Waveborn | The Oceane Series

Seven

I tried not to think about all the events of the past week. After blow-drying my hair, I made my way into my bedroom, towel wrapped securely around my body. Fumbling through my closet, I pulled out a cute, but comfortable, sundress. The navy-blue stripes ran parallel across the white fabric, bringing out the red in my hair. I pulled the dress on over my head, then grabbed a pair of my favorite sandals and slipped them onto my feet. I didn't bother to put on makeup as I didn't own any. I made my way into the living room to wait for Delmare.

A few minutes later, I turned around to see Delmare walking toward me, his hair falling into his unique eyes, which were their normal silver color. He wore a light blue button down and a nice pair of denim jeans. I swallowed hard as my stomach began to flutter at the sight of him. I was breathless. Never had I ever seen a man as gorgeous as the merman before me. I couldn't help but take a step toward him.. He smiled at me as he came closer, automatically making me smile back at him.

"You look great," I said, finally able to speak before placing my purse strap on my arm.

"So do you." He grinned. "Are you ready to go?"

"Yeah, I am." I moved to open the front door but Delmare beat me to it, opening the door and waving for me to go ahead of him. "You eat sea food, right? And thanks for opening the front door. That was sweet of you."

"You're welcome," he said, grinning proudly.

I walked past him and climbed into my truck just as he hopped in beside me.

"And yes, we eat seafood."

"Good, because there's some good seafood places around here." I smiled almost shyly as I started up the vehicle, ready to get on the road.

The five-minute drive to the restaurant seemed to go by too fast. I parked at the side of the building. I hadn't been nervous earlier, but now I could distinctly remember how the butterflies felt yesterday because they were back, filling my stomach with a storm of anxiety.

"Are you okay?" Delmare asked as he unbuckled his seatbelt, concern lacing his tone.

"I'm just nervous," I admitted, escaping from the driver's seat and stepping onto the pavement.

"You're nervous." He laughed, his tone as nervous as mine. "This is the first time I will be in public with a room full of humans."

I couldn't help but giggle at the predicament we were in. "Yeah, I guess you have more reason to be nervous than I do." I paused, shutting the door. "Let's just go in and have lunch together. Don't worry about anyone else, let's just try to have a good time."

He smiled at me, the nervousness still evident across his features, but I could tell he was feeling better about our lunch date. "Okay, let's do this."

I grinned, exiting my vehicle, then walking together into the restaurant, our arms touching slightly as we greeted the woman standing at the podium. She grabbed our silverware and menus and we followed her to a table overlooking the sea.

"Your server will be right with you. Can I interest you in anything to drink?" she asked. Delmare sat across from me.

"Water is fine, thank you." I replied.

Delmare said the same and then we were left alone, staring at each other, not saying a word. His eyes flickered gold, shining bright against the dark color of his hair. I realized with a start that someone might see the mystical change of his irises. "Delmare, can you control your eye color? Someone might see you!"

I watched him smile at my panic, his eyes not changing back. "I can't believe you agreed to this." He paused, fumbling with his napkin. "I can't believe that you are so calm about all that you have been told these last few days. I find it interesting how you are okay with it all, how you just go with the flow, and that you haven't freaked out yet."