I turned back. “Yes, sir?”
“Sometimes the things we fear most are also the things most worth pursuing.” His eyes held mine for a moment longer. “Just something to consider.”
I nodded awkwardly and left, closing the door behind me. The hallway seemed cooler after the warmth of the office, and I took a deep breath, trying to process everything that had just happened.
The Dean’s words echoed in my mind as I made my way out of the admin building. Sometimes the things we fear most are also the things most worth pursuing.
Easy for him to say. His relationship might be hidden, but loving his husband wouldn’t turn him into seafoam if his husband suddenly decided he didn’t love him anymore.
As I stepped outside into the crisp autumn air, I spotted a familiar figure sitting on a bench across the quad. Teddy was hunched over a textbook, his blond hair catching the sunlight. My heart did that stupid little flip it had started doing lately whenever I saw him.
And that was exactly the problem. This thing with Teddy was supposed to be simple. Just sex. Just release. But even after just a couple of hookups, I’d started feeling a pressure building inside me. It wasn’t just the need to sing, but something else. Something far more dangerous.
I turned away before he could spot me. I needed to get a grip. Friends with benefits. Nothing more. It was the only wayto ensure I wouldn’t end up as just another bit of foam on the waves.
But as I walked away, I couldn’t help wondering if the Dean might be right. Was I missing out on something worth the risk? The thought lingered, unwelcome but persistent, like a melody I couldn’t quite shake.
Maybe I was finally beginning to understand what it was like to be under a siren’s spell.
Chapter 18
Teddy
Nerion’s voice was in my head, like a song I just couldn’t shake. I replayed our night in the pool over and over. Before I went to bed, I thought about his long shimmering tail and that sea-green cock until I was hard and grinding against the mattress. At night I dreamed of the quiet world under the water that he shared with me. And when I finally awoke, I couldn’t help reliving our time in the shower as he fucked me up against the cold tile wall. Inevitably, I wound up with my cock in my hand and cum painting my chest in a breathless cry of pleasure.
It had been three days since I’d seen Nerion. Three long nights aching for his touch. Three mornings of desperate release that never quite itched what I needed it to.
But despite all that, I felt…better. That was the only way to describe it. I didn’t feel like I was drowning in expectations anymore. They were still there, sure. But they didn’t hold me in quite the death-grip I’d been used to. Now they felt more like…suggestions. I felt like I could finally breathe.
And it wasn’t going unnoticed.
“I said, are you ready?” Coach Mathers asked, stepping up beside me.
“Sorry,” I replied, shaking my head. “I was spacing out.”
“Yeah, I noticed,” she grinned. “But I need you to get your head straight for this practice run, okay? Let’s see if that time off helped you out.”
I nodded, heading for the starting block. Up until now, Coach Mathers had me doing nothing but calisthenics and long swims to ease me back into training. But we had a meet coming up in a couple of days and she needed to make sure I was ready to compete again.
I stepped onto the block, adjusting my goggles one last time. The familiar smell of chlorine filled my nostrils as I took a deep breath. The pool stretched out before me, a clear blue expanse that suddenly reminded me of Nerion’s eyes.
“Focus, Teddy,” I muttered to myself, shaking the thought away.
I bent down into position, muscles tense and ready. Coach Mathers raised her hand, and I focused on nothing but her whistle. When it pierced the air, I launched myself forward, slicing into the water with practiced precision.
The moment I was submerged, I felt different. Since my midnight swim with Nerion, the water felt more like an extension of myself rather than something to fight against. I found my rhythm immediately, my strokes powerful and sure as I propelled myself forward.
With each turn of my head to breathe, I caught glimpses of Coach Mathers following alongside the pool, her expression intense as she tracked my progress. But I wasn’t swimming for her approval now. I was swimming because it felt good. Because the water welcomed me. Because I belonged there.
When my hand touched the wall at the end of my relay, I heard cheers erupt around me. I pulled off my goggles, blinking water from my eyes to see the entire team gathered around the edge of the pool, clapping and whooping.
“Holy shit, Voss!” Gavin called out. “Where’d that come from?”
Coach Mathers was staring at her stopwatch, her mouth slightly open. When she looked down at me, there was something like wonder in her expression.
“That’s your personal best by almostfiveseconds,” she said, kneeling down to show me the time. “What did you do over that break?”
I just stared at her, not sure what to say. I let a siren fuck me? It was honest, but I doubt it had anything to do with my swimming.