The Mermaid and her King (22 page)

Eric

Brooke
and I leave Skyla and Rock alone in her room. It’s obvious they’re way overdue to have a talk. One of those talks people try their hardest to avoid, especially with family. Rock’s not the man I thought he was. People you hardly know usually aren’t. He’s better.

We stand in the hallway.
Brooke is on one side of the door sitting down on the floor with her legs crossed. I lean against the wall on the other side. We stay like this for several minutes before I hear her crying.

What is this? Everyone
’s rite of passage?

“
Brooke, are you OK?”

Why do we ask this? It’s really a dumb
question to ask people when it’s very obvious they’re upset, but we do it anyway. I guess to break the ice, to say ‘you can tell me what’s wrong even though this is awkward as hell’.

“I’m fine,” she says between sniffles.

And that’s the usual answer people give. “You don’t seem fine.”

That really did it. Shit. Now
, the girl is sobbing. I know she has a boyfriend, but he isn’t here, and I’m not just going to let her sit here and cry.

I go sit on the floor next to her and pick up her hand, holding it in mine. She pulls her knees up and
lays her head against them. I shouldn’t be thinking about it right now, but her legs are awesome. They’re toned and smooth. I’m a guy, so I’m using that excuse.

She keep
s crying, and I can see that she needs a tissue. This sucks. I can’t let her do this in the hotel hallway. I let her hand go and stand up in front of her, reaching my arms out.

“Come on,
Brooke. Get up. You’re coming with me.” She looks up, her face red and swollen, and she’s still beautiful. “Come on.”

She reaches out and takes my
hands, so I can pull her up. She follows behind me down the hall. I pull the room key out of my back pocket and open the door. I step back for her to go in, and she stops. If she’s a decent girlfriend, then I expect as much.

“I shouldn’t be in your room. I guess you don’t know, but I have a boyfriend.”

“You need something to blow your nose with, so get in here. I’m going to be your friend.”

She walks in
, and I follow her inside. I get some tissues in the bathroom and hand them to her. After she dries her face and blows her nose, she leans forward and rests her head against my chest.

I don’t know what to do, but it seems she expects
me to wrap my arms around her, so I do. It’s probably not the best idea, and I can’t say I’m only doing it for her, but she genuinely needs it. We both do. This trip sucks.

Brooke
smells and feels amazing as I hold her. After a few minutes, she pulls back a little, so I assume she wants me to let her go, but instead, she wraps her arms around my neck and continues to rest her head on my chest. She’s petite like Skyla and looks to be around 5’ 5”, so I’m guessing I’m about eight inches taller than her. She fits in my arms perfectly.

She’s
too sweet for words but seems a little broken. I can already tell she’s not a cheater, so she must date a loser to be desperate for this kind of hug.

After a few more minutes, I let her go. If I don’t
, then I’m going to do something I’ll regret. I want more than anything to kiss her, so I go sit in a chair in the corner of the room.

She sits on
one of the beds and falls back onto it. Dammit. Her body stretched out looks enticing. It’s calling for me to be on top of it. OK, maybe not, but my body is calling to be on top of it. Her sweet smell still lingers on me, and God, I’m drawn to this woman.

“Wh
at’s got you this upset?”

“I realized from all the stuff you and Rock said that I have some problems in my relationship with
Rob. He doesn’t treat me good.”

I do
n’t want her hurting, but that’s the best news I’ve heard all day, that is if she leaves the asshole.

“
Also, I’ve been there with Nixie through all of her losses. If King doesn’t come through, it’s going to break her. How long can she be strong? She’ll only have Rock and me again.”

“And
Andy and me. We really care about her and are not going anywhere. I never thought I’d want to get married or have a family, but after caring for Skyla so quickly, I realize I might be boyfriend material after all. After seeing how King and Nixie are together, I know I want that.

“He
loves her in a way I’ve never witnessed before, so he’ll come through. He just needed to hear from someone on the outside that Bud dying wasn’t his fault and that he deserves to be with her. Rock gave him that. He even told him to take care of Nixie. King will show up.”

“
I think you’ll make a great boyfriend. You’re so much nicer and more open than any guy I’ve ever met.”

Wow, she s
aid ‘any’. “Thanks. I don’t know what your boyfriend does that’s wrong, but you at least deserve to be treated with respect.”

“
He loves me. He’s just controlling and doesn’t make me feel the greatest about myself.”

“Then he doesn’t love you
the way you deserve, Brooke. I can see you’re special.”

I watch
her swallow hard as she stares at the ceiling. I need to shut up. “I’m sorry. I tend to call things like I see it, and I can be a little too honest at times.”

“That’s a good thing. It’s just
not what I want to hear since I love him.”

Ouch.
Brooke sits up in the bed.

“
Shit, I just thought of something. I thought Nixie would be going to King’s place if they worked things out. If he shows up to the room, I can’t be there, so I guess I need to get my own.”

“Yeah, that’s a definite.”

Brooke goes to get her a room, and I rest on the bed. I need to leave her the hell alone. I feel something for her, and I just met her. I don’t even know anything about her other than she’s sweet, adorable and smells good enough to eat. I shouldn’t expect any less since she’s Skyla’s best friend. There’s a knock at my door, and it’s Brooke. She looks really upset again.

“What’s wrong?”

“They don’t have any more rooms.”

“Oh, well,
I’ll see if Rock will let me stay in his room. We’re getting along better. Maybe he won’t care.”

“OK, thanks.”

I go to Rock’s room.

“Sorry, but
after today, I want a chick in my bed. I’m going out, and I’m bringing one back here.”

“Fine. Good luck with that,” I say
aggravated as I walk away. OK, Rock’s better than I thought, but not the greatest if he’s willing to leave Brooke in a bind, especially when he grew up with her.

This is not good. I don’t want her staying at another hotel, and I don’t want to leav
e in case King shows up and there’s a problem. I go back to my room to talk to her.

“
Brooke, I can’t stay in his room. He has one bed and is planning on finding a woman to sleep in it.”

She laughs. “That’s definitely Rock’s behavior, and I can’t blame him after being deployed. He probably needs to get some,” she says, giggling.

Damn, she’s cute, and she has a crude sense of humor. My kind of woman. “I know this is awkward, but why don’t you stay in here with me? You’ll have your own bed, and I promise I’ll stay in mine.

“
I know if I was your boyfriend, I wouldn’t want you doing that, but I also wouldn’t want you at a hotel alone on an island you know nothing about, and that’s where you’ll be if you don’t stay in here.

“
Skyla wouldn’t want you staying somewhere else, either, and I need to be here in case King does something stupid. I don’t think he will, but it’s not in my control.

“
I don’t want you to think I keep secrets from Rob or that I’m a bad person if I stay in here, but he’ll kill me if he knows this. I won’t be able to tell him.”

“I
don’t think you’re a bad person or girlfriend by sleeping in my room. It’s not like you’re going to do anything wrong, so I don’t see where you need to tell him.”

She’s a wreck, and I feel terrible about it.
Rock and Chase owe me big time. I have to sleep in a room with a gorgeous woman that I can’t touch.

“I’m go
ing to go get my stuff before King shows up.”

“OK.”
I run my hands through my hair. Now I’m a wreck.

Chase

It’s be
en an hour since they left. If there’s a chance that what’s in this envelope could make things better, then I need to see it. I’m torturing Skyla more every minute. I sit up and pull out the papers. The first page is in her handwriting.

Chase,

These are emails Bud and I shared
back and forth. There are many more I can show you. These are just some of the last ones we sent each other. Please do this for me. Please read them all.

Love,

Skyla

How’s my girl? When are you moving here, and did you get my gift? I
looked high and low to find a mermaid statue with your hair and eye color. OK, really I just looked on the Internet, but it took me hours, and I had to listen to King bitch at me for being on his computer instead of surfing.

He said he can’t believe I’m whipped by my cousin. He’ll see why I love you so
much when you get your ass here, which better be soon, chick. I gotta get back in the water.

Love,

Bud

I scream as loud as I can. I can hear Bud speaking through this email, and it fucking hurts!

Bud,

I got your gift, and i
t’s the best mermaid yet, so you tell King I owe him for letting you use his computer, but he needs to not be a big baby about it next time. Ha ha! I miss you, too. How many times are we going to have this discussion about me moving???

Love you,

Nixie

Nixie,

So, when are you moving here, chick? My friends are only going to believe that you exist for so long before they want physical proof. They want to see a picture, but I’ll just let them be surprised when you get here. It’s worth the wait
to see the look on their faces.

Shooter says
if you send a picture, then it must include your ass, so naturally I hit him. I keep telling King that if he gets his act together, then I might let him near you.

I’ve been a bad
influence on him, so I need to make it right. You’re the kind of girl who could turn him around. I swear when you move here, I’m going to try hard to straighten my ass up.

Love,

Bud

God, this is gut wrenching. Why is she doing this to me?

Bud,

It sounds like you have some cool friends who just might be a little full of
themselves. That means they’re probably hot, so I can’t wait to meet them, especially this King since he sounds like the one who’ll play hard to get.

You know I like a challenge. I hope I live up to the expectations you
’re setting! You need to quit bragging on me. I’m not that special.

P.S. Straighten your ass up BEFORE I get there. Tell that to King, too. I now worry about the both of you.

Love you,

Nixie

I chuckle. Skyla definitely does like a challenge. I can’t believe she was
worrying about me, too. Actually, I do believe it now that I know how compassionate she is.

You are too THAT special. So, when are you moving to this island of paradise that has awesome waves, amazing scenery, and—I can’t say hot guys, but definitely hot chicks? It better be soon, so we can surf together. I miss you, and you know my broke ass doesn’t have enough money to fly to Cali. King and I are still misbehaving, but I promise I’ll do better if you move here.

King’s a great guy. He’s been through a lot of shit like you have, and you two have a lot in common. He needs a good girl who isn’t just after his dough. He’s standing here bitchin
’ about me being on the computer again, so I have to go.

Love,

Bud

Bud was right. She is THAT special. He was trying to pimp me out, and I didn’t even know it.

I laugh again. He could always bring a smile to my face.

Bud
,

Tell King to quit his whining. Do you tell him the stuff I say? If so, he probably isn’t going to like me. I miss you … and King … and Shoote
r … and Brody. Hey, that’s the character in Point Break.

Love you,

Nixie

Nixie,

Yeah, Brody’s named after the character in Point Break. You know I have to give everyone a nickname. He doesn’t like it, so of course we keep calling him that. I have to torment my friends.

Yes, I tell King what you say, and he knows
you’re flirting—I mean joking. He says he can already tell that Rock will kick any guy’s ass that gets near you. He said you’re going to have to be pretty damn hot for him to fight Rock. I told him he’s going to want you. Move your ass here, cuz.

Love,

Bud

She is hot enough to fight for, but more importantly, great enough, and what did I go and do? I left her when Rock said all that shit about me instead of staying and fighting for her.

Bud,

Tell King if he’s worthy, then he won’t need to fight Rock, and if he’s a friend of yours, then he’s worthy. But it’ll turn me on if he’s willing to fight for his woman. You can tell him I said that, too.

Love you,

Nixie

Nixie,

Now, I know you’re flirting. Maybe you two just need to start emailing each other. He said you better be gorgeous, not just hot if he has to fight for you. I assured him you won’t disappoint. Of course, you’ll be the first woman he pays that much attention to, and it’s going to be a sight to see.

So, when are you putting your ass on a plane, chick? The turquoise water is calling you. Can you hear it? When you move here, you need to bring Honey with you. She’s legal now, so I might stand a chance. I’ll have to keep her away from Shooter. His charm (bullshit) and Ken doll looks might win her over. He’s a gre
at friend though, so I think I could survive it if he did.

Love,

Bud

Bud, you made sure not to mention the part about it turning her on if I fight for her. That would’ve been my favorite part to hear. You were still protective of Nixie whether you wanted us together or not. It still surprises me that you thought I’d be good enough for her. Who’s Honey?

Bud,

Please stop making me sound like a goddess.  I’m a mermaid, remember? You can make me out to be a hot mermai
d. I can live with that. You sure are optimistic that King’s going to like me, so seriously, stop the bragging. Stop it! They’re going to be disappointed when they see me.

Love you,

Nixie

Damn, Skyla, I miss you. You are a goddess, and you could never disappoint. I wanted you the first time I saw you on the beach.