Love & Fear | Book Two

Five

I watched as Michael tapped on the glass door but no-one else heard him except for me; they were too busy talking with my aunt. Standing, I silently walked over to the back door and walked out, sliding the door shut.

"Hey, how are you feeling?" Michael asked as soon as I faced him, his eyes back to their normal blue color.

"I'm okay." I breathed, "I'm still a little confused as to how I got to the beach last night. What were you doing there last night?"

I watched as he began to get nervous, his eyes flashing their unusual green color as he looks away, "I was um,"

"Were you out swimming? Isn't that not safe in the dark? With the tide and all?"

He looked back at me, knowing full well I was right, "Yeah, I was. And then I saw you standing in the sand and I wanted to see if you were okay."

"I see."

"I was actually wondering if you might want to grab some lunch sometime." He said, nervously tapping his left hand against his leg. Why was he so nervous?

"Um, sure."

"I mean if you don't want to that's fine, wait, what did you say?" He asked his eyes wide with surprise.

"Sure, yeah I'll go to lunch with you." I smiled, "Are you free tomorrow?"

"Yeah." His grin grew wider, as I looked him in the eyes.

"I'll meet you at Sting Rays at noon." And with that I escaped back into my childhood home, catching a glance behind me as he walked away. A sudden feeling of giddy warmth formed in my chest as I wondered what would happen next.

*

That next morning, I woke up having had the most restful sleep of my life. No nightmares of the ocean plagued my dreams and no unexpected adventure to the sandy shores filled my night. Only the quiet darkness filled the eight blissful hours and I wondered why this night was different than all the others. Was it something I did?

Rubbing my eyes, I got up out of the covers and put on a nice pair of capri pants and a cute lace shirt managed to find at a thrift shop. Throwing on some sandals I made my way into the kitchen to grab a cup of coffee when I saw that it wasn't eight in the morning, it was nearly eleven. I slept twelve hours!

Grabbing my purse from my room, I was about to walk out the door when someone came around the corner.

"Hey Lottie, how did you sleep?" Greyson asked, looking down at me. Like our father, he not only inherited his looks but his height as well.

"Hey, I slept great actually." I grinned, eyeing my brother's attire, "So where are you running off to?"

"Oh, Mandy left her sun hat here yesterday and I just came to get it." He paused, "But what about you? I know you aren't going to the beach."

"Oh," I saved him off, "I'm just going to lunch."

His eyebrow rose, "It's not with our family because everyone is at the beach by now, so, who is he?"

"It's no-one, it's just lunch can down." But I could feel the blush creeping up my neck.

"Hmm, why are you turning red?" He grinned, clearly enjoying this, "Is it Michael, I saw you two staring at each other yesterday while we were decorating."

"And what if it is him? We're just going to lunch, like normal adults. It's not romantic what-so-ever, now let me go you're going to make me late!"

"Sure, whatever you say." He said, ruffling my hair with one hand, Mandy's hat in the other before exiting the house.

"Hey, cut it out!" I yelled after him but he was already gone. Shaking my head, I followed him out the front door and began the five minute walk towards the restaurant.

*

Sting Ray's looked the same as I remembered: string lights hanging along the walls, round tables filling the room and a door that led to the balcony that overlooked the sea.

Immediately after entering I found Michael seated and waiting patiently at a table near the far wall. He looked up and smiled, I was only a few minutes early but I felt guilty for making him wait. Walking over to him, I realized that maybe I thought it was a date. But that would be ridiculous, I've barely spoken three words with him and we've only known each other for two days.

"Hi." I finally said as I took my seat across from him.

"Hi." His eyes changed then as if just by being near him made them change. Would it be rude if I ask him why sometimes his eyes changed from blue to green?

"Um, how was your day?" I asked, grabbing my menu and looking away from his intriguing eyes.

"It was good, apparently our family is spending the day at the beach. I didn't feel like going today. But I wanted to have lunch with you so." He trailed off, taking a sip of his sweet tea.

"Cool," I commented, scanning my menu as the waitress came and took my drink order: a glass of water and a root beer. I didn't feel like drinking sweet tea today. I found myself looking back up at Michael, watching him look over his menu as he tried to decide what he wanted to eat. "Hey Michael?"

He immediately looked up, "Yes?"

"Um, this may be an odd question but, what's up with your eyes?"

"What?"

"I mean, sometimes they're blue and sometimes they're green. I'm not sure if I'm just seeing things or what but, I find it interesting."

"Oh, that? Yeah, sometimes they just do that." He smiled, but I had the faintest notion that he was lying. And my intuition was almost always right. What was he trying to hide?

"Oh okay. So um, are you excited for my brother to marry your sister?"

"You aren't very good at small talk, are you?" He asked, his eyes filled with gentle humor.

"No." I laughed, "I'm awful at it."

"That's okay. And to answer your question yes, I think that if Greyson makes her happy then I am all for they're marriage."

By the time we finished our meals and the waitress gave us our check, we started talking as if we were two long lost friends who just decided to reconnect. I don't know if it was the feeling of being understood or if it was just the vibe I was getting but somehow I knew that Michael was going to be in my life be it a lifelong friendship or a romantic relationship.

And when our hands touched when I went to pick up the check, I felt my heart beat a mile a minute. The next thing I knew, he was walking me home and in broad daylight he walked towards me. I felt my breath catch in my throat as he closed the distance between us, kissing me with slow and cautious care as if he wasn't sure if this was what I wanted.

But in that moment, I didn't care as I kissed him back, his arms wrapping around my waist. It was like fate brought us together, but was I crazy for kissing someone I have only known for two days, based on three good conversations and one lunch date? In what felt like minutes, the kiss was over, and I was staring into his eyes, breathless as he whispered a faint word only we could hear: "Mate."

"I- I'm sorry I don't know what I was thinking." I stammered looking away. What am I doing?

"No, I'm sorry I should've have done that but-"

God, he was such a good kisser.

I met his gaze, my lips still tingling. Never have I had a kiss quite like that. It was, God it was amazing. I smiled, thinking about it, mindlessly taking a step towards him. "I don't know how to explain what I'm doing, God I don't know what I'm doing. Obviously I'm attracted to you but we're strangers! Normal people don't just kiss random people they find attractive! And what did you mean when you said Mate? I'm trying to figure you out but your driving me insane!"

"I know how you feel." He said, grabbing my hand in his, "I'll explain everything we just need to go somewhere else to talk."

"Where are we going?" I asked as he led me away from my parents home and through the streets. The sound of the crashing waves growing louder as we walked. Panic soon took hold as I stopped walking.

I watched as he turned around, still holding my hand in his, "Lottie, I need you to trust me, I promise you, you won't get hurt."

My jaw clenched as I stated at the entrance to North Beach and looked back into Michaels green eyes. Taking in a deep breath I nodded, cautiously walking with him onto the beach. There were only a few people out on the sand, and those that were were playing in the waves that I refused to get into. We stopped walking once we made it far enough away from the tourists until it was only Michael, me, and the roaring ocean.

I watched as he sunk down into the sand, I followed suit shortly after. I couldn't believe I was this close to the ocean. Heck, I couldn't believe Michael kissed me and I kissed home back. I don't want to rush things and I knew I probably wasn't in the best state for a relationship. I still needed to get over my fear of the ocean and it wouldn't be fair to him if I wasn't my best self.

"I'm afraid of the ocean." I stated as he turned away from the open water to look at me.

"What? What do you mean you're afraid of the ocean?"

"When I was seventeen my brother, his best friend, and I went out on his boat and I fell off the dock and nearly drowned. As soon as I turned eighteen, I moved to Carthage, North Carolina as far as I could get from the ocean but still close to my family. This is the first time I've been back to Tybee Island since I moved. I want to get over my fear for my family but I don't think one week in a coastal town will instantly ease my fears." I gripped the sand in my hands, running the cool sand through my fingers.

"I'm sorry that happened to you, if you want, I could help you." He offered.

"Thanks, but I'll see if I can do it on my own." I smiled, turning away from him.

Suddenly his hand settled on mine as I looked back at him. "Loretta, you won't be a burden, I'd be glad to help you. We'll take it one step at a time."

"Okay." I sighed, a little relieved, "So what was so important that you wanted to be in private to talk about? Does it have anything to do with how you said Mate after we kissed? Or why you liked to me about why your eyes change colors?"

"How did you know I lied? And yes, it has to do with both of those things. I just don't want you to freak out what I tell you the truth." He sighed, "The truth is, I wasn't just swimming the other night, I was calling out to my mate. My soulmate. Loretta, I don't know how else to say this but, you are my soulmate and the reason my eyes change is because of you. And I don't want to scare you but I don't want to lie to you either. I'm a Symari, an ancient race of merpeople. Your race would classify them as mermaids or mermen for their male counterparts."

All I could do was stare, he had to be lying. But he wasn't, I could see it all over his face. He was being blatantly honest with me. He thinks he's a mythical underwater creature and that I'm his soulmate? What is going on!

"I know it sounds crazy; I knew you needed to see to believe me so I'll show you."

I watched as he stood, offering his hand for me to take. I hesitated, contemplating if I should follow him, before grabbing his hand and walking with him towards the water. Ignoring the anxiety of being so close to the water, I watched as his hands touched the cool saltwater and his legs began to form a gigantic silver fish tail. Stumbling backwards, I wondered if I was dreaming or if I was going insane. And then I fell, my world going black as I fell into the sandy floor next to an impossible discovery.