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“You can’t know.” Jax leaned forward and whispered, “You’re human.”
“I told you that didn’t matter to me. You’re the one that seems bothered by it here.”
Jax shook his head. “It’s not you.”
“Oh, that old line? It’s not you, it’s me? That’s what you’re going to use? If you want to break up, just say so.”
“I don’t want to break up, Neil. But then I’d almost forgotten you were human. This kind of proves I had my head up my ass.” He waved his arm around.
“What do you mean?This? What we’re doing together?”
“No, this restaurant. This is so not me. At all. Surely, you would know that, but I guess we don’t know each other that well after all.”
I looked around, holding back tears. The decor was pleasant—if a bit dark—it was a steak house. The server had been attentive, and the food was good. “I don’t understand.”
“Can we go?”
Neil raised his arm to get their server’s attention. “Check?” he asked when the young man came over.
**
Ten minutes later, we were driving toward Jax’s apartment in silence. When I pulled into the lot in front of Jax’s building, Jax turned to face me. “This isn’t your fault. I’m sorry about my attitude.”
“I wanted to share a nice meal with you. That’s all.”
“I know, and I was a dick.”
“Why?”
Jax took my hand. “I came here for my dad. To get to know him a little better. I haven’t spent much time with him since I was little, and it hasn’t worked out well. He hasn’t—we don’t get along.”
“You haven’t been here that long.”
“Yeah, but he’s already bad-mouthing me. He doesn’t know me, Neil.”
“Is that what all thatyou’re humanbullshit was about?”
“I haven’t gotten on well with humans, mostly. That’s the biggest reason none of my relationships have gone well. Humans don’t understand me.” Neil took a deep breath. “Most of the time, they run screaming at the first hint that I’m not like them. But you didn’t.”
“I wouldn’t.” I sucked my upper lip in between my teeth. What else could I say?
“My mom lives, uh, somewhere near Laucala Island, near Fiji. It’s hard to explain where that is using human explanations or maps.”
“You mean she lives in the ocean?”
“Yeah. And I’d lived with her there for years. But I needed to find out about the rest of the world.”
“I understand as best I can. I’m not going to tell you I know what it’s like to have weird powers or live under the ocean, but I know what it’s like to be different. I know what it’s like to want to see if there’s something better out there.”
Jax squeezed my hand. “I guess you do.”
They sat there for a moment, not saying anything. I wondered if Jax was going to give this thing a try.
“Well?” he finally said. “Want to come up? I’d like to make it up to you?”
“Oh? How’re you gonna do that?” I teased.
Jax’s voice lowered, practically rumbling when he answered, “Come up, and I’ll show you.”
