5 comments/ 43467 views/ 28 favorites Life Under the Sea Ch. 01 By: jlynann Another hot day in the sun for those sailing on Greece's Aegean Sea, but for those under the water, it can be much nicer. A long shadow is seen gliding across the smooth sandy floor. This shadow belongs to what seems to be a fish from a distance, though a closer look would prove otherwise. The dark blue fishtail is misleading as the rest of the being is not a fish at all. His name is Riley and he is a merman in his nineteenth year. He has tousled black hair that ends in curled arms like an octopus'. He also has rather peculiar eyes: his right eye is a dark blue like a sapphire and his left eye is a dark green like an emerald. In contrast to his dark blue scaly tail, Riley has white skin on his human half which has gotten a slight tan from being in the sun. The human half of his body is rather athletic in appearance due to the life of constant swimming. The muscles in his arms as well as in his chest are large and well developed whereas the muscles in his abdomen and back are smooth and streamlined for speeding through the seawater. Riley's body is human all the way down to just below where his groin would be, where everything suddenly is covered with scales. Just above the point where the merman's human and fish halves meet is his manhood, fully exposed to the world. Riley is swimming as fast as he can towards his home in the distance. He had just gone to visit his friends off the coast of a far island. The merman is terribly excited to be back since he hasn't been home in several days. As he gets closer and closer to home, he notices a strange and sudden shift in the currents. Despite his best efforts, the strong current pulls him off course quickly. Riley turns his head to see that a giant whirlpool is pulling him in. It does not take long for him to get sucked in. Once inside, Riley loses consciousness. Meanwhile on the beach of a nearby island, Jesse and her friends are packing up to leave. They received reports that there was a strong current in the sea caused by a storm south of where they are. While they are walking back to the hotel where they are staying, Jesse remembers that she left her purse on the beach. Since it contains all her credit cards and passport, she rushes to get it before anyone spots it. Jesse spots her purse at the beach and sees that there's no one around. Before she sets off, she checks to see that everything is where it's supposed to be. The crash of a large wave startles her as she is doing this. Jesse looks up and sees that the water is definitely becoming more violent. She then pauses when she sees what appears to be a person in the rough waves slowly floating towards the beach. Jesse approaches the water without allowing her feet to get wet. From this distance, she can see that the person is at least unconscious, if not already dead. She waits patiently for the waves to carry the body of the person onto the beach. If the person is still alive, she can at least perform CPR. Jesse gasps in complete shock when she sees what the wave tosses at her feet, a merman. Looking around once more to make sure that no one else is around, Jesse pulls the merman farther up the beach by his shoulders. When she is sure that the crashing waves won't claim him again, she puts him down and kneels at his side to get a closer look. His black hair, flawless skin, and impressive build give him a mythical beauty that leaves Jesse pinching herself again and again to make sure she isn't dreaming. She looks at his human half up and down and quickly notices the concrete evidence of the merman's maleness where his tail begins. Just like the rest of him, it is tempting enough for her to look. Every part of his body just seems to call for her to touch. Jesse suddenly remembers that she is supposed to be saving this person but the whole shock of what he really is delayed her response. Thinking about it, she wonders is CPR would even be effective at all on a merman. She cautiously places her hand on his chest. Jesse sighs as she feels both his heart beating as well as the rise and fall of his breathing. Before she realizes what she is doing, Jesse sees the same hand that checked his heart now checking out the rest of his body. By the time she removes it, she had already caressed most of his wonderful torso. Her little inspection led her to realize that the only hair on his body was on the top his head, his eyebrows, and his eyelashes. She was almost jealous at how smooth his skin felt under her hand. Half an hour later, Riley wakes to find himself lying on some beach. He looks around to see if any humans are around and finds no one. Riley slowly drags himself into the waves and dives into the water. In the distance, Jesse peeks out from behind a rock. Earlier, she wondered if she should let the merman see her, but she realized he might not find her human form all that pleasing. "We'll meet again, my lovely prince." says Jesse out loud. Even faster then ever, Riley swims as fast as he can home. He hopes that everyone else is fine since there aren't usually whirlpools in this section of the sea. As he swims, his shadow disappears into a deep hole in the sea floor. Riley quickly follows after as he has found home. He can see and hear the other merpeople going about their usual business, but this is not his concern right now, though it is a sign that no one here was severely affected by the strong currents earlier. They might not even have noticed anything strange since the chasm is well-protected. Riley smiles as he sees a familiar hole in the side of the chasm, through which he quickly passes. On the inside, Riley sees that everything is as he left it a few days. Still, he sighs as he didn't find what he is looking for. Riley slowly swims towards the exit but finds that it is blocked by a dark silhouette. Before Riley can say or do anything, the form tackles him to the floor of his home. "Riley!" screams a female voice. Riley feels a heavy form pressed against most of the length of his body. Inches from his face, Riley can see the gleeful face of his twin sister. She gives him a peck on the cheek before getting off. "You surprised me there, Lily." sighs Riley as he sets himself upright in the water. Lily just smiles back before sticking her tongue out at him teasingly. Despite being his twin older sister, Lily looks different from Riley. Instead of black, her long,luxurious hair comes in shades of brown. Her eyes share the same color as her twin's dark sapphire blue right eye. The two of them share the same tanned skin and dark blue fish tails. Her muscles are toned, giving her a trim, athletic look. One of her most notable assets is her conspicuously lush bosom, however, a lowered glance will present an even more splendid sight in the form of Lily's tender feminine center. Unlike a human female's, Lily's femininity is brazenly exposed without the protection of any legs. "What have you been doing since I've been gone, Lily? Where's Brynn?" asks Riley curiously. "Right now, Brynn is with her current boyfriend, Miek. I've been doing the usual: going up to the surface to distract the humans every now and then. Watching them fall of their boats or hitting sandbars after they see me in the water still hasn't gotten old. So how have you been these past few days?" muses Lily. "I've been great. I just got back from the other side of the sea." says Riley. Back at the surface, Jesse can't stop thinking about the merman she saw earlier in the day. His gorgeous looks seem to be unable to escaping her mind and each lingering thought makes her increasingly excited. She cannot help but ponder what it would have been like to have her way with him. Jesse's hands reach every intimate part of her body as she explores her feelings about what she should do. Suddenly, Jesse sees herself in the mirror. One of her hands is reaching down into her jeans with the other reaching up under her shirt and bra to clutch at a breast. It is then that she considers her appearance. She does not share the same unearthly beauty as her newfound obsession but she still considers herself above average in terms of looks. She has straight blonde hair that flows down her back and brilliant amber eyes. Her skin is a little pale since she hardly got any of the tanning she wanted to do earlier. Jesse is rather tall which has caused a few problems in the past when her past boyfriends did not like having a girlfriend was taller than they were. She has gentle curves and a nice body without being too thin. At twenty, Jesse is at the peak of her life and has the time and the money to do almost anything she wants. Now she is stuck wanting the impossible, a merman. No amount of money and no span of time can land him in her arms. Still, she finds herself uncontrollably compelled to find a way. Jesse finds herself going into the local village to ask around for any information on anything strange that happens in the surrounding area. She wanders around clueless for several hours as she cannot speak the local language. Eventually, she finds a sympathetic person who can speak English as well as Greek who is willing to help her in her cause. The two of them go to the town center and eventually hear a story about one of the more eccentric villagers. Apparently this man is one of the last people on the planet who still cling to the beliefs in the old gods on Olympus. The two set off for the home of that man. Being on a small island, it does not take long for them to reach the hut on the beach where the man supposedly lives. Jesse takes a deep breath before knocking on the wooden door. No more than a second after the first knock does the door swing wide open. "I knew you were coming. Now come in." says a voice from within in clear English. Nervously, Jesse takes a step into the hut. She turns to thank the translator for his help but finds that he has already headed back to the village. Jesse turns forward and continues entering the hut. Inside she finds that it's rather humble in appearance. It is only a small hut, the size of a bedroom, so she quickly encounters the strange man. He is not the kind of person she expected to see considering what she heard from the villagers. This man looked like he was in his mid-twenties, definitely not the person who would believe in Zeus or Poseidon in this day and age. His hair is rough and messy, what can be expected of someone who lives a rustic life far from others. His brown eyes casually glance at her up and down. His skin is heavily tanned from being outside all the time. Jesse finds herself slightly attracted to this guy but she has a bigger prize in mind. The man stands up and walks over to Jesse. "Welcome. My name is Nikos. And you are?" asks the man. "I... I'm Jesse. Before we start, I'd like to know how you know English." asks Jesse. "Just because I believe an old religion doesn't mean everything I do is old. I still learn from the new. Besides, I used to have a friend who spoke English so I picked it up quickly. What are you here for anyway? I don't get many visitors." says Nikos. "I would like to learn about merpeople. Those beings who live under the sea." says Jesse. "Ah. And what brought this up? Surely you just didn't come all this way just to hear about them." asks the man skeptically. Jesse takes a deep breath before suspending her disbelief and opening her mouth. She tells Nikos about how she found the merman on the beach, how she let him go, and her current feelings and obsession with him. Nikos listens to her with an unreadable expression on his face. When Jesse finishes her explanation, he poses one question to her. "What would you like to do with the obsession, Jesse?" he asks. "Fulfill it." says Jesse resolutely. Nikos studies the look in her face, looking for any shred of doubt in her. He smiles a bit seeing that she is absolutely serious about her decision. Nikos turns and opens up a trunk and pulls out a book. He skims it for a few minutes while Jesse nervously waits for a response. SLAM! Jesse shudders when Nikos throws the book back in the trunk. "The only way I see you fulfilling your wish is to become a mermaid yourself. If that's what you want, then I need for you to come back here just after sunset." says Nikos. "What? Is that all I have to do?" gasps Jesse. "That's only the beginning. I'll explain everything then. Go and prepare. When you come back I'll tell you all the risks and catches. It will be your last chance to back out. Now go." says Nikos solemnly. As Riley is about to leave his home, he collides head-on with another merperson. Rubbing his forehead to ease the pain, he hears a pair of familiar voices. "Ah. That hurt." says a male voice. "Miek! Are you alright?" says a female voice. Riley looks up to see his little sister along with the boyfriend of hers that he accidentally just rammed. "Hey. I'm back. It looks like the two of you have been enjoying yourselves while I've been gone." smirks Riley. "Riley!" yells Brynn swimming up for a hug. "Well, Miek?" says Riley, grinning mischievously. "Don't worry. I've been good." says Miek. Brynn releases her brother from her embrace to plant a kiss on Miek's cheek before giggling at something. Brynn looks like the real twin of Lily, though she is a bit shorter and her eyes are a brilliant green rather than Lily's dark blue. She's younger than her brother and sister by about a year but her looks would argue otherwise. Miek, Brynn's boyfriend, has the same tanned skin and athletic build as all merpeople. His hair is a sandy yellow and his eyes match his girlfriend. His green tail slowly wraps around Brynn's as he kisses her back on the cheek. "How have you been, Riley? And where were you headed in such a hurry?" asks Brynn. "I was going to look for you guys since Lily said you two were out. It's been a few days, so I've missed you." says Riley. "Even me?" jokes Miek. "Yeah. Even you, Miek." says Riley with a smirk. "Let's go inside, I have some stories to tell you from over the past few days." It's sunset and Jesse is at Nikos' door. Before she even knocks, Nikos swings back the door to let her in and immediately fills her in. "We're going to go somewhere nearby to turn you into a mermaid. Before we leave this hut, there are a few things that you need to know. One, this process is irreversible. Once you become a mermaid, you will not return to your human life or world. Two, as you continue your life underwater, memories of your old life on land will fade away. Finally, this transformation is done through a binding contract with Poseidon. It is through his power that you will be transformed. When you accept, he adopts you as his daughter, a daughter of the sea. Any questions? Objections? Is this really what you want?" Jesse thinks back on her life. As great as it seemed at the time, it looked dull in retrospect. She wondered if she was in a selfish pursuit and tried to convince herself that life on land was not as great as she tried to make it be. This whole trip to Greece with her friends was supposed to be a temporary escape from the troubles and turmoil back home. Now she has the chance to permanently escape. It is with these thoughts that Jesse forges her decision. "No doubt. This is what I really want." Nikos stares her in the eyes for several seconds before he sighs in apparent defeat. "Alright. Follow me." he says. Nikos leads Jesse out his hut and along the beach. Jesse looks out over the sea and wonders what life will really be like there. That merman was the only merperson she has seen so she wonders about how many others like him are there. It does not take long for Jesse and Nikos to reach a bunch of marble ruins on a cliff overlooking Aegean. "Thousands of years ago this was a temple of Poseidon. This is where you will be adopted as a daughter of the sea." says Nikos. "What do I do now?" asks Jesse. "Strip. Mermaids don't need clothes in the sea. Remove your clothes before setting your foot on the ruins."says Nikos. Jesse gulps. She silently prays to herself that Nikos hasn't been leading her on just to take advantage of her. Slowly she slips of the blouse that she had been wearing. Nikos barely seems to care as she sheds her sandals and jeans. With only her underwear left, Jesse becomes increasingly self-conscious with what she is doing. She undoes her bra strap and exposes her breasts. Jesse's eyes quickly shift to look at Nikos who only stares at her back seemingly impatient with how much time she is taking. Careful not to make Nikos wait, she slips out of her panties quickly. Being completely naked in front of an acquaintance, forces her to try to cover up with an arm over her breasts and a hand over her nether region. "Good. Follow me up the temple." says Nikos. The second that Jesse steps on the marble stair entrance to the temple, the ruins disappear before her eyes and transform into the original temple. Jesse follows Nikos through the doorway and is surprised to find attendants and priests inside. Before Jesse opens her mouth to ask about what she is seeing, Nikos speaks up. "This isn't actually real. The temple is only being temporarily recreated for the sake of your transformation. If Poseidon is to adopt a child as his own, he wouldn't let it be done in a fading ruin. This is the temple in its peak as it was in ancient times. The people you see are just images of the people who used to serve here at the time." Nikos takes her to the main part of the temple and tells her to stand tall then bow before the marble statue of Poseidon in his throne. Jesse does as she is told. After she bows, Nikos walks beside her and gets on all fours in a bow. "Poseidon! Please take Jesse as your daughter. She wishes a life in the sea to pursue her love. She has no where else to turn so please accept her into your realm as a daughter of the sea, a mermaid." pleads Nikos. Jesse stares back up at the marble statue of Poseidon before her. For some strange reason she can feel it is watching her. Before she can ask Nikos about what she just felt, a new feeling comes over her. Jesse falls over as her legs begin to merge together. She watches with a mix of joy and horror as her two long legs combine and form scales on her skin. She can feel various other internal and external changes but the tail right now is her primary concern. It takes a few minutes but all the strange changes to her body suddenly stop. Jesse tries to get up but falls flat on her face due to the lack of legs. Using her arms for support, Jesse looks around for Nikos. She does see him standing right next to her, but the temple is gone. All she can see are the ruins from before. "What happened to everything?" she asks. "Poseidon's not here. What you saw before your transformation was brought about by his presence alone." replies Nikos. "How do you feel?" Jesse looks down to where her legs once were. In their place she can see a shimmering green fish tail. All of the changes are pretty conspicuous because of her nudity. The mermaid looks down to where her human half and fish half meet. She can see a delicate slit there. She traces the slit to discover that it really is what she thinks it is. Her hands reach up to cup her breasts which have suspiciously grown larger from the transformation. It is then that Jesse remembers that Nikos asked her a question. "I... I'm fine. Just getting used to everything. Enjoying the view?" asks Jesse nervously. "Mermaids are indeed beautiful, but I'm not here to stare." says Nikos. "I live far from others because I believe in the old gods; not for being a pervert. Anyway, I stuck around because I thought you'd need help getting into the ocean from here. Besides, there are a few things about your new form that you need to know before setting off on your own." "I guess I could use your help in getting into the water." says Jesse. Life Under the Sea Ch. 01 Nikos smiles and cradles Jesse's mermaid body in his arms before slowly making his way back to his hut on the beach. In the meantime, Jesse learns that her body is not very tolerant of being out of the water for long. It shows the most in her tail, which becomes restless as the seconds pass. Nikos easily keeps her movements in check as he gets to the shore in front of his home. Standing in the waves, Nikos gently sets her down in the water. Jesse feels a calm come over her as the water covers her scales and splashes the rest of her body. "So can you tell me what there is to know about this form? I'm kind of anxious to dive in." says Jesse. "Hold on. Let's see..." ponders Nikos. Suddenly, Jesse falls over from the weight of her body when it is out of the water. "What's wrong? Why is my body so heavy?" asks Jesse. "It's those large breasts that are typical of mermaids. They're ideal for attracting sailors but you'll find that mermaids also give milk. It's what gives those things their size. Besides, when you're underwater, you'll hardly notice the added weight. Something else you'll find interesting is that merpeople seem to be highly sensitive in certain regions." says Nikos. "This is becoming a little weird but I guess it is something I can live with." says Jesse. "Merpeople also live for hundreds of years but that doesn't apply to you since you weren't born one. Oh yes, try not to get caught by humans. It will not be pleasant for you if they got their hands on something so pretty." finishes Nikos. "Before I go, I just have one question for you, Nikos. How come you know so much about mermaids and can even call Poseidon himself to help me?" asks Jesse. "I'm a son of Mnemosyne, the goddess of memory. Poseidon would be, in some ways, my uncle. That would make you like a cousin to me so I was sympathetic, though you are adopted. Anyway, I was glad to have met you, Jesse. As I said, I don't get many visitors and you're one of a kind. Before you do anything, pay your respects at the underwater palace of Poseidon. It's only polite and you wouldn't want to anger a god, would you?" "Thanks for everything, Nikos. Despite whatever happens, I'll come and visit you every now and then." With that, Jesse turns and dives into the waves. Nikos smiles to himself before sauntering back to his hut. Riley is floating in the water of his home while telling Lily, Brynn, and Miek about his trip. Soon he gets to the part where he got caught in the whirlpool and found himself on the beach. "Did any humans see you?' asks Lily. "I don't think so. When I woke up there was no one around." says Riley. "You sure there weren't any humans who had a little fun with you while you were passed out?" asks Miek, who gets smacked in the back of the head by Brynn. "He would have been netted by now." says Brynn. "Anyway, don't say anything like that. Getting caught by those humans is a scary thought. I heard it was great fun to toy around with them hundreds of years ago, but now it's far too dangerous to even try. I don't know how Lily gets away with it." "You still do that every now and then?" asks Riley worriedly. "I do. I only show myself in front of the people in the small boats. The smaller the boat, the less dangerous it is." replies Lily, smiling to herself. "Well, I'm getting a little restless right now so I guess Miek and I will go out for a bit." says Brynn with a slight sparkle in her eye. Lily and Riley look at one another as Brynn pulls her boyfriend out of sight. They can see a very familiar smile on their sister's face as she disappears out the exit. Brynn pulls Miek by his wrist all the way out of the ravine and into the open sea. Looking around, the two of them can see that the sun has just set so they float down to the sea floor not to far from home. "I was hoping Riley would come back soon. You weren't in the mood at all for this while he was gone. I think you worry too much." says Miek, wrapping his arms around Brynn. "I'm in the mood now as you can tell." says Brynn blushingly. Miek lets go of Brynn and floats down to lie comfortably on the sand. Excited, Brynn swims down until she is only floating a few inches above her lover. Miek can feel his pulse quicken just looking at Brynn's ample breasts. The merman seizes a nipple between his lips causing Brynn to gasp in mild surprise. To add to both their pleasures, Miek also cups her other breast with his hand and gives it a gentle squeeze. He can quickly tell how much Brynn is enjoying his little antics by how her tail brushes against his every other second. Brynn softly groans as a wonderful sensation takes over most of her body in the form of Miek sucking on the caught nipple, milking her for all she's worth. Miek changes from squeezing her other breast to playing with the nipple as well. Miek's other hand moves up and down Brynn's bare back, feeling the smooth skin. In a quick move, Miek moves his hand up her back to just between her shoulder blades and pushes her against himself. Brynn giggles as Miek gets a whole breast mashed against his face. Soon enough, Miek gathers enough willpower to pull his lips and tongue out of contact with his lover's delicious bosom. "You... you... taste lovely...." gasps Miek. "Second easiest way to your heart is through your stomach." says Brynn seductively with a grin. "Though I always enjoy a good milking. Now it seems like you need a little release." Miek looks down while still gasping for water. He can see his stiff manhood staring back at him as evidence of his intense arousal. The merman looks back up at Brynn and spies an almost evil smile on her face. He can tell that she has been craving this moment, too, for the past few days. Brynn looks down at her lover; she knows that he also suffered from her period of abstinence, but she still feels the need to torture her boyfriend. Though she wasn't in the mood for sex in the past few days, she did spend almost all of her time with Miek. Every time she looked at him, her eyes would drift down for a quick peek at his meat. Every time she looks, she felt tempted. Now, it was her turn to be the temptress. Brynn moves her hand close to his pulsing member and stops at a short distance from touching it. "My, my. I don't even have to touch it and it already feels so hot." "Please keep on going..." replies Miek between breaths. Brynn only smiles back at him. Her sweet torture has yet to finish. The mermaid eyes he lover's tight pouch. The same hand that was so close to touching his cock now gently glides over his length and cups his sac and gives it a quick fondle. Miek musters a soft moan and tries to keep his body as still as possible during Brynn's play. He fears that any wrong move would upset the rhythm she has going and leave him unable to get what he has been craving. However, Brynn causes him to shudder as her hand only around half of his eight inches. She knows that merboys can't relief at this point without full contact and her hand is not enough to tingle every nerve of Miek's stiff flesh at the same time. Brynn playfully slides her grip up his length, prompting another shudder. Despite enjoying the bittersweet expression on her lover's face, all this teasing is just to make sure he can give her his all when the time comes. "Please, Brynn... I don't think I can take waiting anymore..." bursts Miek in one breath. "I was wondering what a three days' worth of stored up sex feels like..." muses Brynn as she lowers her body ever so slightly. Miek notices her movement and looks down to see Brynn's nether lips only a hair's width from making contact with his flesh. He silently prays for a stray current to make her sink the slightest. It does not help his sanity to feel the heat radiating off her body and onto his own. Miek's prayers are answered as Brynn grabs his shoulders and gently takes all of his length within her. "Oooooohhhhh.... wow. You're tighter than I remember..." says Miek, closing his eyes from the pure ecstasy. Brynn just smiles back before planting a kiss right on his lips. Miek responds through the use of his tongue, which quickly and playfully parts her lips. Brynn slowly slides up and down Miek's length. The merman tongue slips out of Brynn's mouth as he moans gently against her mouth. Brynn holds him tight against her body with her tail slowly curling around his. Miek enjoys the feel of her tender breasts squeezed against the firm muscles of his chest. As it has been a while since sunset, the light in the sea has faded drastically. Also, the water itself has become a lot cooler. Both Miek and Brynn increase their actions to share as much heat as possible. Brynn's body shudders as the cool water sweeps over her back, giving her a strange and sensual tingly feeling. The cold on her back is such a splendid feeling, in contrast to the burning heat of Miek's skin. Miek looks Brynn in the eye and sees that she feels the end is coming. Miek picks up the pace and starts thrusting as deep as he can into his waiting lover. Brynn almost claws his back from all the excitement; instead she just grips his back as tightly as possible to keep from harming him. Suddenly, Brynn finds herself flipped onto her back. Miek leans his head forward to kiss her all over her neck. Brynn reaches to grab his rear end with both hands and pulls up violently. Miek flinches during the whole instance as his rod is forced deeper into Brynn's center. It is then that he feels it: all of Brynn's muscles moving all around him perfectly. Miek closes his eyes, trying to hold it in, trying to make this last as long as possible, but Brynn's clever technique proves to be too much for him. Brynn climaxes as Miek explodes within her. Both their tails thrash around violently from the initial rush. Brynn lets out a loud 'Oooooohhhhh...' as white-hot lava jets into her body. It takes a while for Miek to completely empty himself into her, but soon enough, the convulsing stops and the two lovers cuddle together. "I know this was the best we've ever had but promise me something, Brynn." "What is it?" asks Brynn, curiously. "Never, ever stop sharing your body with me again. I don't think I could take another day without feeling you around me." "Deal." replies Brynn, sealing it with a kiss. Meanwhile, Jesse had finally gotten the hang of using her tail underwater. She is not too far from the beach where she left Nikos but she can't tell much as it is getting darker and darker underwater. She slowly swims to find rocks for shelter but is unable to find any. All she can see is sand and water all around her. There aren't any decent markings for her to keep track of where exactly she is. All other options out the window, Jesse just uses her instinct and swims off in a seemingly random direction. After about half an hour later, she spies a light in the distance, almost as if there were a sunrise occurring underwater. As she closes the gap between herself and whatever is emitting that light, she spots a tower. Getting closer, she sees that the tower is connected to a massive undersea palace. She silently wonders to herself why no one above the water has never seen this glowing palace, especially at night. Then, words from Nikos suddenly enter her mind. 'Before you do anything, pay your respects at the underwater palace of Poseidon. Jesse swims up to the palace and enters through the large gate. The second she passes the threshold, she sees dozens of merpeople all around. They are all as beautiful as she imagined but the merman she saw on the beach is still the object of her obsession. Jesse swims through to enter the main building of the palace where she guesses Poseidon himself resides. Inside the palace, everything looks as though it came from above the surface. She swims to the end of the room and passes through a large door. Inside, she finds a gentle blue glow and spots Poseidon on a giant throne at the far end of the room, surrounded by two mermen guards and two mermaid attendants. Poseidon is a giant compared to the statue that she saw in the illusionary palace from earlier. Her entire body, from head to tail, is only the size of one of his arms. She is quick to notice that like the statue, the real counterpart is completely naked. Jesse notices that she has been floating at the entrance to the room for an awkward period of time and decides to swim before Poseidon to present herself before her adoptive father. She looks over the reclining sea god, who appears to be observing her closely as well. Poseidon really does fit the whole description of an old man. His long white beard flows out onto his strong chest. His sea blue eyes look fierce. Unlike herself and his servants, he has legs instead of a shiny, scaly tail. Overall, if he were a normal human, she would have taken him to be in his sixties. Poseidon then clears his throat to speak. "Welcome to my palace, my daughter." says Poseidon. "Daughter?" "All the creatures and beings that live in my realm, I consider my children. Some merpeople, like you, have human parents. For one reason or another they decide to make the sea their home. Of course the sea is a vast empire, so I freely allow them to call water home. However, it is hard to lead such a different life here. That is why I must stand as a father-figure for you all. I can and will give you advice as well as protect you when you call out to me. Now... I recall that you came to the sea in pursuit of love. Who is it that you love?" "I... don't know his name. He was a merman that I found unconscious by the shore. I thought he would be scared of a human, so I hid afterwards." "Hmm... Think of this merman and look into my eyes." replies Poseidon. Jesse does as she is told and waits patiently for Poseidon to say something. "I remember this merman. His name is Riley. He is the son of Apollo and a river nymph, Diana. He lives in a village not too far from this palace." "Riley... Where may I find this village? I want to meet him as soon as possible." "I can arrange for one of my servants to lead you there, but not right now." "Why not?" "It's too dark now. It would be a shame for you to get caught by humans so soon." Poseidon turns to one of the servants and commends him to escort Jesse to another part of the palace. The merman nods and swims up to Jesse. "Hello. Please follow me." says the servant before swimming off. Jesse turns back to Poseidon and bows before following the merman. The merman leads Jesse from the throne room and down a long hallway to another room. As she enters the room she sees three rows of portholes on the left wall and another three on the right wall. At the far end of this long room, she sees a giant door. "This is where all the servants of Poseidon reside." says the merman. "Normally, there is only one room reserved for a guest of Poseidon, but we have already have that space reserved for another human who became a merperson. If it's fine with you, we already left a note that there was going to be a last-minute roommate and there was no argument. So, please, enter as soon as you feel tired. The room is that first one on your right, on the third row. The palace is free for you to roam but try not to leave, as it gets dangerous under the sea at night." The merman then politely bows before swimming back to Poseidon's throne room. Jesse looks around at the hallway; she notices that half of the rooms are dark. She looks around again puzzled at what they are using for light. She sees a gently glowing ball of light. After she has seen and done in the past twenty-four hours, she just passes it off as magic. Thoughts of Riley pervade her mind and she finds little interest in exploring Poseidon's massive palace. Jesse just decides to get some sleep so that the next morning will come faster. The mermaid swims through the porthole and finds that it is still lit. Inside, she sees the merperson who is her roommate for the night. "Hello." says Jesse, hoping the merperson could understand her. The merperson turns around to face her. To her complete surprise, she finds a merman before her. She expected to be put with a mermaid roommate. Jesse gives the merman a quick look over. He has short brown hair and sky blue eyes. His face is rather attractive while he does look young. His body is reminiscent of the bodies of all the mermen she has seen so far, lean and muscular. Her eyes can't help but look down at what most forms of pants try to hide. She is rather impressed and wonders if there is something special in the seawater that causes mermen to grow bigger in some places. "Hey there." responds the merman in clear English. "I'm Danny. And you are?" "I'm Jesse, your roommate for the night." she responds as nicely as she can. As much as she has been stared at since becoming a mermaid, she still can't get used to being looked at while completely nude. Jesse smiles to herself, seeing that Danny the merman is in the same predicament, except his distress is much more visible. Blood is rushing into his face at the same time as it floods that other part of his body. "I... um... sorry... I can't get used to being naked around women... I mean mermaids..." says Danny, lowering his reddening face. "Well, it will take me a while to get used to being fully exposed to mermen and getting to see them exposed." says Jesse. "Let's just sit and talk to get it off our minds, shall we?" Jesse motions for Danny to sit on the bed and she sits right next to him. Every other second she sneaks a peak at the throbbing flesh projecting from his body. Every time she does that, Danny feels it become stiffer and stiffer. Danny quickly breaks the silence scared that any more stares from the mermaid would cause him to shoot off. "Why did you become a mermaid, Jesse?" asks Danny. "Wha? Oh!" mumbles Jesse before snapping out of an apparent trance. "I became a mermaid because I fell in love with a merman. After a day of being here, it seems like this place is a lot less stressful than the world above the surface. I like the sea a lot more than I will ever love the land." "What about your family?" "I'm an only child. I've gone to boarding school all my life since my parents are so engrossed with work. The last time I came to visit, we only shared a few words before they continued with their careers. What about you? Why are you a merman?" "I'm an only child as well. I lost my parents in a shipwreck in the western Atlantic. It was their second honeymoon so I wasn't there. I was crushed when I heard the news and depressed when no bodies were found. I lived along the east coast of the U.S. so I drove to a pier and tried to jump off in an attempt to drown myself. When I fell into the water, I found myself in this form and was sent to this palace." "So how old are you? You have a whole lifetime to consider when you think about suicide..." asks Jesse. "I'm eighteen. I couldn't afford college without my parents' support so I had no way to build up my life from near scratch. Everything fell apart as soon as they were gone." Jesse listens quietly to what Danny has to say. She knows that many people would have many reasons for leaving life on land, but right now she feels only pity in her heart. Her own reason for being here seems pathetic in front of Danny's pained words. Still, she believes that for both their cases, they were meant to be where they are now. "What are you going to do now, Danny?" asks Jesse. "I'm going to travel over to where the boat sank. If I can find the bodies of my parents, I want to at least give them a proper burial." Jesse and Danny continue talking about their past lives. Soon enough, they both become tired and look at where they are supposed to sleep. Jesse hears a gulp from Danny, seeing that there is only one bed in the entire room and it is barely big enough for one merperson to sleep on. The two of the wordlessly move to opposite sides of the bed and slowly get on without touching each other. When the two of the get comfortable they are just lying on their backs side-by-side. Danny taps the light orb by the bed with his finger to turn off the light. Jesse looks down to see that his long flesh is stiffening. Life Under the Sea Ch. 01 "Is this the first time you've been naked with someone?" asks Jesse. "Sorry. It's just been on my mind. I can't get it to go down. It's starting to hurt...." says Danny. ".... Danny? Are you a virgin?" "Yeah. What are you..." Jesse rolls on top of Danny. For a second, Danny finds himself distracted by her breasts swaying in front of his face. Tilting his head further up to see Jesse's smiling face, Danny uneasily smiles back. "It's up to you, Danny. You're going to a far place. I doubt you'll see many mermaids on the way there. Besides.... it looks like you really need some... attention right now." purrs Jesse. Danny ponders his situation. He is surprised about Jesse's offer but wonders why a complete stranger would just offer herself to help him. He realizes that she couldn't stop thinking about the nudity situation either. "Are you sure?" he asks. "Very sure. Besides, if you're going to be this excited with only one mermaid around, what would happen is you find yourself around a dozen? Anyway, I want to see if that thing is just for show." adds Jesse. Danny continues to look up at Jesse before slowly nodding his head. Jesse smiles back and gentle positions herself so that the tip of Danny's burning flesh traces her pink slit. She almost loses her train of thought when Danny's hands come up to cup her swaying breasts. Jesse looks down at the manhood about to enter her. She is pretty sure that something that big would hurt going in but she holds her breath and impales herself upon his member. The two groan as every sensitive nerve is touched. Feeling Jesse clench all around him, Danny excitedly gives her chest a nice, hard squeeze. Jesse flails her tail wildly. Danny feels something strange on his palms and lets go of Jesse's tempting swells. He can see a faint trail of white milk leading to her stiff nipples. Immediately curious, Danny plugs one of her leaky nipples with his mouth. Jesse looks down feeling an unfamiliar yet strangely alluring sensation. She then sees Danny sucking on one of her nipples for all he's worth. She can't help from being excited at what is going on. Jesse soon regains control of herself and begins to work his meat. Tremors build up in her body and she can sense the same feeling from Danny. It is almost time for the end. As inexperienced as Danny was to begin with, he learned very fast in her opinion. The build of his tool made up for any lack of technique anyway. Danny's hips buck under her. At the same time, she can feel pressure within her about to release. The next second, the two of them are overtaken by the great wave of pleasure. The two wrap their arms around one another in a tight embrace, scared this moment of ecstasy would be cut short for one reason or another. Light breaks through the dark waters and brightens up every hall, room, and corner of Poseidon's palace. Jesse stretches her arms as she wakes up. She tries to get up but feels a heavy weight on her. She sees Danny sleeping soundly with his face nestled in her cleavage. His tail is brushing back and forth across hers and she can feel his morning wood poking her gently. Jesse recalls the previous night of intense intimacy and giggles to herself. Danny stirs as a knock is heard at the porthole entrance. A mermaid servant swims in and bows before them. "Excuse me, Danny, but I am here to escort you to Gibraltar." says the mermaid. Danny looks at the mermaid then turns back to Jesse. A sad smile appears on his face. He quickly gives her a quick and tight hug. "I'll miss you, Jesse. Please don't forget about me. Thanks for all your help last night." says Danny. "I won't forget. Though try to come back as soon as possible." replies Jesse. Danny lets go of Jesse and swims with the mermaid servant out of the room. Jesse barely has enough time to ponder what she will do once she reaches her destination when a merman servant swims into the room and bows before her. "Jesse, I am to escort you to the underwater village of Okeanos. Are you ready?" he asks. "As ready as I could ever be..." replies Jesse. The two merpeople swim out the room and then exit through the main palace gate. The merman hardly says anything as he leads her across a few miles of open sea. Jesse tries to open her mouth to strike up a conversation, but nothing interesting enough to say comes to mind. When she finally does think of something to say... "We're here. This is Okeanos." announces the merman. "Wow." whispers Jesse, looking down at the town hidden in the crevice. "I hope you enjoy your stay here. Right now I must head back to the palace. Good-bye." says the merman before bowing and swimming off. "Bye..." Jesse pauses for a moment to take in the sight of the village of Okeanos. It is still early morning from what she can tell. Only a few merpeople are swimming about in the village below her. Before Jesse has a chance to start he descent, she spots two merpeople swimming in the distance. The two seem to be in a hurry. Jesse decides to follow them and swims down to where they are. The two merpeople stop when they spot her coming towards them. Jesse pauses when she is only a few feet from them. She tries to say something when she opens her mouth, but she is far too awestruck by what she sees. The merman and mermaid floating before her are gorgeous. Jesse finds herself just rudely staring at the couple before the mermaid says something to her. "Hello. I don't think I've seen you around here before... Are you lost?" asks the mermaid. "I... Yes... Yes, I am. I was about to go into the village but I realized I had no idea where exactly... Do you think you guys can show me around, please?" asks Jesse. The merman looks uneasily at his mermaid friend. The two of them whisper between themselves for a few seconds. "Well, we need to get home in a hurry. I don't think it will be much of a problem if you come with us," says the mermaid. "I'm Brynn, by the way. And this is my boyfriend." "Hi. I'm Miek." says the merman. "I'm Jesse." she says. "Let's go home now. They might be worried." says Brynn. The three merpeople continue swimming and plunge into the deep crevice where the town is. Jesse follows close behind the two. She turns left and right as they go. Everything about the society around her is intriguing. She sees merchildren at play with their parents not too far away supervising. Something she notes about the parents are that they all look like they vary in age from eighteen to thirty. Jesse then remembers that merpeople maintain the looks from the prime of their life until death. There seem to be very few mermen in this village as she observes the parents and merchildren. She catches the eye of one of the mermen, who gives her a smile and a wave. A little bit later, the three merpeople reach the Brynn's home. "Bro! Sis! Sorry we were gone overnight! We just got a little carried away." says Brynn before Miek gives her a kiss on the cheek. Jesse turns to another hole in the wall of the room and sees another mermaid swim in. This mermaid looks almost like Brynn except for the eyes and height. "So you two finally got to it..." says the mermaid playfully. "Miek looked like he was going to explode yesterday. Oh? And who is this?" "This is Brynn. We met her outside of town. She's not from around here, though we still have to show her around." "Hi. My name is Lily. Pleased to meet you, Jesse." says Lily. "I thought I heard Brynn's voice." says Riley as he enters the room. "Hello? Who might you be?" Jesse stares blankly at Riley, the merman she sacrificed her humanity for. He is even more stunning awake than when she saw him unconscious on the shore. She quickly loses herself in his eyes and thankfully so, since it prevents her eyes from glancing at other things. Suddenly she finds herself again in the middle of an awkward silence that she caused. "I'm Jesse. Pleased to meet you..." "Riley." "Riley...." "So what brings you here to Okeanos?" asks Riley. "I was looking for a place to stay." says Jesse. "I guess you can stay here for now if you'd like, Jesse." says Lily. "You'll just have to share a hammock with Riley." "That's fine with me." replies Riley. "Anyway, why don't you go ahead with Brynn and Miek around town? I'll catch up with you guys after me and Lily go buy something." "Sounds good." says Brynn. Brynn, Miek, and Jesse say their good-byes before exiting from the home. The three of them head towards the busy part of the village where it seems as if almost every villager is there. "So Riley and Lily are your siblings?" asks Jesse, trying to keep her feelings neutral. "Yeah. Those two are twins; Lily's the older one. The two of them are older than me by about a year." answers Brynn. "I think you like Riley." says Miek. "I saw the way you looked at him." Jesse's eyes meet Brynn's and she immediately blushes a deep shade of red. "Well you did make it obvious by the way you acted when you first saw him. No doubt that he and Lily are aware of your feelings as well." says Brynn. "But don't worry about it. Just go with your feelings, I guess." "Thanks, Brynn." says Jesse. The three tour the town with Miek and Brynn telling Jesse where everything is. As part of their last stop, they show Jesse what they eat. The three swim to what appears to be a window. A mermaid pops out and Brynn orders food for them. It doesn't take long for the mermaid to hand them their orders. She gives Brynn, Miek, and Jesse the same thing: cooked fish on a stick. The three then swim up and out of the village to rest on the sand while looking up at the sky through the surface of the water. "Do you mind if I ask you guys ask you something strange?" says Jesse. "I don't mind at all. What is it?" asks Miek. "Well... I come from very far and lived far from merpeople all my life. I'm just wondering about a few things that seem a little strange to me." continues Jesse. "Oh? And what is so strange?" asks Brynn. "Where I come from, merpeople I see usually cover up those parts of your body." says Jesse, briefly pointing at Miek's manhood as well as Brynn's exposed flesh. "Ah. You must be from one of the colder seas." says Miek. "I don't think I'd really enjoy nearly freezing my dick off everyday." "It's just that clothes are too restrictive." says Brynn. "Miek and I went to the surface once at night when there were not humans around. I found one of those things human women wear over their breasts. It just didn't feel right to me, in or out of the water." "It didn't look right either." adds Miek. "It's like humans want to hide those things away. There's nothing really special about seeing or not seeing breasts." "I... er... heard that humans think of them as sexual objects." says Jesse uneasily. "Really? Sure, you can't really ignore breasts during sex." responds Miek. "You can't really have sex and ignore what's right in front of you, though what breasts have to do with having sex, I'll never understand about humans." "I don't care about what humans think." announces Brynn as she cups her generous flesh. "I am a mermaid, therefore I have breasts. I am not ashamed for having them, so why should I cover them up? If others have a problem with that, they should just ignore me and move on to things more important than interfering with my pride!" Brynn looks to Miek and Jesse, both of whom are staring her in silence. "What?" asks Brynn. "Nothing." responds Miek. "Anyway, Jesse, think of it this way: Exposing your body is like opening a doorway to the soul. When you can see everything on the surface, you can dig deeper into the soul of that person. I see lots of pretty mermaids out there but I don't think I'd get along with most of them. Trust me, you can tell when a merman wants only the body. Same goes for mermaids as well, I guess." Jesse thinks back to when she met Riley face-to-face earlier. She sighs, remembering she completely avoided looking at his manhood the entire time. She becomes vexed remembering Brynn saying that even Riley noticed her liking him. Naked and apparently robbed of her sex appeal, she wonders how to go about getting Riley to like her. On their way back to the home, Brynn, Jesse, and Miek run into Lily and Riley, who have just finished shopping around. All of them head back together and Jesse slowly positions herself within the group closer to Riley. When they get back home, Riley takes Jesse in to the bedroom to show her where she is to sleep. In the room, Jesse can see that there are only three hammocks in the room. Riley swims up to one of them and Jesse floats next to him. "We'll be sharing my hammock if you don't mind. Brynn and Miek share that hammock over there." says Riley. "Normally, Lily and I share one but Lily volunteered to sleep on the spare-" "What? You sleep in the same bed as your sister?" interrupts Jesse. "So? It gets cold at night. It's just to keep each other warm." says Riley. "Oh... I just thought..." "Lily's my sister. My twin sister. Not my girlfriend. Sharing a bed with her won't make me love her any more or any less than I already do." says Riley irritated. "Sorry, Riley. It was stupid of me to just assume things about people I don't know." mutters Jesse, hoping being underwater would hide the tears she feels in her eyes. She feels Riley take her by the shoulders. "Hey. Don't worry about it. Let me take you out. It would be bad of me to not know anything about someone staying at my home." "Sure. I think I'd like that very much." replies Jesse with a smile. The two soon find themselves back outside. Riley takes Jesse by the hand to one of his usual spots: the local park. It's just in the middle of the village. Jesse wonders at the arrangements of coral and underwater plants. The two of them swim out to an open stretch of sand where a few of the other villagers are relaxing. The two of them lie down side by side. Jesse looks around uncomfortably and sees a nearby couple clearly being affectionate in public. She looks to Riley who doesn't appear to find anything out of the ordinary. After a bit of relaxing, something large casts a shadow on Riley and Jesse. Looking up, Jesse sees another handsome merman looking over her. This one has long brown hair and golden eyes. He has the same build as the merman next to her and immediately feels her heart pumping in her chest. She has rarely been surrounded by so many naked males, no matter what the species. Immediately, Riley greets this merperson. "Hey, Shane." says Riley. "Hey, Riley. Who's this pretty friend of yours?" says Shane looking Jesse's body up and down. "She's new in town and Brynn invited her over to our place. Her name's Jesse." says Riley. Riley and Jesse get up from the turtle grass so that they can talk some more with Shane. Jesse feels Shane's gaze upon her. To her surprise, his hand reaches over to her and cups her breast. Jesse freezes in place, not knowing what to do in this situation. Shane continues without noticing Jesse's reactions. His other hand reaches around to her back and pulls her towards his body and kisses her squarely on the cheek. When he lets go of her, he is surprised to see the strange expression on the mermaid's face. "What's wrong, Jesse?" he asks curiously. "I'm... um... not used to being so intimate with mermen..." says Jesse truthfully. "Intimate? I was just being friendly." says Shane. "But you..." says Jesse,"put your hand over my-" "Heart?" interrupts Riley. "Ah. That's what that is." says Shane. "Look. Just because a merman cups your breast, doesn't mean he always wants something. That kind of greeting was symbolic. I place my hand over your heart and you place yours over mine. It's like trying to feel what's in each other's hearts." "Oh... I see..." says Jesse, not too relaxed by that explanation. Jesse and Riley bid farewell to Shane after several minutes of chatting. The two of them head back to Riley's home as the sunlight pouring forth from the surface continues to diminish. All that is on Jesse's mind is the night that she will have to spend sharing a bed with Riley, the merman of her dreams. Life Under the Sea Ch. 02 The more time they spend together in Riley's home, the more Jesse finds herself thinking about the coming night. Her eyes are even drifting towards his manhood more than she'd like. It distracts her to the point that she forgets the previous concern over her own nudity. "Erm.... uh... Riley... do you mind if I go out for a bit of fresh... water? asks Jesse. "Sure... Just be sure to be back before it gets dark. It gets pretty hard to find your way back without the sun. I'll see you later then." says Riley with a curious smile. Jesse smiles back uneasily before hurrying out the portal. The thought of spending the night with Riley still upsets her. She doesn't want to make the wrong move and feel like an outcast among everyone. Right now, she has only one other person in the whole world to tell her problems to, Nikos. She hurries as fast as she can to where she remembers that secluded beach is. She finds that beach after half an hour of swimming in one direction. She also sees the lone hut standing on that beach. Eager to talk to Nikos immediately, she shouts his name from the water. Inside the hut, she hears something drop before the door is violently forced open. Nikos runs out towards the voice that he heard. Upon seeing the familiar mermaid in the water, his run slows down to a casual walk. Jesse pouts at him seeing the irritating smile on his face. "Back so soon, Jesse? I was expecting you to come back at one of two times since we last saw each other: today, which is the day after your transformation, or someday, which would be months or years from now." says Nikos. "What do you mean?" asks Jesse. "Well, coming back today, I thought you'd find that the merman you loved was not as you thought he was or something superficial like that. If you came back a long time from now, it would mean that you've grown tired and weary of life under the sea." replies Nikos. "Oh. I see..." says Jesse, upset at Nikos' pessimism. "So... Am I right about today?" he asks. "Actually, no. I came here for some advice about something mermaid-related." says Jesse. "What? Why?" asks Nikos, surprised. "Do I look like I know mermaids inside-out? I have legs if you didn't notice the first time we met." "You knew enough to help me transform into one." responds Jesse. "You've done this before, haven't you?" "Sure I have. You're not the first person to come to me." says Nikos. "If it's a big problem, you can ask Poseidon for advice." "It's nothing big. I just think it's... a personal problem." says Jesse. "Well?" asks Nikos, staring at her intently. "It's about the whole nudity thing. The merman I like, Riley, welcomed me into his home and I most likely have to share the same hammock with him. I am more than sure he does not expect anything from me during the night but I can't stop thinking about the possibilities." confesses Jesse. "Well, being naked together and touching would be tempting. Just close your mind to it like he probably does." says Nikos. "Is that what he's doing?" wonders Jesse out loud. "I'd expect so. He probably did so at first when he found out the power of a mermaid. I guess that merpeople just get used to being exposed to each other since it's just part of daily life." says Nikos. "Then why can't I shake off the feelings and thoughts about taking him for my own?" asks Jesse, frustrated. "Listen. When is the only time when humans feel the need to shed their clothing completely in front of one another?" asks Nikos. "I can only think of sex off the top of my head." "Exactly. You're clothed all the other times around others. You also grew up in a world that emphasizes sex and sexuality. Since sex is the only time you see a man unobscured, you think of sex when you saw that merman exposed. Still, that's only part of your little problem. Let me ask you another thing: what did you think of all the merpeople you saw in that village?" "They were breathtaking. I couldn't believe anyone could be that perfect-looking." "True. However, you don't see many people who look that amazing concentrated in one place. I think I'd get bored of seeing pretty mermaids left and right all my life. The thing is, despite the outer beauty, their inner beauty has quite a range. Some merpeople can be pretty evil, some merpeople can be called saint-like, while the rest fall between those two extremes, just like humans." "What are you trying to tell me, Nikos?" "Look beyond their good looks. You really shouldn't be surprised." "If looks don't matter, why do they look the way they do?" asks Jesse. "It's a stupid reason, I think. They were born that way." "Ex- Excuse me?" "It's not really important. Anyway, I have some things to take care of. See you later." says Nikos as he turns around to go back to his hut. "Hey! Wait! You're just evading the question!" exclaims Jesse. She then pauses for a second. "You jerk! You just want me to come back again!" Nikos stops in his tracks. He turns his head slowly towards Jesse. She flinches upon looking at the furious expression on his face. Suddenly, Nikos smirks and says, "Maybe?". The man turns once more and disappears into his isolated hut. Jesse just sits there as the waves crash around her. Her mouth opens, but nothing comes out. The mermaid barely whispers "Idiot!" before diving below the water. She thinks about the conversation she just had. Nikos didn't make her feel any less nervous about the night she would spend with Riley. She tries to look for things in the water to keep her mind off of the merman, but there's nothing but water and sand all around her. She keeps swimming in one direction even as it gets darker. She can feel herself getting closer to Riley. To her delight, she soon sees the familiar chasm in the sea floor. Just after Jesse swam out of the room, Riley wonders what to do for the rest of the time being. Before he even has the chance to make up his mind, Lily enters the place. She looks around before opening her mouth. "What happened to Jesse? I thought she'd be with you. Especially with that look she gave you when she first laid eyes upon you." says Lily. "I don't think she's used to staying inside too long. She just went out to stretch her fins." responds Riley. "And yeah, I saw that look she gave me. It was an interesting look, like she's never seen a merman before." "What do you think of her?" asks Lily. "I saw where her eyes were going. Do you think she'll be trouble for you tonight?" "I... I hope not. I hardly know her enough. If she is expecting something, I doubt I can refuse." says Riley. "You're too nice, Riley," says Lily with a frown. "I'd at least say no a couple times to see if they're really interested in me. Though, I guess I do like that you're nice. It'd be a pity if we were both naughty." Riley looks back at her in surprise at what has just been said to him. She moves quickly towards him, and he feels Lily peck him on the cheek. She surprises him again by embracing him tightly with his face pressed against her chest. Riley blushes at this show of affection, scarcely aware of the soft flesh pressed against his cheeks. "Riley, don't let her or any other mermaid break your heart. If that happens, tell me. So that she will regret it." says Lily. Riley tilts his head up and meets his sister's eyes. Despite the slightly disturbing words that came from her mouth, he knows she just wants him to be careful. "Thanks, sis. But don't worry about me." replies Riley. Lily just smiles and lets go of him. She swims out the portal without another word. The merman doesn't know what to think anymore. Lily's words make him wonder anxiously about Jesse even more and about when Jesse herself will be back soon. Luckily, his thoughts are interrupted by Shane coming in. "Hey, Riley. Have you seen Lily just now?" he asks. "Yeah. She was just in here." responds Riley. "Why?" "Brynn said that she and a few friends were going to sleep on that deserted beach after watching the moon and the stars. She wants to know if Lily wants to come along with us." "Lily just went out. You should be able to catch up with her." "Thanks, Riley." says Shane as he bolts out the portal. Riley slowly swims to the opening in the wall to look at the rest of the village. In his head, he wonders at his sisters' remarkable ability to manipulate his love life. True enough, he sees no sign of Lily, Brynn, or Miek the rest of the evening. As the darkness grows more intense, he wonders if Jesse got lost in the open sea. He stays calm, however, as the only threats in this part of the sea comes from humans alone and humans rarely go this far at to sea in the dark. Jesse swims into the chasm and sees the village. She sees all the shops and stalls closing as darkness falls. A few mermen and mermaids swim around, apparently looking for some fun. Jesse even receives a few winks and naughty smiles from a few of them. The mermaid who was once a human pays little attention to them though. In her mind, a bigger prize is waiting for her. She swims through the portal to Riley's home and finds him there staring at the ceiling. "Daydreaming?" she asks smugly. "Huh? Ah! Hey! Yeah, sorry about that. It's a bad habit of mine." replies Riley rather quickly. "That's all right. So... Where are the others?" "Brynn, Miek, Lily, and a few others went to the surface to spend the night looking at the sky." "Why didn't you go with them?" asks Jesse, suddenly feeling guilty for keeping Riley at home. "It'd be rude of me to just leave you here." "So we're alone for the night?" adds Jesse, desperately trying to hide any elation in her voice and face. "It appears so." muses Riley. "C'mon. It's late. Let's get to sleep now." Jesse eagerly follows Riley into the bedroom. She sees the three hammocks that are set up. Riley shows her to his hammock and she obligingly gets in. The moment she does get in, the hammock closes quite a bit over her, leaving a long thin slit of an opening. From what she can imagine, the closed hammock looks like a peapod from the outside. Riley sticks his hand into the hammock's opening and slightly pulls it open. "Are you fine by yourself in there or would you like me to join you?" he asks. "I really would like you to join me in here." says Jesse coyly. "No problem. Let me just make sure this hammock can hold the both of us." Jesse lies alone in the hammock, waiting for Riley to finish whatever he's doing. Knowing that whatever he's doing shouldn't take more than a minute, the seconds seem to pass like hours. Just as she is about to peek her head to check what Riley is doing, the merman's head pops out at her and the two of them collide at the forehead. "Ow!" exclaim the two simultaneously. Jesse looks up to see Riley gently rubbing a reddish bump on his forehead. She luckily got away with minor pain and no visible bruises. "Sorry about that, Jesse. I didn't expect your head to be coming out of the opening." says Riley. "No, no. It's nothing. Anyway, you are the one with a bump, not me. Are you all right?" she asks. "Yeah, I think so." says Riley. "Let's get some sleep though. It'll help with the stinging feeling." Jesse almost hesitates to move when Riley enters the hammock. She slides to the side as the merman she desires the most lies down right next to her. Right now, all she can see is the smile on his face, which is something she has started to be thankful for. Riley casually puts an arm around her before closing his eyes to sleep. Jesse continues to look up at his face. It is just as serene and beautiful as when she gazed upon his unconscious form on the beach a couple days ago. The arm that he has wrapped around her has its hand strongly and warmly holding her shoulder. Finding herself in a somewhat uncomfortable position, Jesse slowly shifts her position. She moves her body against his and ends up brushing a breast against his bare side. The feeling and exhilaration of the entire movement leaves her flesh with an enjoyably tingling sensation. Jesse sighs as this is more comfortable than before, with Riley's side gently nestled in the valley of her bosom. Mere seconds after falling asleep, Jesse drifts off into a miniature world inside her own head. She is alone on a beach. For the first time ever, this dream stars her in her mermaid form. Just as the illusion starts, Jesse feels a shiver down her spine and decides to get into the water. Safely submerged, she is shocked to find that the source of the danger is none other than herself, her human self. The mermaid Jesse finds a conveniently large rock to hide behind as the human version of Jesse casually walks onto the beach. As this all unfolds, the Jesse hiding in the water wonders what the point of this dream is. A large wave crashes against her back and almost smashes her against the rock. She makes a loud yell, but the sound is hidden by the loud roar of the wave. The mermaid Jesse looks up again and sees herself holding and checking her purse. The Jesse standing on the beach suddenly looks out over the sea, in the general direction of her other self. The mermaid quickly pulls back so the no part of her will be seen. She turns around and rests her back against the rock that is her hiding place. She makes a soft gasp to see Riley's unconscious form floating towards the shore. This dream is remarkably similar to what happened on that Greek island beach a couple days ago, except of course that there was only one Jesse the first time this happened. It looks like it could be just a perfect re-enactment of past events, but something seems amiss to the Jesse in the water. The mermaid counts several seconds before peeking around the rock again. If this was proceeding just like the first time, then her human self would be delicately inspecting Riley's succulent form, paying little attention to anything else. When she does peek, her human counterpart is currently moving her hand up and down the smooth torso of Riley. Even though the woman on the beach is herself, Jesse the mermaid can't help suppress the feeling of jealousy. Watching those gentle hands glide along the contours of the merman's body, Jesse floats closer to the odd couple on the beach. The dream is accurate and precise with every moment, but the mermaid in the water still feels distressed, as if something is about to go awry. And it does, Riley awakens. Both Jesse's gasp at the same time, but it is the one in the water that freezes. The Jesse on land stares into Riley's open eyes. Riley just lies there motionless, pretty much like the Jesse in the water. The mermaid gasps again as her human self strips off the very same clothes she had been wearing days ago. The Jesse on land slowly lies down, completely naked, next to Riley. A tingling throughout her entire body tells the mermaid Jesse that this whole dream scene is turning her on. The human Jesse has Riley speechless though in a fearful sort of way, as though he is at a loss at how to escape. Soon enough, however, the Jesse on land has the merman quite literally in her grip. The mermaid lets out a soft moan as the gentle hand of her other self glides down Riley's chest and stomach before enclosing his manhood in her fist. Before anything more happens, the scene before her disappears and Riley's curious face suddenly comes into view. Jesse gives a quick and audible gasp before looking left, right, up, and down. With a sigh, she realizes the dream is over and she is back in the hammock. "What's wrong, Jesse?" asks Riley. "Nothing." replies Jesse. "I just had an interesting dream. That's all." "Heh. I'm glad that's all it was. Better than a nightmare." "Was I moving around much?" "Not too much. Your hand moved up and down a bit, but you woke me up when your tail started twitching." "Oh sorry about that." "Don't worry about it. Anyway, let's get back to sleep. I'm still tired." As soon as Jesse opens her mouth to respond, Riley's eyes close once again as he drifts off to sleep. The mermaid sighs in relief that Riley did not question her more on what actually happened in her dream. Jesse slowly and carefully moves her right arm, the one resting across the merman's chest. She then moves her hand in the same way as her arm. Her pinky finger playfully flicks a nipple before resting on his chest. She then looks down at the limp flesh shaft, which in her dreams, was taken into the much envied hand of her human self. The mermaid knows she can't do that now, in real-life. Still she can't help but nudge his hips with her waist and smiles at what happens: his flesh moves back and forth before pointing at the place where she'd love to have it most. With a happy thought, she, too, falls asleep. Meanwhile at the surface, Brynn and the others are lying on the beach with their backs to the sand. Every single pair of eyes is focused on the stars in the enchantingly clear sky above them. Brynn is lying down next to Miek; both of them with an arm around one another. Lily has a brown-haired, green-eyed merman holding her tightly. His dark green tail is securely wrapped around like her own in the same way a snake grips a tree it climbs. Earlier in the night, the merman's stealthy arm reached around the mermaid's back and curled around her body to grasp a breast. Lily hadn't objected; from the start, she had known that this was what they had both wanted. Even now, the tightening and releasing of his hand's grip excites her. She tries to keep the sounds she makes only audible to herself and the merman. Not too far away are Shane with his girlfriend as well as three more couples, each sharing loving embraces. As the night becomes early morning, most of them had already fallen asleep. The only ones who remain awake are Lily and the merman who still holds her in his arms, Varon. Thanks to the lengthy foreplay while stargazing, the two of them are incredibly restless. In his eagerness, Varon releases Lily from his hold only to roll up on top of her. She can feel his burning hot manhood pressed snugly against her belly. Varon looks into her eyes lustfully. He then lifts himself up and slowly slides his length deep into her. Lily looks left and right to see his hands planted into the sand on both sides of her with his heavy tail pinning her tail down. As he explores deeper and deeper into her, Lily lets out a soft groan. Varon easily slips in and out rhythmically even without the help of water to keep them wet and slippery. The two of them smile at each other as the pleasure rises. The merman energetically gives her his all, which is exactly what she had been craving for the past few hours. Something inside Varon builds up quickly up the point where he can barely contain it. He lowers his body down onto hers. Lily can tell it's coming soon from the tell-tale surge in heat emanating from her lover. Varon digs his arms into the sand under Lily and holds her body tightly to his own. In his hold, Lily feels her soft bosom squeezed against his firm chest. Varon then drives himself deeper into her body as the climactic moment arrives. Both Lily and Varon clutch each other tightly as the merman explodes within the mermaid. Lily gyrates and grinds on and around Varon, eager to take in every drop of his essence. The pleasure of having him pour into her like the wildest currents of the sea is almost indescribable. The intense warmth of his body overwhelms her body. Each burst and twitch from Varon's body as well as each move and grind from Lily, bring the couple to the brink of almost moaning out loud. Counting the initial climax, Lily endures four more bursts from the merman. Right after the fourth, Varon collapses on top of her, his chest heaving. Lily, too, is out of breath; she can barely lift a finger, though it is fair to mention that she is feeling the entire weight of the merman on top of her. Life Under the Sea Ch. 02 "You don't know how pretty you look right now..." whispers Varon. "Thanks, but I think I know... You're not too bad either." whispers back Lily. "Hah. Anyway, let's go wash off. Huh?" says Varon as he looks down their bodies. "Ah. Not quite finished?" "Wha- what do you mean?" asks Lily, as her face adopts a reddish glow. "I was about to pull out, but it seems that you won't... er... let go of me." "Well, I'm still not all worn out. One more go, Varon?" "What?! No way. Not right now. I already gave you everything I had. I'm all out." he whispers "I swear, it'll be blood coming out of me." "Fine. Fine." whispers Lily with a hint of disappointment. "But next time, you owe me five." "Five! I... Fine. Deal." responds Varon. "Let's get in the water to wash off though. I don't want the others to know, especially since the two of us aren't going out." Varon finally pulls out with much relief visible in his face. He then rolls off of Lily and drags himself into the rising tide. Lily soon follows him and dives in after him. The refreshing water cools their burning hot flesh nicely. In the midst of all this, Varon remembers something. "Hey, Lily. Shane said he saw your brother with some new mermaid. I saw her too and she's pretty cute. What do you think of her?" "They're not going out. And she doesn't really bother me anyway." "You know what I mean, Lily." says Varon, sternly. "For one thing, she seems a little strange and out-of-place. I can't put my finger on it though. She seems to lust after Riley but I doubt there's much love between the two of them. Anyway, I already warned Riley to be careful. Just in case she's up to no good." "You're the same age as he is. And yet you take the time to warn-, no, lecture him?" "So?" "You're too nice. You care a little too much about him." "He's my little brother and my twin. I can never care too much." "Haha... You sound so unlike the Lily most people know. Normally, you're somewhere between carefree and careless. Though you have calmed quiet a bit in the past few years. You even have a serious side now." says Varon with a laugh. "Though you've gotten pretty wild in the sack." Varon smiles to himself, pleased at the reddish tint on Lily cheeks. She turns away as well, but quickly swims back to the beach where the others are. The merman follows right behind her hoping to get another glimpse at her blushing face. The sun eventually rises from the eastern edge of the sea and its light pierces the transparent surface of the water. In that glow, the creatures and beings of the daylight begin to stir and awaken, ready for another day. As the sounds of voices and the swishing of tails fills the water, Jesse wakes with a start. She immediately shifts her head to look up, where she finds Riley looking down at her. "How long have you been awake?" asks Jesse. "Oh... For a short while now..." says Riley. "So why didn't you get up? You didn't have to wait for me?" "Well, I don't think you ever notice, but you do have a pretty strong grip, even when you're asleep." "Ah..." says Jesse, blushingly. "I'm sorry about that, Riley." "It's no big deal. Anyway, I didn't want to wake you. You had such a pleasant smile on your face." "Well.... Anyway...." continues Jesse. "What do you have planned for today?" "Me? Well, I wanted to check on Brynn, Lily, Miek, and the others. It's getting pretty bright out and the humans will be combing the surface any minute now. Do you want to come with me?" "Sure. Let's go!" A few moments later, Riley and Jesse are seen bolting out of the home and towards the shimmering surface. Jesse herself is amazed at how fast she is moving through the water. Her tail even moves the way she wants it to without her having to consciously think about it anymore. With her mind free to ponder, Jesse finally takes note of the sensual side that is swimming in mermaid form. With each flap of her fins, Jesse glides and cuts through the water. The clear water seems to caress her body lovingly as she swims through it. It is a wonderful feeling that surrounds Jesse, like almost nothing can harm her while in the sea's embrace. The sensation of the water flowing over and around her skin and curves will be something she will not soon forget. Looking ahead at Riley, she wonders if mermen get the same feeling as mermaids apparently do, especially since their most sensitive parts are left completely exposed. With her eyes locked onto his manhood, she sees no evidence of arousal. Though Jesse just guesses that Riley had grown used to the unearthly feeling after years of being exposed to it. Riley himself appears to be focused on other things: precisely his sisters and friends. Even now, the lowest edge of the sun had appeared from the horizon of the early morning sky. He looks over his shoulders every other moment, expecting a boat to appear from out of nowhere. To Riley's great relief, he reaches the beach Shane mentioned the day before. All of them are still there on the sand, laughing amongst themselves. Together, Riley and Jesse burst forth from the surface of the water and land on the firm sand of the beach. Everyone turns in surprise towards the two of them. While Jesse tries to move wet hair out of the way of her eyes, she hears several familiar and unfamiliar voices. "It's Riley and Jesse." calls out Brynn. "You're right. It is... Hey guys!" says Miek. "Riley! Jesse!" exclaims Lily. "I thought you'd eventually come out here to join us. That's why we waited a bit longer." With her hair comfortably out of the way, she can see Lily, Brynn, Shane, and Miek smiling at her and Riley. There are other merpeople around them, all of whom she had never seen before. As they wave and beckon her over, she grants them a smile and drags herself towards them. She takes a second to look toward Riley, who is currently engaged in a lively conversation with Miek and Shane. When Jesse finally joins the circle of friends, the mermaid on her right promptly greets her in the same way that Shane did the day before: with a hand over her heart and a peck on her cheek. "Hello. My name's Beth. Shane has told us all about you, Jesse." says the mermaid. Barely a second after Beth says this, the rest of the mermaids and mermen around her crowd around Jesse and each greet her in the same way. Jesse smiles weakly as soon as it is over. No matter how many times it happens, it is still an awkward custom to get used to. Beth sees the expression on her face. "Don't worry about that. Shane told me that it's been a very long time since you last were among other merpeople. We're all just happy to meet someone new." says Beth with a smile. "Hey, guys. Introduce yourselves already!" Each of the merpeople around her bow their heads and announce their names in turn. Soon enough, she has the names Shawn, Marissa, Lyzabeth, and Aiden. For a few seconds she takes the time to match each and every name with a face, each of which was enviously gorgeous. She then turns back to look at Riley and notices another merman she does not recognize. "Who's that merman?" asks Jesse as she nods her head at her target's general direction. "The one with his arm around Lily." "Hm?" peeps Marissa as she turns to look at what Jesse is nodding towards. "Oh. That's Varon. He's a good friend of Lily's." All of them on the beach remain locked in conversation until a boat in the distance told them that it was unsafe to stay out of the water any longer. Jesse tries to move closer to Riley, but is blocked by Marissa and Lyzabeth. Trying to recognize these mermaids from earlier, she identifies the brunette with blue eyes and a light pink tail as Marissa and the redhead with green eyes and a purple tail as Lyzabeth. The two mermaids smile at her and urge her to join them for the day. Reluctantly, she agrees and wordlessly waves good-bye to the rest of the group. As soon as they are out of sight from the others, Marissa takes Jesse by the hand and drags her to a side of the village of Okeanos that she had yet to explore. Jesse recalls the wall of the crevice that the home Riley, his sisters, and Miek shared; there were a large number of homes built into that cliffside, reminding Jesse of the side of an apartment. Right now, the homes that come into view around her appear to have been hollowed out of incredibly large boulders. These homes were not as cramped together as the homes built into the cliff wall are, so Jesse presumes that she has just entered a high-class neighborhood. Each of the homes has a beautiful and unique garden made out of ornate coral. Jesse looks left, right, and all around her, taking in all the beauty of the place. Marissa continues pulling on Jesse's hand while Lyzabeth swims along beside them. "Where are we going?" asks Jesse, as if snapping out of a trance. "My house." responds Marissa with a friendly smile. "I think you'll like it." Marissa points to a house in the distance. Jesse's mouth opens in a gasp and stays open for a few seconds. If she weren't underwater, Jesse swears she would have been visibly drooling at this point: Marissa's house is gorgeous. Gently glowing crystal gardens actually grow out of the boulder itself and colorful coral gardens form complex designs on what must be an underwater lawn. Marissa takes Jesse closer and pulls her in through the entranceway. Jesse receives an even bigger surprise when she sees that the interior of the home is just as stunning as the exterior. However for the moment, Marissa leads Jesse and Lyzabeth to her room, which is decorated lavishly with various pinks and whites. Lyzabeth swims around them and sets herself on Marissa's bed, which looks like an overstuffed bean bag chair. Marissa lets go of Jesse's hand as she too swims over to rest beside her friend. She then pats her hand on the surface of the bed. "C'mon, Jesse. Join us." says Marissa. "Su- sure." responds Jesse hesitantly. Jesse swims over and gently rests with her stomach on the bed. Even around the mermaids, she still has trouble accepting the whole nudity issue. Even if their eyes aren't doing anything suspicious, Jesse's paranoia forces her to think otherwise. Unlike Jesse, the other two are sitting on the bed not even making a visible attempt at human modesty. Despite her fears of being stared at, she finds herself drawn to try to stare at the two mermaids before her. She finds that the answer to her problem is to just look them in the face rather than avoid looking at them all together. The beauty held in their faces was a distraction enough for her. Jesse suddenly catches herself in the middle of such awkward thoughts and reminds herself that she isn't a lesbian, despite the strange feelings she has towards Marissa and Lyzabeth. Still, the idea of being naked with them just seems to sexually charge the water around them. "Jesse? Jesse? What's wrong?" asks Lyzabeth. "You're looking at me very strangely..." "Oh, sorry." she responds. "I was just thinking about something." "Was it Riley?" asks Marissa suddenly. "Um... Yes. I was..." lies Jesse. "So what happened last night then?" asks Lyzabeth. "Brynn told us you slept over at their place. And it was only the two of you there..." "Nothing happened." replies Jesse, choosing her words carefully. "We just shared a hammock for the night." Marissa and Lyzabeth look at each other and smirk for a second. "Why did you bring me here anyway, Marissa? Lyzabeth? We just met today and you already bring me into your home?" asks Jesse. "We just want to be your friends, Jesse. You're new to Okeanos." says Lyzabeth. "So what about those questions about me and Riley?" asks Jesse with her eyebrow slowly rising. "We just like to gossip. Besides, he's a friend and we're just watching out for him." says Marissa. "Are you sure you guys don't love him?" continues Jesse. "We used to." admits Lyzabeth. "But then we found other mermen, though it took a while." "What do you mean it 'took a while'? Both of you are pretty enough to get as many men... er... mermen as you want!" blurts Jesse. "You sure are full of questions, Jesse." says Marissa smiling. "The problem is that there aren't many mermen." "That's right." adds Lyzabeth. "We outnumber the guys three to one. Not all of us can find a single merman in this village for herself at times. That's why we move from village to village in search of partners." An uncomfortable silence comes over the bedroom. Jesse feels wonders if she's actually stealing a merman from these mermaids, especially since she wasn't born a mermaid. Her obsession with Riley still persists regardless. "So what do you think of Riley?" asks Lyzabeth. "Well, I think he's very cute and he does seem sweet." says Jesse. "I was wondering though... Has he had girlfriends?" "Yeah. Of course he has." says Marissa. "Though he has been single for a while now." When Marissa had just said that, Jesse could have sworn she saw a wink. The conversation about Riley soon died down and just moved to the discussion of the other available mermen of the village. A few hours later, Jesse bids good-bye to Marissa and Lyzabeth before heading back to Riley's place. On the way, Jesse can't help but think about what the mermaids had said about there not being many mermen for the mermaids. A troubling thought invades her head: what if he is destined to be with someone else and I'm just in his way? A slight frown appears on her face as she passes through the center of the town. Back at Riley's place, Lily, Varon, Brynn, Miek, and Riley are sitting in the main room on soft spongy furniture. They are talking about the beautiful night sky from several hours ago. Soon enough they get into a light discussion about Jesse and what happened in the bedroom adjacent the night before. "So... what did you guys do, Riley?" asks Miek with a goofy smirk on his face. "Nothing much. We just cuddled close I guess. Though she did hold me tightly." says Riley. "Like I said..." says Lily. "You're too nice. She was probably too nervous to do anything since you didn't even make a move. And you know she likes you. She's just shy for now. Eventually, her true feelings will show." "Yeah, I know..." replies Riley. "Interesting..." says Miek. "But do you like her back enough to do something about it?" Riley pauses and looks all around him. Four pairs of eyes are staring back at him intently. He looks pleadingly at Lily to rescue him from this situation but she too is waiting for him to answer Miek's question. He takes a deep breath and sighs in surrender. "Yes, I do like her. Though I think she likes me many times over more than I like her. I could sense it from her just by the way she held me to her." says Riley. "We'll see what happens..." "Why don't you tease her a bit and see how she reacts? I mean, if you show some interest, maybe she'll let her guard down." says Brynn. Riley suppresses any laughter seeing Varon and Miek's confused faces at what Brynn said. Apparently, they took the hard way in terms of flirting. "I guess that could work...." says Riley. "Anyway, let's move on..." says Lily. "Who wants to get up close to a human ship?" Riley, Varon, and Miek stare at Lily incredulously. "What?!" yells Miek. "Where's this come from?! You know how much trouble we'd be in if we got caught by one of those things? Even being seen is bad enough. We don't exist to them and that has suited us for thousands of years..." "Which is what makes it more fun!" adds Brynn. All three mermen stare at her with the same skepticism. They can't believe the two mermaids are planning to go through with this. "And when is this going to be?" asks Riley. "In a few days..." says Lily. "I want to be at the surface when the sun is at its hottest. That way, the poor humans will think they're hallucinating when they see us up close." "You seem to have planned this out, Lily." wonders Miek. "With Brynn's help, right?" "Exactly." says Lily with a wide smile on her face. Jesse continues swimming towards Lily, Riley, and Brynn's home. Her thoughts still dwell on Riley and her affection towards him. She wants to talk to someone but no merperson would understand her problems. Jesse pauses and closes her eyes as if meditating. As soon as she opens her eyes again, she has come to a decision: she will venture to the surface to talk with Nikos again. Jesse instantly swims up and out of the crevice and heads towards the beach. Right now, it is the middle of the afternoon and there isn't a cloud in the sky. Jesse hurries even faster since she is easily visible in the clear seawater. Luckily, no boats cross her path on the way to Nikos'. All she can pray is that there were no low-flying aircraft in the area at the time. When she does get to the beach and sees the familiar hut, she calls out. No one answers. She does this several times but still she hears no response. Jesse sits in the crashing waves, wondering where Nikos went. She even plots to beat him up with her tail the moment she sees his face. After what feels like an hour, the mermaid decides to turn back. That's when she sees a large fishing ship laying nets in the sea behind her. From what she can tell, they don't know they have just cornered a mermaid. Jesse looks from the ship to Nikos' hut. Seeing as she'd rather be locked in an acquaintance's hut rather than an ugly fisherman's trophy fish, Jesse drags herself onto the blistering sand of the dry beach and moves as quickly as her arms can pull her. The burning feeling on her tail from the heat is inexplicable, she knows her tail will need to get wet as soon as possible. The fact that she has to drag her belly on the same hot sand doesn't help as the fine sand is steadily finding itself in an extremely uncomfortable place for her. When Jesse finally gets to the door, she turns the handle and, surprisingly, finds that it isn't locked. Using most of what's left of her strength, Jesse pulls all of her form into the hut and closes the door. Breathing deeply, Jesse desperately looks around for water. Everything in the hut is the same as when she was last here, but she sees something that simply infuriates her. Nikos is sleeping on a mattress with his nose wedged into a book. Apparently he has been asleep this entire time since he is hardly dressed for going outside with a ragged pair of shorts. Forgetting all reason and why she came here in the first place, she kicks her tail at the floor and flies at him. Nikos stirs and slowly pulls the book off his face to see a mermaid flying at him. Before he can do anything more, Jesse's tightly clenched fist makes contact with his stomach. "OW! By the gods! What was that for?!" bellows Nikos with equal fury as Jesse. "You almost let me die at your doorstep! I was calling for you!" screams Jesse. "Ah. Well..." mutters Nikos, most of his initial anger gone. "I am very sorry about that." Nikos gets down on his knees before Jesse and bows till his forehead touches the ground. "Fine. I forgive you for now... Just get me some water!" scowls Jesse. Nikos promptly gets up and looks appraisingly at Jesse's sand-covered form. He then picks up a bucket on the floor and runs out the door. Mere seconds later, he runs back in and gently pours refreshing seawater onto Jesse's body. Her anger cools with her body as she asks Nikos more and more politely to fetch her buckets of water. Soon enough, Jesse tail had regained its healthy shine and shimmer. Tired from the effort of running back and forth in the hot sun, he plops down with his back on his mattress and looks at Jesse. The mermaid slowly drags herself onto his mattress and sits at his side. "So what brings you here? I saw you just yesterday. I thought things were going smoothly." says Nikos panting. Life Under the Sea Ch. 02 "They were, but something has come up that's been troubling me and you're the only one I can talk to." says Jesse. "And?" "My question is... What do merpeople think of humans?" "Hmmm... I think merpeople don't care unless they come in direct contact. I hear that merpeople who live near places where oil is being drilled tend to be livid." "And what would they think of me if I told them that I was a human until recently?" "Good question. I suppose that if they don't hate you from the first moment you tell them that, then the worst thing would be to just shun you from the rest of their society." "Okay. I understand." "I know why you didn't tell them that you were human." says Nikos suddenly. "What? Yo- you do?" asks Jesse, surprised. "Of course. You wanted to start over as a mermaid. A new life, a new world, a new identity... You just didn't want to say you were once human to them because you didn't want to admit that you had run away or given up on your old life. It wasn't about you and them. It's just you and you alone. You were a coward as a human. So what do you want to be as a mermaid?" "I- I- I want to be brave." "Good." "How did you know all that?" asks Jesse. "It's almost as if you can-" "-read minds? Of course I can. Remember what I told you? I'm a son of Mnemosyne, the goddess of memory. I share a bit of my mother's power." "Can you tell me what-" "-Riley's thinking? No. I can only tell the secrets of the mind to the person whose mind I'm looking into. Besides, that would be rude, evil, and sneaky." Jesse remains silent. She just realized Nikos could just look through her mind and see her darkest secrets. "Get out of my head. Now." says Jesse, red flowing from her face. "Some things should stay inside my head." "It's not a power I have control over. I'd have to leave your presence to have your thoughts and memories flowing into my head. Besides, you have my word that I will not speak of what I've seen." Jesse looks at Nikos with a fierce stare. His eyes meet hers. They stare at each other for several moments before Jesse sighs and drops all anger and embarrassment from her face. "I guess I can trust you with that..." says Jesse, before pausing. "I was wondering about something... Just before I left here yesterday, I asked you why merpeople look the way they do... So perfect and alluring in every single way I can think of... You just told me that they were born that way, but you didn't explain further than that. Can you tell me now?" "It's a thrilling tale." begins Nikos. "You won't find any stories about it in any compilations of myths. The story died thousands of years ago in the sea, this sea, in fact." Nikos pauses and sees that Jesse is looking at him with rapt attention. He is almost reminded of a child listening to her favorite bedtime story. Jesse nudges his side to make him start the tale. Nikos remains silent with a calculating look in his eyes. "You know what? I really don't feel like telling you." says Nikos. "What?! What's so wrong about a harmless story?" shouts Jesse, her fists beating on his chest. "Ow! Stop that!" says Nikos. "Well?" replies Jesse, her hands returning to her sides. "The only thing more fun than telling you a thrilling tale is showing you one. I'll need your permission of course." "What do you mean?" asks Jesse, half-expecting Nikos to pull a projector from out of nowhere. "And what kind of permission would you need to show me something? I'm not a child, I think I can endure the story without having nightmares." "This isn't a question of your maturity, Jesse. I want to show you a memory, but for that to happen we have to join our minds together as though they are one." "Fine. I'll allow it I guess. So how do we 'join our minds together'?" "Just take my hand." replies Nikos. Jesse looks at him questioningly before taking his hand in her own. "Are you ready?" asks Nikos. "As ready as I could possibly be..." says Jesse. "All right then... Three... Two... One...." The exact instant after the word, 'One', came out of Nikos' mouth. a sharp tingling sensation flows into the hand holding Nikos'. It is almost as if he were shocking her with lightning. The tingling sensation gives her absolutely no time to react or think, it travels up her arm and into her head. And then all was black. Suddenly, all that darkness becomes light with everything around Jesse becoming white. Jesse finds herself floating in this unfamiliar world that contains neither air nor water though she has no trouble with breathing. It is a weird feeling to see white everywhere you look and to be floating at the same time. Lack of gravity prevents Jesse from telling up from down. While she is befuddled by the whole scene, Nikos pops into view without warning. "Hiya!" "Don't do that!" screams Jesse at the top of her lungs. "Sorry." replies Nikos wincing. "So when am I going to see this tale?" asks Jesse. "Now." Again, Nikos' words act like a spell and the pure white scene around them fades away instantly. Jesse is suddenly in the middle of a busy marketplace. Humans are all around her trying to go about their day. She tries to avoid them by moving her tail. She swims though the air as if it were water, but there is no point to it all. Every human that comes close to touching her body just goes through her as if she were an opaque ghost. Jesse looks over to Nikos who just looks back at her, clearly amused. Jesse swims through a crowd of men to reach Nikos' side. "This is a memory?" asks Jesse. "Yeah, it is. All of the people around you can't see, smell, hear, feel, or taste you. I brought us here a little early, so take some time to take in it all." "Before that, if this is a memory from thousands of years ago, who did it belong to?" Nikos quickly turns away from her. Jesse, feeling insulted at him ignoring her question, swims around him to face him ready to scold. However, he sees that he isn't avoiding her gaze; he is actually staring over her shoulder apparently looking for something. Then he raises his arm to point at something. Jesse turns around immediately. "This is the memory of that kid over there." says Nikos. Jesse sees a boy slightly obscured by the passing people. He appears to be at least eighteen years old. Jesse swims over in curiosity knowing no one but Nikos can detect any hint of her presence. Up close, she can see he has messy brown hair that looks like it has been tangled for years. His eyes are brown as well and just stare blankly at the ground. His face is youthful and handsome but something about that face gives her an uncertain feeling. Jesse continues looking at him curiously, trying to figure out about him troubles her. His upper body is bare, allowing anyone to see his athletic build. He is wearing an ornately designed midnight blue skirt that goes down to his ankles. Seeing the skirt, which strikes her as out-of-place, but looking around, she sees that this is a somewhat common fashion for the men in this memory. Still comparing the young man in front of her to the other men, it seems to Jesse that dark hair, dark eyes, and tanned skin are the norm here. "Is this you, Nikos?" "Yeah. That's me from about six thousand years ago." "So you're immortal?" asks Jesse surprised. "Yeah. What did you expect from the son of a goddess? Anyway, let's start with the tale..." Nikos points up over the buildings around them towards a magnificent palace that rises like a mountain in this city. The building is so large and richly decorated, it even rivals the sun in it's dominance of the sky. "That is the Paragon Azure Pavilion. It is the palace and capital of the island of Atlantis, which is where we are right now." continues Nikos. "Capital? Isn't this the capital?" "No. There is a separate city inside the palace. So, inside the palace also resides the royal family as well as all the aristocrats of the entire country. That is part of the reason for the destruction of Atlantis which, as it happens, happened the day after today." "So it did meet a quick, violent end?" "Yeah. It did." says Nikos solemnly. "You see, the royal family and those aristocrats were seeking a way to become gods, a highly treacherous act considering divine powers were what gave life to this island. Most people didn't even have a clue as to what was happening. The gods had already made their decision about the fate of the entire island." "So what does this have to do with merpeople?" asks Jesse. "You'll see." When Jesse nods, both she and the older Nikos float closer to the other Nikos. Seeing the two Nikos' at the same time reminds Jesse of the dream she had when there were two of her. Strangely enough, a Jesse appears from the crowd. Almost every detail about this woman reminds the mermaid of herself, yet every part of her brain tells her that this isn't her. She appears to be roughly the younger Nikos' age. "The resemblance is amazing but she's not you, nor are you a reincarnation of her." says Nikos suddenly. "Her name's Alethea." Jesse turns to Nikos before turning back to the woman called Alethea. She and the younger Nikos converse intensely for several minutes. Apparently, Nikos wants to show her something. The two of them run towards the Paragon Azure Pavilion with the older Nikos and Jesse floating close behind. The younger Nikos and Alethea sneak past the guards of the palace and enter a gold balcony overlooking a great meeting hall. They crouch down and look at the people talking below them. Jesse and the older Nikos float down to where the people are meeting since no one can see nor hear them. They find themselves beside a group of old men sitting around the circle and talking in a strange language. Nikos tells Jesse that they are speaking Atlantean. The subject is the path to godhood and the overthrowing of Zeus and the Pantheon. The scene before them fades and becomes a bare room. Jesse looks at the Nikos beside her and sees a sad smile on his face. Nikos and Alethea are sleeping on the floor when a loud thunder awakes both of them. They quickly get up and run outside. The sky is over-littered with storm clouds. Lightning crowds in the atmosphere keeping up a constant, flickering light. In the distance all four of them see tidal waves rushing towards the island, all hundreds of feet tall. More loud noises tell them that even the land beneath them is being ripped open. The older Nikos explains that the punishment upon Atlantis has handed down by Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades. Soon after he finishes explaining, the tidal wave crashes down upon the younger Nikos and Alethea. Jesse's eyes widen seeing that all of the people engulfed by the wave turn into merpeople, all except Nikos. "As you can see, the gods sunk Atlantis into the sea. Almost all trace of a human civilization was wiped away." says the older Nikos. "So why were all the people turned into merpeople?" asks Jesse. "They were innocent of the crimes of the aristocrats so they were all transformed into merpeople to suit life in the water, as their home was now underwater." "That doesn't explain why merpeople look so beautiful, which was the whole point of my question earlier." "The reason lies in a flaw that the gods have: they favored physical beauty over intellectual beauty. Atlantis, just before its fall, was in decline. However, it had dominated the world with its research into magic as well as technology. It was a center for all the world's learning. It was not until five and a half millennia later did humans recover most of the lost knowledge from this city. They were envied by all who lived away from its shores. On the eve of its destruction, the gods had decided to give them unearthly beauty to make up for their losses. Yes, they were still envied, but for less admirable reasons." says Nikos bitterly. "Why didn't you become a merman?" asks Jesse. "My mother intervened on my behalf. She did not want her son to favor the physical over the intellectual, so I was protected from the transformation. I am grateful that she did, but I quickly became envious and full of regret anyway." "Why?" "Keep on watching." Jesse watches as the water sweeps all around them without affecting her or the older Nikos. Even the tallest buildings in the distance were completely submerged. She then sees the younger Nikos and Alethea swept in the current, their arms tightly around one another. Alethea was already a mermaid and her clothes were all lost from the wave and transformation. The scene suddenly disappears and Jesse and the older Nikos find themselves back in his hut on the beach. Jesse releases his hand from her grip. "What happened to her?" "She was tied to the sea, being a mermaid. I built this hut soon after the destruction of Atlantis. She lived on this very beach and we saw each other every day..." says Nikos with a solemn tone in his voice. Jesse opens her mouth to say something but Nikos answers her immediately. "I did love her. We lived as orphans in Atlantis for almost all our lives. Anyway, let me bring you back into the water. You wouldn't want them to worry." "I know. Thanks." says Jesse. Nikos slowly gets up and cradles Jesse into his arms. When they get outside, Jesse sees that the sun is almost in the same place in the sky as when she dragged herself across the sand towards the hut. "It looks like no time has passed. I thought it took a long time to show me that." says Jesse. "Ah. The amazing thing about the mind is that you can go back in time six thousand years, watch several hours worth of history, and come back in the span of a couple seconds." Nikos brings Jesse into the water until he is waist-deep before releasing her. Jesse swims around for a bit, enjoying the sensual feel of the water flowing against her body. She surfaces in front of Nikos who is still standing in place looking at her. "Thanks for showing me that memory." says Jesse. Nikos bows down and kisses the mermaid on the forehead. "No problem. It was my pleasure." replies Nikos with a smile. With a wave of her hand and flick of her tail, Jesse departs from the beach and heads back to the village of Okeanos. Riley is still on her mind and he still unwittingly drives her to swim faster. Her mind is also occupied by the memory that Nikos had just shown her. It raises far more questions than it answered. Still, Jesse reminds herself that she can always come back to get the rest of the story. Meanwhile many thousands of miles away, a young man wakes with a start. His cell's ringtone fills the room with the sounds of his favorite song. He waits a few seconds before picking up. He looks at his watch; a few hours ago, he had just been entertaining a gorgeous blonde at a club. Right now, that blonde is sleeping soundly at his side, naked as the day she was born. The man reaches over and picks up his cell phone off of the bedside table and presses the send key before holding the phone lazily against his head. He hears weeping on the other end. The familiar voice says something but he does not understand the first so he asks the person to repeat what had just been said. He then hears it. He swore that he heard wrong but dares not ask for the voice to say it a third time. It is horrible news and it shakes him so. Tears well up in his eyes. The man can't help but ask himself if it's true. "Jesse? Missing?" Life Under the Sea Ch. 03 Damien had just gotten one of what was possibly the worst phone call of his life. His aunt was on the other end of the line weeping. He had just been rudely woken up after just sleeping with some woman he had met at a bar. That same woman was still asleep right beside him with a bare breast poking out from under the blanket. Even the hot session from just a couple hours ago is forgotten as his aunt's words echo in his head. It makes him angry while making him sad. He did not want it to be true. His cousin, Jesse, cannot have disappeared. A day and a trans-continental flight later, he meets his aunt and uncle at the airport. He is not here to stop and chat with them; they still are planning to fly to Greece. His parent's are not here and they are not expected to be since they had passed away in an accident many years ago. It had been his aunt and uncle who had been his guardians. Together, the three of them step on the plane that is ready to fly over the ocean. Back in the Aegean Sea, a mermaid wakes up in a merman's arms. Though this was only the second time Jesse slept next to Riley, the feeling of their two naked bodies pressed against each other keeps her preoccupied every second she has been awake. Unlike the first time, Lily, Brynn, and Miek were also sleeping in the room. The fear of waking Lily or Brynn prevented Jesse's hands from moving around unnecessarily since she can hardly imagine how angry they would be if they happened to see her attempting to molest their brother in his sleep. She is grateful that they even allow her to stay at their place so offending any of them is the last thing on her mind. The sunlight is already pouring into the sea and everyone around them starts to wake. Jesse cannot help but notice that Riley's manhood steadily growing in front of her. This is the first time she has seen it like this. Jesse can feel it pulsing along with his heartbeat. With each beat, his cock grows a bit until it reaches a nice length. As though it had a mind of its own, Riley's smooth length seems to call out to her, begging for a touch. Jesse resists with all her might. Suddenly Riley's cock moves, but Jesse sees that it is because the person it is attached to has awoken. "G' morning, Jesse." says Riley groggily. "Good morning." replies Jesse sweetly. Jesse looked at Riley's face for a moment before looking back down at his manhood. Riley does not seem to notice this as he quickly gets up and swims out of the hammock, his hot flesh still fully erect. Jesse quickly follows him wondering what the others will say when they see him. She sees that her answers will soon be answered as Lily is already waiting in the next room. Jesse turn red as she and Riley sit down on the furniture. She tries to keep her eyes on Lily's face to avoid any further unnecessary staring. For a split-second, Jesse could have sworn that Lily's eyes glanced at Riley's conspicuous manhood. Lily's mouth opens and Jesse turns a deeper shade of red at what she hears. "Looks like something almost happened to you guys...," says Lily with a sly look on her face. "No, no... Nothing happened...," says Jesse, her eyes looking at the uninteresting floor. Riley looks around curiously from his sister to Jesse. He sees Jesse blushing furiously and then notices that his flesh is still standing strong. "Oh sorry about that, guys. I didn't notice earlier." explains Riley. "I hope that I didn't poke you earlier." He adds to Jesse. "Sorry.... I am the one who should apologize... I should not really be getting worked up like this... I'm just not used to being around mermen, that's all." says Jesse, without pausing to take a breath. Riley smiles at her, understanding her situation. His flesh is already starting to soften slowly. Lily smiles, too, but it is a peculiar smile. Jesse has seen this smile before on other women. A smile that says she had just caught something juicy. Before any of them open their mouths to say anything further, Brynn swims into the room followed by Miek, both of them still yawning and tired. "That was a fun night. Let's do it again." mumbles Miek. "Yeah... yeah it was." adds Brynn. The two of them sit on the other side of Riley. Even though they just got up, they are already leaning on top of one another, trying to get comfortable enough to pass out. Riley, Lily, and Jesse just look at them with their eyebrows raised. "I think we should just go on ahead without them, they'll get caught if we bring them up in this state." whispers Lily. "Where are we going again?" asks Jesse, confused. "Lily wants us to with her to see the human ship. It is not the right conditions at the surface, but we need to scout out to find the perfect place to see human boats. In the worst case, we would have to go close to one of the human villages. I know it's dangerous, but that won't stop a mermaid like Lily." says Riley. Jesse turns to Lily again and sees a bright smile on her face from her brother's compliment. "Let's go to Varon's first. He probably isn't awake right now." says Lily excitedly. From the tone in her voice, Jesse can easily tell that she is the undisputed leader of the group. She quickly gets up and leads them out of the house. Both Riley and Jesse follow her as they head for the center of the village where all the shops are. The three of them approach one of the taller buildings and enter through a second-story window. Inside, Jesse sees the same kind of bed that Marissa had, though it looked more like a green potato. Lying on that same potato-shaped bed was Varon, still asleep as Lily had predicted. Lily swims up without making a sound. She motions to the two merpeople behind her not to do a thing. She floats over to Varon until she is hovering just over his body. Jesse cannot help but think that they are two inches away from what most would consider sex, but the next move drives that out of her head. Lily grabs Varon by the shoulder and shakes him awake. "You. Are. Supposed. To. Be. Awake. Right. Now." says Lily between each shake. She stops the shaking with the last word. "Wha- wha- wha- wha- What are you doing?" asks Varon during each shake, stunned to see who is on top of him. "You should have been at our place ages ago!" yells Lily. "Oh. Sorry." says Varon, now completely awake. A few moments later, the four of them are swimming towards the brightly lit surface. According to Lily's idea, they are to split up into two groups. She tells Varon to go with her brother and... "Jesse, you'll be with me." says Lily with a sort of commanding tone. "Right." responds Jesse, remembering the mermaid's expression soon after she had seen Riley in all his glory after a night in his bed. "Riley, Varon. You guys go towards the human village on that island and keep track of the ships. We need to know how big those ships can be. Jesse and I will go towards the other two islands over there." says Lily, pointing. "We need to know where all the humans can possibly see us from." Riley and Varon quickly swim towards the visible town in the distance. Jesse looks over to the islands that she and Lily are supposed to be looking at. She remembers seeing them from the beach where she found Riley; though she does not recall being large amounts of people there. However, the human village where the mermen are heading was on the island where Nikos lives and where she was vacationing. It is a large town so she hopes no one can spot them in the busy harbor. Jesse suddenly feels her wrist taken by Lily as she is dragged off towards their destination. Jesse has an idea that Lily wants to do something more than just scanning for humans. She ponders what could possibly be going through Lily's head. Unlike with the other three she lived with, Jesse had the least amount of contact with Lily so far. It could have been just coincidence that they have not talked much, but Jesse feels that both of them have been subconsciously staying away from one another. At the first island, the two of them hardly say anything while looking for signs of humans. After finding nothing and also searching the second island, Lily finally suggests taking a break. They swim onto the beach and lie on the hot sand, side-by-side. "Jesse, what do you think of Riley? Be honest." says Lily suddenly. "I- I- I like him." replies Jesse, remembering how Brynn said that the others had caught on immediately. "I like him a lot." "How much is 'a lot'?" "I don't know. I just really like being around him." says Jesse. "I feel calm... safe... I don't say much to him but I feel as though I can say anything without fear." Jesse hears the sand shift and quickly feels Lily's gaze upon her. She turns to look back and sees the piercing blue eyes staring right into her. She gets the same feeling inside of her as when Nikos was gazing through her mind. She knows her thoughts are safe but nevertheless dreads Lily finding out about any of her naughtier thoughts and daydreams regarding Riley. What she said was the truth, but she can't help but fantasize a lot. "What do you want from him then?" asks Lily. Jesse can see the conviction and seriousness in Lily's eyes. Lying, or even trying to lie, at this point seems to risk everything that Jesse has ever wanted. She did not even expect to be confronted with this question so soon after entering this world. If she lied and Lily noticed, her goal and dream would vanish instantly. Even if Lily did not catch on, she could not pursue the lie for the rest of her life. If she told the truth, then it would be up to Lily how things would turn out. If Lily accepted her answer, she could still continue chasing after Riley's heart. However if Jesse was denied, she would face an uphill battle. "Well?" asks Lily, still staring intently. Nothing but the truth seems to fill Jesse's mind. She could tell that Lily was not just a pretty mermaid, she was incredibly sharp. Lying would be the stupid, cowardly way to go. Jesse's mouth opens and the entire truth flows out. She tells Lily everything since she first saw Riley on the beach. She even tells her that she was once a human until recently. Details of how she feels about Riley come out, but Lily just continues to stare without interrupting. Jesse keeps on talking knowing that the mermaid is taking in every single word she says. Even when Jesse finishes her tale, Lily just continues to stare, but Jesse can sense that her mind is whirring crazily. Almost out of nowhere, Lily just sighs. Jesse looks back at her curiously and full of tension; it seemed to have been more of a sigh after making a huge decision rather than one made after a sense of relief. "I guess I can't be angry with you, if you went through all that trouble to be with him. Still, I will hold to something I said to Riley not too long after you showed up: if you break his heart, you will be the one left regretting." says Lily coldly. Jesse gulps loudly. "I understand." says Jesse. "But do you have to be so... so..." "Mean?" interrupts Lily as she leans directly over Jesse's face. "I know Brynn is soft with you and we're both Riley's sisters, but I'm his twin sister. Just know that I can see quite a bit of myself in him. I don't want to see him hurt if I can help it." Jesse can see tears swelling in Lily's eyes. They drip down her pretty face and drop onto Jesse. "What are you crying for, Lily?" asks Jesse. "I know I was a human, but I'd never do anything to betray you, Riley, or anyone else." "I'll tell you when the time comes. For now, I guess I can place my trust in you." "Friends?" asks Jesse. "Friends." Far away from the islands on the mainland of Greece, Damien arrives in Athens with his aunt and uncle. Despite the relaxed happy atmosphere, they are nothing but worried and sad. Damien's cousin, Jesse, has been missing for several days, as reported by the friends she had been vacationing with. People have combed the island where she was last seen, but nothing has turned up. The three have turned up to see for themselves and to try to put together the few pieces of information that exist. The three of them take a boat to the island to meet up with the local authorities. Most of Jesse's friends are still on the island, searching for signs and clues. On the boat, Damien thinks about the last time he saw Jesse. It was about two years ago, just before she left home. He was already living with her and her parents when he was only six months old. Even though they knew they were only cousins, Jesse and Damien had thought of each other as sister and brother. They were close until Jesse moved out of the house at eighteen. Damien had been distraught at her departure and angry that she had left him without saying a word. He had turned eighteen not too long ago, but his aunt and uncle stopped him from leaving the house as well. He knew that they missed their daughter dearly, but they feared losing him as well. It was only recently that they allowed him to attend a university on the other side of the country. All Damien can think about now is all the possible places Jesse could be. The only thing moving him now is the throbbing section of his brain that tells him that she still lives. Lily leans onto Jesse and wraps her up in a hug. Jesse herself is speechless though happy that she has gained a new friend and possible ally. Soon after, the pair finds themselves in the water waiting for Riley and Varon to return. The two mermen come back several moments later chatting wildly about the humans they saw from the harbor. All four of them then discuss what they had noted: there are very few fishing boats as the currents from whirlpools several days back wrecked most of the fleet, few humans strayed long on the beaches because of the increasingly hot days, and the only boats that went out to sea were full of people unfamiliar with the waters. The four of them then swim back to Lily and Riley's place. Interestingly enough, Brynn and Miek are still asleep when they get back. With a couple of pinches in the right places, the two of them wake up in pain. When they finally stop rubbing the red marks on their skin, they find Lily hovering over them. She tells them all about what they had found out. While all this happens, Varon pulls both Riley and Jesse out of the home. Together, they swim to Varon's place deep in the marketplace of the village. They enter in through the same second-story window as earlier in the morning. Once inside, Jesse can see that his bedroom is pretty much different from Riley's, which is now shared with four other people. It has more decorations and other adornments all around it. "This is nice..." comments Jesse as she picks up a glowing piece of coral that bathes the room in a gentle purple light. "You can have that one." says Varon. "I have three of that color already. Think of it as a 'Welcome to Okeanos' present from me." "Oh? Really? Thanks!" says Jesse, who sets it back where she found it, reminding herself to pick it up later. "So how's it going between you and Lily?" asks Riley. Jesse turns around to pay attention quickly. Even if it is idle chatter between two mermen, Jesse cannot help but listen to what they have to say, especially now that it is about a friend. "It's been fine so far. I think she's starting to like me more and more." replies Varon slowly. "Choosing your words carefully, huh?" asks Riley. "I'm not Lily so you can say what you want. She can take care of herself fine without any of my help. Besides, she would have left by now if you two could never work it out. I'm not going to tell her anything she already doesn't know." "Can you tell me something then?" asks Varon. Riley looks interestedly at Varon. Jesse seems to float in the background but she is listening in on everything they are saying. "What does- How much does Lily like me?" asks Varon. Riley does not answer; he just stares at the ceiling of the room as if it were the one who asked the question. "Well?" asks Varon. "I can't tell you that." replies Riley, still staring at the ceiling. "Why not?" asks Varon with anger growing in his voice. "What she says to me is just between the two of us, especially if she doesn't want anyone else to know. You spend a lot of time with her; you should have a pretty good idea of what her feelings are for you. You shouldn't even have to ask me." "Why'd you ask me how it was going with her if you already knew?" asks Varon, still angry. "I just wanted your opinion. I know hers. Anyway, why don't you do what I do?" "And that would be...?" "Have faith and trust in her." Varon opens his mouth as if to yell at Riley, but he soon closes it without saying a word. Jesse slowly swims over to Varon's side and pats him on the back. "I know it doesn't make sense at first but I believe Riley is right." she says. Varon looks at her and sighs in surrender. As Jesse rubs his back to relax him, she could have sworn that Riley gave her a smile. Blood rushes to her cheeks as she smiles back. Like clockwork, Lily comes swimming in followed by Miek and Brynn. She pecks Riley on the cheek and gives a swift hug to Jesse before kissing Varon on the lips. Varon's eyes stay open while they remain attached, unable to believe what is happening. As Lily releases him, Varon can see Riley wordlessly repeat "Have faith and trust in her" to him. "Hey again!" says Lily. "I have just finished telling these two slackers (pointing at Brynn and Miek) what we discovered at the surface. From the look of things, I think the perfect day to go is two days from now. We'll get together that morning. For now, I have some errands to attend to so I'll see all of you later." Lily then swims out of the room. Jesse swims over to Riley and sets herself right beside him. Brynn and Miek look at each other confused and wondering why they were even brought here in the first place so they promptly leave. Both Jesse and Riley look over to Varon; he's just staring out the entrance to his place in the direction where Lily was headed. Riley gets up and pulls Jesse with him. "We'll just leave you to your thoughts." says Riley. Jesse grabs the purple piece of glowing coral on their way out and wonders where to put it when they get back to Riley's place. As soon as they had left, Varon continues his thoughts about Lily and everything he loves about her. The next day on the Greek island where Jesse was last seen, Damien walks through the busy town with his aunt and uncle. All of the people who could speak English did not have any idea where she could be at this point. The local police had checked all the possible places in town and are almost sure she isn't there. Most of the townspeople are cooperating as there hasn't been a missing person reported here in several years and they are worried about their own safety. Damien's aunt and uncle soon go back to the police station to check if anyone has reported any leads. Damien looks down one of the streets of the town. People are going about their business seemingly without a care in the world, yet he wanders in their midst depressed. He is in one of the most beautiful of the Greek islands surrounded by places to see and people to meet, but he can't find a single justifiable reason to enjoy any of that. Damien sees many pretty women and sees a few of them give him a smile as they pass him on the street. He tries to smile back but it just doesn't come out. He almost feels like blaming Jesse for all of this, but he can't bring himself to do something so foolish and cowardly. Deciding to go back to the hotel to get some rest, Damien turns around but something knocks him down the second he does. A bit dazed from the collision, he looks up to see two identical Greek men looking down at him, both of their arms extended to help him up. When his eyes focus, Damien realizes that there's only one man. Life Under the Sea Ch. 03 "Sorry about that." says the man as he helps Damien up. "It's nothing." mutters Damien before walking past the man. However before he gets far, Damien feels someone grab him by the shoulder. Instinctively turning around with his guard raised, he is surprised to see the same man who ran into him. "What's wrong?" asks Damien. "You remind me of that missing American woman everyone is looking for..." says the man. "I'm her cousin, Damien." says Damien as he brushes the man's hand off his shoulder. "Do you know anything about what happened to her?" "You're in luck then. I was looking for you." says the man. "Follow me." Damien just stands there as the man turns around and walks off. Dozens of thoughts and theories surge in his mind with each passing second, each more unbelievable than the next. Still, this is the only clue he has. If he runs to get someone, he'll lose sight of the man. The idea that this is also a trap also looks him in the face. He wonders if this is how Jesse disappeared. Damien makes up his mind and follows the man, with every intention of coming back alive no matter what. The man leads Damien out of the town. It's still broad daylight but Damien looks around for anyone hiding in the shadows. He looks at the man walking before him, searching his body for any hidden weapons or suspicious movements. Then the man addresses him again. "If you want to know, I did see Jesse the day she disappeared." says the man. "I was probably the second to last person to see her." Suddenly, Damien tackles the man. He lands facedown on the ground, which is luckily made of soft sand. Damien sits on the man back holding his wrists behind him. "Ow! What are you doing?" he asks. "You had something to do with this, didn't you?" asks Damien angrily. "I... I won't deny that this is part of my fault. I did help her." "What do you mean?" "Your cousin was preoccupied with strange things that happened on this island and went asking around for clues. I volunteered to help her since she didn't speak Greek." "What kind of strange things?" "She just wanted strange in general. I think along the lines or paranormal. In the end, we went to this hut on the beach where this eccentric young man lived. He knew English well from what I heard so I left. That was the last I saw of her." "Where is this man?" "I was about to take you to him before you rudely tackled me." "Ah. Yeah. Sorry then." says Damien before getting off. The two of them continue walking until they are at the doorstep of the hut. Damien knocks strongly on the door and waits. The door opens slowly and the inquisitive face of Nikos looks both of them. "Well... this is a surprise...." says Nikos."The name's Nikos. How can I help you?" "I'm Damien. I was told by this man that you were the last person to see a woman named Jesse. She has long blonde hair and amber eyes. She's also pretty tall. About six feet." says Damien. "Do you know where she is?" "Yes. I probably was the last to see her. In fact, she disappeared before my very eyes." says Nikos as if remembering an interesting daydream. "I was looking right at her and then that woman was gone. I can't really explain how she disappeared. I'm sorry." Damien looks straight into Nikos' eyes. He can't tell if this stranger is lying or otherwise misleading him. The man who had led Damien here looks back and forth between the other two before quietly leaving the awkward situation. "Do you mind if I come back tomorrow, Nikos? I have more questions to ask you about Jesse." "By all means." replies Nikos. Under the silent waves, Varon is swimming out of the chasm hiding the village of Okeanos. In the distance, he sees a mermaid floating in the middle of nowhere. She is looking at him with her dark blue eyes with her long brown hair dancing around her. Varon slows down a bit as he approaches her. Even knowing her for most of his life couldn't have prepared him for how beautiful she looks right now. He stops right before her and forgets to say hello. "You look happy to see me." says Lily sweetly. "I- I- I am." stutters Varon. "Wha- what's the occasion? You just told me to meet you out here to show me something." Lily does a slow, graceful spin in the water before turning to look at Varon again. "I wanted to show you how I looked before any humans have a chance to." says Lily silkily. Varon takes a few more moments to look over Lily. This must have to do with the errands she swam out to do the day before. Everything about her seems to glow. He sees the little things she had done to make herself look more beautiful: an orchid in her hair, just poking out from above her ear; a pair of silver rings strung on a silver chain around her neck; and a gold bracelet on her wrist. Varon barely even noticed these things at first since the mermaid's natural beauty seems to outshine everything around her. "You looks amazing, Lily...." says Varon softly. "You're so sweet, Varon." says Lily as she wraps her arms around him. He blushes as he comes in contact with her body. Lily is holding herself as tightly as possible against him. Varon can feel her soft bosom resting on his chest. He can feel her breathing as well as every movement her body makes. His throbbing shaft is uncomfortably squeezed between their two bodies. Lily smiles back at him, feeling its heat as it grows larger against her. She has him completely mesmerized and willing to do anything for her in exchange for release. Lily pushes herself harder against him until they are floating horizontally with her on top. She then peels herself off of him and just floats inches above his body to survey his arousal. He is now bigger than she had ever seen him. In her mind, she wonders if this little moment gave him a growth spurt in the right place. With her body no longer pressing his manhood against his body, his flesh rises up stiff as though following her. Varon is now her plaything, a slave to his own intense desires. Still, she doesn't like to think of her boyfriend as a slave to her, though he does play the part rather well (and enthusiastically). She'd like him to take control once in a while even if she hasn't let him have a chance to yet. Seeing Varon now, she feels the need to tease before she allows him to have his way with her. One of Varon's hands moves in between their bodies and inches closer to Lily's breast. She sees this and immediately brushes his hand away. "Why?" asks Varon. Lily almost laughs. His tone was almost like that of a child denied his favorite treat. "Me first..." says Lily gleefully. Before Varon is able to respond to this, Lily kisses him on the lips, muffling any words he would have tried to make. Her hand glides down his body, brushing gently against his smooth skin until it reaches his chest. Her fingers flick and pinch his nipple while their tongues play with one another. Varon tries to bend his hips in her direction but her tail is pushing his lower body back down. He is desperate for another pleasurable touch from her on his stiff flesh, but he knows she wants him to wait. Her kiss is inexplicably passionate, drawing countless happy emotions, thoughts, and feelings from deep within his heart and flow throughout every cell of his body. Varon kisses her back with equal passion, causing her to pinch his nipple in excitement. Even the slight pain that he feels from this does not uproot thoughts that this is an incredibly invigorating and arousing dream even if this is real to him in every way possible. Lily's hand suddenly loses interesting in playing with Varon's nipple and moves further down his body to rub the smooth muscles over his stomach. The merman becomes increasingly excited as it seems as she is slowly working towards a goal. Her mouth is still attached to his but he can't help but try to say how grateful he is for her in between breaths. Lily responds by releasing him from the hold of her kiss. She then floats away from his face until her head is directly above his chest. She moves her head down and takes his other nipple in between her teeth. Varon feels no pain, but a gentle pleasure. She looks up at him while he looks down to her. Lily is wearing a curious smile. He wonders what she is about to do before she takes his nipple between her lips and proceeds to suck on it. "You... are... amazing... you... know... that...?" pants Varon. Lily merely giggles and starts to playfully flick his stiff nipple with her tongue. Even without touching Varon's manhood, she can tell exactly how turned on Varon is. His shaft gives off such a strong heat that even the water around it seems to scorch her skin. Lily can even feel it pulse in sync with his pounding heart. Right now she feels to happy to have such a strong effect on a merman; she wonders if he knows how much of an effect he is having on her. Lily is currently fighting the need to touch her own body. Her skin is craving her touch as well as Varon's touch. There is a very strong tingling feeling in her breasts and her lower belly that she is finding increasingly hard to ignore. Varon moans out loud as his mermaid's ever-curious hand travels further down the front of his body. His tail almost spasms when part of her forearm brushes against the side of his stiff length for a second. The touch of her hand stops just above the base of his manhood. It is smooth and hairless unlike a human's, something she noticed after she got too close once. She continues to rub his skin, causing stronger and stronger waves of pleasure to move across his body. Varon takes a deep breath; Lily's hand has started to move downward again. "Please?" he groans. Lily looks back up at her lover again. She removes her lips from his nipple. "Just a little longer...." she says in a sweet, seductive voice. Lily's hand does continue moving father down his body and evades touching his aroused flesh as it closes on his pouch. It burns under her grip. Varon lets out a long moan as she continues to fondle with his maleness. His tail starts to thrash around uncontrollably but Lily quickly and deftly wraps her tail around his. She looks up to Varon again. He looks back at her without saying a word. Even in the middle of the open sea, it is unusually quiet. Lily can see clearly in his eyes that he is trying to plead with her. She wonders how much longer she can force him to last. Lily can tell that her body is pretty close to its limit of waiting. With a final squeeze of his pouch, her hand travels up and glides against the maddeningly hard flesh. Lily takes Varon's manhood in her firm grip and guides it towards her delicate spot. Varon shudders when her soft hand wraps around his hard flesh. It is as though she had just sent an electric current through him. Lily gently pulls him closer to her body and teases the tip of his length by touching it to the opening without letting him in. Just then, the words he most wanted to hear come from her mouth enters his ears. "All right... I'm yours...." Varon quickly and excitedly moves his entire body closer to her own. Lily's hand lets go of him to avoid it being crushed between their two tiring bodies. The merman has no thought of teasing his lover as she had done to him. The two of them are already at their limits and neither can tell how much time had passed since the lust first set in. He can finally re-enter heaven. The very next day at dawn, Damien wakes up alone in his hotel room. He looks at the wall across from his bed, behind the television. His aunt and uncle had been very quiet since they came back last night. The room behind him was empty, but he could hear traces of noisy children from the room beyond it. He remembered that they knocked to check up on him before they went to bed. Damien assumes that they did so just to make sure he didn't run away as well. Something bothers Damien though: this is the second time that she has run away. She left home for unknown reasons and now the same thing has occurred. He hasn't seen nor heard from Jesse since she left the first time. His aunt, uncle and himself had been waiting for any word from her since she had left, but they only got the first message a couple days ago saying that Jesse had completely vanished with hardly a trace. This wasn't exactly the first message they wanted to hear but they rushed over to the place of her disappearance as soon as they could. Damien gets up and gets ready for the new day. The first thing on his mind is to go to Nikos' house to find more answers. He quickly puts some clothes on and leaves the room. Once outside, he can see that only the local people are out, meaning no one who knows or would otherwise recognize him. He walks quickly past the market stalls and exits the village, looking left and right for signs of anyone familiar. Luckily he passes no one and continues unimpeded towards the hut by the beach. Meanwhile, Jesse wakes up in Riley's arms again. It is just as pleasurable and uncomfortable as the first time, but she at least hasn't caused him to harden. She definitely does not want Lily to think bad of her since it would almost instantly ruin her chances of fitting in here. This place and all of the merpeople around here have become closer and closer to her heart. Still, she wonders of those that were once close to her heart: her mother, her father, and her little cousin. She remembers the day she left rather vividly, yet she does not want to think about it. However, she wants the guilt about leaving to be removed. She left without a word. Her parents didn't even look for her. Jesse was old enough to be out of the world on her own. They probably hoped that she would come back of her own accord. The thought of that makes Jesse feel even worse about the choices she had made. It's still early, but it's getting steadily brighter outside so Jesse decides to go out. Riley's arm is still wrapped around her. She takes him by the wrist and tries to ease his hold on her. She is successful in not waking him up and silently swims out of the hammock. She approaches the window before looking back in the room then leaves. The first thing on her mind is to talk to someone. She wanted to talk to Lily but she's asleep right now with Varon. Seeing as they came back late last night, she doesn't want to wake either of them up this early. This leaves the only other person who knows her situation, Nikos. Jesse swims as quickly as she can towards his hut. Up on the surface, she can see that the sun is still rising. I hope that he is awake at this moment. The sky is bright but she can see dark clouds in the distance. Detecting a possible storm, she moves even faster. If it is really bad, she is sure that Nikos will shelter her. Soon enough, she reaches the beach and calls out to Nikos, but he doesn't respond to her. If he is asleep in the hut again, Jesse feels that nothing more than violence will ensue. A tap on her shoulder forces a shriek out of her mouth. When the mermaid turns around to see who or what is behind her, she sees Nikos with the most annoying, smug smile on his face. She fights the temptation to beat the smirk off his face, and resorts to just shoving him into the water. She drags the both of them underwater before letting go. Even with her sudden attack, Nikos still has that same smile on her face. As Nikos floats up to the surface, Jesse notices something before surfacing herself. "Why are you naked?" asks Jesse. "What? Does it bother you?" asks Nikos, laughing. "You swim around mermen all day. Humans should be a turn off for you by now." "I... Nothing... I'm just used to seeing humans clothed. That's all." "Well... to answer your question... I was just finishing with my morning swim." "Butt naked?" "You've been in my house. I don't recall having a shower or bathtub in there. Besides, this is cheaper and more convenient." Just then, a form pops out of the surface of the water with a splash right next to Nikos. Wiping the water dripping off her face, Jesse sees a pretty woman next to him. However, the pink sparkle in the water tells her that this woman is a mermaid. She wraps her arms around Nikos and kisses him on the cheek. "Oh? Who's this, Nikos? Seeing another mermaid?" asks the mermaid with a pouty look on her face. "It's nothing like that, Victoria. This is my cousin, Jesse. She comes to see me every once in a while. She's new to Okeanos." Jesse watches quietly as the mermaid looks her up and down. "I believe I can see some sort of a resemblance." says Victoria as she extends her hand. "Hello, Jesse. I'm Victoria, Nikos' girlfriend. Pleased to meet you." "Nice to meet you, too, Victoria." says Jesse, extending her own hand and shakes Victoria's. "Well, I'll leave you two to your business for now, honey." says Victoria before kissing Nikos on the cheek again. Jesse gets a weird feeling watching Nikos waving his girlfriend good-bye. As soon as Victoria is out of sight, Nikos turns to looks at Jesse. "So what did you come to me for this time?" "I thought you could read minds? Don't you already know?" "Just because I can doesn't mean I abuse the power to. Besides, it means a lot more when you tell me yourself." "All right... All right... I'm feeling guilty about the life I left behind." "What? You want to go back? I already told you that it's impossible at this point." "I know, but I just want my family to know that I'm fine and to not go looking for me." "I could do that for you, but it's too late for that." "What do you mean?" "They're here. On the island. At least, your parents and cousin are. You've been reported as missing by your friends a few days back apparently." "What?!" "In fact, your cousin, Damien, might pay me a visit within the next hour. I think he's very worried about you." "What did you tell him?!" shrieks Jesse. "I told him that I was probably the last one to see you. I didn't let on much more than that." "I... What... You..." says Jesse, trembling. "I suggest you at least talk to him before they give up any hope in you being alive." Nikos starts swimming towards the beach and Jesse follows him. He gets out of the water while she stays in. "I'm going to disappear for a bit." says Nikos. "When he comes back, try to communicate to him in some way. If you want to relieve yourself of some of the guilt, now should be your chance." "You want me to talk to him?" "I'd like that, but it's up to you. Let me just go now before he comes." Nikos leaves without another word. Jesse can hardly find anything to say to him at this point. She just watches as his naked butt disappears in the distance. She guesses that he's going to be with his girlfriend again. Jesse sits in the water wondering what to do about Damien. This is probably the only chance she'll get to talk to him directly. Making up her mind, Jesse waits in the surf to hide as much of her body as she can. Damien finally has the hut in his sights. He turns his head to look to make sure that no one had been following him out of the town. Then he jogs down to the hut and knocks on the door. Nothing. He knocks again, even louder. Still nothing. He calls out Nikos' name but with no luck. He came here to get some information on Jesse, but it appears the man has gone off somewhere. Damien looks around if Nikos is actually outside right now, but land and sea appear to be clear of anything of interest to him. Not wanting to return to his aunt and uncle empty-handed, Damien figures that it's best to just wait here for Nikos to come back. It is highly unlikely that he left the island so quickly; he didn't seem like the person who could afford a ferry ride anyway. He walks towards the water and lets the waves splash his feet. Damien looks up at the sky as a cloud blocks out the sun. The area is soon darkened. It looks like a storm is here. Damien notices that it would take too long to go back now, but before he is able to think more, a wave crashes around him and pulls his legs out from under him. Life Under the Sea Ch. 03 As he is coughing and sputtering from the water, something crashes on top of him. This thing isn't a wave as the weight of it threatens to crush him. After he wipes the salty water out of his eyes, he stares directly into the horrified eyes of Jesse. "Jesse?!" yells Damien. "Where the hell have you been?" Damien gently slides her off of him and his eyes drift down to see her nakedness. "Why are you naked out here?" asks Damien angrily. "Why won't you answer me?!" Jesse doesn't say anything, mostly out of shock and fear. She didn't expect a strong wave to come from behind and push her onto land, on Damien no less. With a trembling hand, she points down to her tail. Damien looks at her curiously before following the command of her finger. He gasps and looks back at her face. "You- you're- you're not Jesse!" exclaims Damien. "But you look almost exactly like her...." Damien blinks his eyes a few times as if hoping it would magically make her tail disappear. "I must be hallucinating... Mermaids aren't real, are they? I must be sick..." "I'm real." whispers Jesse. Damien looks back at her, thunderstruck. Her voice is almost the same as the Jesse he knew, except now it reeks of sensuality with every syllable. Her face is even more beautiful than he remembers, everything about her seems enchanting. He wants to make her his own but the very idea repulses him. Jesse looks intently at her cousin. This was the very reason that she didn't want to make direct contact with him so suddenly. She knew the being a mermaid would form barriers between the two of them but she hadn't realized how strong of effect her new body would have on him. His arousal and repulsion are apparent in his eyes and in his gestures. One of hands looks like it wants to reach out and touch her while the other one is ready to slap it if it moves closer. "What's your name?" asks Jesse. "D- Da- Damien..." "Are you sure you're not confusing me with someone else?" Jesse tries to avoid the topic of her own name. She doesn't want to lose Damien's trust now that she knows that it truly is him. If she lied and later revealed who she truly was... she doesn't even want to think about what he might do. "Everything about you reminds me of my cousin, Jesse. She disappeared around here not long ago. She also ran away from home two years before that. I think I wanted to see her again so badly that I just dreamed you up." "I told you that I'm real. I'm not a dream, nor a hallucination." Jesse reaches and pinches the skin of his forearm. Damien flinches and looks down to the slightly reddened area where the mermaid touched him. The pain was very real. Still, Damien gets up and starts to walk away. "Where are you going?" asks Jesse. "Inside the hut. There's a storm coming, by the looks of the weather." "Can you help me into the water then?" Damien looks back at her with these words. Even if she may be imaginary, it would be wrong to leave her on land. He looks at the sea, which is becoming increasingly violent. Damien strangely fears for the safety of the mermaid who looks like Jesse. "It's too dangerous for you to be in the water right now, isn't it? If you don't mind, I can take you into the hut with me. I'll put you back in the water." Jesse pauses. Being alone with him is probably something that she doesn't want, but Jesse feels that she can't just pass up the opportunity. "I would like that." responds Jesse nervously. Damien himself is nervous. Those words came out his mouth automatically and there was no taking them back. He slowly walks up to the mermaid on the sand, still unsure of whether or not she really is there in front of him. The sight of her obvious feminine charms is irresistible, but paired up with that familiar face become disgusting. Carefully, Damien bends down gets one arm around her back and another under her tail. She is surprisingly light and soon enough, he is on his feet with her cradled in his arms. He slowly makes his way towards the hut on the beach. Looking down to make sure the mermaid is comfortable enough, he is unnerved to see her smiling back at him strangely. It is a smile he has seen so many times in the past: Jesse's "I am so happy to see you" smile. It is scary to see a stranger who looks and sounds like her make that smile. Jesse can't help but look at Damien. He was a scrawny sixteen-year old the last time she saw him. Now he is a just as scrawny eighteen-year old. However, now she appreciates what a man he has become in two years. She remembers how he used to cling to her side when they were growing up; it pains her now that she seemed to have forgotten his feelings when she left home. Did he hate her for it? As he approaches the hut and the storm begins to intensify, Jesse dreads the time about to be spent with her cousin. Once inside the hut, Damien lays Jesse on the mattress and sits down beside her. He looks at her as if he could never get tired of doing so. When she catches his eye, he quickly turns away and apologizes. She just laughs at his embarrassment, remembering how shy she used to be about her exposed body. Still, it wasn't helping in terms of conversation right now, so she moves her long blonde hair to obscure the sight of her breasts. She also folds her hands over her loins to divert any stray glances. This was her flesh and blood, so she didn't want to get off on the bad foot with him. When Damien sees that she had covered herself somewhat, he opens his mouth to speak. "I still can't believe I'm in a room with a mermaid, especially one that looks like my cousin..." "Why can't you believe it?" asks Jesse. "Well, the strange thing is... I accept that you're a mermaid..." "And?" "I can't accept who you look like. That's why this whole thing is unbelievable." "This is what I look like, Damien. No part of me is an illusion." Damien pauses again at the sound of her saying his name. It is just as familiar as any part of her, at least the human half. Part of him believes that this is Jesse, though the tail is messing up with his logic. It can't be either heat or hunger that's causing him to see what's there, he's sure of it. However for reasons unknown to him, he wants this moment to last forever. He slowly moves his hand closer to her face, just to touch her again, to remind himself that he is awake and that she really isn't an illusion. The mermaid looks closely at his hand and doesn't protest. Taking this as permission to bring his hand closer, Damien makes contact with her cheek. He caresses her soft skin while quietly studying her. When her cousin touches her cheek, Jesse closes her eyes. Right now, his hand feeling her skin is the only real thing in this world. She is taking pleasure in this, a lot of pleasure in fact. Just like the feeling she gets from being with Riley, this too is something she has craved for a while. Without any hesitation, Jesse throws herself at Damien. She has completely forgotten that she is a mermaid. Damien just lies there with his mouth wide open. The mermaid had just thrown herself bodily onto him. Her arms are wrapped around his torso. He can feel his heart pumping strongly in his chest. Not even his clothing can block out her raw sensual aura. As soon as Damien finds his voice he opens his mouth to scold her, but then he stops. The mermaid had just started sobbing on his chest. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" cries Jesse into Damien's shirt. "We just met. What is there for you to be sorry for?" asks Damien. "It's me." "What about you?" "It's me. I'm sorry. It's me!" "I... I don't understand what...." says Damien, his mind racing for answers. "I... I'm Jesse, your cousin...." Damien just stops and freezes, in both mind and body. So many things want to come out his mouth, but they're all stuck in one lump in the back of his throat. His eyes continue to look at Jesse, examining her tail, comparing it to her human half, and vice-versa. "You- you're Jesse?!" Jesse lifts her head off his chest only to nod at him. Damien gulps and all those words stuck in his throat disappear. As a last resort, he tries to think of a question Jesse would know and not some random mermaid who happens to look like her would think of. Jesse is trembling on top of her cousin. She is fearful of his reaction to her new life. She can't just swim away from Damien and she can't outrun her problems with a fish tail. "Jesse." says Damien. "Ye- yes?" says the mermaid between sobs. "What did you do for my sixteenth birthday?" Jesse's sobbing slowly stops as she meets his eyes. They stare back intently and intensely back at her; there was no backing out of this question, but her human past seemed so far away, quickly overshadowed by new memories. With each passing second, Jesse can feel Damien's doubt grow. Driven by this last chance, a vision comes to her mind, as clear as day. "I... I forgot your birthday two years ago." says Jesse, wiping a tear from her eye. "I was out with my friends the entire day and came back the next day." Damien looks at Jesse silently without saying a word nor making a move. Jesse takes this as a cue to continue talking. "You wouldn't talk to me for a week no matter what I said. It was the longest fight we ever had. You finally said something after I promised to take you out to the club. We went out to the best place downtown and you had one of the best times of your life. You passed out towards early morning so I had to sneak you back home." Jesse stops, unable to say anymore. She looks at Damien's face. It is expressionless. He isn't dumbfounded, just speechless; this is pretty much evidence that the mermaid before him is indeed Jesse. He wants to hug her, to tell her all she's missed in the past two years of his life, but she's changed so much. What if her physical changes mirrored similar psychological changes? Suddenly he wants to push her away and off of his body. Jesse senses this and tries to reason with him. "Damien... I'm sorry about what happened. I didn't leave because I didn't like you or my parents. Believe me, please, Damien... I know it was wrong not to let you know. Please... please don't hate me, Damien... please?" By this point, tears are streaming down Jesse's pretty face and dripping down onto Damien. He loses all resolve; he can't even explain what just happened here. He can't bring himself to become angry with Jesse for what she has done to him; let alone what she has become. His arms move by themselves towards Jesse's shaking body. It is as though he were watching his own body move from afar. Damien's two hands take the mermaid by the shoulders and a warm, gentle feeling enters and spreads throughout his entire body. Damien grips her shoulders tightly and pulls her up level with his face. Both of his hands let go of her shoulders; his right hand glides up to hold the back of her head while his left moves down to caress her back. The feeling seems to burn his nerves while sending chills down her spine. They have finally found comfort in each other after all this time. "I missed you so much, Jesse..." Just outside, Nikos is gently leaning against the side of the hut. His eyes are closed, but he's far from being asleep. Listening on what just happened inside the hut; he adopts a subtle smile and walks towards the surf. He is no longer interested in listening to what has been going on inside his house; something in the water has caught his attention. He wades out into the water and is not surprised to see a mermaid waiting for him there. However, this mermaid isn't Victoria. It's Lily. "How... how dare you...." says Lily, fury clear as ice."You let a human take her up into your home! You're not even watching them to make sure Jesse's alright! And what if he takes her to see-" "Hold it." says Nikos calmly. "I can assure you that she is in hands safer than my own right now. Damien won't hurt her." "Bu- but..." "This is odd, Lily. First time, you've taken a liking to someone who has fallen for Riley... But, I wonder... just who are you trying to protect?" "Both of them." says Lily firmly. "Riley would be heartbroken if he lost her, even if he doesn't realize it yet. In addition, Jesse really impressed me when she told me she was once human. It takes real courage to admit something like that. I find that part of her intriguing. We're also friends now." "I'm glad you care so deeply." says Nikos. "Especially about Riley. So I hope you understand when I say I can't bring you into the hut." "And why's that?" she asks, her anger slowly creeping back. "Who is this Damien anyway?" "Damien is one-hundred percent human... and Jesse's cousin by blood." Lily looks back at Nikos at a loss for words, though all her previous anger seems to have drained away. "In fact, they probably were as close to each other as you are with Riley. That's why you can't disturb them right now; this is a time of bonding for them." ".... You're right...." says Lily as she turns and gets ready to swim back. "Stay." says Nikos sternly. "What? I thought you wanted me to leave them alone?" "I do, but I think you should let Jesse know that you know about Damien. It'll give you more to talk about." "Exactly why should I let her know? This is personal stuff. I'm not going to act like I'm snooping around. I want her to trust me." "And I want her to open up." "What?" "I don't want Jesse to keep her feelings to herself. She needs someone to talk to, namely you. If she doesn't open up, she'll only make herself feel more uncomfortable and alone. Lily, you have to be supportive of her since you know she's human. Okeanos rarely sees former-human visitors so the others may not be as benevolent as you are. If and when that secret does get out, I want you to stick by her." Lily ponders what Nikos has been telling her. In her heart and her mind, she has been contemplating her feelings concerning Jesse. Nikos' statements only strengthen her conviction. "Of course," she says,"I'll be there for her." Life Under the Sea Ch. 04 Lily waited anxiously outside Nikos' hut while the waves splashed over her. The sun was beating hard on her and yet she persisted. Two people in there are not even aware that she is so close. The storm from a few hours back had just disappeared from the sky, but it still left wild winds and dangerous waves in its wake. The mermaid did not know how long she could wait there, but she kept on remembering that she told Nikos she would. Nikos had wandered off again, probably bored. The least he could have done was keep her company, but it was too dangerous right now. Of all the humans she encountered, Nikos was the only one who did not bother her when she was around. He was even pleasant to talk to despite a few times when he was just irritating. He sure surpassed the other humans in how intelligent she found him. A good number of men (and a handful of women) had sought her with lust in their almost disbelieving eyes. A decent number of women looked at her with nothing but jealousy, but merely dismissed her inhuman beauty as a mirage, the hot sun playing tricks on their minds. Skin and scale created a barrier between her and the human race. To some she was a demonic embodiment of lust, sent by the devil to tempt the people. To the rest, she was just a freak of nature. Mermaids and mermen made sure to be extra careful when humans could see them. Discovery at least once in your life was unavoidable, but if it happened too many times, the humans would start to believe that the stories of old were true. That's probably how Jesse became a mermaid herself, she believed hard enough and she received her wish. Lily hears a noise in the distance that wakes her up out of her daydream. She turns left and right searching for anything dangerous. No unfamiliar humans, but Jesse has just left Nikos' hut in the arms of her cousin, Damien. Lily submerges herself and swims behind a rock to peer around. Damien has his cousin cradled in his arms as he walks into the surf. Jesse is looking back at him with a tired look on her face. He smiles back at her. In the uncounted minutes they spent talking and reminiscing in that hut, he barely recalls that Jesse is now a mermaid. That hardly matters to him anymore. She is still the same person he loved growing up. He kneels down and sets her gently in the water. Jesse does not move from that spot, and she does not say a word. The mermaid just stares back at her human cousin. They can see the confusing mix of happy and sad in each other's eyes. "Can I see you tomorrow? Here at this spot, at this time?" asks Damien. "Of course... I'll be here... But what will you tell my mom and dad?" replies Jesse. "I don't know yet. They won't believe what happened to you... I don't know how they'll take it... Still, I'm sure they would be happy to know you're still alive," says Damien. Slowly and steadily, Jesse and Damien turn around to go back to their worlds. Damien walks back towards the hut. He remembers that the first thing he was supposed to do today was to get more information from that Nikos character. It had only been two hours since he got here so Damien decides to stick around for a bit. In the meantime, Jesse dives into the water and swims back towards Okeanos. Only a second passes before someone blocks her way. "Nikos disappeared somewhere a while ago, Victoria...," she says. "I'm not Victoria, Jesse," says the mermaid. Jesse looks up at the mermaid's face and gasps at the sight of Lily. "I- You- Were you following me?" asks Jesse. "I couldn't help it. I was a bit curious about where you were going so early in the morning. So I followed you all the way here and waited outside. Nikos told me what was going on while you were in there." "Nikos told you? You know him?" "Of course I do. He isn't exactly human for a six thousand-something year old. Plus, the idiot has had that same hut on that beach for at least a couple thousand years now. Anyway, I was wondering what your cousin thought about that," says Lily, pointing at Jesse's tail. "We didn't really end up talking much about me. It was all about how we missed each other." "You broke his heart, you know," says Lily suddenly, "Even from here in the water, I could feel the pain." "I know. I felt it too. Two years of pain is a lot to wash away..." Damien walks back up to the door of Nikos' hut. It is closed shut. He didn't recall ever closing it because he had no free hands while carrying Jesse into the water. Just to humor himself, he knocks on the door. "Just a second!" says a voice inside the hut. Damien nearly falls over in surprise. The voice clearly is that of Nikos. He remembers it perfectly from yesterday. Damien gathers his strength and pushes the door wide open to find Nikos, as he was just about to slip some shorts on. "Ah! Sorry! I didn't mean to...," says Damien averting his eyes. Nikos laughs as he finishes putting on his shorts. "I'm decent now," he says, "Though it seems odd that you'd act like that after spending a couple hours with a gorgeous mermaid in your arms." "You're a guy! A man! I like women!" "Yet, that mermaid is your cousin... You probably shouldn't be looking at her either... At least not in that way..." "You knew? You knew that was Jesse? And I wasn't looking at her like that!" "Yeah, I did. Don't you remember what I said?" Damien thinks back to yesterday. After the time he spent talking to Jesse, it seems so far away. It's as if the two years they spent without one another returned to his life. The conversation he had with Nikos replays in his head. It then becomes clear to him. "Nikos... you said she disappeared right before your eyes. You were looking at her and the 'woman' was gone. You meant she was transformed into a mermaid?" "That's right." "If you knew, why didn't you tell me right away?" "Well, would you have believed me? Anyway, you did want to ask me questions about Jesse, right? Let's head into town. We can discuss it over lunch and a few drinks if you like." Damien sighs and looks out over the water. "Sure. Let's go right now." Lily and Jesse are swimming back towards the underwater village of Okeanos. The two of them haven't said a word since leaving the beach. Jesse wants to say something but she feels herself holding back on letting everything out. Lily just smiles at her every time their eyes meet. Jesse didn't expect anyone to find out where she was or whom she was with so quickly. Lily's sharpness did impress her, but she knew it could swing in either a good or a bad direction in the end. When the two of them get into the village, they see Miek and Brynn together. Lily motions to Jesse to swim in their direction. Up close, it appears they are just lazing around watching the other merpeople go about their day. The two of them look so happy and comfortable together. The two of them are sitting on a wall with Brynn on what would be Miek's lap. His arms wrap around her stomach while his chin rests on her shoulder. Their tails take turns twisting around each other. Lily slowly swims up behind them. "Hey!" she yells. Both Miek and Brynn yelp and turn around startled by Lily's loud voice, which continues to ring in their ears. "What?" asks Miek. "We're going up to the surface when the sun is at its highest. Can the two of you go get Varon and Riley? Tell them to meet with the rest of us just outside the village gate." "Oh. Sure," says Brynn, clearly disappointed," Let's go." Lily and Jesse watch the two lovers swim off to Varon's place. "Jesse, let's sit here for now," says Lily. "You sent them off so we could talk?" "Sure, not many people pass through this part of town so I doubt there are merpeople eavesdropping." "Thanks, Lily," says Jesse, smiling," I guess you really are becoming a great friend." "You're welcome... So I suppose there are people on land looking for you. You don't really look like the women around here now that I think about it. I guess a good guess would be that you're from a place very far from here, right?" "That's right." "Well, if they came all this way just for you, doesn't it mean that you still have a purpose up there?" "But I can't return to a human life... Nikos said that this spell was permanent. I never thought twice about something like this. I left my cousin and my parents a long time ago without even bothering to make contact. I always thought in my head that they let me go because I was old enough to make decisions for myself. Now I'm starting to wonder if becoming a mermaid in the first place was a good idea at all." "That's wrong...," replies Lily. "What do you mean?" "Choosing to become a mermaid or choosing to stay as a human are neither good ideas nor bad ideas. You have to realize that everything you think and do will have positive and negative effects. By becoming a mermaid, you cut yourself off from your family on land. However, there is a bright side right? You met me, Brynn, Miek, Varon, and Riley." "I guess you're right, but what do I do? I can't let my parents think I'm gone forever! I'm right here! Damien won't want to lie about me either to them! I want them to know I'm alive!" "I understand, but it will be hard for your parents to see what I see. I think even Damien still carries some doubts about you." "I know. He didn't look too convinced of what he saw when he set me down in the water..." The two mermaids sit quietly while a few fish idly pass by. "Hey, Lily?" asks Jesse," Would you mind meeting my cousin, Damien, in person? I just want him to know I have friends here who support me." "Of course. I'd love to meet him. Besides even from where I was watching, I could tell that good looks run in your family," says Lily with a twinkle in her eye. "No, please... not him, Lily...," pleads Jesse. "Why not? You get to share a hammock with my brother every night. Why can't I just get to at least tease your cousin?" "I don't want him to get the wrong idea. He came all the way here to find me. I'm not going to hide from him anymore." "Good answer," replies Lily. Back up on the island, Nikos and Damien are sitting down to lunch in town. The two of them hardly said a word on the way in. Damien has so many things that he wants to just blurt out, but the strange smile on Nikos' face makes him realize that he has to be careful with the words he has to choose. In Damien's eyes, Nikos looks rather comfortable for a man about to face interrogation. That confidence is unnerving. He clears his throat, but Nikos quickly interjects. "So... What questions have you prepared for me then?" asks Nikos," I hope you haven't forgotten them already." Damien looks back at Nikos' face; his expression has completely changed. The man before him seems more serious and professional than he would have ever thought possible. "Well... I'd like to know how Jesse became a mermaid." "Hmmm... I'd have to say that this was Poseidon's doing though I did perform the ritual." "A ritual? You mean this is about magic? That can't be real! Stop messing with me!" "Jesse looked very real in the hut, no?" counters Nikos. "It's just a lot to take in right now...," says Damien. Damien sits there silently. He picks at his salad as voices and images throb within his head. The man sees his cousin and her lovely tail while hearing voices scream that she isn't real. All of a sudden, both the images and voices fade away. "I think I can believe this, that there are higher powers. I mean I can't just not believe. I might as well believe in magic." "That's good, seeing as that's the first step." Damien laughs to himself. "The first step? I guess I should have known that there was much more... What else do you have to tell me?" "I think you ought to know the reason she became a mermaid." "It's been on my mind. It made me wonder what was down there that she already didn't have. Still, it makes sense since she already ran away from home once. She wasn't happy, I assume," says Damien. "What was it like before she ran away?" asks Nikos, stuffing a piece of cooked lamb into his mouth. "I lived with Jesse and my aunt and uncle for most of my life. My parents passed away when I was young. So Jesse and her parents were my family... It was... You know... At first, I hated Jesse..." "Really? From what I can tell, she's extremely fond of you." "She was always fond of me. Always kind. And yet, I hated her so much." Damien pauses and takes a deep breath. "I was jealous," he continues," She had her parents. I didn't. Sure, her parents were now mine in a way, but I wanted my dad and mom. It bothered me seeing her with my aunt and uncle." "So what changed all that?" asks Nikos. "As you remember, Jesse was always fond of me. She quickly noticed my bad mood and asked me what was wrong. I refused to tell her at first, but she bothered me for days until I gave in. I told her of my jealousy and my anger... She looked at me for a second then gave me a big hug. She started sobbing on my shoulder. Then she said 'Damien, I know you don't have parents like I do. But you have me and my mom and dad. We are your family also. So please don't hate us. I know that we are cousins, but I want to think of you as my baby brother. So... can I be your big sister?'" "Seems very intelligent for someone seven years of age..." "She was. Right after that, I loved my new family. I ended up idolizing Jesse because she helped my find where home really is. We almost never argued since we loved each other so much... Then the day after my sixteenth birthday, we didn't talk for a week. She forgot my birthday and I was so angry, I refused to talk to her. After a week of not talking, Jesse was gone. My aunt, uncle, and I never found out why she left that time. We always hoped she'd come back to tell us she was fine." "I never asked her about why she ran away from home, but she did tell me why she wanted to become a mermaid." "Which was?" "Love," says Nikos," She found someone down there." Damien almost knocks over a glass of water hearing Nikos' words. He doesn't even notice what he almost did but continues to look at Nikos. "It's true," continues Nikos," There is a merman she wants to share the rest of her life with." Damien just stays silent. "What? You thought she was alone down there?" asks Nikos. "I didn't think about it actually. I just learned about one mermaid just now. I didn't expect there to be much more." "That's where you're wrong. Mermaids and mermen are plentiful in the sea; they just protect themselves from humans. I think you'll find more questions answered later with Jesse." Back under the sea, Jesse is swimming back and forth at Lily's place, wondering what to talk about with Damien. Lily just looks on with an amused look on her face. She sits comfortably on a sponge couch while Jesse mumbles to herself. "You're lucky the others aren't here. They'd probably laugh at how worked up you're getting over this," says Lily. "But- But I haven't said much to him in two years! I'm pretty sure that he'll ask me about why I left in the first place!" exclaims Jesse as she finally sits down opposite to Lily. "It'll be fine," says Lily," Do what comes natural to you. If you think too much, that will become a problem. Anyway, I'm going with you to see him so I can back you up, just in case." "Who's going to back up who?" says a voice. Both Lily and Jesse turn around to see Riley and Miek swim in. "Oh. Hey guys. The two of us were just discussing some mermaid-to-mermaid stuff," says Lily sweetly. Riley and Miek ask no further questions, but just come to sit down. Miek sits down next to Lily while Riley sits next to Jesse. During all this mayhem, Jesse had almost forgotten about trying to win Riley's heart. It's only the afternoon but she feels as though she stayed awake for an entire fortnight. Without even thinking, Jesse leans her head onto Riley's shoulder and without further notice, she's out cold. "What happened?" asks Riley. "Oh, Jesse just got a little excited about something this morning," says Lily," She wore herself out so I don't think you should wake her. So where's Brynn? It's not like you to leave her side... eh, Miek?" "Brynn is trying on shells right now. I left when she started to make suggestions for me. She's really thrilled about the trip to the surface tomorrow." "What about you, Riley? Don't you want to show off as well?" asks Lily. "I already picked out what I want to wear. I'm all set for tomorrow. Also, I heard something very interesting...," says Riley. "And what's that?" asks Miek. "Apparently, Varon was very satisfied with your outfit for tomorrow," says Riley with a smirk on his face. Lily's face turns a light pink. "You saw us out there?" asks Lily as the pink in her face becomes a clear shade of red. "I only saw Varon coming back. I was looking for you but he wouldn't do anything but go silent on me and turn red whenever I mentioned you. Another clue was that spacey look that popped up on his face every other second. Besides, you did say you were going off to try out your look so... yeah..." "Okay... Okay...," says Lily, calming herself down. Miek continues to look at Lily suspiciously, but a scorching look from her ends that. Meanwhile, a strange feeling comes over Jesse's body. She wakes to something tickling her. When she looks down, she notices Riley's fingers gently brushing against her side. Riley stops and looks at her when he feels her stir. "Oh? Sorry about that, Jesse." "That's alright, Riley," says Jesse, unable to wipe the dreamy smile on her face. Riley smiles back at her and warmth floods her body. Her body is still leaning against his. She doesn't want to move since this feels so great to her. "It's almost time to check the surface again," says Lily, "Let's go get Brynn and Varon." A little bit later, six of them break the surface of the water. Up above them, the hot sun beats down. The heat feels amazing in comparison to the cool Mediterranean waters around them. The view around them consists of just the sea, the sky, and the tiny islands in the distance. There aren't even any other merpeople around to distract them. "What do you think?" asks Lily, "It's really nice today, but I hear that it's going to be even better tomorrow." "Where did you hear this, Lily?" asks Varon. "From Nikos," she responds, "I still go up every now and then for a chat." "Still with the interest in humans?" asks Brianna, "If you keep on going up to see him, you may get your wish and find yourself caught by one of them." "Besides, the rest of the village wouldn't like it if you revealed our location," adds Miek. "Anyway... why are we going up here tomorrow?" asks Riley, "It's excellent right now. If the surface was like this every day, I'd never leave." "The special thing I want you guys to see is happening in a certain place. Nikos said that a temple that appears out here on the water once every lunar year. The time it will appear is tomorrow." "Then can you explain why you wanted us to dress up if we're just seeing a temple. There must be loads of sunken temples in this sea just like it. Why even go?" asks Varon. "Just trust me on this, okay?" answers Lily with a wink. Varon turns to Riley look for answers, but all he gets is an I-told-you-so-again smile back. He sighs in near-disbelief. "Of course. I'll trust you." Damien and Nikos are walking back to Nikos' place from the town. The path back to the hut takes them along the beach causing the subject of Jesse to arise again. Damien had been quietly thinking about her ever since he learned that she left the land to live in the sea. "Hey, Nikos. Do you think it's possible for me to ever see the world she lives in?" Life Under the Sea Ch. 04 "What? You want to down there too?" responds Nikos in feigned disbelief. "No. Not really. My aunt and uncle are on the verge of giving up their search for Jesse. When they leave, I'll have to go with them... Greece is incredibly far from California. After this, I may never be able to come back in the near future. I just want to make the most of the next few days." "Awww... that's so sweet, Damien," says Nikos, batting his eyelashes. "Shut it. You know I don't mean it in that way." "I know, but it seems like you're reverting back to childhood now that you have your best friend back. Ah, it seems I have to leave you for now. Bye." "What do you mean?" "Look over there, Damien," says Nikos, pointing at the water. Damien didn't know what to expect to find when he turned around, but he had an idea anyway. As it turns out, he was half-right; he sees a mermaid, but it's not Jesse. He recalls Jesse having a green tail. This mermaid's tail was a soft shade of pink, which could not make her any more lovely than she already was. Nikos quickly dives in to join her. Swayed purely by curiosity, Damien follows behind but falls short of getting into the water. In the surf, he can see the two of them locked in a kiss. As soon as they finish, Nikos brings his mermaid friend into the shallows. "Sorry. I got a little excited when I saw her. This is my girlfriend, Victoria," says Nikos, "Victoria, this is Damien. He is Jesse's cousin." Victoria reaches out her hand to shake his. Damien hesitates for a second before taking her hand. As they shake, he cannot bring himself to look at her. Of course, none of his friends ever introduced their girlfriends to him while they were brazenly exposed. "Hi! It's nice to meet you, Damien," says Victoria sweetly, her long brown hair not even trying to hide the rest of her body. "Hello, Victoria. It's nice to meet you, too," replies Damien. "Hmmm... I don't get many chances to come this close to humans. You're actually cute now that I think about it. I think I can see a bit of Jesse in you as well," says Victoria. "Oh... umm... thanks...," replies Damien sheepishly. "He's shy just like her," adds Nikos, "Well then, see you later, Damien. I take it you'll be back here tomorrow morning waiting?" "Huh? Ah. Yeah. Of course, I will. See you then," says Damien. He watches Nikos and Victoria swim along the shoreline before disappearing around the island. Damien thinks quietly to himself before turning back and returning to town. Back at the hotel, his aunt and uncle are just sitting around. Damien feels the tremendous temptation to tell them what happened, but he holds the feelings and emotions back. Making any hint towards Jesse being a mermaid would make them angry for not taking the search seriously. He just goes back to his hotel room to think about what he should do. Damien wakes up a few hours later, face-down on the bed. Judging from the amount of light coming in through the window, the sun is setting. He tries staying put, but he can't fall asleep again. He was hoping that if he sleeps sooner, tomorrow would come faster. Damien gets up and walks over to his aunt and uncle's room. From his point of view, it is surprising that they are still here. They have been out on the other days. "Aunt Sara, Uncle David, what's wrong?" asks Damien. "There haven't been many clues about Jesse since we got here," says Uncle David, "From what the Greek authorities have told us, all her belongings are intact. Her hotel room show no signs of an intrusion." "The troubling part is that we don't know the fate of her," explains Aunt Sara, "We don't even know if she's still in the country! I can't stand this! I'm starting to lose hope for her. I don't want to, but... I just have a feeling that she is out there somewhere." "I feel there isn't much we can do ourselves," continues Uncle David, "Jesse disappeared on us before, but we knew she was alive. That was enough for your aunt and me. Jesse can stand up for herself. I've always believed in that about her. She's strong despite how meek she makes herself seem. And yet, I don't know what to believe anymore. There's no explanation for any of this." Damien does not respond, actually, he cannot. He feels guilt welling up within his body at the words of his aunt and uncle. It hurts to see them like this. Cursing his cowardice, he just stares at the floor. Aunt Sara and Uncle David excuse themselves for dinner after a bit of awkward silence, leaving Damien to do as he wishes. Damien doesn't really feel like going anywhere until sunrise so he just goes out for some fresh air. The air outside is still warm from the sun, feeling pleasant to the skin. Damien looks at the people around him. They are mostly tourists. Seeking to avoid any unnecessary conversations, he ducks into the nearest building. Inside, he finds a bookstore. However, it is not like any other gathering of books he has ever seen. Dust also seems to have been collected in this place as it neatly covers aged literature. In contrast with the outside, the air in here is stale and depressing. Damien walks around just to pass time while the crowds in the street disperse. He couldn't have chosen a worse time to go out. The outside of the store is conceals the size of what it contains. Rows and rows of shelves line the walls. The lettering on the spines is all in Greek except for a few in what is probably Arabic. At the far end of the shop, the shopkeeper calls out to him. "Hello, sir. Is there anything you are looking for?" she asks. Damien looks up, startled at the voice ringing out towards him. He sees two ladies behind a desk. One of them is relatively youthful in appearance while the other one is much older. "Oh, um, I'm just looking around. I just stumbled in here. It's all interesting, but I'm afraid I can't read Greek," says Damien. "That's no problem," says the woman, "We also do storytelling in this store. The children that can't afford to go to school come here to learn how to read. My grandmother here used to be a teacher so she loves offering her help. Unfortunately, she can't speak English like I can, but I would be happy to read a tale or two for you. We rarely get foreigners, let alone people interested in culture." "I wouldn't want to bother you, Miss... uh... Miss..." "It's Hebe. Nice to meet you..." "Damien." "Ah. It's nice to meet you, too. So, what would you like to hear about? There are many books here about history as well as great literature." Damien pauses. He didn't mean for this conversation to go for so long. He was planning to walk out after a minute to catch his breath. Now it would be far too rude for him to just leave. Damien paces around the tall shelves and cases of books. Based on just the covers, none of the books look appealing. Some of the books look like they would fall apart if you were to take a second glance at them. Damien really would not like to be stuck here listening to stories or ancient texts, but he realizes that this woman could be a vital source of information. "Hebe, do you have any books on mythological creatures? Like stories?" asks Damien. "Hmm? Of course! Greece is famous for its ancient past, both mythological and historical. Exactly what would you like to hear about? There are whole sections devoted to such tales." "Well, I've recently become fascinated with mermaids. I know it's crazy that someone my age would think of such things, but I just want to know more about them." "There are a few books on mermaids here. Let me go get a one for you. It's one I have been reading myself." The woman walks up and down the aisles for a bit before finding what she needs. She pulls out a large volume. On its worn and dirty cover, Damien can make out the image of a trident and what might be dolphins. Damien then follows Hebe to a back room. They sit next to one another while she flips through the book before ending up on a page with a highly-detailed illustration of a mermaid on it. He stares at the picture for a second. It is as if, he had seen this exact creature before. If he isn't mistaken, this mermaid is Nikos' friend, Victoria. Remembering the last time that he saw her, she looked stunning. This illustration is worn and weathered as if it had survived a fair amount of stormy seasons. When Hebe opens the book, she reveals pages with damp marks while a bit of dust floats from the edges. "That book looks like it has been through a lot," comments Damien. "It sure has," says Hebe, "It is the oldest book ever written on this island. The rest of the books as old as this are from other parts of Greece. This is a written collection of the oral history of the fishermen. Many of the stories and poems focus on mermaids and sea mythology. Where would you like me to start translating for you?" "Hmmm... I would like to hear about what they knew about mermaids in general. You know, just to get a feel for what they believed. Then, if you have the time, we can look into a few stories." "Has anyone told you that you're quite curious?" asks Hebe. "Not really. I've just had a sudden interest in mermaids." Hebe pauses for a second to get a good look at Damien. She almost suspects some sort of underlying plot, but the conviction is clear. She turns the pages to a section that Damien would be interested in learning about. "Here's the passage," she says, "It's quite a long one, so get comfortable." "Okay. I'm ready." Out on the beach of a neighboring island, the six merpeople are on the rocks watching the waves crashing. "You know, it's much more interesting to watch the water from up here," notes Miek. "True, but I think the sun is the true attraction. Normally, we only see the moon since it's more difficult to be spotted at night," says Brynn, "The warmth always feels so good, almost like a lover touching every part of you." Jesse smiles to herself and takes a peek at Riley. Not even the midday sun can compare to the heat she feels pressed against her during the nights they spend together. She is surprised she can fall asleep while so excited, but she manages. The whole casual nudity situation was quite a huge hurdle for her but everyone else's nonchalance about it helped her ease into the whole thing. In fact, it gave her a big self-esteem boost when no one had any criticisms about the way she looked. Jesse's thoughts quickly float towards Riley who is currently talking to Lily and Varon about their mysterious return to the surface. It seems that now that it is the eve of the supposedly big day, Lily has found it necessary to hush up about any details. Jesse drags herself closer to Riley, careful not to get sand in any embarrassingly uncomfortable places. She gives him a hug and kisses him on the cheek. Riley puts his arm around her and gently pulls her the rest of the way. "Lily, why won't you tell us anymore about tomorrow?" asks Varon. "Yeah," adds Riley, "You seemed to be full of information a few days ago. This was your whole idea in the first place. "I think she's hiding something from us," adds Jesse. Jesse half-expected Lily's grin to fade from that remark, but the mermaid just keeps on smiling at them. "I won't tell you guys. The only thing I can do is show you," says Lily, "And I'll show you tomorrow." Lily was quite determined not to let anything slip so the three gave up on any further questioning. Instead, they moved on to talking about what to wear to the surface tomorrow while avoiding anything else regarding that day. "I don't see why Riley, Miek, and I have to put on flowers and coral too," says Varon, "I thought that part of the whole thing was not to get seen while up here. Even now, we're on the watch for any humans." "I think Lily's point is that she wants us to get seen," says Riley. Everyone's eyes drift to Riley and then towards his sister. "It would be fun because it's dangerous," muses Jesse, "But aren't we endangering the village?" "Lily wouldn't do that," says Miek, "She is still hiding something... It's too strange to look pretty when hiding. We would draw enough attention without petals woven into our hair." Lily just looks back at them with a smile. Her silence is as strong as before. The five of them continue prodding her verbally again but soon give up. The mermaids and mermen bathe in the warm sun until it disappears beyond the horizon. With the moon now in clear view, they drag themselves into the water. Jesse knows she should follow them, but she is enjoying the feel of the dry sand too much to make any effort. Riley was about to dive into the surf when he notices Jesse still lying on the sand, staring up at the darkening sky. He drags himself back up the beach and lies down right next to her. "What's wrong?" he asks. "I'm just thinking about something, that's all." "Anything you can share with me?" "I'll tell you later. It's not something I want to talk about right now." Jesse shivers as she ends her sentence. "You know it's hard for us to stay warm up here. Let's get in the water before you start shivering the rest of the night." "I want to stay up here a bit longer." "Alright. Let me keep you company then." Riley puts his arm under Jesse's head and pulls her closer towards him. He then curls his tail around hers. Jesse remains silent through all this. At first, the issues with Damien were on her mind and now Riley has taken over. Unfortunately, she is getting no romantic vibes from the merman. His arms wrap around her stomach with his hands holding her sides. Jesse thinks to herself that Riley makes for an excellent best friend but a subpar lover. She herself was inexperienced, but she still toyed with the idea of coaxing him into a romantic mood. Maybe he doesn't realize how he feels yet and needs a little push. Jesse takes Riley by the wrist and guides his hand further up her body. He turns his head towards her the moment he feels his hand cup her soft flesh. Thinking he did it on accident, her tries to move his arm back to where it was, but Jesse keeps his hand there. Jesse then casually rests her free arm on his stomach with her fingers precariously close to his soft spot. Even as a mermaid, Jesse feels at ease in the air, but the dryness is taking its toll on her. She starts coughing badly. "Okay." says Riley. "Time's up. You need to get back in the water fast." Jesse tries to say something, but all she can do is cough. She must have been out of the water for six hours and spent five of that in direct sunlight. Riley gets her onto his back and drags himself into the waves. Jesse stops coughing the moment water enters her. Her tail is too sore to swim and she sinks. Riley grabs her arm before she goes down too far. "I take it I'm doing all the swimming." he says with a smile. Even though she feels sick, Jesse smiles back. Riley turns around. "Grab on and don't let go." Jesse hugs Riley from behind with her arms tightly around his chest. Riley then sets off with an amazing burst of speed. His body undulates so rapidly under Jesse that she feels a certain warmth returning to her body. She wonders to herself if she could somehow tap into his wild-as-a-storm energy for her own use. Then again, she also worries that she won't be able to keep up. It did not take long at all for Riley to reach the village. As soon as he does, Jesse finds herself in the hammock. Riley peeks in every now and then to make sure she's all right. The rest of the gang are still out somewhere, leaving Riley and Jesse to do as they please. The third time that Riley pokes his head in to check on her, she asks him to stay. "Are you sure you don't want to be alone? Your lungs might still be burning." asks Riley with a thoughtful look on his face. "I don't like being alone. At least not anymore. Come in here with me." "If you're fine with it, then okay." Riley swims into the closed hammock and moves to be right next to her, but Jesse shakes her head. "Just lie on top for now. You're really warm and I'm still a bit cold from earlier." Riley obeys without saying a word. His tail is the first thing to rest on her. She almost lets out a gasp when his loins rest against hers. Nothing happens as Jesse had hoped. Riley continues lowering himself onto her until his shoulder collide into hers. Jesse really was telling the truth; Riley's body is overflowing with heat that forces the chills straight out of her. His chin rests on her shoulder. "Is that better?" he asks. "A lot. Thanks, but I have a bit of a problem on my mind." "And that would be?" "Why are you so cold to me? You're just so distant. I admit I'm a bit jealous of how close you are to everyone else." Riley is silent. Jesse almost wants to prod him into saying something, or anything for that matter. "Jesse, I don't know about you but I think you're not telling me something. I've gotten that feeling ever since I met you." Jesse gulps. "I... I guess I have to admit I do keep secrets, but I'm not ready to face them just yet. There's just so much to fix, really. That's all I can tell you for now." "Does that mean you'll tell me eventually?" "Yes. Of course I will." Riley lifts himself up and looks over Jesse's face. He remains silent. Jesse wonders what's going through his mind. "I think you just need time. Don't worry. I'll wait." Riley then takes her in an embrace that she hopes will never end. In turn, she wraps her arms around him. Her mind drifts until snores call her back to reality. At least for a night, she can spend more time in a merman's sweet embrace. His body feels so firm against her soft form. His heart beats gently to blend with her thumping melody. Jesse brings her lips to his cheek, but Riley doesn't even stir under her touch. In his sleep, Riley flips around in Jesse's embrace. His move throws Jesse out of a possibly wet dream involving the merman above her. A nice chest and flat stomach distracts her from pursuing mere dreams. She teases his nipples until they are as pointy as her own. A more adventurous side of her directs skillful fingers down to his tender flesh. The first thing she feels is his shaft limp and off to the side. Even at this point, it can be barely contained in Jesse's grip. Her other hand glides up along his tail to clutch at the underside of his loins. The heat going into her hands is intense. Just imagining what he feels like awake and aroused is driving her crazy. Since she is this far along, Jesse starts pumping with the hand gripping his length. He feels hotter and hotter in her hold. Jesse tilts her head down to see what kind of effect she is having. At least eight inches of Riley is staring back. Jesse swears if he were any longer, she'd be in danger of eye damage. Without any warning, Riley turns over again, his length presses hard against her belly and her nether lips getting intimate with his balls. Riley's body warms her even more than ever. "Jesse? Did I wake you?" Life Under the Sea Ch. 05 The problem with being underwater is that you can never really be sure how wet you really are. Jesse knows this all too well. Sharing the hammock with Riley always excited her senses, but now she has no idea what to feel. What she does feel is a good eight inches of solid maleness against her belly. Her hands tremble at the urge to just grab it. "Jesse? What's wrong?" asks Riley. "Your heart's racing..." "It's not the only thing throbbing right now." Riley pauses for a brief second and looks down. "Ah! Damn!" He turns a slight shade of red. Just as he is about to pull away, Jesse seizes him by the hips. "You're embarrassed!" She leans in close. "I've never seen this side of you before." "... I haven't seen this side of you, Jesse... What are you doing?" "Being a little more assertive... I really love how you feel against me..." Jesse moves up to kiss the merman on the lips. Riley tries to pull away again, but an irresistibly playful tongue pulls him back in. Seeing the distracted look on his face, Jesse frees his mouth from her hold. Still, she keeps his hips anchored to hers. "Wait... wait...," he huffs. Jesse only lets go when he softens against her. He is not getting into it. "I don't understand... I thought you would like this...," mumbles Jesse. "You caught me off-guard, and I don't want it like this." "Does this mean you don't like me?" asks Jesse. "No, but I can't say that I am too fond of you after this," says Riley sourly. He pushes away from Jesse as gently as possible before swimming out of the hammock. When it is light out, Lily swims towards the land to find more flowers for her hair. She tingles at the thought of exciting Varon with their exotic smells and colors. The mermaid stops where she is upon seeing Jesse moping quietly on the sand. With no one else is around, Lily swims down closer. Jesse has her face buried in her arms, with her depression diffused in the water. Lily reaches out and rubs her friend's shoulder. "Jesse? What's wrong? Why are you all alone all the way out here?" Jesse looks up, eyes frightfully puffy, but she manages to put together her words. "Oh... uh... hello, Lily. I... I... got in a little fight with Riley." "I see..." Lily's expression darkens. "About what, may I ask?" "It wasn't really a fight, but I ended up upsetting him. I was trying to get him to warm up to me." Lily crosses her arms. "Well?" "I was successful... in the wrong way..." "I don't understand what you are trying to say," replies Lily skeptically. "This is what happened..." Jesse tells Lily the details of the nightmarish night. Her face is set like stone. She does not say a thing until Jesse finishes her re-telling. "If you were any other mermaid, I probably would be furious, Jesse, but I guess you didn't know any better." "What did I do wrong?" pleads Jesse. "I'm sure Riley wasn't ready to be intimate with you. You admitted you do hide things from him, one of which is the fact that you were human. Kind of a big deal. That's what's turning him off." "But... he got all excited!" "He's a guy and your body is pressed against his. It's bound to happen whether he likes it or not. Riley probably didn't notice until you told him, right?" Jesse's heart sinks. "That's right..." Lily sighs. "Down here, it is easier to see when guys are hot for someone. No one bothers noticing since it happens all the time. You must have seen a few mermen swimming around stiff. It's nothing to be ashamed of as long as you don't act on your passions so blatantly." Jesse plays with her fingers quietly. "Does your brother hate me for embarrassing him?" "I doubt it; he's not that kind of merperson. Still, you should apologize and eventually tell him who you really are. It's better that he hears it from you than from me." Damien waits on the lonely beach. This early in the morning, Nikos is gone, possibly on a morning swim. The wind is a bit chillier than normal, but the water is fantastically warm. Damien slips into the ocean to wait some more. He wonders for a second if Jesse has a way of telling time underwater. However, he also wonders if she will even come back if her life underwater is so great. Damien's skin goes cold. He could be just wasting his time, but still, this might be his last time seeing his cousin. "Damien?" He looks out towards the sea. A head is poking out through the surface. "Damien! I'm so glad you showed up!" Jesse glides along the surface rapidly towards him and wraps him up in her embrace. She lets him go after a few seconds. "I'm glad to see you again, Jesse," says Damien brightly. "Did you end up telling Mom and Dad?" "No, I couldn't bring myself to say anything... I'm sorry... They'd think I was mocking your memory by spouting fantasies, like by saying you turned into a mermaid." Jesse tilts her head down solemnly towards the shimmering water. "I see..." "Well, what did you want to talk about, Jesse?" "I just wanted to spend some time with my little cousin. You're not staying in Greece much longer, right?" "No, I just found out last night that we're leaving tomorrow. There hasn't been any leads as to what happened to you. Everyone is giving up. Do you think there is any chance that you could show yourself to Aunt Sara and Uncle David?" "I doubt it. They'll just think I'm a hallucination," replies Jesse. "But don't you want to see their faces?" Damien takes her by the shoulders and pulls her close again. "Don't be silly. Of course I want to see my parents." Damien takes a pebble in his hand and skips it over a wave. "Can you leave the water at all?" "Only for a few hours, but my tail is permanent, nothing like those stories you read about." "Oh... Do you want to go up on land for a bit? You know, a nice change from being in the water all the time." Jesse floats and looks over to the beach. "Uh, sure." Damien pulls Jesse by the hand towards the shore. She floats motionlessly with him. It seems useless to argue with being uncomfortable on land, but arguing would be pretty pathetic right now. Her cousin's smile is burning brightly for once and that is the side she wants to remember of him. "C'mon. Here we go," says Damien as he lifts Jesse onto the sand. She quickly moves her hair over her shoulders to cover up. Damien sits down right next to her and watches the horizon. He is quite silent for a bit. "So... how is it so far down there? Nikos told me you made friends." "Oh? Yeah! I've made a few new friends already! One of them is Lily and she's been real helpful getting me settled! There's also Brynn, Riley, Varon, and Miek. They're all really lovely." "Is Riley the one you like?" Damien gazes straight into her eyes. "What makes you say that?" "Your tail shivered when you said his name. Then you blushed when I repeated it." "You got me. I do like Riley. I could almost say I love him." "Does he love or like you back?" Jesse pauses and flicks her fins. "I don't know how he feels about me. He does know how I feel about him." Jesse stops again. "Oh, sorry! I got distracted for a bit. It was stupid of me to bring it up." "No, it's not stupid. He's someone you care about." Damien looks back to the lapping waves and folds his hands over his knees. "Even if you haven't known each other a long time..." "Do you have a special someone, Damien?" "Huh? Uh... not right now..." Jesse leans her head on Damien's shoulder. "How about a crush? I know you're shy. You must have had one at least once..." "Well, there is this one girl in my physics class... He name is Holly..." "Is she pretty?" Jesse smiles warmly seeing Damien being the one to blush this time. "Gorgeous. Brilliant, too. She tutors me every now and then." The two of them continue chatting while the sun rises in the sky. After a short story, Jesse feels her throat and lungs drying out. She begins coughing heavily like last time. Damien instinctively picks his cousin up and carries her to the water. It relieves the burning and stops the coughing. "Are you alright?" he asks. "Yeh. I just stayed too long out of the water, but I'm fine now, thanks." "I guess you really are a mermaid." "What do you mean?" "I think it's finally sunk in for me. It was really hard to accept that you aren't human and I can't have that part of you back. After talking and stuff, I realized that doesn't matter anymore. You're still the same person." Damien pulls her close into a hug. Jesse puts her arm around him. It feels so safe for both of them. His warmth is as welcoming to her as the ocean itself. Too late does she notice her hair moved back over her shoulder. Jesse tilts her head up. Damien does not look remotely reproachful. I'm glad nothing has changed between us, she thinks to herself. Jesse presses her ear to his heart and smiles. "Hey, Jesse... I think one of your friends his here." "What?" She turns around with a quick swish of her tail. "Who's there?" "Hello. I didn't mean to interrupt." It's Lily. Her head is just peeking out of the water. Damien grabs Jesse by the shoulders and stares uncertainly at the newcomer. "Is she really one of your friends?" "Yeah, this is Lily." Jesse swims to her side and escorts the mermaid closer. "Lily, this is my cousin, Damien." Damien extends his hand for a shake, but Lily wants a hug as well. He reluctantly obliges her. The mermaid's gorgeous face sends him halfway into a daze and her soft chest sends him the rest of the way. As soon as Lily lets go, Damien snaps out of it. She smiles smugly at him and his cousin. Jesse appears irked at first, but cannot help suppressing a smile herself. Lily giggles sweetly. "Just so you know, I do have a boyfriend." "I... I'll bet," stutters Damien. Far out to sea, Brynn and Miek are hanging out in their secluded hideaway, a depression in the sea floor surrounded by rock pillars and boulders. Other merpeople and fish stay away from here because of the heat from the volcanic vents. However, that is their favorite part. Just lying on the exceedingly warm sand relieves all the tension in their bodies, exactly what they need right now. Brynn lazily turns to Miek. She rubs him gently on his smooth chest flicking his nipples hard. He curiously looks back at her as she says, "Guess what I'm in the mood for?" Miek licks his lips and moves to get on top of her, but Brynn gently pushes him off. "What was that for?" he asks. "You had your way last time. Now, it's my turn." Brynn floats up and swims behind Miek. He waits for her to swim around again and face him, but she stays right where she is. Brynn is still there; he can feel her breathing. Just as he is about to turn around, she grabs Miek by the shoulders and curls her tail around his. Her supple bosom is squashed magnificently against his back and that is all he cares to feel right now. Miek is enjoying this immensely when his girlfriend whispers into his ear: "Take me for a nice, long ride..." Miek is confused by what she means until a hand descends to his loins and tickles the underside. He whips his tail furiously in laughter and pleasure and the two of them go speeding through the water. Miek laughs out loud while carrying her on his back. While, the undulating of his body causes him to rub against and bump into Brynn's searing-hot tender spot. Every single touch makes him more stiff and restless. Miek wants to take Brynn with his pulsing staff, but the longer he holds back his urges, the better it will be in the end. Brynn stops tickling her boyfriend's hardness and takes his vulnerable pouch in her grasp. Miek's laughing quickly switches to low moaning. He feels heavy in her hand. Brynn giggles to herself knowing he is already swollen with heat. Miek could erupt any second now, but he is desperately holding it in though. The merman's head turns sideways. "Please... Brynn," he pleads. "It... it hurts..." Compelled by his pain, Brynn gets off his back and swims to face him. Miek's throbbing compass is pointing directly at her. "Angelfish, I'll make you feel better." Brynn grabs her boyfriend by the hips and guides him into her. Miek groans quietly as she sheathes soothingly his flesh. When their hips collide, he explodes pure heat into her very depths. Miek thrusts into her energetically with all his might. He catches Brynn's coralline lips with his own and pulls her into a kiss. At first, she is surprised by his aggressiveness, but he is too irresistible. He makes her hot all over and within. Even now, Miek is not fully spent. His energy seems limitless but Brynn feels him trickle to a stop. Without fail, Miek's fatigue catches up with him. He can barely flick his tail and starts to slide off his lover. Brynn holds him tighter than ever and hears him whisper into her ear. "Next time... I hope it hurts more," he groans. "In spite of what I say, I do love it when you tease me like that..." "Oh, sweet Miek," whispers Brynn. "I'm not done with you yet." She takes him down to the warm sand. Brynn lies on her back with Miek lying on top of her. She pushes him down until his face rests in the lush valley of her bosom. Miek is still exhausted, but when he opens his eyes, he eagerly seizes the nipple closest to him in his mouth. Brynn brings one of her hands up and gently rubs the back of his head. As his strength slowly returns, Miek reaches up to grasp her other breast. She lets out a muffled moan while he teases her nipples hard. Miek frees one of her stiff pink peaks. "What else did you have in store for me?" Brynn gives him nothing but a dark smile. Back on the shore of the island, Jesse tries to pry Lily off of Damien. Lily has her tail rubbing roughly against the fabric of her human victim's shorts. When Jesse is finally successful, both she and Damien find themselves plagued with heavy breathing. Though he is also suffering from a pair of uncomfortably tight swim shorts. Damien looks at Lily pretending his curious eyes are not drifting. Regardless, his face maintains a nice reddish color. "I told you he was off-limits, Lily," warns Jesse. "I know, but..." Lily looks over to him. "I wanted to leave a good first impression. Besides, I don't think he'll forget me for a long time. Right, Damien?" Damien just nods. Jesse smacks him on the back of the head to break him out of the trance. He rubs the small bump she left. "Oh... Very sorry about that." "It's fine," replies Lily. "The pleasure is all yours." A stern look from Jesse tells her to get back on track. "Anyway, I'll keep your cousin safe. You have my word." Lily holds her hand above the water. Damien hesitates for a second but takes it and they shake. Lily swims over to Jesse and pecks her on the cheek. "I'll see you later." The mermaid quickly disappears under the surface and swims away. After a few moments of silence, Damien drifts over to Jesse's side. "I almost forgot... I got you something." Jesse floats curiously while he gets up on the beach and picks up his backpack. He fiddles around in it for a second before pulling something out. She sees a brown paper bag with something shiny in it. "Come here," he beckons. "I might lose it in the water." The mermaid beaches herself on the sand with the waves lapping the edges of her fins. Damien squats next to her and holds the bag before her eyes. Inside is a gold necklace with a pendant shaped like a dolphin. "It's... it's... gorgeous!" exclaims Jesse, taking out of the bag. "How did you afford such a thing?" "I saved up money for every birthday you missed at home. I bought it and took it with me here to Greece, because I was sure to find you." "Awww... thank you!" Jesse kisses him on the cheek. "Let me try it on!" She couples the chain around her neck and flicks her hair. "How do I look?" "Perfectly stunning." "So, how are you going to pay for school and stuff?" Jesse stares at him closely. "I can't imagine you always saving up to spoil the women in your life." "Your mom and dad. I'm also gonna work at university. They're not too concerned with where or even if I go, but they have money saved." "Huh... they must not want to pressure you... You know, so they won't have another runaway..." Jesse stares at the horizon with a sigh. "I couldn't do that to them. I'm happy where I am and you're happy where you are. They need me." It goes all quiet again. Jesse plays around with her necklace. "I'm sorry I didn't get something for you, Damien. Oh, wait!" Jesse reaches down and plucks five scales right off her beautiful tail. "Stop!" Damien seizes her wrist. "Doesn't that hurt?" "Damn straight, but I wanted to give you something in return." She holds out her hand and drops the scales into his open palm. Damien looks at his gift. He expected the vibrant green to fade, but it remains as radiant as ever. "I guess you have to go now. Mom and Dad must be worried about you." Jesse reaches up for one more hug. "Please come and see me tomorrow morning, if you can." Lily swims rapidly through the water and enters the village. Dozens of thoughts rush through her mind and she cannot seem to organize them all. For now, she has to gather the her friends together and bring them to the surface. Jesse will meet with them as soon as she is done. Varon should be waking up soon, but she has not seen her brother all day. Not a single one of them are sure what she appears to be planning but all of them are beginning to doubt her sanity. Riley calls out from her right. Seaweed belts of shells and pearls wrap about his waist. "Hey, Lily! I've been looking for Jesse. Have you seen her at all today?" "Yeah, she has some business to attend to right now. Someone from her hometown came to check on her." Lily pauses. "I also heard what happened between you two last night." "Oh... What have you heard?" "Enough. Just enough," replies Lily thoughtfully. Riley looks off to her side. "Look. I didn't mean to leave her alone or get overexcited." "I know you didn't." She pats her brother on the back. "Jesse will want to talk to you when she gets back. Until then, please be patient a bit longer. You haven't slept all night have you?" "No, I probably got a moment or two of sleep but I'll be fine after talking to her." "That's good. I'm looking for everyone else. I want us to be up at the surface as soon as possible. Jesse will head straight there. Help me search, but don't overdo it. I don't want you passing out on us." In the end, they only find Varon in town. Brynn and Miek are nowhere to be found. Lily gives up on them until they swim to the surface. She sees two lovers following from far behind. Riley squints when he notices something odd. "Hey, Miek! Something wrong with your tail? You break it or something?" To everyone's sudden interest, both Miek and Brynn blush red. "I... I just overdid it. That's all..." replies Miek. Brynn is saved the embarrassment of explaining by the appearance of Jesse. Riley swims out to meet her face-to-face. When he looks her in the eyes, he basks in their warm, gentle glow. She smiles wordlessly and wraps him up in her embrace. "I wanted to apologize, Riley," she says. "I shouldn't have done that after you and everyone has been so nice to me." Riley presses his forehead against hers. "It's fine... it's fine... I have to apologize to you, too." "Really? What about?" "I shouldn't have left without saying a word. That was pretty stupid of me." "I'll forgive you if you forgive me." They both pause. "Deal." Riley grins at the wonderful smile on Jesse's face. The glint of her necklace catches his eye. He reaches out to hold it when Lily swims up to them. "Hey, angelfishies." Lily places her hands on their shoulders. "We'd better get to the surface. They're waiting." Everyone looks at Lily uneasily. They all want to know who is waiting, but they follow her to the air. This is the place they are supposed to meet, but there is no one else around. The sun is especially scorching so no one but Lily dares poke more than their heads above the water. She looks towards the distance where two beings are swimming along the surface. They are slowly coming right at them. Life Under the Sea Ch. 05 "I figured you'd be late, Lily," says Nikos. "No matter. Victoria and I haven't been waiting too long. We were waiting in the deep since it was rather hot above." "I'm happy they're all here, sweetie. Welcome, everyone!" announces Victoria. She swims over and kisses everyone on the cheek. "It looks like Lily hasn't told you why she brought you up here." "Yeah," replies Miek. "It looks like it was your idea though." Victoria smiles. "Yes, it was. Nikos and I cordially invite you all to our wedding. It's not too often it's a surprise for anyone, especially the guests." Immediately, stone columns rise out of the ocean around them. The structure is a gleaming silver color with polished surfaces. A circular altar appears at the far end and rises just above the water. The gold statues of the Greek gods and goddesses catch their eyes. Peering below, Jesse notices there is no floor underwater. Riley taps her on the arm and they make their way to the altar with everyone else. Nikos gets onto the altar and helps Victoria up with him. They sit face-to-face with their love permeating the water and air. In the water around them, Varon and Lily pair up while Miek and Brynn do the same. Jesse becomes anxious when Riley brushes against her shoulder, but he offers her a smile and takes her hand in his. She cannot help but smile back. The three couples surround Nikos and Victoria. "Lord Poseidon!" shouts Nikos. "Hear me! I humbly beg you to witness between the depth-less love myself and my beloved Victoria!" The waves and the winds still themselves. The water around the couples and the water around the altar bubbles as if it were boiling. The gigantic form of the sea god rises out of the effervescing water and steps loudly onto the altar. He looks just as Jesse last saw him, gigantic and with a gray beard that makes him seem far younger than he probably is. To his left and right, his beautiful mermaid attendants hum hauntingly. Poseidon smiles down on them all. "My children!" he exclaims. "What a happy day! I congratulate you both on your love. Let us hear the tender words they have to share with one another!" Nikos and Victoria hold hands and grin giddily. The mermaid playfully winds her tail around Nikos' legs as he speaks up. "Beautiful Victoria... even now my heart overflows with love for you. The sound of your voice banishes nightmare and evokes indescribable visions of paradise. In my immortal time, I have never met anyone as passionate or as graceful as you. I, Nikos, pledge my mind and body to our happiness." Jesse's heart melts watching tears flow down Victoria's glowing face. She is not the only one who feels this way. Varon clutches tightly onto Lily resting his head on her shoulder. Miek wipes the tears from Brynn's eyes as well as his own. Riley's arm goes around Jesse's side and pulls her closer. The heat of his body is one of the few things real to her now. By this time, everyone's attention has shifted to Victoria. "Valiant Nikos... I find you to be the one most worthy of my love. Even in the depths of the sea, I thirst for the joy you bring me. I... I... I love you. My mind and body are yours as much as you are mine. I, Victoria, accept your love and pledge myself to our happiness." All remains quiet as Victoria finishes. Poseidon softly pats them on the head whispering a blessing. He then disappears below the water. Nikos takes his wife into his arms and they kiss. One-by-one Lily and the rest exit the mysterious sea temple. As they swim back to Okeanos, Jesse glimpses back at the surface. She smiles and rubs Riley's back. "You know, Riley, someday I wish I could find myself on that altar." That night, Jesse swims to the hammock hoping for an early sleep. Upon opening the top, she finds Riley already lying there. He is wide awake and beckons her in. Jesse looks around to see if Lily or Brynn are coming into the room anytime soon. She then enters the hammock but floats right above Riley. "Before we go to sleep," says Jesse, "I want to ask you something." "Sure, anything." "About last night... why did you leave? Did I upset you?" The merman does not say a word nor does he meet her eyes. He sighs softly before looking at her. "You didn't upset me, Jesse. Far from it, actually. I enjoy the feel of your body against mine." "But?" "But we still don't know much about each other. The way things were going, I'm pretty sure you would have taken advantage of my... lust. And shamefully, I might have let you." "I'm not sure what came over me back then. Too much feeling and no thinking... Trust me when I say I want to open up to you. I want to know about you so much, too. I'm very sorry. Can you give me another chance, Riley?" He pauses, but his gaze does not leave hers. "Yes, I'll give you that chance." Jesse hugs Riley quickly and he holds her tightly. Too late do they realize how close they are touching. Riley can feel his flesh stiffen. From the look on Jesse's face, she can feel it too. Her nipples stiffen as well. Her expression becomes the picture of worry. "Riley, it's fine. I'm not going to take advantage of you. I just want to go to sleep and I want you to keep me warm all night, nothing more." The next morning begins with Jesse dragging Riley with her to the open sea. Though disoriented at first, he does not raise a word of complaint. The only things he can think of are the words she said to wake him up: "I'm ready... I want to open up to you and let you in." Jesse has boundless, contagious energy that fills him with unexplained excitement. From what he can tell, she is taking him to the beach from two nights ago. "What are we doing all the way out here?" he asks. "I used to love spending time in the sun. It's not something I can do too often these days." The two of them break the surface in the shallows and beach themselves on the sand. They face east with the sun shining before them. The chill of the night still lingers, but the light caressing their skin is ever-so-satisfying. Riley softly runs his fingers along Jesse's shoulder. "What did you mean earlier about not spending much time in the sun now?" Jesse runs her fingers through the sand. "I used to play in the sun all the time." "I kind of got that... but go on..." Looking him straight in the eyes, Jesse's face turns serious. "What would you say if I wasn't what you thought I was?" "I'd probably say: 'Who are you then?'" Riley grasps her hand in his. "Not a 'who.' More like... 'what.'" "I don't understand what you're getting at..." Jesse gulps. "I wasn't born a mermaid." She waits and watches the expressions on Riley's face. His beautiful eyes are wide with shock and his body has gone rigid. He takes a moment or so to regain his composure and open his mouth. "What were you born as then?" he asks. Her heart stutters. "A human." To Jesse's surprise, Riley does not even put on a look of shock. Instead, he continues on with the conversation. "I guess I shouldn't really be too surprised. You don't act too much like other mermaids. You're more shy... modest..." "Is that such a bad thing? Even if I'm not human anymore, I'm still proud of the effect it's had on my life." "Then, why did you hide the fact that you were human? Did you think you could hide it forever?" "No, I didn't. The reason I kept quiet was because, for a moment, I wanted to push away that side of me. After a while, I felt empty from all that, and the people I left behind came looking for me." "Family?" "My parents and cousin. Mom and Dad don't know what's become of me. My cousin, Damien, knows everything and supports me. I do want to tell my parents, but after all that has happened, I think it will cause more harm. They think I'm dead. It's kind of true. The old me is gone. I've changed as much on the inside as I have on the outside." "So what has changed about you? I'm not sure you change too quickly on the inside. I've only known you for almost a week." "I've actually met you a few days before you remember me. You washed up unconscious on the beach on Nikos' island." "I... I remember that... When I woke up there was no one around..." "I was there... hiding though..." "So you watched over me until I woke up?" "Yeah." "I might have been glad to have seen your face. Who knows what might have happened if any other human got to me in that state... You didn't do anything to me, did you?" "Uh, just some touching, but nothing more. I swear! I admit I immediately fell in lust for you." "And that's what made you decide to become a mermaid? Did you fall in 'love' with me as well?" "No, at least, not at first. I actually was attracted to the lifestyle I could have with someone like you. Over the past few days, my love for you has really deepened. It isn't shallow lust anymore, yet it isn't pure love either. I do want to love you. I just need the time to work my feelings out. Right now, all I can tell you is that I really like you." Jesse pauses and takes a deep breath. "Can you forgive me for lying to you?" During the entire time, Riley faces Jesse unhesitatingly. "I can always forgive you if you are open with me. Not only that, I will be open to you." "Did I hurt you, Riley?" "A bit, but I am glad for it. I'm getting to know about you. Even when I was left in the dark, there was something mysterious about you. Now that you've shed some light, I see that I'm still in the shallows... staring down at the depths." Jesse takes Riley's hand. He feels his head gravitate toward her. The only thing that stops him is the cushion of her soft lips. He rolls over on top of her to take in enough warmth to which the beating sun cannot compare. Jesse shivers under Riley's touch so firm and soft. The air feels natural and alien to her bare skin, but he banishes all discomfort from her body. For a single instant in time, Jesse feels his heart. The only way she can describe it is that his heart reminds her of a wild storm, strong and untamed like the seas of his home. The problems and insecurities of a few minutes ago seem so insignificant. And suddenly, Jesse is pulled back into reality. Riley holds himself above her with his hands planted firmly in the sand at her sides. Jesse has her tail securely wrapped around him, but she is hungry for more of his touch. Even thoughts of his taste have a pull on her. His lips are sweet like warm honey. However, it is Riley's heart that has her enthralled, a net from which she never wants to escape. Maybe this is what she felt that day on the beach. The water back in the village of Okeanos has gone oddly cold. A few hardy folk make their way through otherwise deserted shops and marketplaces. Lily looks out longingly through the portalway of her home. Cool water is flowing in, but it is not as bad as outside. Varon is safe at his place, and behind Lily are Brynn and Miek, who lament being restricted inside. To pass time, the two lazily toss knots of seaweed at each other. "Where are those guys?" sighs Lily. "Riley and Jesse?" asks Brynn. "Probably out being boring somewhere..." Lily turns around. "You realize something could happen between those two? If you and Miek weren't off in your own ocean every other minute. you'd see those two really like each other." "Seriously?" replies Brynn skeptically. "If he's looking for some tail, I'm sure he can do better than her." "You know Riley better than that," warns Lily. "Yeah, but it's hard to see those two together. We barely know her!" "I think Jesse has some issues to get through, but after that... I see a good future for her and Riley." "I think it would be good if they got it on," adds Miek. "They'd be more fun, that's for sure. Don't get me wrong. Your brother's awesome the way he is." "I didn't know you cared," says Lily, messing with the hair on his head. "I don't like to talk about that stuff in front of the guys," replies Miek. "Believe it or not, Miek," says Lily, "but all three of you guys are pretty soft aside from that tough merman act you put on. It's kinda cute." "There's no fooling you two, is there?" wonders Miek, a slight blush appearing on his face. Lily shakes her head while Brynn adds a "Nope." Brynn whips a last knot of seaweed before swimming to her sister's side. "You think those two will get serious?" "Of that, I have no doubt," replies Lily. Brynn clings to her and looks out at the seemingly empty village. "I hope those two are safe." Meanwhile at the surface, Jesse and Riley attack one another with lustful glee. Riley's hands move up and down her body leaving a feeling of fire to smolder on her skin. The flames of his lips melt her very heart. Jesse can hardly believe someone so hot to the touch can be a being of water. The best she can do against his overpowering desire is let her own skin sate its need for a merman's touch. Any moan or groan from her only invigorates his movements. "Wait! Wait..." says Jesse suddenly. Riley takes a second to catch on before freezing. He looks up at her almost hurt. "What's wrong? Did I do something?" "No... no... I actually just remembered I have to meet someone this morning." Riley looks downtrodden. "I- I... guess I'll see you later, then." He pecks her on the cheek and begins sliding himself down to the water. "Don't go, Riley," pleads Jesse. She throws herself into his arms. "This is someone I really want you to meet. Please come with me." Both of them dive in and swim towards the island with Nikos' hut. Since there are no fishing ships in the area, they swim at the surface with a clear view of the beach. Riley sees a dot on the shore from far away. "That's him," assures Jesse. As they get closer, the dot becomes a full-fledged human, sitting on the sand. Riley feels somewhat the same vibe from him as from Jesse. When the human notices their presence, he gets up and stands in the surf. Jesse swims to his side and puts an arm around him. The human gets a peck on the cheek, prompting a hint of jealousy in Riley's heart. She calls Riley to swim closer. He swims up to the same height as the human. Face-to-face, Riley can see a bit of Jesse in him. Jesse introduces them. "Riley, this is my cousin, Damien. Damien, this is my boyfriend, Riley." Damien is the first to hold out his hand, which Riley quickly takes. "I heard much about you from Jesse. It's nice to meet you, Riley." Riley looks to Jesse confused, but she just nods at him. He sighs. "I'm glad to meet you as well, Damien." Jesse puts her arms around Riley and snuggles up against his side. "This is the one I love." Damien pats her on the back. He continues to gaze at Riley while Jesse holds her lover close. "I hope so much for you two." Riley takes Damien by the shoulder. "I'll take care of Jesse. I love her as much as she loves me." Jesse looks up with her face pure red. On Damien's face, the faintest glimmer of a smile comes and goes. He swiftly turns his head at the sound of voices from behind him. Jesse can feel the presence of her parents just beyond the beach. "I have to go," says Damien. "The boat to the mainland leaves in less than an hour." He bends down and kisses Jesse on the cheek and shakes Riley's hand. He whispers to them. "One day... I'll be back." Riley and Jesse instantly submerge as two figures make their way onto the beach. For a brief second, Jesse pokes her head out in hopes that they are her parents. They end up just being random tourists. She sees Damien walking back as she dips below the surface again., with Riley close by her side. On their way back to Okeanos, Jesse swims onto Riley's back and holds him as tightly as ever. The feel of his smooth, firm skin never gets old. While he does the swimming, one of her hands reaches his front. She flicks and teases one of his nipples stiff. Deciding his upper half has received enough attention, that same hand drifts down and traces the underside of Riley's manhood, prompting a stuttered moan from him. "If it's gonna... be like this," groans Riley, "then I hope you open up to me... every day..." "Don't worry about that!" purrs Jesse. Every time she makes a sudden move, Riley spasms off course. He utters no complaints, so she has no reason to stop. Jesse keeps her hands to herself when they arrive home. Her home. The two of them are greeted by Brynn who hugs her brother affectionately but when she turns to Jesse, she just gives her half a smile. In the deepest part of her mind, something tells Jesse that it is forced. "Do you mind if I hang with you guys?" asks Brynn sweetly. "Oh, uh, sure," replies Riley. "Where are Miek and Lily? I thought they were here." "Lily is taking a nap, but Miek went home not too long ago." Riley sits on the sponge couch. Jesse moves right next to him but Brynn swims up and plops herself down right between the couple. Jesse and Riley are pushed to the side a bit. Brynn reels them back in by putting her arms around their shoulders. "What were you guys up to?" she asks. Riley looks awkwardly at Jesse. "Nothing really. We just got back from the beach." "That's right," adds Jesse. "You guys sure have been getting along great lately," says Brynn, offhandedly. "Did I miss something?" Riley pats his sister on the head. "After a few days, the two of us just started to open up to one another." "Oh?" asks Brynn. "Then did something... special happen?" She brings her face close to his and waits for a response. Jesse reddens and folds her hands protectively over her lap, but Riley answers without the hint of a blush. "I learned how much Jesse would go through for love. That alone is very special." The two mermaids go quiet and give him pensive looks. Riley leans in and kisses Brynn on the cheek. "Thanks for worrying about me. Now if you'll excuse me..." He kisses Jesse fleetingly on the lips. "...I need to go check on Lily." Riley swims over to the bedroom. Brynn and Jesse continue sitting in silence. Riley's words echo in both their heads. Warmth fills Jesse's heart to overflowing. She puts her hand over her chest to feel its beating. Brynn quickly leans on her with a chin on her shoulder. "So... what did you guys really do? I can tell you're hiding something from me. Don't get me wrong; I don't think you are lying. It just feels like there is something more to what my brother said. Is that true?" "What we talked about is what you might call 'private.' Maybe later, but I promise I'll tell you." For the first time, Jesse sees a real smile on the mermaid's face. Brynn leans closer. "You... truly love him. Don't you?" "Yes, I do. Is that a bad thing for you?" "No.... No. I'm glad he finally has someone." Brynn flicks her hair back. "How about we hang out tomorrow?" "What? Seriously? That would be great," says Jesse graciously. Just then, Riley returns from the bedroom. "Did I interrupt something? You two look like you're having a lot of fun." Brynn gets off the couch. "Of course we are. We're getting along great!" "I'm glad to hear that," replies her brother, "but do you mind if I borrow Jesse for tonight? I want to take her out to the coral beds." A sharp glint shines in Brynn's eye. "I see... Of course I don't mind. Are you two going right now?" "Too soon. Besides, I wouldn't want to leave you alone," says Riley. "I heard you missed me so much while I was gone." "Sh-shut up," says Brynn, blushing. "I know you sometimes can't take care of yourself and that makes me worry." Riley floats over to Jesse's side. "I usually can, but when I can't, I have you and Lily." He puts an arm around Jesse's waist. "With Jesse here, I feel I have everyone I could possibly need already in my life." Jesse's heart warms up even more as she curls her tail lovingly around his. A kiss on her cheek rouses her emotions. It is only for a second but she has to stop herself from reaching at him awkwardly. Still, to feel him all around her only seems right. Life Under the Sea Ch. 05 Later that night as darkness casts itself over the sea floor, Riley takes Jesse to one of many crevices cut into the side of an island. In the absence of the sun, the water is chilly, especially inside. The rocky walls are lined with plants and coral that give off a gentle glow. The floor of this tiny room is covered in sand the color of a soft gold. "Is this where we are staying tonight?" asks Jesse. "It's beautiful..." "Yeah. This place is one of my favorite places in all of the sea. I think it would be the best place to go." "Oh? So this is a date you've brought me on, Riley?" The merman puts his hands on his hips. "Don't give me that look. I know you knew all along." "True. So why is this place so special to you?" Riley lets his hand run lovingly along the wall. "This was my old home years ago. After my little sister was old enough, we moved to Okeanos." "It's so small. I'm surprised the three of you could fit in here." "Sure, it was cramped. Now I doubt the two of us could fit, but I like the tight squeeze." A tiny grin splashes itself across Riley's face for a moment. Jesse smiles at his shy attempt at banter. It is obviously not something he is used to, though it makes him all the more endearing. She takes his hand and they lay themselves down on the sand. The smallness of the cove forces them right next to and then on top of one another. It is next to impossible not to feel what is snugly pressed against her belly. The warmth dispels the chill around them. Jesse gazes into Riley's eyes as he locks onto her lips. She quickly surprises him with an adventurously play of her tongue. Her hands feel up and down the smooth flow of his back. Jesse's mere touch sends a hot burning all over Riley's backbone. Riley's tail shivers against her, pressing her into the sand. He releases her lips to allow her breath. "Wow..." whispers Jesse. "Now let me show you a thing of two." The hands that were feeling on her lover's back move as low as they can until they reach the smooth scales of his tail. Before Riley can even begin to ask, Jesse pulls him deep into her. His groans are soft and stuttered. Restless hands hold her tight, but all her focus is directed on the pulsing heat buried within. Slowly, but surely, Riley starts thrusting in and out. Just the feel of him inside her was satisfying enough. Now, Riley moves smooth and rhythmically like waves pounding the shore. Jesse gazes at the merman above her. Riley looks positively starstruck and glowing with passion. "I can't believe how beautiful you are." He lands a kiss on her cheek while greedy fingers curl about a soft breast. With a firm grip on her bosom, Riley's movement intensifies to a maelstrom. Jesse's nerves are charged as waves of pleasure shake her form. She can no longer feel the cold water nor the rough sand, just warm flesh and smooth skin. All of a sudden, the ripples of pleasure die down a bit. Jesse can still feel Riley's presence, but she looks down. The little tease has kissed a trail down to her chest. His tongue plays and flicks with a nipple. Not satisfied with that, the merman continues to grope and squeeze her supple flesh. Jesse can feel his manhood pressed against her tail. It must have slid out when Riley decided to indulge himself in her bosom. "I'd never think that this body of mine would enchant you so..." mutters Jesse. Riley stops and meets her eyes. "What do you mean?" Jesse runs her fingers through his hair. "Your world is full of gorgeous mermaids, any one of them could have been yours. I... sometimes felt 'less' compared to them. It feels stupid, thinking that now." "Why?" She kisses him on the forehead. "You. You make me feel like the most beautiful mermaid there ever was, Riley. I-" He catches her lips in a kiss. Jesse's eyes go wide. Riley tastes irresistibly sweet. When he sees the shocked look on her face, he pulls back. "What's wrong?" "Nothing's wrong. You just surprised me... I will have my revenge, though." "Oh really? When do you think you'll be able to have this revenge?" "Now!" Jesse pushes Riley to the side and rolls on top of him. His chin delicately nestles itself between the swells of her bosom. Before a word can be said, she pushes off him and swims out of the cove. "You're gonna have to work harder than that to get more out of me!" Riley flips over and swims as hard as he can after her. The mermaid spins and twirls through the water with all her might, anything to make these moments last. Her playmate tears through the water, his excitement pointing him in the right direction. For all Jesse's effort, Riley is gaining on her. He is chasing her; the tables have certainly turned. The very thought sets off an achingly sweet tingle in her depths. Jesse wants to be caught. She turns around and meets Riley head-on. Their lips meet and their arms lock around one another. Tails wriggling restless and frantic, the couple zips through the water. Jesse moans as Riley breaches her tender spot. Her nails dig firmly into her lover. Thrust after thrust, he buried himself into Jesse's welcoming body. In her mind, it feels as though she were making love to the sea itself. Waves of pleasure wash over her ushered on by some erotic storm. Together they swim through the water with nothing but sand in sight. In between gasps, Jesse mutters into Riley's ear, "I want to be loved by you like this... forever..." He kisses her neck and feels the beat of her heart against his palm. "Of course... I can only hope you can give me time to... replenish myself..." "We'll see about that!"