midlife mermaid - complete trilogy, page 9
It’s maybe a second or two before he starts to laugh. I’m instantly confused because his eyes never got that glazed-over expression I expected and now… now it seems like my attempts did absolutely nothing! But, how is that even possible? My Siren’s Song has worked on every other human on whom I’ve attempted it, and it works flawlessly on the males!
So, why didn’t it work on this one? Did I do something wrong? But, no, I did exactly the same thing I’ve done the last handful of times I attempted this… with perfect results.
This must mean… Sawyer isn’t attracted to me?
I feel my heart drop down to my toes as heat bleeds across my face, making my cheeks sting.
“That’s not how we do things here, Eva,” Sawyer says.
I sit back into my chair and frown as my heart starts pounding.
“Eva! What in the world are you doing?” Wendy asks and then laughs nervously as she faces Sawyer. She’s blushing just as fiercely as I must be. “As I said, she’s from a different country and she doesn’t understand our… customs. Please forgive her.”
I’m breathing hard and I’m beyond embarrassed. Not to mention, my pride has taken a beating. Of all the men not to be enticed by me, Sawyer is the only man I’ve ever found myself attracted to! I clear my throat. “I’m… I’m sorry. Sometimes I get confused by your… ways.”
“It’s okay,” Sawyer says and stands up. “I will be in touch with Janet regarding your application and I’ll let you know if I come across a suitable car.”
“Thank you,” I say and immediately stand up.
“Actually,” Sawyer continues as he eyes me, and I worry he’s going to tell me I’m no longer a candidate for the house after my ridiculous attempt to mind-control him. “Why don’t you give me your number and that way, I can call you directly.”
“Oh,” I say, completely surprised. Though there’s nothing flirtatious or suggestive about his words, they silently thrill me, though I’m not sure why.
He, meanwhile, pulls his cell phone from his pocket, hits a few buttons and then looks back at me, clearly waiting for me to recite my number.
I swallow hard. Even though Wendy helped me obtain a mobile phone and I’ve committed the number to memory, I suddenly can’t recall it. I look at Wendy and almost whisper, “I can’t remember my phone number.”
“Oh,” Wendy says and nods, whipping out her phone from her purse as she clicks through to my information and rattles off the number to Sawyer, who gives me a smile as if he’s amused with my complete idiocy since I walked into his shop.
“Got it,” he says and puts his phone away. “We’ll be in touch.”
“Thank you for meeting with us,” Wendy says as we both follow him to the front of the shop.
“Yes, thank you,” I add.
He smiles at both of us and reaches for our hands, shaking them in his gigantic ones. When he touches me, it sends another tingling spark up my arm. I immediately pull my hand away, not meaning to seem so abrupt, but I can’t help it. I need to get away from this man so I can think straight again.
“It was a pleasure and I hope you both enjoy the rest of your day.”
“You too,” Wendy says.
I can’t say anything because I’m tongue-tied, and I already feel stupid as it is. This visit has gone completely counter to the way I’d hoped.
Wendy takes my arm and leads me out of the shop. As soon as we’re in the sunlight, I feel like I can breathe again. That whole interaction with Sawyer was so strange; I’ve never felt like that around another person before, let alone a human.
“You are not subtle,” Wendy laughs, rolling her eyes.
I blink at her and shake my head. “I just ruined whatever chance I had at getting that house.”
Wendy merely laughs again. “What was that brainwashing stunt you pulled on him?”
“I don’t know what I was doing… it’s just something I’ve seen people do back home and I thought it might work,” I explain with a shrug, feeling like I want to cry.
“Well, I don’t think it did.”
“I don’t think it did, either,” I say on a sigh.
“We should probably keep going with our rental search,” Wendy says, shaking her head.
I feel my shoulders slump as I nod. “Okay.”
Chapter Eleven
I’m asleep in my bed and I hear the sound of rustling curtains. Tom gets up to investigate and approaches the window, gruffly barking. I sit up straight and notice a shadow silhouetted against the curtains in the moonlight.
As I watch it, the shadow comes closer to the window. That’s when I remember I forgot to lock it! As the window slides open, I call out:
“Who’s there?”
But, there’s no answer.
Instead, the shadow suddenly disappears, leaving the window open so the curtains dance in the breeze. I watch them for a few minutes, wondering if the shadow figure will return. But, there’s no sign of the shadow and I can’t hear the sound of booted footsteps any longer.
I lay back down as Tom returns to the foot of my bed, and circles a few times before plopping back down and going to sleep. I close my eyes, but then I hear something. A faint sound—the sound of breathing. And it’s coming closer.
I open my eyes and scream as I see Cullen leaning over me, his face inches from mine.
I jolt awake and find myself sitting upright as I try to catch my breath. Tom looks up from where he’s sleeping beside my bed and I run my hands across my forehead as I realize it was just a dream.
Yes, it was just a nightmare, and Cullen isn’t here.
He’s miles and miles away, below the ocean where he belongs.
You’re safe, Eva, I tell myself as I take a deep breath and lay back down, struggling to close my eyes again.
***
Two days later, I’m sitting on Wendy’s couch, watching the nature channel on the television and waiting for her to come home from work when my phone rings. I don’t recognize the number (usually it’s just Wendy who calls me), but I answer it anyway.
“Hello?”
“Eva?”
“Yes?”
“This is Sawyer Ray.”
I feel my heart start pounding. “Oh. Hi.”
“Hi, I, uh, I found a car I think you might like.”
“Oh, you did?” I ask, slightly amazed he’s called me because I was fairly sure he wouldn’t want anything to do with me ever again after what I did at his shop.
“I did.” He chuckles. “It’s at the shop and I thought you might like to see it.”
“I would like to see it… but I won’t be able to make it until Wendy comes home from work.”
“Cool. I’ll be here until seven today.”
“Okay, Wendy usually gets home around five.”
“Great… I’ll see you then.”
“I’ll see you then too.”
He chuckles again. “Have a good afternoon, Eva.”
“Thank you, you as well,” I reply. Then I hang up and look at the clock above the fireplace. Wendy taught me numbers, and how clocks work, but it still takes me a minute to figure out it’s twenty minutes past three in the afternoon.
I call Wendy.
“Sawyer just called to say he has a car he thinks I might like,” I explain. “I told him I couldn’t come and see it until you get off work, at five. Is that okay if we go over there tonight? I guess I should have asked you first.”
Wendy is quiet for a moment, and I can hear all sorts of sounds in the background. She seems busy. “Shoot… I’m going to have to work late tonight because I had some walk-ins that threw my day off. Maybe call him back, tell him I’m working late, and ask him to pick you up?”
“Is that… a little presumptuous of me to do though?”
“Not with the way he was looking at you the whole time we were there,” she answers and surprises me because she’s not mentioned such a thing before. Not to mention my Siren’s Song failed miserably on him which means he isn’t attracted to me. “And if he can’t give you a ride, I can take you tomorrow.”
“Okay, thank you.”
“Let me know what happens.”
“I will.”
We say our goodbyes and I hang up the phone. Then I just sit there for a few seconds. The thought of being alone with Sawyer, without Wendy to help guide my inevitable mistakes, is… intimidating.
I sigh as my heart rides up into my throat and I pick up the phone to call Sawyer back. The phone rings a few times. And rings.
“Sawyer’s repair shop,” he answers after the fifth ring.
“Hi Sawyer, this is Eva from… Greece.”
He chuckles. “Hi, Eva from Greece, what’s up?” He sounds hurried. My heartbeat increases even more because I don’t want to keep him longer than I should.
“Um… I talked to Wendy and she’s working late tonight…”
“Okay, I can pick you up in about an hour if that works for you?”
I’m completely dumbfounded and I don’t say anything for a few seconds.
“Does that work for you?” he repeats.
“Yes,” I say immediately. “Yes, that works for me.”
“Great, what’s your address?”
I give it to him.
“Okay, I’ll see you soon.”
“See you soon,” I answer. “And thank you very much.”
“It’s my pleasure,” he answers, in that low voice that makes me feel all twisty and ‘topsy-turvy’ deep inside my body. I’m blushing when I hang up the phone and I bite my lower lip, willing my heart to calm down. I’m just so nervous—nervous that I won’t have Wendy with me, nervous that I’ll say or do the wrong thing. Nervous to see Sawyer again. Nervous because my mermaid abilities don’t work on him. Nervous because he’s not attracted to me.
What in the world has gotten into me? I’m usually nothing like this! Normally, I’m calm and in control and I don’t embarrass easily. Normally I don’t give a stuff what anyone thinks of me, least of all a silly male—and a human one at that! Normally I’m independent Eva who doesn’t need anyone. Well, maybe except Wendy.
Tom pads into the kitchen and woofs at me, jarring me out of my thoughts. I pat his head and then stand up, heading for my bedroom. I’m currently dressed in sweatpants and a T-shirt. I want to dress in something nicer, but not too nice.
Back in Corsica, when it was mating season, unmarried females weren’t supposed to seek out males. But, of course, some of them did. I was never one of them, having been raised to be a lady, but I would witness those who did. They’d put pearls and shells in their hair and bobbles on their tails to make them shinier and more colorful. And the way they would preen around the mermen was always something that interested me because it was like a foreign language.
Humans probably do something similar, I figure. I’ve seen females on the television who are all dolled up in makeup and glittery clothing, flaunting themselves around the men they’re interested in. I don’t want to go out of my way to appear attractive, especially if Sawyer isn’t attracted to me, or maybe he’s married and not looking for another wife. Instantly I deflate as I recall Wendy telling me human males only take one wife. Hmm, maybe Sawyer is different?
Regardless, I want to look nice and see how he reacts.
In the end, I choose a dress that’s the color of shallow water in sunlight, a brilliant blue-green. It falls loosely around my bare shoulders and cinches around my waist, flaring out, the hem falling just above my thighs.
My hair was wrapped in a bun earlier and when I let it down, it falls in loose waves around my naked shoulders. I face the mirror after getting dressed and pull out the few makeup items Wendy helped me pick out from the department store. She taught me how to apply my foundation and blush, which I do first. Then I brush a light amount of pearly white iridescent shadow over my eyelids and groom my eyebrows in place, before sealing them with eyebrow gel. I line my eyes in coal and then blur the line with the end of the pencil, before throwing on a few coats of mascara. I’m still not quite used to wearing eye makeup, and the stuff makes my eyes water, but Wendy tells me I really need to get used to it because it makes my blue eyes stand out even more than they already do. Finally, I complete the look with a coating of light pink lipstick and I smile at my reflection.
I don’t know why, but I hope Sawyer finds me attractive this time. It’s a feeling that causes me a level of unease because there’s a part of me that rebels against it. Why should I care if a silly human male finds me attractive? It shouldn’t matter to me. All that should matter is that I find myself a place to live and I start my swimming school and carve out a life for myself in Shell Harbor.
Hmm, yes, that’s the way I should be thinking.
That’s the way I am thinking.
I approach my closet again, in search of a pair of shoes that will match my dress. Wendy taught me the basics of matching clothing with shoes and she said I was a quick study, which, apparently, is a good thing.
Most of my shoes I can slip into and out of easily, and while shoes themselves are definitely not the most comfortable things in the world, I have a few pairs I can stand wearing for a while. I choose a pair of strappy black sandals that have a slight heel. Wendy says they elongate my legs. I’m not accustomed to wearing shoes at all, and the ones with heels make walking even more difficult. But, I like the way these look when paired with my dress.
***
Tom looks up a second before a knock sounds on the front door. I rise, suddenly feeling flustered and nervous again which instantly irritates me. Tom runs to the door, woofing quietly, tail wagging. When I open the door, Tom leaps out immediately, jumping on Sawyer, who catches him with an ‘oof’.
And, I’m mortified.
“Oh, I’m so sorry!” I say, tugging Tom back by his collar. “He’s very rude!”
“That’s alright,” Sawyer says, grinning. He crouches down and pets Tom’s scruff and wrestles with the dog a bit, as Tom pants and wags his entire body. “You’re just protecting your lady, aren’t you? Good job, buddy.”
I giggle. I don’t know why, but I like the fact that Sawyer refers to me as a ‘lady’, silly though it may sound. Affection blooms in my chest as I watch the two of them together. Tom seems to like Sawyer, which is a good sign in my book.
“Are you ready?” Sawyer asks, standing up as he looks down at me. I knew he was tall, but I’m surprised to see how tall he is in comparison to me. He’s easily a head taller than I am, and I’m not a small woman. Feeling my nerves starting to get the better of me, I nod, grab my bag, and lock the house as Tom whines to come with us from behind the door.
Sawyer leads the way to his… very big car. The more I think about it, the more I realize it’s not actually termed a car, but…
“What do you call that type of car again?” I ask as I motion to his vehicle.
“A truck,” he answers with a chuckle.
My eyes widen as I stare up at the beast. Sawyer opens the door for me and holds out his hand, helping me into my seat, which is a bit of a struggle because the truck is incredibly tall and there’s nothing to step on, aside from the inside floor.
My skin tingles when Sawyer touches me, and as soon as I sit down, I find myself enveloped in his scent. It’s a scent I like very much. Oil and sweat and earth and man.
Sawyer closes my door and then circles around to the front of the truck. He opens the door and seats himself beside me easily—clearly the height of the truck is no impediment to him.
He turns the ignition on and the thing comes to life with a rumble that I feel all the way down to my toes. I suck in a breath and clench my fingers together in my lap, my knuckles going white. This truck is much louder than Wendy’s little car and the rumble of the engine is much more noticeable, as well.
“You look nervous,” Sawyer says as he turns to me.
I nod. “I’m still not used to… automobiles.”
He chuckles again, and it’s such a sweet sound. “Well, don’t be nervous. I won’t let anything happen to you.”
Maybe it’s the way he says the words or the words themselves, but I have to take a deep breath as warmth suffuses me. There’s just something about this man… something that completely bewilders me as much as it attracts me. And there’s still that mind-boggling fact that my mermaid abilities didn’t work on him and that he’s most likely uninterested in me romantically.
And yet… there’s something that seems off about that mode of thinking. When Sawyer looks at me, I detect something in his eyes—they sparkle in such a way that I think he is attracted to me.
So why…
“Thank you,” I say, wanting to interrupt my wayward thoughts. I can feel his gaze on the side of my face and feel my cheeks heating under the weight of his eyes.
“Relax, Eva, you’re sitting up so straight, you look like a corpse going through rigor mortis.”
I look at him and my eyes go wide. Did he just compare me to a corpse? Oh no, is it my choice in outfit? Perhaps it makes me look especially pale? A corpse? Yes, clearly he’s not attracted to me… at all.
Sawyer hums and then shifts the truck into gear as he pulls out of Wendy’s driveway.
“Thank you for coming to pick me up,” I say, feeling the need to break the silence. I’m still not sure what to make of the corpse comment, but I also don’t want to fixate on it.
“You’re welcome,” he says and smiles.
“So tell me about your children,” I almost interrupt him, searching for a topic of conversation to fill the quiet.
“Well, they’re twins like I mentioned.” He gets a happy expression as he thinks about them. “And, they still need to learn how to swim, as I also mentioned. I should have taught them by now…” he says, his voice quiet. I look at him, surprised to hear that he would take any interest in teaching his children anything. Mermen leave all the childrearing to the females.
“Why haven’t you taught them?” I ask, turning in my seat so I can look at him more comfortably.
He sighs, rubbing a hand over the stubble on his chin. “The last year has been a bit… hectic and difficult for all of us.”
I want to ask him why, but I also don’t want to pry.
