A knock at the door made Leigh’s breath catch. Could he get one morning…?
“Must you answer it?” Tolly whispered.
“I have to.”
“Then can we revisit this later?”
Later would be good. Leigh needed five minutes to think this through and untwist his insides. He and Tolly were both adults who knew what they wanted. That should be enough. But most crises of conscience didn’t involve mythical creatures.
“Yeah,” Leigh said since he was only human, even if Tolly wasn’t. “Later.”
At least the sight of Deanna and Gert through the peephole was the final bucket of ice water he needed to cool down before answering the door.
“Hey. What’s going on?”
“Can you watch Gert today?” Deanna asked, looking frazzled while she held her little girl’s hand. “Gar’s waiting downstairs and we’re already late. Maggie isn’t feeling well, and you know that woman would power through a nuclear explosion if she had to, but she doesn’t want Gert to catch anything.”
Crap. This neighborhood wasn’t exactly teeming with viable options for a babysitter, and Deanna couldn’t afford normal day care. The desk job she’d finally wrangled after being a waitress for years paid well, but she hadn’t been there long enough to save much.
“If there was anyone else, I wouldn’t ask. I know things can be… complicated for you.” She glanced into the apartment, no doubt looking for signs of trouble, but instead she saw Tolly wearing one of Leigh’s sweatshirts and an extra pair of sleep pants. She relaxed at the sight of him just like Ralph had.
“It’s okay,” Leigh said. “Honestly, here might be one of the safest places right now. It’s better for me to stay home anyway and wait on some info. We’ll be fine. Tolly can help, right?” he said loud enough for both Gert and Tolly’s benefit.
Gert peered around Leigh’s legs with an excited smile, and Leigh looked back to see Tolly wave at her.
“It would be our honor to watch over Miss Gert,” Tolly said. “I did promise my assistance. Shall we play merfolk again?” He winked at her.
“You two are amazing.” Deanna sighed as she let Gert scramble inside and handed Leigh a bag he assumed was filled with toys she might want for the day. “I’ll be back with Gar in time for dinner. You’re sure it won’t be any trouble?”
Leigh glanced back once more as Tolly dropped down to a crouch while Gert regaled him with tales of some cartoon she’d been watching that he had to see, and Tolly nodded along happily. It wasn’t the morning they’d had planned, but maybe for the better.
“I’m sure. Tolly’s a double threat, you know, as bodyguard and babysitter.”
Deanna laughed. “At this point, I’ll take anything.”
Leigh set the bag down next to the sofa after she left. “You eat breakfast yet, little miss?”
“Nope!” Gert jumped on the balls of her feet, hair bouncing in two puffball pigtails. “Maggie was gonna make muffins.”
“Don’t think I got the right stuff for muffins. How about we have cold pizza and you don’t tell your mama? We’ll eat something healthy come lunchtime, deal?” He held up his hand, and she gave him a swift high five.
“Deal!”
“Pizza can be eaten cold?” Tolly followed them into the kitchen.
“Pizza can be eaten any way you want. Sometimes cold really hits the spot.”
Taking the day off would have been nice, but having to play babysitter didn’t mean Leigh could be lax. He still checked in with Alvin and kept the cogs in motion. He also discreetly asked Tolly to scan for any strange figures outside the apartment every couple hours. If Gert needed to use the bathroom or was distracted enough, Tolly would step up to one of the walls and project his sonar. Nothing ever came back suspicious, but it gave Leigh peace of mind.
He didn’t like that most of his next move relied on sitting pretty at home while Alvin did the legwork, but he’d been out and about too much already. Everyone knew he was alive by now, but that didn’t mean he should make it easier for them to take him out.
Naturally, as soon as he thought that, he realized he didn’t have much of anything other than leftover pizza in the fridge or cabinets. He hadn’t gotten groceries in a while, but he couldn’t send Tolly out alone, and he didn’t want to take them both along.
“I’m gonna run out for like twenty minutes to get groceries. We’ll make sandwiches for lunch, how’s that, Gertie, and I’ll pick you up some chocolate milk?”
“Will you be okay alone?” Tolly asked. “Perhaps we could all—”
“Twenty minutes,” Leigh reiterated, grabbing his ball cap and glasses. “If I’m gone longer than half an hour, then worry.”
There was a general store not far away where he could get what he needed, though it did take him past the shop from the other day that was locked up now, empty. He hadn’t heard anything from Tabitha about a loan. It was a shot in the dark anyway. He didn’t think anything would come of it, but he wondered….
Picking up food went by uneventfully, until he passed the aisle with the supplies he’d been thinking about that morning. Did he even need condoms with a mermaid? Did Tolly know what condoms were?
Leigh probably stared for a solid minute in indecision before he swept a box into his basket—and a bottle of lube. He’d never been embarrassed purchasing such things before, but today he felt like everyone’s eyes were on him.
He scanned his periphery. No eyes were actually on him, but when he stepped out of the store and turned an immediate right, he nearly ran into detectives Perez and Horowitz.
Making a smooth about-face, Leigh headed the other direction, circling back around to the alley where he could get a look without being seen. He wasn’t close enough to hear what they were saying, but things were getting serious if they were hanging around this much. They were worried, which meant there was something to be worried about.
This wasn’t only cat-and-mouse undermining from the Morettis. With multiple snitches in Sweeney’s organization, they had to be planning something bigger. A takeover. Why hadn’t Leigh seen it? And it had all started with getting rid of him.
Heading a longer but more hidden path back to his apartment, he contemplated how easily he could secure anything he wanted from Sweeney if he ended a war before it began. He wouldn’t just be back in Sweeney’s good graces, he’d be set.
Set for life and part of this world forever.
Seeing Perez—Nick—always spiked resentment through his chest. The detective had been understanding once, always giving Leigh a break when he was a kid, because he understood you couldn’t change who your father was or how limited the options were coming from these streets. But as soon as Leigh started running for Sweeney in earnest, those slaps on the wrist escalated.
Sure, Leigh had let Nick down, but what else could he have done?
He was fully aware how much he sounded like Ralph.
After waving with a forced smile at Tolly and Gert, who were playing with a combination of dolls and action figures on the living room floor, Leigh retreated to the kitchen to put away the groceries. Their voices filtered to him clearly.
“Then what happened, Tolly?”
“Then Effie bopped it right on the nose so Keelan could steal the fruit. The pelican was not happy, but I splashed it with a wave and the three of us swam away before it could recover. We ate the fruit in the shade of a large cliff by the beach, laughing at our cleverness. After all, he stole the fruit first. I was not much older than you then.”
“Are you still friends with ’em?”
Tolly’s voice took on a sad edge. “No.”
“Why not?”
“They had to go away,” he said, careful not to tell any part of his story that would scare her or admit what he was. “I miss them, but it is nice to think of them sometimes.”
It was only when Tolly came into the kitchen to help with the groceries that Leigh realized he’d been staring at the counter.
“I got it,” he said, still embarra
ssed about the supplies tucked into one of the bags. But before Tolly could leave, he asked, “What really happened to your friends?”
“They were not fast enough swimmers either.”
“Tolly,” Leigh called to keep him just a moment more. “How long have you been alone?”
At first Tolly didn’t turn, but when he did, there was a sparkle of wetness in his eyes. He didn’t say anything but smiled as if to say it was okay, even though it obviously wasn’t.
Leigh couldn’t do this. He couldn’t let Tolly be part of killing Vincent Moretti, but there was no way he’d agree to stay back. What was Leigh supposed to do without turning into the type of monster Tolly had escaped?
To distract himself, he focused on making lunch—sandwiches and chocolate milk as promised. Tolly devoured his pastrami. He had yet to try anything he didn’t like. He also ate a lot for someone with such a small frame.
The usual interruptions came as the afternoon ticked on, and helped alleviate some of Leigh’s unease. There was always something broken in this building. If it was brought to him instead of taking him out of the apartment, Gert and Tolly would watch over his shoulder. Leigh could see the same hunger in Tolly’s eyes to learn and experience something new. Before long, he was offering Leigh suggestions on how to fix things, and he was usually right.
“I am a fast learner.”
“So you’ve said, but you weren’t kidding.” Leigh smiled, and Tolly beamed back at him like all the loneliness he’d known could be erased if only Leigh willed it.
Maybe if Leigh could buy that shop, he could get out from under Sweeney’s thumb. That wouldn’t solve his Moretti problem, though. He’d be another business expected to hand over cash on the regular, and if he didn’t, they’d do far more painful things to him than a drop in the river or a gun to the back of his head. He needed to solve that problem first; he just didn’t know how without bloodshed.
Later, Leigh and Tolly did the dishes while Gert napped. Their hips would brush every now and again, and Tolly would glance at him with a hopeful smile. It was strange but also reassuring to feel Leigh’s own anticipation and nervousness echoed back at him, just enough through their connection to be sure they both wanted the same thing.
“Out of curiosity,” Leigh tried with an awkward clearing of his throat, “how would we have sex if we did?” He was twelve. He was twelve years old and making a fool of himself.
But Tolly didn’t laugh. “You can show me the first time. As humans,” he said as if it was a simple thing to be discussing over dishes. “Though I would like to know you with my tail someday as well.”
Know you. It was just so… Tolly.
“And like that… we’d…?”
“Oh. I am quite different in that form. More like a… shark? Perhaps that is the wrong analogy. I do not know of other creatures exactly like merfolk. Do you fear you will find my sex hideous?”
Leigh looked at him, but Tolly kept his eyes on the dish he was rinsing. “I don’t think it’s possible to find any part of you hideous.”
Tolly smiled so brilliantly then, dark eyes twinkling as they met Leigh’s so that Leigh almost convinced himself he could be fine no matter what Tolly looked like as a merman aroused.
Then he made the mistake of Googling shark penises after they finished the dishes. He should not have done that. Tolly looked perfectly normal, extremely attractive and frankly well-endowed as a human. As a merman, did he have… claspers?
Leigh erased his search history and tried not to think about it.
TOLLY HAD seen the flush in Leigh’s cheeks steadily growing ever since the afternoon. There was trepidation in him but also an eagerness to be alone with Tolly again. Tolly would be so good to him if only he gave him a chance. He would follow Leigh’s every whim to please him. Then, surely, Leigh would speak a vow of love long before their time was up.
It was a joy to watch over Gert in the interim. Human children were precious and allowed to be precious. Gert behaved well, but even when she pouted tiredly after her nap to have another unhealthy snack, calmly getting down on her level and speaking firm but plainly brought back the reasonable girl Tolly knew her to be.
Children did not need to be treated harshly to get them to listen. They were still learning. One needed to be patient with them. It was careless and cruel to kill them simply for disobeying—for going off alone from a hunting party to play instead.
Effie and Keelan’s parents had done their duty by merfolk law, but Tolly’s had refused and escaped with him. It was for his sake they became renegades, and he would always be grateful for that.
Dinner was at Deanna’s after she returned home. Leigh could not refuse the offer, not when she mentioned empanadas, which Leigh was certain Tolly would love. He did.
Ralph joined them as well. “Your cooking is always the best, Deanna,” he said with a look that Leigh had called “moon eyes” to Tolly in a whisper.
“Thank you, Ralph.”
“You know what else could be on the menu?”
Leigh kicked Ralph under the table. It seemed such an obvious action to Tolly, but everyone pretended it had not happened, and Ralph grew quiet.
Gert pleaded for another playdate at the pool, and since Tolly was happy to be in the water, he convinced Leigh to go along. Tolly had his own swim trunks now, red with yellow stripes down the sides.
“Why did you kick Ralph?” he asked when they were headed downstairs to join the others.
“You know what’s on the menu? Me-N-U,” Leigh said with a sneer. “Kid’s a walking disaster of pickup lines. He’s got no idea how to talk to a woman.”
“Me-N-U,” Tolly repeated, then laughed. “I get it. Perhaps he merely needs direction in how to be thoughtful and attentive toward a potential partner.”
“I’ve tried. Kid always panics and defaults to cringy bullshit instead.”
Ralph was in the pool with Deanna and the children when they arrived, since he had his own trunks back. He was talking to Deanna animatedly, while also playing with Gar and Gert. The subtle smile on Deanna’s face said she knew exactly what his intentions were, but she did not have the heart to tell him to stop.
“Don’t go trying to matchmake them like Alvin and Cary,” Leigh said.
“Oh no. Perhaps if Ralph was twice his current age. He needs to find someone with the same qualities he admires in Deanna but who is more attainable. He should also not rush. Sometimes one must be patient for the right match.” Tolly looked at Leigh with wholehearted affection, adoring the way Leigh glanced away, wide smile stretching his face like he too was young and bashful.
“You watch a lot of rom-coms, don’t you?”
Tolly stared in confusion.
“Romantic comedies.”
Ah. “Are they not wonderful stories? Love and humor are the best parts of life.”
“You’re a walking rom-com,” Leigh said. “I’ve never met anyone like you.”
“I take that as a compliment.”
“It was meant as one.”
If there were not others present, Tolly would have braved another kiss, but perhaps now was a moment to—what was the phrase? Play hard to get.
He dropped his towel on one of the chairs and backed toward the pool, eyeing Leigh with open hunger that made Leigh shiver. Tolly would make up for his lack of experience. He would show Leigh all the ways he could please him.
For now, he reached the pool’s edge and dove in at the deep end before swimming around to join the others. The water rejuvenated him, even though in his new form, he no longer needed as much regular submersion.
It felt strange but still enjoyable to feel the flow of water around his legs. Being in the water made him want to let his tail out immediately, but it was merely a matter of will to resist. The occasional tug to let out his claws or any other part of his true form would increase as the full moon drew near, but he had time. Losing his temper and letting a few aspects out had been dangerous enough when fighting those men. Tolly preferred
to be something Leigh looked at with desire.
Deanna and the others did not stay long, but she expressed much gratitude for their help that day. Gert gave both Tolly and Leigh high fives before they left, and Ralph trailed behind Deanna with those same moon eyes.
Leigh locked the door once they had gone, prompting Tolly to waste no time shifting forms. It was like a great stretch. Not that his legs were constricting, just different. Perhaps now he could convince Leigh to join him in the water.
“We can’t stay long. Alvin’s on his way with your ID.”
“We can stay a bit longer, yes?” Tolly arched up to float atop the water on his back, arms and tail extended. He felt Leigh’s eyes scan the length of him, tempted whether Tolly had legs or not.
Like before, Leigh shed his shoes, rolled up his jeans, and sat at the edge, dangling his feet in the water. Tolly dove down deep, zipping from shallow end to deep end and back again to show off for him, delighted at Leigh’s chuckle when he surfaced. Then he floated toward Leigh, close enough to slide his hands onto the concrete, framing Leigh’s thighs between his arms.
When Leigh’s legs spread apart to allow him closer, Tolly moved his hands to Leigh’s thighs and lifted up to angle for a kiss. Leigh tilted his head down to meet him, the chlorine on Tolly’s skin making the taste between them salty but not unpleasant.
Tolly floated just out of Leigh’s reach with a grin. “Come into the water with me.”
Leigh’s eyes strayed down the front of Tolly’s tail.
“Do you want to see what I look like in this form?” Tolly asked, already having trouble keeping his sex from appearing since he felt the heat building between them. Flicking his tail up, he floated away farther to give Leigh a good view should the answer be yes.
A thud alerted Tolly to something behind Leigh, but the entrance had been so seamless, like someone used to picking locks, that he only saw Alvin over Leigh’s shoulder after it was too late and his eyes were already taking in Tolly’s tail.
“Holy shit.”
Chapter 8
TOLLY’S LIPS were a constant temptation now that Leigh had given in, especially when he swam to the edge of the pool, hands moving to Leigh’s thighs as he lifted up to claim a kiss. Tolly tasted far sweeter than he should.
Coming Up for Air Page 10