My Kidnapper Compares Me To Bottom Feeders

(23) Danny

My eyes were glazing over as Blythe was talking to me. Her acronyms were out of control, who could keep that many letters straight in their head?

Blythe was like Wonder Woman, only her values were focused in the wrong place most of the time.

Out of the corner of my eye, I watched Vollieri walk away. Where was he going exactly?

Blythe finished a sentence and smiled at me, expecting some response. I had not been listening to what she was saying so I just nodded and smiled. Nodding and smiling had never failed me.

"That's great!" Blythe clapped her hands together and cocked her head so that her blonde hair swung in an almost hypnotic way. "I'll drop by your place then, and we'll talk about RCAUES. I can get you set up in nearly no time! As long as-" She winked at me.

"Um...your address is on the upper east side, got it." My stomach sank. What was I setting myself up for exactly? "Now, Blythe, if you don't mind I have to go..."

"Oh! Yes, you should find your boyfriend. I think I saw him go into the woman's bathroom. Can he read?" She frowned at me, looking legitimately worried.

I laughed awkwardly, shying back a step. "Ha ha....He's new to town."

"Well, it must be serious if you're considering RCAUES together."

I was saved from stuttering for too long once Angelica called Blythe's name from the other side of the store. She waved goodbye in her usual perky manner and floated to the woman's side.

I breathed out. Keeping up with Blythe was a challenge, also, apparently keeping mermen in eyesight was a challenge too. Opening the woman's restroom, and seeing Vollieri made me question whether he could read or not.

"I have never been tempted to attempt something so strange." Vollieri spoke suddenly, pinning me down with his gaze. "I should not care to be tempted. We mermen are meant to have only one mindset- not like humans."

I gave him a confused look. He was acting like an angel had spoken some wisdom to him.

He stepped closer, staring me down. "And even so, I have no choice but to ignore that fact. Even if it proves to simply be curiosity."

Suddenly, it struck me what he was going to do. My heart hammered in my chest and I couldn't move an inch, even to step back. I blinked and his breath was dusting over my face. My eyelids fluttered shut and his lips covered mine, as gentle as a sea breeze.

He lifted his head a fraction of an inch, staring at me, trying to read me. I had to stand on my toes in order to kiss him again.

Hesitantly, his fingers curved around my waist and my hands settled on his shoulders. My nails dug into the fabric of his coat as he deepened the kiss.

I broke the kiss with a small gasp. "Vollieri," I whispered, "we need to-"

"Oh, my!"

We both turned our heads toward the saleswoman, who looked shocked. The dark blush she was sporting was probably not as dark as mine, I realized miserably.

Slowly, me and Vollieri sorted ourselves out. I wiped my lips and we took a small step away from each other, a socially acceptable distance.

The woman shook her head and adopted her professional aura again. "I have...the line you requested," she announced in a sickeningly polite voice, giving me a forced smile. "The seahorse line. Are you ready to check out?"

"Uh...yes. I am." I glared at the back of her head as she walked us to the checkout counter. She spent a very long time bagging everything and we were laden with bags walking out of the store.