Page 42 of Beneath the Surface

“Awesome. There were so many things I wanted to ask you while we were down there, but I couldn’t. It really bugged me.”

“You took to it exceptionally well. I was very impressed with how calm you were after you managed to get the gills open. I can tell you now Brett wasn’t nearly as easy to deal with. And no, I’m not going to tell you what happened. Sufficient to say Brooke had her hands full teaching him.”

“Oh yeah, you can bet your tail fin I’m asking him about that.”

Nisha laughed. “Up to you. I need to transform. Why don’t you go on up to the shore, use one of the beach towels to dry off, and get dressed? I’ll join you shortly.”

“Sounds good to me.” Kannon walked to the beach.

As he waded out of the water, he felt a moment of disorientation, almost as if his body was readjusting. That had never happened before, so he assumed it was connected to using his gills for the first time.

By the time the water was around his ankles, he felt normal once more. Well, as normal as a person who was capable of breathing underwater could feel. From his place on the beach, he heard Nisha moan quietly.

As cool as having a tail would be, he was very grateful he didn’t have to go through the pain of transforming which Nisha did. Opening his gills might have tickled some, but it was certainly nothing compared to what Nisha was going through.

The soft pad of feet on sand drew his attention, and he turned around. Nisha had legs now, and was using one of the beach towels to dry off. Once dry, he found a pair of shorts and redressed.

“Ready to go?”

Kannon twisted his hair, trying to get as much water out as he could. “Yep. Let’s go.”

They returned to Kannon’s bungalow. While Nisha showered, Kannon checked his clothes to make sure he had everything he needed.

Nisha walked into the bedroom, with a towel around his waist. Kannon glanced at Nisha. “Just had a thought—where are your clothes for the wedding?”

“I left them in the spare bedroom at the penthouse. Brett offered me a room at the resort, but I really didn’t want to take up a paying room when I didn’t need one. I slept in their spare bedroom when I wasn’t in the ocean.”

“So I guess we need to make a quick trip up there and get them?”

“No, I’ll just call Brett and have one of his employees run my clothes to your bungalow. I better do that now while it’s on my mind. Can I borrow your cell phone?”

“Sure.” Kannon opened his cell and called Brett.

He handed it to Nisha. While Nisha talked to Brett, Kannon wandered into the kitchen to hunt up something to eat. He was starving. He thought about asking Nisha if he wanted to return to the resort and get some food, but after all he’d experienced that afternoon, he really wanted to be alone with him.

It was all so new. So instead, he scrounged around until he found a pan of frozen lasagna. He popped it in the microwave to partially defrost, and then placed the pan in the oven to finish cooking.

While they waited for the lasagna, he found some chips and cheese dip. They could nibble on that while they waited for the food to cook.

Nisha walked into the kitchen and placed the cell on the counter. “Brett’s sending somebody over with my clothes. He’ll be here shortly.” Nisha grabbed a chip and bit into it. “Hungry, are we?”

“Starving. Like seriously. I’m going to munch on this until the food’s ready. Want some?”

“Of the chips and dip?”

Kannon chuckled. “For now.” He looked over at the clock on the microwave. It was late afternoon. “We spent a lot more time in the water than I thought.”

“We did. Swimming burns a lot of calories too. On top of that, your body has changed and adapted. You’re going to need more calories than you used to consume. You have a higher metabolism now.”

“Cool. Want something to drink?”

“Water would be good.”

“Sure thing. It’s odd, I want water too. Never been much for just plain water, though.”

“You will be now. Water’s the best thing for you. It’ll help keep you hydrated. You’ll want to make sure to drink several glasses a day.”

“Which is good for me, anyway.” Kannon removed two bottles of water from the refrigerator and gave one to Nisha. “So, I can eat all I want and not worry about it?”

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