I feel my face flush. “What did you say to them?” I mutter, shooting my bestie dagger eyes.
“I tell them everything.”
“Everything?” I gulp, remembering I told Chloe about how thrilling it was to have four different men go down on me.
“Not everything,” she says, resting a hand on my forearm. “And Harlow, you got this.”
I don’t really have a choice because they are here.
At the table, staring at me.
“Harlow?” Kai asks, incredulous. “You’re here.”
“Uh, yeah. Did you just randomly--,”
West cuts me off. “There’s nothing random about us. You know that.
“And we’d have talked about it this morning if you hadn’t left so fast,” Crew adds, crossing his arms.
“Are you mad at me?” I ask.
Eric raises his eyebrows. “You scared us half to death. We didn’t know where you went. If you’d...,” He clenches his jaw. “We aren’t mad. We were worried.”
“Sorry,” I say. “I didn’t mean to hurt you. I can understand how leaving like that would have scared you.”
“You can walk though?” Kai asks, brows furrowed. “Like, on dry land?”
Pursing my lips, I shake my head, confused. “I walked just fine last night.”
“But you’re a mermaid.”
I snort. “Uh, then how did I walk on your boat. I’m pretty sure I had legs last night.”
“I know but....” West starts, then stops and scratches his head. “But we thought you changed... for us.”
I smile. “Like, that I grew legs instead of a tail for you?”
“Something like that,” Crew admits.
“No, I told you last night. I’m not special. I’m just a person. Like you.”
West smirks. “Who has green sparkling legs and swims for miles and--,”
Chloe cuts him off by pushing her way between us and introduces herself as my best friend. Then she goes around the table finishing introductions.
“And now,” Chloe says. “We’re gonna go play shuffleboard. Why don’t you sit and have some food, there is plenty.” She smiles, pointing to her belly. “Perks of being preggo is I can make them order every pizza from the happy hour menu.”
She walks away with her guys but first looks at me with a huge ass grin basically screaming OMG.
She isn’t wrong. The guys are here.
With me.
I swallow. Are they on some evil mission to get me off course like the selkie warned?
But then they order beers from the waitress, and pick up slices of pizza and remind me that they are just regular men. Not half-seal anythings. Just guys who are sexy and smart and saved my life last night.
I have nothing to fear.
“So, Harlow,” Kai starts. “Where did you go this morning? There was a freak storm and we were scared you got caught in it.”
“I was in it,” I say slowly, remembering the way the sea seemed to split in two, how the selkie was pulled from me, how my head crashed into a rock. “But I got to shore safely.”
“Thank god,” Eric says, reaching for my hand and squeezing it. “We were so worried.”
“So, you live here, in Waikiki?” West asks.
I nod. “I’m telling the truth. I’m not some sea creature. At least, not now. I eat pizza and go surfing and --”
“Sleep with sailing teams,” Crew adds with a sly grin.
I shake my head, unsuccessfully biting back a laugh. Appreciating how natural these men make me feel. “Not plural.”
“Let’s hope not,” Kai says.
I shake my head. “I was being honest last night ... about everything. You guys were my first... My only....”
The mood shifts quickly. And while the busy restaurant is loud and full of people, when I’m with these men I feel like I’m in a cocoon, a safety net. Looking around the table, I feel their eyes on mine, watching everything I do with interest. Like they are captivated.
My mind wanders back to my spirit animal. He warned me about these men; the way they stare at me now makes me wonder why I’m leaning closer, why my body tingles, why a rush of desire courses through me.
Should I resist what I want?
“Um,” I say clearing my throat. “How did you find me?”
Crew twists his lips. “Mermaid, it happened the same way we caught you in the net happened. We were drawn here.”
My eyes widen. How do they know how to find me?
West grins. “What, you’d like it better if we came here because we wanted pizza and beer?”
I release the breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding. Twisting the ring on my finger, I admit, “I guess it’s sweet, that you were looking for me.”
“Girl,” Kai says. “We couldn’t have lost you if we tried. Just like when we rescued you last night, we heard your call again. We knew where to come.”
I swallow, remembering the way I touched myself in the shower this afternoon, how I came so hard against my fingers and called out--to them.
They found me.
But my mind returns to the selkie’s warning. I don’t want to be made a fool of.