Tails (Transformations: Book 1)

4

They returned to the boat a little while later, Aria still smiling as adrenaline coursed to her veins. "That was amazing!" She unhooked her harness and turned to Eric. "You do this a lot?"

"He's my best customer." George replied, on his behalf.

Eric shrugged. "I like to come out here. It's nice to get a different perspective when my head is full."

"What does it get filled with?" She offered him a smile, genuinely interested.

"Just work and the future, I guess. Sometimes, when I'm doing research, I just get everything jumbled around in there." He tapped the side of his head. "This helps me sort things out."

Aria stared at Eric, seeing him in a new light. Coming down from the air, he seemed like a different person. He seemed to be able to speak more confidently. In that moment, he carried the appearance of a dashing hero from a fairytale, rather than an awkward science geek. She considered him, for a moment, trying to reconcile the images in her head. She wondered if she was like that when she swam. "I think I understand what you are saying." At the very least, she wanted to see more of this side of him. "Perhaps, we can come out here, again, sometime."

He looked at her, seeming to be surprised. He nodded and smiled. "I would like that."

He dropped her off at the apartment building, later that night. He didn't kiss her for fear that would be too forward. Aria headed upstairs and found Freya waiting for her in the living room. She looked up as the younger girl entered. "How was your date?"

Aria paused, not wanting to admit Freya might have been right. "Not completely terrible, but shut up, anyway."

The older girl smiled. "I knew it!"

"Good night." Aria disappeared into her room, not saying anything more about it that night.

Freya just smiled as she watched her go, thinking this romance might be exactly what was needed to ground Aria. If it worked out, it may just save the girl's life.

Over breakfast, Freya grilled her for details and Aria, reluctantly gave them. The older girl seemed pleased to hear about how well the date had gone. "So he is prince charming in disguise. Who would have guessed?" She wore a self-satisfied grin.

"It was one date." Aria reminded her. "Don't go planning the wedding, yet."

"I started planning the wedding the first time you two locked eyes." She replied with her usual smile. "Don't expect me to stop, now."

Aria gave a dramatic sigh. "Just wait until I find a guy for you. I'm going to pay you back for this tenfold."

"I will never get married." Freya replied, adamantly. "I have no interest in such a silly thing for myself."

"But pushing me to do something silly is fine?" Aria raised her eyebrows.

Freya gave an enthusiastic nod. "Making you do silly things is one of my greatest sources of amusement."

Aria was drinking a glass of water with her usual banana breakfast. She dipped her fingertips in the water and splashed her friend. "I'll let you off the hook for that one if the party tonight is fun."

Freya nodded, having hoped she may have forgotten about that. "Well, I'm sure it will be interesting, at least. I can't promise fun."

Aria cocked her head at her friend. "This isn't really like you, Freya. You usually think everything's fun."

"It just might not be really fun for you." The older girl replied. "I know you don't like crowds."

"But they're really into mermaids, right?" Aria reminded her. "It will be nice to meet people with my interests."