Tails (Transformations: Book 1)

7

Eric thought Aria was beautiful before he watched her performance, but, as he watched her graceful movements under the water, he realized he had never truly seen her before that moment. The water seemed to be her natural habitat. It was no wonder the mermaids were so popular. They seemed to really belong there, as though they were real mermaids. He completely forgot about taking notes as he stared at her, in awe.

As the show ended and she swam to the surface, Adam leaned over to whisper to him in a teasing tone. "You're practically drooling. Try to look a bit more professional."

Eric's cheeks flushed and he looked down at his clipboard. "It was a really impressive show."

Having seen it plenty of times before, Adam was not so amazed, but he understood the intern's reaction. "Your girl looked great. There's something about being underwater that just makes girls prettier."

"It was like she belonged there." Eric looked up at her tail, which was hanging off the side of the rock and making little splashes in the water above them.

"They're very impressive." Adam followed his gaze and smiled. "Almost enough to make you really believe in mermaids, eh?"

"Almost." Eric agreed, unable to peel his eyes away from the girl. Once again, he was reminded of a fairytale princess. It was hard to believe such a girl could really exist, yet, there she was, just a few yards above him, swimming with sharks and other fish, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. "She's really beautiful."

"Well, part of it is just the water, I think." Adam pointed out. "Girls always look prettier under water."

"Right." Eric continued to stare at her until he heard a familiar voice behind him.

"What are you boys doing over here?" Dr. Grey was standing nearby, looking genuinely confused. "I told you to watch the cuttlefish. Did you get lost?"

 Eric searched his brain for an appropriate response, but Adam stepped in, smoothly. "Comparative research. We wanted to be able to get proper notes by looking at how other fish socialize differently from the cuttlefish."

"Right." Dr. Grey nodded. "Very good." He looked up at the sharks, seeming to be lost in thought, for a moment.

Adam took a step forward, knowing it could be a while if he waited for the doctor to stop spacing out, on his own. "Dr. Grey, did you need something?"

"Hm?" He looked back at them, coming to and remembering why he had sought them out. "Oh, yes." He held up a clipboard. "We're getting some new jellyfish next week, marivagia stellate, and the aquarium manager wants to know which tank to put them in. I can't find my notes on their social behaviors, though, so I don't remember which ones they get along with."

Adam smiled. "Leave it to me." He gave Eric an eyebrow raise, as if to let him know this was typical, then headed to the lab to find the notes.

Eric looked to the doctor. "Do you need me to do anything?"

Dr. Grey looked at him, seeming confused, again. "You? Oh, um, no, not really." He waved his hand. "Keep up the good work on your...thing."

"My comparative analysis?" Eric offered, helpfully.

The doctor gave him a relieved smile. "Yes, that. Keep it up. You're doing very well." He walked away, still seeming to have his mind elsewhere.

Eric sighed and looked down at his notepad, realizing he should probably write something down. He looked to the fish, desperately trying to focus on them, rather than the mermaid above.

"You looked incredible, today." Eric told Aria, at the end of her shift.

She smiled as she looked around to make sure there were no more customers, so she didn't have to hide when she slipped off her tail and climbed out. "You saw the show?" She knew it was probably a little awkward for her to be standing around in just a bikini, but she was never very good when it came to worrying about such things.