“Close enough. You’re a fucking adult. You can make your own decisions.”
I stared into my beer, watching the bubbles rise to the surface. “I’ve never really done that before. Made my own decisions, I mean.”
“Well, you’re doing it now,” Nerion said, his hand finding mine under the table. He gave it a quick squeeze before letting go, but the brief contact sent electricity up my arm. “Maybe you just needed a little push to get started.”
The bar was packed with Friday night revelers. There were locals and college students mostly, none from Widdershins as far as I could tell. Music thumped through speakers overhead, not loud enough to prevent conversation but giving the place an energetic pulse. The walls were decorated with nautical memorabilia, fishing nets and weathered buoys, giving the whole place a salty charm that seemed perfectly suited to Nerion.
“So what’s the deal with your parents?” Linden asked, munching on a handful of fries. “They always that intense?”
“Always,” I nodded. “My father was an Olympic hopeful back in the day. Tore his rotator cuff during trials that magic couldn’tfix and never got to compete. So now I’m being forced to live out his dream, whether I want to or not.”
“And do you?” Nerion asked, his blue eyes searching mine. “Want to, I mean.”
I hesitated, realizing I’d never really asked myself that question. Swimming had always just been what I did, what was expected of me.
“I love being in the water,” I said finally. “That feeling of freedom, of weightlessness. But the competition, the constant pressure to be perfect... that part I could do without.”
“Then why keep doing it?” Linden asked.
“Because I’m good at it,” I shrugged. “And because I don’t know what else I’d do. It’s a break from having to be the next valedictorian too. That’s my mother’s dream.”
“You could try painting,” Nerion suggested with a smirk. “I could teach you.”
I laughed, picturing myself trying to create something beautiful like his stormy seascapes. “I can barely draw a stick figure.”
“Everyone starts somewhere,” he replied. “Maybe you just need to figure out what you love.”
I stared at Nerion for a long moment, my cheeks flushed with heat. My stomach fluttered as he smiled, my heart doing a little flip. Those were signs that if I wasn’t careful, I’d break my promise to him. “Y-Yeah,” I said at last. “I guess I need to figure that out.”
The conversation flowed easily after that, drifting from subject to subject. Linden told stories about his home in The Grove, about trees taller than skyscrapers and moss so thick you could sleep on it. Nerion told us about the Greek islands where he’d visited as a child, of crystal-clear waters and hidden coves where he could swim in his true form without fear of discovery.
As the night wore on, the bar grew more crowded. A small dance floor opened up in the corner, and people began to move to the music, their bodies close and uninhibited.
“We should dance,” Nerion suggested, his eyes bright with the beer and the atmosphere.
“I don’t really dance,” I protested weakly.
“Bullshit,” he grinned. “You danced at the Halloween party and you were good.”
“I was in a mask and pretending to be someone else.”
“Well, you don’t need a mask here,” he grinned, reaching his hand out. “We’re strangers to these people,Theo.”
Before I could object further, he was pulling me from the booth toward the dance floor. I glanced back at Linden, who just waved us on with an amused expression.
The dance floor was crowded, forcing us to stand close. Nerion’s body moved with natural grace to the beat, his hips swaying in a way that made my mouth go dry. I stood stiffly at first, too self-conscious to really let go.
“Relax,” Nerion said, leaning in so I could hear him over the music. His breath tickled my ear. “No one’s judging you here. No one’s timing you or scoring your performance. You’re free in my arms.”
He placed his hands on my hips, guiding them to move with the rhythm. Gradually, I felt the tension leave my body as I surrendered to the music and Nerion’s touch. His smile widened as I began to move more freely, and soon we were dancing together, our bodies finding a shared rhythm.
As the songs blended one into another, we moved closer, the space between us disappearing until I could feel the heat radiating from his skin. His hands stayed on my hips, occasionally sliding around to the small of my back, each touch sending shivers through me despite the warmth of the crowded room.
“See?” he said, his lips close to my ear again. “You’re a natural.”
I laughed, feeling lighter than I had in years. “Only because I have a good teacher.”
His eyes darkened at that, and for a moment I thought he might kiss me right there on the dance floor. Part of me wanted him to. But instead, he pulled back slightly, his hand found the back of my neck, fingers tangling in my hair as he drew me closer to whisper in my ear.