Nerion collapsed beside me on the sand, one arm thrown over his eyes to block out the sun. His chest still rose and fell rapidly, his lips curved in a satisfied smile.
“I think I’ve got sand in places sand should never be,” I laughed, the euphoria of my orgasm making everything seem funny and perfect.
“Worth it,” Nerion mumbled, turning his head to look at me. “Definitely worth it.”
I propped myself up on one elbow, studying his face in the brilliant Mediterranean sunlight. His freckles stood out more vividly here, constellations mapped across his nose and cheeks. His red hair, drying now in the heat, had taken on copper highlights I’d never noticed before.
“What are you staring at?” he asked, but there was no edge to his question.
“You,” I replied simply. “You look different here. More... yourself I guess.”
Something flickered in his eyes. It was vulnerability, perhaps, or fear. But he masked it quickly with a smirk. “Is that your way of saying I look good?”
“You always look good,” I said honestly. “But here, you look... happy.”
Nerion’s smirk faltered, replaced by an expression so raw it made my chest ache. For a moment, I thought he might say something important, something real. Instead, he rolled to his feet in one fluid motion.
“Come on,” he said, extending his hand to me. “Let’s wash off in the sea before we get completely encrusted with sand and... other things.”
I took his offered hand, allowing him to pull me up. We waded into the crystal-clear water together, the gentle waves lapping at our thighs. I watched as Nerion dove beneath the surface, his body cutting through the water with natural grace. When he emerged, water streaming from his hair and shoulders, I couldn’t help but think he looked more like a god than a monster, like Poseidon himself come to life.
“So this is what it’s like,” I said, more to myself than to him as I sank into the water up to my shoulders.
“What what’s like?” Nerion asked, swimming closer.
“Freedom,” I replied, letting myself float on my back. The sky above was impossibly blue, untouched by clouds. “No parents, no expectations, no schedule. Just... this.”
Nerion was quiet for a moment, floating beside me. “It doesn’t last,” he finally said, his voice soft but certain. “Freedom is always temporary.”
I turned my head to look at him, our bodies suspended in the buoyant salt water. “It doesn’t have to be.”
“Doesn’t it?” His gaze remained fixed on the sky above. “You have a family waiting for you, expectations to fulfill. And I have my own... limitations. Not to mention school.”
“We could stay,” I suggested, the words spilling out before I could stop them. “Just for a while. No one would know.”
Nerion’s laugh was hollow. “And live on what? Air and seawater?”
“I have money,” I replied, undeterred. “We could get a little place near the beach. You could paint. I could... I could figure out what I actually want to do with my life.”
He looked at me then, his expression unreadable. “You’re not thinking clearly, Teddy. This is just post-orgasm euphoria talking.”
“Maybe,” I admitted, though I didn’t believe it. “Or maybe for the first time in my life, I’m actually thinking clearly.”
Nerion sighed, righting himself in the water. “We should head back soon. The longer we stay, the harder it will be to leave.”
“Would that be so terrible?” I asked, unable to keep the hurt from my voice.
His expression softened. “Teddy...” He reached out, his wet fingers brushing against my cheek. “This isn’t real life. It’s a beautiful dream, a fantasy. But all dreams end eventually.”
“It could be real,” I insisted, catching his hand and holding it against my face. “If we wanted it to be.”
Something like pain flashed in his eyes. “Some things aren’t possible, no matter how much we might want them.” He ran his thumb over my cheek on last time. “We have to go back. Both of us. I’m… I’m sorry.”
Before I could argue further, he pulled away and dove beneath the surface. I watched his silhouette transform, human legs melding into that magnificent tail. He circled beneath me once, twice, before surfacing a few feet away.
“One more swim before we go?” he offered, his smile not quite reaching his eyes. “I could show you the reef at the edge of the cove.”
I smiled, though it didn’t quite reach my eyes this time. “Yeah,” I nodded. “I’d love to see it. Then we can… teleport back.”