Page 55 of Make Out With A Merman

She stills.

Then leans into the touch.

And I realize I’m not afraid right now.

Not of her.

Not of the lake.

Not even of myself.

I lean in again, slower this time. Like we’re not rushing toward anything, just letting the gravity between us do what it’s always wanted to.

When I kiss her, it’s different than before.

Not urgent.

Not desperate.

Justours.

Her hand finds the back of my neck, fingers threading through my hair like she’s memorizing the way I feel.

And I let her.

When we pull apart, we don’t say anything right away.

We just breathe.

Together.

She says, “Do you ever wonder if this is what peace feels like?”

I nod. “And I wonder how long we get to keep it.”

She looks out at the lake. “However long it is, I want it with you.”

And gods help me, I want it too.

So I wrap my arm around her waist and pull her closer.

And for one long, moonlit stretch of night, we don’t talk about monsters or magic or rifts trying to eat the world.

We just exist.

Together.

Exactly as we are.

CHAPTER 19

CALLIE

Ten minutes.

That’s all it takes for everything to go sideways.

One moment, we’re doing morning warm-ups, half the campers groggy and dragging their feet across the sand like hungover sea turtles. The next chaos.

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