A Mermaid's Kiss

by Katie Holland

“I know. But I think it’s helping.” I started to think about last night at the party and smiled. I wasn’t sure I would ever forget that. “He’s going to drive us to the beach, so I need to get changed and we’ll meet at his truck.”

  Fifteen-minutes later we were on the road to the beach. I didn’t think I’d ever get tired of seeing and hearing the ocean. I can’t imagine what it would have been like growing up with the ocean for a backyard.

  We had a blast surfing. Karma and I still fell more than we stood on the board, but we were getting better. When we were done, it was off to the taco truck then back to campus.

  The boys dropped us off and we went back to our dorm. I had a bunch of reading to do and Karma had a paper due, so we spent the rest of the evening doing homework.

  At 10:00 I called it a night and went to my room. Even though I’d spent most of the day with Major, I still hadn’t texted him the naughty stuff I was supposed to, so I sent him a quick text.

  Me: I think our talk in the coffee shop qualified as my sex talk for the day

  A few minutes later my phone dinged.

  Major: Nope. I will still require a dirty text from you as per our agreement

  Me: Fine. Give me a minute to think of something.

  I still wasn’t very good at coming up with random things to say without some prompting from Major. A good five minutes later, I was still thinking.

  Major: Did you fall asleep???

  Me: No, still thinking

  Major: It’s not that hard. Tell me something that makes you wet.

  This was so easy for him. I hoped I was working toward that. Finally, I sent a text back.

  Me: Watching you come made me want to touch myself

  Major: Dammit woman!

  Me: What?

  Major: You can’t expect to tell me that and not get hard

  I laughed to myself. I really hadn’t thought about it.

  Me: I think you’re always hard

  Major: Only when you tell me things like that

  Me: Sorry

  Major: Don’t be sorry

  Me: I’m not sorry for that, I’m sorry for this. I’m going to get off the phone, I need to get to sleep. 5:30 comes early. Night Major.

  Chapter 30

  Major

  I stared at my phone for a minute and let out a laugh. She left me hard and happy about it. She might not think she was very good at talking dirty, but she was actually very good at it, at least via text. I think she still couldn’t say a lot of stuff out loud. I couldn’t study with my dick as hard as it was, so I decided to have a shower and take care of the problem. I hadn’t jacked off this much since I was in junior high. Once I was sure I had my dick back under control, I went back to working on my Statistics homework.

  * * *

  It was Saturday morning and the guys were getting together to decide the winner of our bet. I stuffed my thousand dollars in my pocket and met up with them at our usual coffee shop.

  “Okay assholes,” I said, after we ordered. “Let’s hear your numbers, and I want the pictures to prove it.”

  I was sure I’d lost because of the few times I’d blown off parties to text Kayleigh, but it didn’t really matter because it had been worth it.

  Zach got his phone out and six different pussy’s to show us. Chad was next with seven. Bodie had nine and then it was my turn. I hadn’t even counted mine, but was surprised when I saw I also had nine.

  “Shit,” I said. “There was one chick I didn’t get a pic of. It was hard and fast against the wall of a club so no opportunity to get one. How are we going to break the tie? I think Zach and Chad should decide so it’s not biased.”

  “Seems fair to me,” Bodie said.

  Zach and Chad left the table to come up with a tiebreaker. They were back a few minutes later.

  Okay, here’s what we’ve come up with,” Zach said. “We’re assuming that you’ve been able to score some phone numbers. So, whoever has the hottest text from a chick wins. No pictures, just a straight up text. Game on, gentleman.”

  Fuck. The only girl I had been texting was Kayleigh. I didn’t want them to know anything about how I was helping her. I quickly changed her name in my phone to Mermaid and then scrolled through our texts. I finally found the one I wanted, and sent a screenshot to Zach. Bodie did the same and then they were off to deliberate. They were back a few minutes later.

  “And the winner is … drumroll please,” Chad started banging his fingers on the table. I rolled my eyes at the two of them. “The winner of the first annual pussy pic contest is … Major Davenport.”

  I laughed. “Pay up,” I told them. I was surprised I’d won. “What did Bodie’s text say?”

  Zach showed it to me. “I want to suck your cock.”

  “That’s not very original,” I told Bodie.

  “She was hot, I never claimed she was smart,” he said.

  That made me grin.

  “What did yours say?” he asked. “I'm actually surprised you have a girls number at all.”

  “I’ve gotten a few,” I lied. “Never know when I want an easy fuck.”

  Zach showed him the text from Kayleigh. “Watching you come made me want to touch myself”.

  “I disagree with the results,” Bodie said.

  “Doesn’t matter,” Zach said. “We were the tiebreakers and our decision stands. Better luck next time loser.”

  We continued to give each other shit for the next hour before going our separate ways. As soon as I was free of the guys, I texted Kayleigh. She should be just about done with practice.

  Me: I’m taking you out tonight

  She replied a few minutes later

  Kayleigh: Why?

  Me: You helped me win a bet and I want to say thank you

  Kayleigh: Um … okay?

  Me: I’ll explain later. I’ll pick you up at 7:00. Wear a dress.

  Kayleigh: Bossy much?

  Me: Most girls would be dying for me to take them out

  Kayleigh: I’m not most girls

  Wasn’t that the fucking truth.

  Me: Do you want to go to dinner with me?

  Kayleigh: Sure. That would be great. Thanks for asking.

  Me: Are you familiar with the word punishment?

  Kayleigh: I may have heard it once or twice

  Me: Be prepared

  Kayleigh: I thought you wanted to thank me, not punish me

  Me: I think a bit of both is in order. See you tonight.

  I had a feeling this was going to be a very interesting dinner.

  Chapter 31

  Kayleigh

  “What was that all about?” Karma asked, as we walked back to the dorm.

  “Apparently, I helped Major win some kind of bet and he’s taking me out tonight to thank me.”

  “Um …okay.”

  “I know, I think it’s strange too. But it’s a free dinner off campus.”

  “Where are you going?”

  “I don’t know. He said to wear a dress so I’m guessing that it’s somewhere nicer.”

  “You mean not a taco truck or grungy pizza place?” she said with a smile.

  “That’s what I’m assuming. What are you doing tonight?”

  “Someone in my Geology class mentioned a party and I think I’ll check it out.”

  “Don’t forget we have an extra practice tomorrow,” I told her.

  “I’ll be there with bells on,” she said grinning at me.

  We got back to our room and took turns showering then went to get some lunch. The rest of the afternoon was spent studying and reading.

  At 6:00 I decided to start getting ready. I had no idea what I was going to wear, so I figured that was the first thing I needed to do. I went to my closet and looked through my dresses. I’d only brought a few, as I didn’t think there would be a lot of use for them.

  I finally settled on my favorite one. It was off-white, sleeveless, and fell to just above my knees. It looked great with my dark hair and tan that I still had from t
he summer. I did my makeup and decided to leave my hair down, but I put a bit of curl in it.

  When I came out of my room, Karma whistled at me. “You look hot woman.”

  “Thanks,” I said with a laugh. “I wish I knew where we going so I knew if this was okay.”

  “You’ll be fine no matter where you end up,” she told me.

  Just before 7:00, I was about to head downstairs when there was a knock at the door. I opened it and smiled.

  “Major,” I said, “How did you know where our room was?”

  “I told you, I have my ways,” he said with a smile. “You look great, Kayleigh.”

  “Thanks. You don’t look so bad yourself,” I told him. Actually, he looked freaking hot. He had on black suit pants and a light blue button-up shirt.

  “Are you ready to go?” he asked.

  “Let me get my purse and I’m all yours.”

  “Be good,” Karma said with a smirk.

  I gave her a dirty look and closed the door behind me.

  I waited until we got to the truck to ask him what I was dying to know.

  “So, where are we going?”

  “It’s a surprise,” he said with a wink. “Do you like surprises?”

  “Most of the time I do, if they’re good.”

  “This is a good one,” he assured me.

  I noticed the signs on the road as we were driving. “Are we going to San Francisco?”

  “Yep. Have you been there before?”

  “No, but I love seeing new places.”

  We listened to the radio and I watched the scenery go by. When we finally got to the restaurant, I was surprised to see it was on the Bay. Major led me to the door and stopped at the hostess stand.

  “Reservation for two under Major,” he told her.

  “Yes. Mr. Major, follow me,” she said, and took us to a booth in the back of the dining room.

  After she left I couldn’t help the giggle that I’d been holding in.

  “What’s so funny?” Major asked me.

  “Are Mr. Major, Mr. Bunny, and Major Bunny all related?”

  Major let out a laugh that might have been a bit too loud for the nice restaurant. “I think they might be actually,” he said with laughter.

  “Why did she call you Mr. Major anyway?”

  “It’s the only name I gave them so they assumed it was my last name.”

  “What is your last name?” I asked.

  “Davis,” he told me.

  “Cool,” I said, and picked up the menu.

  I looked at the items they had to offer. Everything looked good.

  “Major,” I whispered, “there are no prices on here.”

  “I know, just order whatever you want.”

  “But …” I started to say when he stopped me.

  “Kayleigh, tonight is a night so just enjoy yourself, don’t worry about anything and have a good time. I told you, I won a bet and tonight everything is on me.”

  “So, about this bet, how did I get involved anyway?”

  “I’ll tell you all about it … after dinner.”

  “Is mysterious your middle name?”

  “No, actually Major is my middle name.”

  “Really?”

  “Yep.”

  “So what is your first name?”

  “I hate it, so I never use it.”

  “Come on, tell me, it can’t be that bad.”

  “Trust me. Major is a much cooler name.”

  “Is it Melvin?”

  Major let out another loud laugh. “No, not as bad as that.”

  “So, there you go, it could be worse, Melvin,” I said grinning at him.

  “Are you going to call me that all night?”

  “Nope, just until you tell me your first name.”

  “We’ll see about that,” he said.

  Our waitress came to take our drink orders. I ordered water with lemon and Major got a soft drink. I went back to looking at the menu.

  “What are you going to have?” I asked him.

  “Probably the ribeye. You?”

  “I was thinking maybe the filet mignon.”

  “Good choice.”

  The waitress came back with our drinks. “Are you ready to order?”

  “Ladies first,” Major said.

  “I’ll have the filet mignon with the grilled vegetables and the garden salad with the house-made vinaigrette. And Melvin here will have the rib eye.”

  I put down my menu and winked at him.

  “Sir?” the waitress questioned.

  “Yes, I’ll have the ribeye with a loaded baked potato and grilled vegetables.”

  She left, and Major gave me a look that said I might be in trouble.

  Chapter 32

  Major

  I somehow managed to keep a straight face, but inside I was dying with laughter. I can’t believe she’d actually called me Melvin to a stranger. I knew this was going to be an interesting night.

  “You are in so much trouble,” I told her.

  “This can all end with one simple word,” she told me.

  “You’re not going to give up are you?”

  “Nope,” she said, popping the p.

  “Fine,” I huffed out. “My first name is Leonard. It’s my grandpa’s name on my dad’s side. Major was my grandpa’s name on my mom’s side and my other middle name is Evan, after my mom’s brother that passed away before I was born. Happy now?”

  She grinned at me and nodded. “Leonard Major Evan Davis, has a nice ring to it.”

  I cringed when she said, Davis. I hated that I’d lied to her, but I didn’t want her to figure out who I was. I would tell her one day, but just not yet.

  “What’s your middle name?”

  “You’re going to laugh,” she said.

  “I hope so. Tell me.”

  “Aretha.”

  “Like as in, Aretha Franklin?”

  “Yep. I’m told mom was a huge fan.”

  “I guess it could be worse, right?” I said, repeating her words from earlier.

  “True, it could be Bertha or Hilda,” she giggled.

  I liked it when she giggled, it always made me smile. We talked about a few more miscellaneous things while we waited for our food. The more time I spent with Kayleigh, the more I liked her. She was genuine and real, not something I had a lot of in my life. My parents and my boys were the only people I trusted. When women found out I was a Davenport, I usually saw dollar signs light up in their eyes.

  When the food came it was fantastic. I convinced Kayleigh to get some dessert. I had a feeling she didn’t get to splurge much and I want tonight to be a treat for her.

  Her eyes lit up when her dessert was placed in front of her. She moaned when she took the first bite, and my dick definitely noticed. I was fascinated by watching her. She tried to offer me some, but it was more enjoyable watching her eat it.

  “I’m going to have to do extra laps tomorrow to work that off, but it was so worth it. Thank you, Major, this might have been the best dinner out I’ve ever had.”

  “You’re welcome. And thank you for helping me win the bet.”

  “Speaking of that,” she said, “now that dinner is over, I think you owe me an explanation.”

  “You got me there. At the start of the semester, the boys and I made a bet to see how many girls we could have sex with by the end of the month. We each put in money and the winner got all of it.”

  She looked confused. “But, we didn’t have sex so how could I have possibly helped you win?”

  “Well, part of the bet was we had to take a picture of her pussy as proof.” She made a face at me when I said that. “Bodie and I were tied so Zach and Chad decided that whoever had the hottest text from a woman would win.”

  I took out my phone and showed her the screenshot that I’d sent to Zach.

  “But that’s my text.”

  “Exactly. They decided that it was hotter than Bodie’s and I won,” I said grinning.

  “But
that was private,” she said softly.

  “I changed your name to Mermaid, so they wouldn’t know it was you. See,” I said, and pointed at the screen.

  “I would like to go home now, Major,” she said in a whisper.

  I looked at her and saw that her eyes looked like they held unshed tears.

  “What’s wrong?” I asked, not having a clue what I had done to upset her.

  “Just, please take me home.”

  I had no idea what had happened, but I’d do as she asked. I paid the bill and we went to the truck. Halfway home, Kayleigh still hadn’t said anything, and I saw her wipe her eyes a couple of times. I figured out that I’d fucked up, but I didn’t know how.

  “Talk to me, Kayleigh,” I finally said. “Tell me what I did wrong.”

  “The fact that you don’t know is part of the reason that I’m upset. I just need to go back to the dorm.”

  I was more confused than before. Why couldn’t women just say what was wrong, instead of making guys try and guess?

  Chapter 33

  Kayleigh

  I managed to get all the way to our room before I really let the tears fall. To someone else, it might not have been a big deal, but it was to me. I felt betrayed. He knew it wasn’t easy for me to say those things and he showed them to his friends. Changing my name on his phone didn’t matter. And who was he kidding? Mermaid? It wouldn’t be all that hard to figure out who it was.

  Major the asshole was back. I guess he hadn’t really changed at all. I forced the tears to stop and took a hot shower. I felt better when I was done. I put on my coziest pajamas and curled up with my eReader. The book I was reading was a romance, but that so wasn’t what I wanted to read right now. I searched through my books and settled on a crime thriller. That suited my mood much better.

  I’d only read two pages when my phone dinged.

  Major: Are you okay?

  I wasn’t going to answer him, so I went back to my book. About five minutes later there was another one.