Once they cleared the breakers, Derek let the waves wash them ashore. On the beach he dragged Tad up past the tide line and rolled him onto his back, lying beside his lover as he tried to catch his breath. The gills along his neck gaped once, twice, trying to suck in air as water, then closed up, allowing his lungs to fill with heavy, salt-laced air. Above, a sliver of the moon winked down at them through scuttling clouds racing across the deep night sky. The waves crashing around Derek’s legs were capped with silver foam that rinsed the scales from his skin. His fins faded into his legs and arms; his flippers tightened, retreating into toes that dug through the wet sand. The next breeze that blew over his shoulders chilled him, despite the change in his blood raising his body temperature
