Page 60 of Waves
“Ezra, honey, I love you, but this is beyond fucking insane.” Mary took a deep breath and tapped her nails on the table. “Okay, let me get in on this delusion for a second. Let’s just say Kai is a selkie. Prove it to me.”
I wiggled my fingers in the air at her and continued to eat.
“That’s not funny,” Ezra said with a nudge.
“Then why are you smiling?” I asked with a wide grin.
Ezra laughed once and turned back to Mary. “He can’t change without his coat, which I believe is in the garage.”
Mary crossed her arms. “Okay, go get it and put it on. Right here, right now.”
I took a large gulp of water and snorted into the glass. “No, thank you. I’m not a trained animal whose sole purpose is to entertain you.”
“He also needs to be in the water,” Ezra explained. “He can’t do it here.”
“That’s mighty convenient,” Mary huffed, her lips pursed.
“I can vouch for him. I’ve seen him do it.” Ezra silently counted. “Eight, no, nine times now.”
“You can’t vouch for one another in a situation like this,” Mary said with a long sigh.
“Ishmael vouches for me, then. Don’t you?” I said while I looked under the table. I smiled when he pressed his face into my hand for more pats, his tail smacking against the floor.
“Oh, yeah, and he talks to my dog.” Ezra laughed. “Apparently, selkies can speak canine.”
“Stop,” I chuckled with him. “I told you, all you need to do is pay attention to what he’s saying and then respond in a way he understands.”
Mary looked at the both of us like we were barking mad, then to Eric to see if he agreed with her assessment.
I let out a deep sigh, knowing she’d never be satisfied until she saw for herself. “Since you insist that seeing is believing, I’ll show both of you.”
“You most certainly will not,” Ezra said with a frown. “You’ll open your stitches.”
“After I’m healed, then. How long could that possibly take? A week, maybe two at the most?” I asked.
Eric sucked his teeth and grimaced. “At least two weeks, probably three.”
Ezra sighed, one of his hands squeezing mine. I knew he hoped to console me. Three weeks was a long time for me to stay away from the ocean.
* * *
EZRA
Despite his claim of being a freeloader, Kai had always been more helpful than any of my other boyfriends. Even while injured, I had to shoo him from the kitchen and tell him to lie down and rest. Painkillers really knocked him out, but doing nothing but napping for the past week left him restless. Which meant Kai hung out in the living room and pretended to watch television while he continually offered assistance whenever I did menial chores.
“Please, I’m bored senseless. Come sit and watch something with me,” Kai said while wagging the remote at me.
Like I could refuse. I crossed the dining area and flopped onto the couch beside him, plucking the remote from his hands and selecting a newer special on the Megalodon.
Kai lay back down on his stomach, hugging my chest with a sigh. He stayed quiet when the opening credits played until he shifted around on my lap to look at me. “I’m sorry I left you,” Kai mumbled. “Especially without any warning.”
“Well, I’m sorry for... everything. I never meant to... I know you weren’t leaving on a whim,” I said while playing with his hair. “I don’t know why I said the things I did.”
“Because you were upset. I understood.”
I sighed while I watched the television. As much as I appreciated him accepting an apology, I didn’t feel any less shitty about my behavior. Kai probably still thought of me as nothing but a mild-mannered, animal-loving little nerd, and he wasn’t entirely wrong. There also happened to be overwhelming anxiety lurking right below my surface, and that part of me hadn’t much reason to reappear until recently. And the hardest part to understand for anyone who never experienced any themselves, was how anxiety meant more than worrying and nervousness—sometimes it meant anger and irritability, too.
Kai did an excellent job of assuring me he wasn’t mad by being extra smiley while he squeezed my waist to him. When he nuzzled into my stomach, I made the mistake of thinking about how close his face was to my crotch. Nope, not doing this right now. I released a long breath while my cock started to swell, trying to distract myself with anything else. Kai lifted his eyes to meet my gaze and giggled at my reaction. His laughter wasn’t from amusement, but a clear sign of mischief. He only confirmed my suspicions by curling his fingers under the band of my drawstring pajama pants.