“Meena! Don’t you dare!” Violet tried to scramble to her feet, but I twisted the dial and water sprayed out in a steady stream. Violet cussed loudly and ran for me with her arms outstretched. Yelping, I tried to back away but slid in the soap. Violet caught me in a giant hug, laughing hysterically as she wrestled for the hose. Once we were both drenched and soapy, we sat on the floor of the tank giggling.
The loud roar of a motorcycle reverberated through the concrete walls, making us look at each other in interest.
“No way.” Violet scrambled to her feet and peeked out of the tank.
“What? Who is it?” Standing on the tips of my toes, I tried to see what Violet was looking at.
“I can’t believe it. Blake Weathering is one of the flukes?” Violet’s eyebrows scrunched together in consideration. “I guess it was that fight in gym class last month.”
“Blake who? What fight?” I watched the motorcycle rider swing his leg over the bike and pull at the clasp of his helmet. He was tall and tan, but it wasn’t until he pulled his helmet off that I understood why my friend was so interested. His dark, unruly hair curled around his ears and even from yards away, I could make out the stubble on his chin and jaw. His mouth was turned down in a disgusted frown as his dark eyes traveled over the worn sign for the sanctuary and took in the rusted gates. Immediately, my hackles went up, angry to see someone openly judge the sanctuary. It didn’t matter how hot he was; judging my family’s hard work pissed me off. When his eyes swung in our direction, Violet grabbed my arm and ducked back down into the tank.
She pursed her lips. “How the mighty have fallen. Blake Weathering sent to do community service. I bet his dad flipped his lid.”
“Why do you keep acting like he’s something special?” I fought the urge to look back over the wall again. There was something about him that caught my attention. Maybe it was the obvious disdain he seemed to have for life. I really hoped it wasn’t just because of his sexy eyes. “Besides, he’s late if he’s supposed to be with the other losers, I mean workers.”
“Oh, come on. That boy is sex on a stick, but that’s not what I’m referring to. His family owns half of the major hotels in the area. His dad is a seriously scary dude, too. He came with Blake to my mom’s clinic when we were in grade school. Blake had broken his arm, but his dad acted like he deserved it.” Violet chewed on her thumbnail for a minute. “Blake is the proverbial badass at school. He’s always in trouble. Then there was that fight at the end of school. He beat the crap out of some dude in the locker room, but no one knows why. Probably just looked at him wrong or something.”
The sound of flip-flops scuffing along the pavement had us both looking up with wide eyes. Blake’s stared down at us, his mouth quirked into a smirk. The pull of his mouth and dark brown eyes seemed to grab my attention and hold it.
“Violet, what did you do to end up here?” His voice rumbled out of his chest in a pleasant way, but his tone set my teeth on edge, immediately breaking the spell I was under. Who did he think he was?
“I didn’t do anything. I help out every summer.” Violet stuck her nose in the air and glared at Blake.
“You actually want to spend your summers here?” Blake’s eyes left Violet’s and turned toward me. His gaze was long and thoughtful, making my skin erupt with goose bumps, desire warring with the anger that seethed just underneath. Violet ground her teeth at his words. “Who’s your friend, Vi?”
“Blake, meet Meena. Meena, meet his royal assness, Blake.” Violet rolled her eyes at him before turning around to grab her push broom from the ground.
Blake groaned good-naturedly and ran a hand through his hair. Something in my gut pulled when he smiled. I liked the look in his eyes, a little more relaxed and amiable, but I stamped out that response. I didn’t like the way he talked about the sanctuary. “C’mon, Vi. I haven’t stolen your dessert in years. You can’t still hold that against me.”
Violet rolled her eyes, but I saw her lips twitch a little. I could understand how that peek of boyishness would make her want to smile. “My mom made that cupcake just for me! It was my birthday.”
“Geez, we were eight.” Blake shook his head and looked back at me. It was almost as if he was memorizing my face. “So what school sent you to this hellhole?”
“My family owns this hellhole.” And with that stupid sentence, I was back to feeling pissed. It was like he slapped me. My cheeks darkened in anger and my back stiffened. “And you’re late.”
I didn’t get the chance to interact with a lot of the other kids my age on the island. I had been homeschooled and at this moment, I was actually glad. What would I have done if I had to spend time with jerks like this? I’d probably be one of the weirdos trying to work off community service. The desire to punch Mr. High-and-Mighty in the jaw was so intense I actually considered it for a split second.
He blinked slowly and frowned. “Talk about putting my foot in my mouth.”
“Take the path down toward the big building. The rest of the miscreants are in there with my dad.” I glared at him, my skin itching with anger. He hadn’t even apologized! My family worked really hard to take care of the animals at Flukes. Sometimes that meant they neglected things like paint and landscaping. Which is probably why his words struck such a wrong chord. But all the animals were well-tended and happy. The cosmetic stuff was what the screwups were here to fix anyway. If they could get the place looking better before the cruise-line people came to inspect them, they had a real shot at scoring a contract.
“Right.” Blake stood up and looked down the path toward the main building. “With the other miscreants. Got it.” His eyes swung back to me and I wondered what he was thinking. There was something thoughtful in his gaze. Not wanting to look like his smile had made things better, I continued to stare at him angrily, not caring if my face was red.
He turned away and headed down the path with a nod of his head. “See you later, Vi. Meena.”
Picking up my broom, I gave it a push against the tank floor before looking after him. I jerked when I realized that he was looking over his shoulder in our direction. Looking back down at the soapy floor, I scrubbed harder. Great. Not only was he a jerk, but he caught me watching him.
“And that was his royal assness.” Violet shook her head and grinned almost apologetically. “He’s hot as hell and just as rude. I guess this summer is going to be a little more interesting than usual.”
I couldn’t help it and looked back toward the main building where they housed the learning tanks and special displays. Interesting was probably an understatement.
Chapter Two
- Meena -
I twisted from side to side in an effort to work the kink out of my back. A loud yawn worked its way out of my chest as I stretched while walking slowly toward the toolshed to put up my shovel and gloves. I’d just spent the last three hours hunched over while cleaning out the bird cages and I wanted nothing more than a long swim at the beach to wash the stink off. It wasn’t that I didn’t love the birds, and I didn’t begrudge them the time it took to clean the cages, but the chemicals irritated my eyes and would cause blisters wherever they touched my skin.
Becca, the bird trainer, waved her thanks before heading for her old pickup truck. I replaced the lock on the shed and eagerly headed toward the quiet little stretch of beach that the tourists weren’t allowed to visit. It was my family’s sanctuary. The one place I could go to be myself. I rubbed the palms of my hands against my eyes as I rounded a corner on the tiny path and ran smack into someone. A large, strong hand grabbed my shoulder to steady me on my feet.
“Oh, sorry. I didn’t realize anyone else…” I frowned up at Blake. “Never mind. It’s you.” I moved to walk around him but he blocked my path.
“I just finished cleaning the sea lion pen. Is the toolshed still open?” Blake held up his push broom and shovel and gave me a bright smile. His teeth gleamed whitely in the darkness and for some reason it annoyed me even more. I guess he stayed late to try and get on my dad’s good side. Great. Not only was he rude, he was a butt-kisser as well. Somewhere in the back of my head, an annoying little voice told me to not forget that he was hot, too.
“No.” I turned on my heel and headed back toward the shed. The sound of the waves in the distance called to me and I sighed. I’d get there eventually, but for now I was too tired to even really put much effort into being pissed. I dug the key out of my pocket as we walked and tried to ignore how close he was to me. “Why are you still here? All the others left hours ago.”
“I was late. I figured I’d make it up to your dad and make sure the pens were good before I left.” Blake shrugged.
“Why were you late? Too good to ride the bus?” I didn’t want to forgive him for being a jerk earlier in the day, even if he was trying to make up for it.
“I had a meeting with my father and it ran late.” Blake’s voice changed and my eyes darted up to his face. The bright moon threw heavy shadows over his features, but I could still make out his expression. His relaxed stance had changed and tension seemed to roll off him.
“A meeting with your father? What, you have to schedule appointments?” I wrinkled my nose at the thought. My mom and dad were always open to talk to, no matter how busy they were at the time. They were some of the most important pillars in my life.
“My father’s a really busy guy.” Blake shrugged, again, and I knew this was a sore spot.
“I see.” Thankfully, we had reached the shed and I was spared from having to say anything else. Talking to Blake made me feel itchy. I unlocked the door and moved so that he could put his tools up. When he was done, I closed the door and put the key in my pocket. Blake stood with his hands in his pockets, looking at me expectantly. Did he expect more work?
“Okay. Well, have a good night.” Not wanting to wait for the water any longer, I started to walk around him, but he turned to follow me.
“Where you headed?” He bent over as we walked and grabbed a large rock in the path. He chucked it out of the way, his eyes following the arc.
“I need to check on something at the beach. See you tomorrow.” I tried to hint again, but he didn’t seem to catch on.
“Want some help? I don’t have anywhere to be.” He cocked his head to the side as if amused by my attempts to get rid of him. He was one of the strangest people I’d ever had the misfortune of dealing with.
“No. I’m good. I won’t be out there long.”
“Is that safe? It’s dark and you’d be alone.” Blake moved to block my path again and I made an exasperated sound. My skin felt so tight, it was hard to take a full breath.
“It’s private property. I’ll be fine.” I shook my head in frustration. I’d come into contact with too many chemicals today and it was making me hurt, which was making me pissy. “But thanks for making sure the enclosures were clean before you left.”
“No problem, boss. I guess I’ll leave you to it.” Blake saluted me and I rolled my eyes.
“Try to be on time tomorrow,” I said over my shoulder. “And I’m not your boss.”
“Aye, aye, captain.” Blake stood there as I walked away, and it took all my willpower to keep from jogging down the path to the water.
When I was sure he was out of eyesight, my pace picked up and I pulled my shirt off, exposing my bikini top. Once my feet hit the sand, I threw the top to the side and my shorts and bathing suit bottom quickly joined it. I wasn’t in the mood to worry about bringing my bottoms with me. As soon as my toes touched the water, I sighed in relief.
Wading out until the water hit me mid-thigh, I sank gratefully to my knees as the change started. For most humans it would be uncomfortable to have your legs turn into one appendage, but I welcomed it. When my scales slid out to cover my skin, I closed my eyes and smiled happily. My tail was so much stronger than the human legs I wore most of the day. With a quick look over my shoulder first, I dipped my head under the water and swam away from the island. My tail made strong, quick strokes that sent me flying through the ocean.
It was quiet under the water, the creatures around came to say hello or avoided me in general. I coasted along on the current for a little while, letting the seawater heal my stinging skin and aching body. Once I felt better I headed for the cove to find Mitch. I knew she would want to go for a swim too.
The outer wall of the enclosure was made of netting, sturdy poles, and a walkway that followed the top of the net. There were no lights along the outside so that no one would be able to accidently see me surfacing at night. I called for Mitch as I surveyed the net, checking for holes, and smiled when I heard her jubilant whistles in response. I grabbed the hidden latch and swung open the small porthole-shaped exit just before the dolphin barreled through.
I locked the gate and held my hand out for Mitch. She slid next to me, her dorsal fin fitting into my hand perfectly, and off we flew. Mitch’s excitement was contagious and I laughed. We soared through the shallows, dodging in and out of the surf until Mitch got distracted by some fish. She went to hunt while I drifted on my back and stared at the stars. I loved my family, my friends, and the sanctuary, but I wished I could spend more time out in the ocean. Or go to college instead of taking online courses. I felt like there was so much more to see than the area on and around our island.
Mom and Dad didn’t like for me to go too far from the sanctuary. I guessed that all parents felt that way about their kids, didn’t want them to go too far from home or somewhere they couldn’t be reached. Of course that was a whole different problem with me. We did do vacations when we could and visited other islands, even the Virgin Islands once. We had talked about going to the States, but we would have to stay near the coast. I couldn’t risk being away from the ocean for too long because I started to get sick if I was out of the water for more than a few days at a time. It would start like any cold would; I’d feel icky and might run a fever, then be weak and miserable. Sort of like the flu. It had only happened twice. Once when I was little and staying at Violet’s house, I’d had too much fun playing and hadn’t bothered to tell my parents that I wasn’t feeling well. The last time, we’d had inspectors at the sanctuary to renew our different licenses.
Mitch surfaced next to me and nudged my side. I ran my hand over her back before scratching her chin. I’d known Mitch my whole life. Well, for all that I could remember. Mitch and her mother had been there when my parents found my mother. Jallia was Mitch’s mother and often thought she was my mother too. I didn’t mind. Jallia and Mitch were my companions in the water, the ones that taught me about animals and how to be a mermaid. They were as much my family as Mom and Dad.