Breathing Water

CHAPTER 38

We swam for a while and occasionally Shelly would rise to breath and sometimes I would follow her. As clouds cover the moon Shelly swims over to me and sways her hands to keep herself afloat. Her eyes twinkle in the moonlight. I see something glimmer in the water behind her but decide to ignore it and focus my eyes on the ones sparkling in front of me. Shelly suddenly throws her arms around my neck and pull us together. She gently presses her lips against mine as my hands go to her waist. She relaxes her legs and my fins push against the water keeping us afloat. I close my eyes and kiss back happily. As we pull away I open my eyes and see the glimmer again but dismiss it as the moon reflecting off the surface of the water. I look into Shelly deep chocolate eyes and smile before saying "We should swim back. Its getting late and we still have school tomorrow."
We both frown before Shelly responds. "Yeah, but can we kiss at least once tomorrow? Also I have a surprise for you after school." She brushes her lips against the tip of my nose.
I feel the heat course through my cheeks as Shelly smiles at me. "A surprise? What kind of surprise?"
"Can't tell you. Now what about the kiss?" She sounds hopeful.
I think about it and say "Fine." She glows with excitement until I add "But only a small one on the cheek." I can tell her face falls at my restrictions.
She perks up again and says "Okay. Its not quite what I wanted, but its a step in the right direction." She gives me a peck on the lips and turns to dive back into the water and swim back to shore. I do the same but end up moving faster because of my tail. I pull myself onto the driest part of the sand and turn over just in time to see Shelly stand in the water and walk towards me. I think she like a model in one of those swimsuit commercials. I smile at her before thinking about evaporation and surrounding myself in steam to dry off. A gush of wind clears the steam and I stand up in my dry clothes. The wind has also cleared the clouds covering the moon. I look over to see Shelly shivering and searching the ground. Suddenly she says "Darn, I forgot my towel in the car and its cold out here." I flinch wanting to hug her and keep her warm but I realize she is still wet.
Not wanting to turn fish again, just yet, I try to think of something else. As a lightbulb blinks on in my head I say "I have an idea. Hold still." She does as I say and I aim my hand at her thinking about evaporation. It works and she begins to fade into the steam surrounding her.
As another gush of wind clears the steam Shelly reappears completely dry. She looks between me and her dried swimsuit. She smiles and says "Thanks." She walks over to her pile of clothing and places them on her body again. She walks over to me and puts an arm around my waist and heads towards the car. I place my arm around her shoulders and walk beside her.
As we reach the top of the cliff Shelly walks us over to the passenger side door. She puts her hand on the door handle but doesn't pull it open, instead she turns to me and hesitates before saying "I know all of this is new to you and we just started dating, but will you go to homecoming with me? I'll pay for everything."
My mouth drops open in surprise before I respond. "Sure, that would be great. I've never been to homecoming with a date."
She smiles at me and opens the door. Helping me into the passenger's seat she says "Great, I am so excited."