smaller and they looked bigger than they do now, we used to pretend we

were climbing cliffs in the middle of the ocean, running away from

James Bond villains and saving the world.

“Whatever you say, I promise I’ll always be there for you.”

“So now you’re also Pinocchio in addition to a mermaid?”

“Mer man .”

“You have to come up with something less fruity.”

“How about mer-stud?”

“Mer bro .”

“I kinda liked merdude.”

I stand right behind her at the end of the rocks. The water

splashes cold around us. Lavender and honey mingles with that sharp

ocean smell. She leans her back against my chest, and I can feel her

heart racing against mine. I trace the length of her arms with my

fingertips, surprised at how warm she is despite all the goose bumps

on her flesh. I kiss the bare skin of her shoulder, surprised at the

heat on my mouth, the heat of her skin. The way my skin prickles

everywhere as she lets herself sink against me.

“Layla.” I say her name, but I don’t have anything to follow. I

just want to say it. Layla, Layla, Layla. If I told her I loved her

and then did something typically Tristan , I’d never forgive myself.

So instead I whisper, “Close your eyes.”

“Why?”

“Trust me.”

“The last time I agreed to that, you and Angelo streaked across my

backyard at the same time my dad came home.”

“Just do it.”

She shuts her eyes.

I pull my shirt over my head and drop it on the rocks, along with

my sandals and my shorts on top of my backpack.

“What are you doing?”

“No peeking.”

She has her hands over her eyes. Though I wouldn’t mind if she

peeked. I stand, close my own eyes, and breathe in the salt in the

water, and then I feel the change in my veins, my legs. I jump into

the water, feeling the numbness of the scales covering my legs until I

kick in one motion as if I’ve been doing it my whole life.

There’s a second splash. I swim to her, the scales along my arms

glistening in the moonlight. She breathes short and shallow. Her teeth

chatter when she says, “You’re shiny.”

“Yeah, right. Vampires don’t glitter, but I do.”

“Right? My belief system is totally shattered. I’m going to have

to let my mom take me to confession tomorrow.”

I splash her a little. “Come, get on my back.”

“Said the crocodile to the monkey.”

“So let me get on your back, then.”

“Fine. Turn around, and I’ll get on.”

I do, and she wraps herself around my neck, her legs around my

waist. “Don’t forget to hold your breath.” I make us dive a little and

flick my fin until we swim out a few feet. I don’t want to go out too

far, because I don’t know the kinds of things that are out there this

time of night. I want us to be able to swim back without any problems.

I stop and flip her over so we’re face-to-face. She puts her hands

on my chest.

“Stop,” she says in a whisper I can barely make out over the

rustle of the water. “Stop doing this.”

“I’m not doing anything.” I’m barely touching her, just trying to

hold her afloat.

“Yes, you are,” she says, still pulling herself closer to me like

a rope she’s trying to climb.

“I’m not.”

“You’re doing some mer -thing.”

“Layla, I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Then why do I feel this way?” She looks away sadly.

“Please, look at me.” I cradle her cheek in my palm. “What way?”

I could lean in and kiss her if I wanted to. She might kiss me

back for real this time. Her hands shake in mine. I press her closer

so there’s no water between us. She’s weightless against me. My skin

is hot everywhere we’re touching. I can’t stand it anymore. I part my

lips and lean down at the same time she lifts her face up.

The force of her mouth on mine pushes us back. I’ve never had to

balance myself on one tail before. I push us backward, and we sink

into the water. She gasps for breath once and keeps her lips parted

against mine. She runs her hands all along my arms, and I trace the

soft length of her spine. My gills flare as quickly as my heartbeat. I

want to hold this moment, just this, for as long as she’ll let me.

Then she pushes me away, holding her last breath in her puffed

cheeks. I let her go, and she reaches out for the surface. She slaps

the water and lets loose with an angry and frustrated scream. She

swims toward the rocks. In her pink lace underwear, she pulls herself

out of the water and puts her clothes back on. They cling to her in

wet patches. She wrings out her hair at the same time that she walks

away from me.

“What did I do wrong? I thought it was pretty stellar.”

“You know exactly what you’re doing, Tristan Hart.” And there it

is. She says my whole name the way she does when she’s pissed.

“I told you,” I say. I feel the stinging pain that comes with

shifting back into my legs. I have to paddle before the numbness on my

feet goes away. I push against the tide that’s pulling. There are

still scales on my legs. When I brush them, they crumble into sand. “

I said , I’m not doing anything.”

She grabs my clothes off the rocks and throws them at me. “I don’t

believe you. You’re putting some kind of spell on me or something. I

saw how those princesses make people act. Like lunatics. It isn’t

funny to make people feel whatever you want them to. I’m not just one

of those girls you pick up and then toss aside after you get bored

with them. I’m not-”

There’s so much fury in her voice that I’m too stunned to say

anything. What can I say, other than to keep denying it? How can I

make her see that she kissed me back all on her own? Her eyes gloss

over, but I know she’s not going to cry. She’s too strong to cry.

She turns around and leaves me with my heart still in my throat,

my feet sinking deeper and deeper into the sand.

A couple runs toward Layla and me. I’ve followed her to the

boardwalk, where the others are waiting. They weave through the rows

of garbage cans, holding sizzling sparklers in each hand.

“We’ve been looking all over for you guys,” Ryan says. The red

rawness of his lips and the sheen in his blue eyes hints otherwise.

“Angelo and the guys are setting up at my house. My folks have gone to

our North Carolina house for their anniversary. Who are they ?”

Behind us, the Vampirettes, Frederik, and Marty disappear into the

Luna Park entrance.

“Just new friends,” I say.

Thalia and Layla each grab Kurt by a hand and start walking away

from the shops, past the parachute tower and the Cyclones field and

toward Sea Breeze.

Ryan walks with heavy feet and his eyes on the ground. He flicks

the dead sparkler stick into a passing garbage can and sighs.

“What’s wrong?” I ask, because he clearly wants me to. It’s not

that I don’t care, but I’ve got my own girl problems.

“I just-Do you think I have a chance with her?”

For a moment, I’m tempted to be a real friend and fill him with

“go get her, guy” pride. But then I remember that Thalia isn’t my

cousin. She’s a mermaid, and she’s eternal. I remember the promise she

asked me to make. I didn’t exactly say yes, but I didn’t say no

either. I’d have to be king before I could decide that. Sure, she

feels this way now, but what about in a couple of days? Just then

Layla glances back at me, and I get that choking feeling again, like

my heart jumps up and gets stuck. I know how fast feelings can change.

I go, “Remember the Rebecca incident?”

“Rebecca was different. She was a brat. She thought just because