Page 24 of Waves
When Ezra stayed seated, Ishmael sat beside him. He offered a soft woof, trying to appeal to me.
Ezra got up and walked to the helm, but I didn’t budge. Good, he needs to leave. He never should have come out here nor come looking for me. I never wanted him to chase me. I wanted him to go about his life as if we never even met.
The boat engine started back up while I floated on the water’s surface. I intended to swim back to the shore, but the longer I watched Ezra, the more I questioned my decision. The same feeling—an absence of relief—ate away at me until something came over me. My skin prickled with a familiar sensation and I dove beneath the surface, slicing my flippers through the water while I swam after his boat. I really didn’t want him to leave—not yet—and not without... me. After I rolled in the water, I broke the surface with a gasp, my coat in hand.
* * *
EZRA
A wet plop came from somewhere behind me. When I turned, a soggy clump of skin and fur sat in a puddle on the deck. Odd. Stranger still, Ishmael didn’t rush to inspect the carcass that somehow washed up here. Instead, he slowly wagged his tail while intently staring out at the water. My eyes moved to where he focused, and I could hardly believe what we were witnessing. A tuft of wet, blonde hair peeked over the edge of my boat. Then a whole head, followed by a pair of shoulders and there he was, standing on the deck of my boat.
Kai smiled at me as if we ran into one another on the street instead of the middle of the ocean. “You wanted to talk?”
I didn’t say a word. I could only stare for a minute, mouth agape, while I came to accept that Kai was really here. After frantically fiddling with the boat’s controls, I cut the engine. I didn’t mean to run over and tackle him to the deck. I did anyway. Indescribable joy bubbled up to my surface just from seeing him here, especially after I began to accept I never would again. I did not hallucinate this shit. I was right about Kai, and now I found him.
Kai didn’t fight the hug. If anything, he seemed quite amused. When I pulled away from him, his already glowing smile shone even brighter. He rested his hand on the nape of my neck and softly clonked his forehead against mine then whispered, “I missed you, too.”
* * *
After scouring the mainland proved futile, I took my boat all the way out to the farthest islands in my search for Kai. I almost couldn’t believe I actually found him, but then again, I kind of did this for a living. If anyone could find one selkie among seals, that person would be me.
When I last saw Kai, I got a look at his coat pattern, however briefly, before he disappeared into the depths of the sea. After researching at the library proved to be a dead-end, I began pouring over my notes for any clues instead. I came to realize I photographed and documented an extremely similar seal before—numerous times, even—since he frequented the same territory as a few tagged specimens of his species. I determined then and there that if I came across him this much already, I would find him again. It would only be a matter of time and effort, with a touch of luck. I searched high and low since then, coming across some close matches in the process of scouring his known areas. Until today, because today was the day I finally found him.
When we arrived back at the marina together, the golden clouds glowed in the sunset. After a moment of gentle debate about what to do with his... coat, as he called it, I assured Kai he could bring his sealskin along if he preferred, even though I dreaded the thought of it stinking up my car. If even half of what I read was true, I understood how important his coat was to him, and I did not want him worrying if I intended to hold it hostage. Kai was the one who ultimately suggested keeping it on the boat. With a sigh of relief, I agreed and stored it in an empty cooler below deck for safekeeping.
Ishmael remained beside himself with joy when the three of us walked into the house together. Seeing my dog remember Kai warmed my heart, and not just because his reaction was further proof I hadn’t lost my mind. After some enthusiastic barking, Ishmael disappeared down the hall, likely in search of his stuffed lobster.
Kai stood by the closed door, hands in the pockets of his jeans. He seemed surprised yet appreciative when I handed him a bag of clothes so he could get dressed below deck. Even more so when they fit so well... but that was only because I had a rough idea of his size and might have purchased those things specifically for him in advance. Just in case.
“So, hungry? I can make some dinner,” I said.
Kai shook his head and simply said, “No, thanks.”
“Want to just... hang out for a bit?”
Kai smiled and nodded, so I flopped down onto my couch, slightly reclining in the corner. I figured we could be lazy and watch some television now, then decide on what to eat later. The adrenaline buzz I got when Kai climbed aboard my boat effectively killed my appetite. Now that the initial rush wore off, I actually felt drained more than anything.
Kai sat down and sank sideways in my direction. Despite leaving plenty of room for Kai to sprawl out on the other side, his arms hugged my ribs while he used my chest as a pillow. I reflexively braced at the sudden contact, more from shock than any opposition. I could be a bit weird like that. Earlier I became so excitable I tackled a naked guy with a hug and thought nothing of it, then a few hours later, having him so close that we were actually touching made my anxiety flare.
I wasn’t sure what else to expect, but all that happened next was Ishmael hopped up onto the couch with us and rested on our legs. I officially became pinned at the bottom of the snuggle pile, not that I was really complaining. Ishmael looked so cute with his lobster in his jaws while he closed his eyes, and Kai might be even more so, already sound asleep while he held onto me. I wiggled my phone from my pocket and snapped a picture of Ishmael trapping our legs with a smile. I sent the image to Mary, followed by a haughty text:
Look who’s back.
* * *
I didn’t even remember falling asleep until Kai’s weight shifting atop me pulled me from the shores of a dream. While I thought he might want to get up, he didn’t move. He must have rolled in his sleep or something. With my eyes still closed, I combed my fingers through his golden hair. This guy really was a big puppy himself, and he exhaled with a contented hum. So cute, I thought, while a smile crept across my lips.
Kai’s chest dragged across mine while he pulled himself closer, resting his forehead against mine with a playful thud. When I opened my eyes, he smiled back at me. He gazed at me now the same way he had on the beach, when he held my hand so tenderly and said he would miss me. The same look overcame him on the deck of my boat upon greeting me. My heart believed what he said earlier about missing me, even if I needed until now to realize how much I missed him, too.
Kai could’ve stayed in his seal form, and I never would’ve been the wiser, but he didn’t. He chose to show himself and to come back with me. When one of his hands cupped my face and his thumb affectionately stroked my cheek, all of my thoughts and emotions fell into place. A chance at a moment like this was exactly why I searched for him; not in hopes of dissecting him or tagging and releasing him or observing him through a wall of glass, but giving into an innate desire to be close to each other. Maybe this was why Kai chose to pursue a human connection, though I would never understand why that person happened to be me.
The deep brown of his eyes still surprised me given his blond color, yet their warmth seemed appropriate. Nothing short of desire smoldered in his eyes, burning right through layers of doubt to tell me exactly what this was becoming. Kai tilted his face to mine until our lips met, and when they did, it was as if I suddenly found myself possessed by some kind of lust demon. I didn’t know who this Ezra was, but he was needy and horny and oh-so-happy to be this close to Kai. I wove my arms around Kai’s neck, hanging off him like an ornament while my fingers nested in his long hair at his nape.
Once Kai leaned more of his weight against me, his fingers slowly drifted down my body. First moving from neck to chest, then traveling down my ribs and side until he could squeeze my ass, wringing out a soft moan placed against his lips. We were only kissing, yet something about the moment became so incredibly intense my head swam. The scratch of his beard and the touch of his hands only amplified his closeness—so I could feel him across my entire body, even in the places we weren’t touching. When I lifted my hips while returning his increasingly passionate kisses, the friction of his cock rubbing against mine through our clothes only dug my grave deeper. Unlike the day at the beach, I knew without a shadow of doubt I was not dreaming any of this. I must have died and gone to heaven instead.
* * *
Kai obviously let Ishmael out for me again the next morning. I woke up much later than usual. Ishmael contentedly snored where he sprawled himself across the foot of the bed, while Kai cuddled beside me with his eyes still closed. I smiled to myself while I debated moving and disturbing him. He looked so content when sleeping.