Page 34 of Cerban
“Never.” I grinned. “For you, only the finest dry land cuisine. Something crispy. Perhaps… those plant things Rainse discovered.”
"Plant things? You'll have to be more specific."
"Yellow slices of something that is a little sweet and very starchy. I've had them salted and dipped in a sweet sticky liquid."
"Plantain!" She laughed. “Gods, I could kiss you again just for that.”
“Then I insist you do.”
And she did.
19
Maelis
I’d lost track of time in Cerban’s room. Days passed in a flash.
We talked for hours, about everything and nothing. About diving, about the places I'd lived and travelled to, about his childhood in the kelp gardens of Finfolkaheem, growing up with Fionn and Rainse. We listened to music, switching between my old playlists and Cerban's favourites that reminded me of whale song mixed with techno beats.
At some point, I’d played Stand Up again, the way I had the day everything changed. The moment the first chords filled the air, Cerban froze. Then he reached for my hand.
“Your song,” he murmured. “The one that called to me.”
We didn’t speak for the rest of it – we just listened. And when the final notes faded, he kissed me so tenderly it made my ribs ache.
There had been a lot of kissing after that. And more. A whole lot more.
We didn’t leave the room except to grab food or take hurried showers. The staff turned a blind eye. Rainse checked on us under the pretence of bringing us snacks. Tyrone winked the one time we passed him in the corridor.
I didn’t care. Let them gossip. Let them speculate. I’d almost drowned. I’d touched an ancient memory orb at the bottom of the sea. I was sleeping with a green-skinned alien who smelled faintly of the tide and kissed like he was made for me.
The world could wait.
But eventually, reality caught up.
Paul came to our door, looking relaxed for the first time in a while. He announced that Finn and Elise had returned on the Tidebound, and they hadn't come alone. Pam was with them. Neither Cerban nor me had ever met her in person before. That had to mean that our test results were back. He left us to get ready, smirking at that as if it was a joke. And maybe it was. We both needed a shower.
Cerban was pacing, his long strides eating up the room. “They would have said something if it was bad,” I said, watching him from the bed while brushing my hair. “Right?”
“I do not know how your people operate,” he muttered. “Sometimes you like to be cruel in person.”
I snorted. “That’s fair.”
He stopped and turned toward me, his expression serious. “What if it says we’re not matched?”
My stomach dipped. We hadn’t talked about that. Not properly.
I slid off the bed and crossed to him, wrapping my arms around his waist. “Then we tell them the test is wrong,” I said into his chest. “Because I’ve never felt this way about anyone before. Not even close.”
He lowered his head, his mouth brushing my hair. “Nor have I.”
A soft knock at the door made us both jump.
“Time to go,” Rainse called. “The others are waiting in the conference room.”
Cerban sighed, then looked down at me. “Ready, little fish?”
I reached up and kissed him, slow and deliberate. “Let’s find out what fate has to say about us.”
