint. “To Harlow!”
“To Harlow,” shout the rest of Chloe’s guys, Mason, Enzo, and Ethan. As I watch them together, laughing and looking at Chloe like she’s the greatest woman alive, I realize maybe that’s why the idea of being with so many men didn’t totally overwhelm me last night.
“Thank you, guys, for coming out,” I say. And when a waitress delivers the pizzas a few minutes later and asks if I’d like another, I shake my head. “Only half a beer for me,” I say, knowing in a few hours I’ll be driving the boat for the sunset cruise.
Just as I am pulling a slice of cheesy pizza to my mouth, Chloe elbows me. “Oh my god,” she says under her breath.
My eyes widen. “What? Are you going into labor?”
“No,” she says, laughing. “Look at those guys. You should go talk to them.”
I roll my eyes. “Right, because hitting on guys at a bar is totally my thing.”
“It could be. You’re a new woman now. Oh, shit, they’re walking over here.”
I turn to look, and as I do, I spill my entire beer. Because it’s them.
“Oh, shoot,” Chloe says, as Mason jumps up and begins tossing napkins on the spill, not realizing my eyes are popping out of my head.
They see me and are drawn in as if there’s a magnetic pull. They begin to walk over, all four of them, eyes on me.
“Do you know those guys?” Enzo asks.
“Um. It’s them,” I whisper. Only Chloe hears me.
“Holy crap,” she says. Then she turns to her partners and mutters something along the lines of, “You know, the guys she met last night.”
I feel my face flush. “What did you say to them?” I mutter, shooting my bestie dagger eyes.
“I tell them everything.”
“Everything?” I gulp, remembering I told Chloe about how thrilling it was to have four different men go down on me.
“Not everything,” she says, resting a hand on my forearm. “And Harlow, you got this.”
I don’t really have a choice because they are here.
At the table, staring at me.
“Harlow?” Kai asks, incredulous. “You’re here.”
“Uh, yeah. Did you just randomly--,”
West cuts me off. “There’s nothing random about us. You know that.
“And we’d have talked about it this morning if you hadn’t left so fast,” Crew adds, crossing his arms.
“Are you mad at me?” I ask.
Eric raises his eyebrows. “You scared us half to death. We didn’t know where you went. If you’d...,” He clenches his jaw. “We aren’t mad. We were worried.”
“Sorry,” I say. “I didn’t mean to hurt you. I can understand how leaving like that would have scared you.”
“You can walk though?” Kai asks, brows furrowed. “Like, on dry land?”
Pursing my lips, I shake my head, confused. “I walked just fine last night.”
“But you’re a mermaid.”
I snort. “Uh, then how did I walk on your boat. I’m pretty sure I had legs last night.”
“I know but....” West starts, then stops and scratches his head. “But we thought you changed... for us.”
I smile. “Like, that I grew legs instead of a tail for you?”
“Something like that,” Crew admits.
“No, I told you last night. I’m not special. I’m just a person. Like you.”
West smirks. “Who has green sparkling legs and swims for miles and--,”
Chloe cuts him off by pushing her way between us and introduces herself as my best friend. Then she goes around the table finishing introductions.
“And now,” Chloe says. “We’re gonna go play shuffleboard. Why don’t you sit and have some food, there is plenty.” She smiles, pointing to her belly. “Perks of being preggo is I can make them order every pizza from the happy hour menu.”
She walks away with her guys but first looks at me with a huge ass grin basically screaming OMG.
She isn’t wrong. The guys are here.
With me.
I swallow. Are they on some evil mission to get me off course like the selkie warned?
But then they order beers from the waitress, and pick up slices of pizza and remind me that they are just regular men. Not half-seal anythings. Just guys who are sexy and smart and saved my life last night.
I have nothing to fear.
“So, Harlow,” Kai starts. “Where did you go this morning? There was a freak storm and we were scared you got caught in it.”
“I was in it,” I say slowly, remembering the way the sea seemed to split in two, how the selkie was pulled from me, how my head crashed into a rock. “But I got to shore safely.”
“Thank god,” Eric says, reaching for my hand and squeezing it. “We were so worried.”
“So, you live here, in Waikiki?” West asks.
I nod. “I’m telling the truth. I’m not some sea creature. At least, n
ot now. I eat pizza and go surfing and --”
“Sleep with sailing teams,” Crew adds with a sly grin.
I shake my head, unsuccessfully biting back a laugh. Appreciating how natural these men make me feel. “Not plural.”
“Let’s hope not,” Kai says.
I shake my head. “I was being honest last night ... about everything. You guys were my first... My only....”
The mood shifts quickly. And while the busy restaurant is loud and full of people, when I’m with these men I feel like I’m in a cocoon, a safety net. Looking around the table, I feel their eyes on mine, watching everything I do with interest. Like they are captivated.
My mind wanders back to my spirit animal. He warned me about these men; the way they stare at me now makes me wonder why I’m leaning closer, why my body tingles, why a rush of desire courses through me.
Should I resist what I want?
“Um,” I say clearing my throat. “How did you find me?”
Crew twists his lips. “Mermaid, it happened the same way we caught you in the net happened. We were drawn here.”
My eyes widen. How do they know how to find me?
West grins. “What, you’d like it better if we came here because we wanted pizza and beer?”
I release the breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding. Twisting the ring on my finger, I admit, “I guess it’s sweet, that you were looking for me.”
“Girl,” Kai says. “We couldn’t have lost you if we tried. Just like when we rescued you last night, we heard your call again. We knew where to come.”
I swallow, remembering the way I touched myself in the shower this afternoon, how I came so hard against my fingers and called out--to them.
They found me.
But my mind returns to the selkie’s warning. I don’t want to be made a fool of.
“Why should I trust you?” I ask. “This could be some scheme to lure me to, like, your bat-cave or something.”
Eric leans closer to me, cupping my cheek with his hand. “Don’t say things like that. What we feel is pure. It’s real. And it certainly isn’t laced with evil intentions.”
I pull my bottom lip, fear pumping in my heart. “Then why can you find me? Why can you hear my call?”
“We don’t know, but we’ll help you find out,” Kai says. “You want answers, let’s go get them.”
Crew raises an eyebrow. “You mean once the boat is fixed, and once the sponsor makes a decision?”
“What happened to your boat?” I ask.
“The storm today fucked it up,” Crew says. “We brought it in to see if the damages can be repaired.”
“And your sponsor, they’re not happy?” I frown. “That doesn’t seem fair—it’s not your fault you were caught in a freak storm.”
“Well,” West smirks. “We are pretty far off course from where they expected us to be. Which means they’re pissed.”
I run a hand through my hair. “Why were you off course? I thought you were some elite racing team?”
“We are,” Kai is quick to say. “But we were also following... something.”
I narrow my eyes. “Some force was at work to get you off track, is that what you’re saying?”
The guys nod. West reaches across the table, taking one of my hands in his. “We know it sounds crazy, but we couldn’t help it. Our boat was determined to go a different direction and we let it.”
My lips are suddenly dry, my throat parched. “And it led you to me.”
They nod. “I know it sounds intense,” Eric says softly. “But Harlow, --what we feel for you, is intense.”
I drop my shoulders. “And what am I supposed to do with that?”
Kai’s eyes meet mine, and my body tingles when he looks at me. “Let’s find out if you feel the same way about us as we do for you.”
I laugh awkwardly. “How are we going to do that? It sounds like a lot of pressure.”
“It doesn’t have to be high pressure. You could show us your town,” Crew says. “You already introduced us to your friends.”
“Yeah, sounds fun,” I groan. “But I have to work tonight. I’m taking a group out on a sunset cruise.”
“When?” Eric asks.
I look at the clock on the wall. “In about forty-five minutes.”
“Can we get a shaved ice and walk you to work?” West asks. His smile is infectious.
There’s no way in hell I could resist that grin. So, I don’t.
Chapter 14
Harlow
Walking with the guys down the strip makes me a little self-conscious. People here know me. This is where I was raised--though not born, obviously--and the island isn’t that big. I pass Carlos, one of my dad’s oldest friends, at the hot dog stand and I wave, knowing he’s making a mental note to ask my parents who I’m out with.
And when we stop for the icees, Sandy, a girl I had a class with at the community college with last semester, scoops up our ice into cones, dousing them with fruit syrup, I know she’s biting her tongue. Which I’m grateful for--I don’t want to field anyone’s questions right now.
“These guys are just coming through town,” I tell her, to ward off any rumors. “I met them on the beach.”
“Sounds fun,” she says as she swipes Kai’s debit card. “If you guys are bored later, there’s a bonfire on the south beach.”
The guys don’t pay her any attention though. Instead, they grab napkins for me, ask if I want anything else, and smile adoringly as I answer for us. “Thanks, but I have to work tonight,” I tell her.
The guys just wave, making it clear they only have eyes for me.
It’s exciting, this attention. My shoulders lift as I walk with them, and I recognize the feeling is pride. It feels good to be in their company.
“You look so pretty in that dress,” Eric says, taking my hand in his as we walk.
“Really?” I look down at the pattern of the fabric. It’s geometric and feels a little busy. “I wore it to cover my legs. They’re still, um...”
“Sparkling?” Crew asks with a light in his eyes.
“Pretty much.” I smile, feeling lighter than I have in so long. With these guys, it’s like there is no reason to pretend to be some outgoing person. I can just be myself.
“You look so happy, Harlow,” Kai says. “I’m usually in a bad mood when I have to go to work.”
West cracks up as we cross an intersection. “Right, since you know so much about a hard day on the job.”
We laugh at this, from what the guys tell me, Kai has a trust fund and an angry father who wants him back in law school. Crew grew up in an urban city, with a single mom, and Eric is from the Midwest, a Kansas City sweetheart.
“And what about you, West,” I ask. “Where did you grow up? Before you guys all met in college and tried out for this racing team?”
He wraps an arm around me and leans in for a bite of my icee. “I’m a free spirit, Harlow,” he says in an exaggerated tone. “I go where the wind takes me.”
I elbow him playfully. “Honestly though, what’s your story?”
“Eh, my parents are from a small Alaskan village, and I haven’t seen them in forever. My stepbrother lives there still, and we aren’t exactly best friends.”
“Why?” I ask as we turn left toward the boat dock.
“River is one of those brooding types, kind of my opposite.”
“You should work things out with him. I always wished I had a sibling.”
“Your parents were one and done?” Kai asks.
I bite my bottom lip. Here we go. I take a deep breath and then nervously say, “I actually don’t know my biological parents. My mom and dad found me on the beach when I was a newborn.”
We stop walking, the guys watching me. “You were found on the beach? Like, swept in from the sea?” Eric asks, his gaze is on mine. When he looks at me it’s like he’s searching my soul. What does he see?
“Yeah, basically. My mom still has this little, woven basket they fo
und me in. There was never any record of a missing child, and they were eventually able to adopt me.”
“It’s kinda fucked up that someone left a baby at the beach,” Crew says. His eyes are narrowed, and it’s clear what I’m saying upsets him. “You could have drowned.”
“But I didn’t,” I say as lightheartedly as possible. Truth is, I have thought the same thing so many times.
“Unless...,” Kai starts. “Never mind.”
“Say it,” West insists.
“Unless you were from the sea. Not the land.”
My thigh burns as he speaks. Like the words he says are being heard by a force more powerful than any of us.
“That’s ridiculous,” I say, brushing him off.
“Is it?” Kai presses. “We found you tens of miles from the shore. You were how many feet underwater, able to breathe? You may have spent your life on dry land, but Harlow, it doesn’t take a genius to know you aren’t from here.”
I shake my head. “Stop it, okay? I just want things to go back to normal. To how they were before. I just want...,” I cover my face with my hands, tears filling my eyes.
Eric wraps his arms around me, and they should be comforting, but right now I want to run away. “What is it you want?”
“I want to be alone. Alright?”
I take off toward the marina, knowing I need to get the boat ready for the cruise, but these guys are just too much. Their words, their bodies, and their desire are more than I could have ever imagined.
I want to know where I come from, but I don’t want to lose everything I already have.
My thigh burns and my heart constricts and it’s all too much. The guys call after me, follow me, but I turn and tell them to please let me be.
Eventually, they seem to get the clue, and as I head toward the boat, they stop following me.
When I get to the boat, I see my parents’ other employee, Davis, leaning against our small kiosk where we have people meet us for the tours. We usually run the sunset cruises together. He’s a white guy with dreads who always brings out a drum mid-way through the cruise. He’s a beach bum by day and hippie by night and everything about him is well-intentioned.
