UNEDITED: Our Forbidden Love

24: Starley

"You ready?" I ask. Alex and I are standing waist deep in the water, the sand between our toes, holding the others hand. He's wearing a pair of sage green board shorts that brush just above his knees. I'm wearing a bikini that Alex and I bought one day at the shops when he took me. It's the same light blue colour as the sky. He briefly nods and I disconnect my hand from his. I jump into the water and as I do my legs glow purple. First it starts as a light pastel purple but as it moves down my legs from my hip it eventually it morphs into a deep aubergine, before glowing bright white once it reaches my ankles. Then the Sea Witch's magic takes over, coloured a deep midnight like her sorceress-like attire and the magic flies down my legs zipping them up like one of Alex's hoodies I'd borrowed once. Then the stygian magic extended my feet and toes before they morphed into my fin that I'd gone without having for a whole two months. All this magical transformation stuff happened very quickly. So quickly that I took off as a human and dived into the water as my mermaid self. Alex watches the whole transformation happen as if it were no big deal that his girlfriend now assumed the role as a mermaid.

Suddenly, out of nowhere I look at Alex and I say, "Hey, Alex, I'm not ready to have sex with you." I'm pretty sure my nervous system shut down for a second because I wasn't expecting myself to say that and I hadn't considered it before I said it.
"Where the hell did that come from?" he laughs. "I was never suggesting that, Princess, and it's kind of impossible at the moment. You're part fish. And besides," he seems hesitant saying the next part, "it's not like guys have other ways to... uhh... ways of.... release? Never mind. It's okay baby, we won't do anything unless you're comfortable." He smiled at me and that's how I know I've met the love of my life. When I can say something so ridiculously random and he comes out with this speech about consent and how we won't do anything without both of us saying yes.

He dives in after me and our random conversations. I take his hand and we go under the water. My vision is clear in the salty water, and I can tell by Alex's yelp of surprise that his is as well. Good, it means that the physical connection between our hands is passing some of my magic into his system allowing him to see clearly, talk and breathe underwater. He hadn't yet figured out the breathing and talking part yet, but he would soon enough and I was very excited to hear another surprised yelp. His hand tightens on mine telling me of his shortness of breath. I look at him and smile. Just smile and he knows exactly what I mean, he lets out his restricted breath releasing my hand a bit as he does so.
"I can talk!" he says, excitedly. Now I know what I must've sounded like when I had been with him for two months in a world that was new to me. I start swimming, my tail and fin moving up and down propelling Alex and I further away from the coast. He grips my hand slightly tighter to make sure he's completely holding onto me and that there's not a possibility that he could fall away from me.

Not many of our people used our traditional dialect anymore, but they still taught it in our school and everyone was expected to know it in case of a visitor from a neighbouring city or kingdom. To go with our story, and to make it more convincing and accurate, I had had to teach Alex the dialect and I decide to test him on it now to give us something to do as we swim.
"Alex, aquabibe?"
"What? Oh, umm, drink of water."
I nod. "What about Vos noscere?"
"Nice to meet you."
I nod and smile at him. I continue testing him on the dialect until both him and I are confident that he knows it inside out and back to front.

Suddenly, I stop swimming and so does Alex. About twenty-five metres in front of us stands a city. My city. Oceanum Villa. I was finally home. Home... with a boy.