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I nod in agreement. At this point she could probably ask me to do anything and I would nod haplessly, lost in the brightness of her eyes as she smiles up at me. Therefore, I follow like an obedient hippocampus on a lead when she tugs on my hand and steers us down the crowded dock. There are so many strange smells of hot fish meat, and I am bewildered by the fact that I cannot decide whether I find them appetizing or not. They remind me of the smell of marine creatures rotting in the sun where they wash up along the rocks and beaches of the cove. That I find this smells intriguing is enough to make my stomach turn until I’m suddenly hit by a waft of sweet, fresh fish as Keri tugs me inside a restaurant.
I cast a curious glance around at the dimly lit interior. Much of the restaurant is done in deep reds and browns with hints of gold that I find to be visually pleasing, as is the tank along one wall filled with several brightly colored fish. The atmosphere is pleasant, and I find myself peering at the sheet of human characters that I cannot read with interest. Keri scoots closer, and I nearly groan as her scent fills my nose.
“From your description of foods your people enjoy, I thought you might enjoy tasting some sushi and sashimi,” she says in a low voice. “How much do you trust me?”
I gaze over at her, entirely fascinated with the pleasure in her gaze and the way the lighting makes her eyes appear darker and more mysterious like the depths hidden from the sun.
“Eternally,” I rasp, and her smile disappears for a second as she blinks in surprise before returning even more brilliantly.
A woman dressed in a very plain but elegant manner stops at our table and waits with a patient smile as my mate asks for a number of things that don’t sound familiar to me. As I expect this, I content myself with simply observing my surroundings, but most especially the female sitting across from me until my attention is distracted by several long, narrow plates set in front of us with a pair of thin paper packages set at each of our sides.
I pick mine up and peer at it curiously as I slowly strip the paper from the wood tucked inside. I look over at my mate and see that she already has hers open and is watching me with an amused expression. Seeing that she’s gained my attention, she breaks the wood into two thin sticks and slowly demonstrates how she places them in her hand. I observe the way she maneuvers the sticks with fascination as she carefully plucks up something she calls a Dragon Roll and pops it into her mouth. I do not think it is truly made of dragon—I cannot imagine eating sea dragon as they are tough and surely taste as rancid as their personalities—but there is a spicy scent to it that I enjoy that makes me eager to try.
Cracking my sticks carefully to separate them, I attempt to spear one of the morsels, only to have the stick and the deliciously wrapped bits of fish and vegetation fall back onto the plate. I scowl at it for a long moment and attempt to grab it again, but not only do I drop my bottom stick so that it clatters useless to the table, now the roll has also fallen apart to lay strewn across the table. I gape at the mess and then snarl with determination, but my heart eases at the soft laughter of my mate as she watches. Keri reaches for another with her sticks, keeping her movements slow and exaggerated for my benefit. My eyes track the way she moves her hand as she plucks another disc the way I would pluck something up with my claws. I stare intently at the sushi and then my sticks.
I narrow my eyes at the bits of wood, and I shift them around in my fingers until I get a comfortable grip where they feel like balanced extensions from my hand. The tip of my claw unintentionally pierces the soft wood of the top stick, but as I give a few experimental moves, I decide that this is not as difficult as it looks. I am still a little unsure as I hover with the sticks suspended over the food. Keri gives me an encouraging smile, however, and I abandon the rolls in favor of the lumps of rice with slivers of raw tuna on it.
My mouth salivates with the familiar scent, but I take my time picking it up between the sticks and bringing it to my mouth. The rice is cold and pleasant—and far more agreeable than the bread stuff that humans use on everything that gives me terrible indigestion. So is the small amount of seaweed wrapped around it. But I groan with pleasure when I bite into the tuna and it melts in my mouth. Keri chuckles, and I feel something pressed against my wrist. Curious, I look down at the tiny cup there.
“I thought you might enjoy the sake. I know some people prefer it warm, but I like it chilled, especially when I’m enjoying it with sushi.”
I pick the cup up and give the contents a curious sniff. It smells pleasing. Still, I watch my mate over its rim as she takes a delicate sip, and I follow suit. The spice of the drink washes over my tongue and I freeze thoughtfully, entirely uncertain, as I allow the flavor to settle and swallow.
“You are right!” I am so pleasantly surprised that I immediately snatch up a roll and stuff it in my mouth, eager for another burst of flavor. I only just barely get it swallowed before I take another sip. I settle back into my seat with happy sigh and my eyes closed as I savor. “Ah, delicious.”
A surprised giggle comes from my mate, and I open my eyes to peer over at her. The corners of her mouth curl, and she points her sticks at me.
“I knew that this would be a great idea! And look at you, getting the hang of chopsticks!” A gratified look crosses her face as I quickly eat three more. She then blinks as I dive in and retrieve a fourth, a tasty prawn right from under her nose. “A little too good,” she adds dryly.
I grin but slow down my pace so that I can once again resume savoring the flavors as my female fills me in about the rest of her day. As I did little else but wait for the hour for her to be released while I amused myself with the television in my room—still a wonder to me after all this time flitting along the coastal cities among humans—I have little to offer the conversation. So I eat and listen, and tip back tiny glass after tiny glass of the exceptionally delicious sake that rushes over my tongue and pools with heat in my belly.
I never want the day to end, but I am far too aware of the sun. Even indoors I can feel it sinking lower on the horizon. When our meal concludes, there is no time to walk her home or to enjoy the docks with her. The sky is orange and scarlet with the last fires of the sun, and so I take her hand in mine and let her walk with me to a private little alcove where I found a secure dry spot to store my clothes during the night.
Keri’s eyes follow me as I slip down into the cool water, and my heart clenches painfully in my chest. I feel an echo of sadness from her, and it is all I can do not to claw at my forming tail with frustration. My fins flick, propelling me further from the shore, and we watch each other for a moment until I cannot stand it any longer and dive down into the darkness.
Only when I am certain that she has left the embankment do I break the surface and watch her sorrowfully as she heads down the dock in her little orange dress that reminds me so much of the sun.
Keri
I standat the edge of the pool and watch as Ro streaks through the water. I should go below to record him now that he is swimming at his full, natural speed for me, but I’m reluctant to go down just yet. After two days of observing him in the pool, this is our last day here and it makes me a little sad. I know that we truthfully have nothing else that we require the pool for. The only thing I’ve yet to observe is how Aquana move when they hunt, but I’m not really mentally prepared to put a small animal in with him just so he can show me how he would kill it if he were in the sea. In any case, the aquarium is eager to have their access to it back so tomorrow we will be back at the lab.
I remind myself once more that I should be down in the observatory area taking advantage of this, but I can’t seem to make my feet move from this spot. My point of focus leans so strongly toward him that I don’t have the desire to go anywhere. I just want to stay there with him. I have been feeling this since we met, but instead of fading over time, it’s become more intense. I’m not sure if I like feeling this way. It’s as if every bit of my common sense is taking a back seat to my desire, and it has been this way every day with Ro since I met him.
Ro’s head breaks the surface, his white hair plastered against his head and streaming in the water around him as he swims toward me. I can feel the silly smile tugging at my lips, but I simply can’t resist as he watches me just above the edge of the water with his large aquamarine eyes. They gleam with a hint of a smile that I can’t clearly see beneath the water, and then he dives, his tail flicking as it briefly crests and sinks below the water. He speeds toward me, a blur of white, pink, and red until he comes within just a few feet and his double tailfins spread wide like enormous fluttering fans to slow him to a stop before rising once more to break the water’s surface.
I don’t move as he draws closer to the edge of the pool, not even when he sprays droplets on my feet when he puts his arm up along its side to rest his head on it to watch me more comfortably. He hums softly, and while I know he isn’t intentionally trying to lure me in with his song, that melodic humming sends a shiver through me and makes me want to cast caution to the wind. I swallow hard, my eyes widening as pulse fills my ears and thrums through my entire body with every beat. I stare down at him, and my lips part.
“Ro…” I whisper uncertainly.
He cocks his head and a knowing look crosses his face as he becomes alert and lifts his chin from his folded arms. “I know,” he whispers.
My eyes slide shut, and I shiver again. Those two words practically feel sung with the way they vibrate melodically through me, even though I know that they were not.
“I feel it too, Keri,” he rasps, and my eyes snap back open.
I don’t want to ask, but I have to. I can’t get past everything I’ve read, no matter how much I want to, or how much I think that it no longer has a hold on me or has any influence on my relationship with him.
“Is this a trap?”
