Page 59 of Witchful Thinking

Before leaving the house, Lucy had changed into a bathing suit, tossing on a skirt and jean jacket over it. She’d brought two big towels for them to sit on by the lake. Lucy laid out the towel while Alex stood at the end of the wooden dock. Uneasiness wedged under her rib cage. She hadn’t been to the lake since Alex left town, and seeing it again brought up an unfulfilled desire.

He helped her down onto the towel. She crossed her legs. The soft terry cloth felt good against her skin as she sat on it. She pulled her jacket closer to her body while staring up at the stars. They shimmered like cracked crystals against a wide blue blanket. She looked at Alex.

He paused, glanced up at the sky.

“Do you remember the planetarium trip?” he asked.

“I remember writing the report.” Lucy shook her head, annoyed. “Didn’t you pick Pisces?”

During their sophomore-year science class, they’d gone to the library together and traced the stars for an astronomy project. They had to pick a constellation and present it to their class. Alex got an A. Lucy got a B. Even after all these years, she was still salty about getting that grade.

He peered at her. “Yeah, I did. The fishes.”

He motioned to the surface, his voice distant. “Do you mind?”

“Please. Go ahead.”

Alex yanked his shirt over his head in one smooth motion. Lucy swallowed. Mercy. He stripped down to his boxer briefs, which showed off his peach-shaped ass and his impressive size and dropped into the lake. Heat pulsed between her legs.

Alex dunked under the surface. He flung a piece of fabric from the water onto the docks. Wait—were those his boxers? Grove Lake glowed, and his form warped and shifted. He popped up from underneath the surface and met her stare. Water droplets hung from his eyelashes and chin. Scales, iridescent and bright, covered his face, from his chin to his forehead. He swam out away from the dock.

Once he dove under the water, his tail caught the moonlight and his back fin glittered. Ripples bounced off the lake and expanded out. He did a few laps, then came back to the dock. Lucy scooted to the edge. She studied his warped figure underneath the surface, her eyes darting back and forth. He emerged from the water, his hand clutching a hidden item.

Alex pulled himself out of the lake, onto the dock. He sat next to her, flopping gracefully. She moved over, giving him space.

He was still glossy from the lake. She paused, scanning him. Where his legs were once located, there was a tail. What a tail. It was thick and long and took up space on the dock. Whoa. It formed at his upper thighs; the scales blended in with his skin. But above his thighs, he was completely naked and exposed. He’d transformed into a merman. A hundred teenage fantasies came to life in this one glorious night.

Alex waved a hand over her face, breaking her stare. “You’ve never seen a merman’s tail before?”

Her eyes darted away to his face. “Never. You’re my first merman.”

“Oh.” That single word reverberated over her skin and sent a longing throughout her body.

“Don’t look so smug,” she said.

“I can’t help it. I’m honored to be your first.” The underlying suggestiveness in his words held her still. In another universe, he would’ve been her first, her last, and the one who would stay within her heart. Neither of them moved. As she watched him lie on the dock in his merman form, a memory of her going to Jenkinson’s Aquarium popped into her head. She’d loved going there when she was young and had been fascinated by how smooth fish scales felt under her fingers. Were his scales smooth or rough? There was only one way to find out. Her skin flushed at the thought.

“You can touch me if you like,” he murmured.

“Um…okay.” Lucy rubbed her palms together. She dipped her hands in the water quickly, then pressed her hands on him midtail. His quick inhale filled the silence.

She froze. “Did I hurt you?”

“No.” Quiet satisfaction rippled over his face as he responded.

As her hands inched up, his eyes sharpened. Every fiber of her being warned her against touching him, but he felt so warm under her hands. Smooth. Alive. His scales mimicked those she saw on fish at the market. They blended from deep aquamarine blue into sea green to pearly white with blue tips. He was still slick and wet from his dip. Let me be the water on his scales. A thrill went through Lucy when his eyes turned sharp and blazed.

“How do…? How does it work?” she said.

“Which it are you talking about, sugar?”

“If you get wet in the shower, does it appear?”

Alex moved his head from side to side, his eyes slightly unfocused. “The rules work differently for every mer family. Dwyers transform with the phases of the moon. My tail pops up under a full moon and in water,” he said. “I have to be submerged. I try to swim as much as I can.”

“When you dry off, you get your legs back.”

“Yes.”