Page 3 of A Contemporary Mythos Summer
Rhode. My sweet little red-headed girl who wasn’t any taller than to my knees the last I’d seen her. What did she look like now? Was her hair still wild and fiery? Did her face still have a scattering of freckles? It’s what bothered me the most about her missing, I think. With our son, Triton, I didn’t have to imagine the man he became—the man I knew he would become. I could hold his handsome face in my hands, survey every part of him that reminded me of Poseidon because he washere. But Seid was right. A clouded brain would do nothing for my daughter. And I knew wherever she was in the Caribbean, my daughter would thrive. And more importantly, she was alive. Not only my female intuition but my godly one knew it—the only comfort I could seek.
Standing in front of Meg’s apartment door, I knocked three times and waited. Poseidon waited for me in the truck, and I’d already thrown on my white bikini and blue cover-up. He waved at me through the car window, a pair of Aviator sunglasses shielding his emerald eyes, but nothing could block the radiance of his bright white smile.
As I grinned and waved back, the door swung open. Meg wasn’t who answered.
“Oh, hey, Hera.” My grin widened.
Hera and Meg had only recently started exploring the possibility of a relationship. Still, with them both having just gotten out of previous long-term ones, they had some baggage to sift through. And considering Hera had still yet to tell Meg the truth regarding her ethereal lifestyle, I chalked that up to it too.
“Cordelia.” Hera bowed her head, her long slender fingers idly tapping the doorframe. She’d pulled her long brown hair into a ponytail at the middle of her head, and her clothes were the most casual I could recall ever seeing her wear—jeans and a plain white v-neck tee.
Craning my neck back to meet her gaze, considering the near foot in height she had on me, I squinted at her. “Am I—interrupting something?”
Again. How I had the talent for showing up at Meg’s house at the most inopportune moments boggled my mind.
“Not at all. We were making lunch. Come on in.” Hera smiled and stepped aside.
As I crossed the threshold, Meg emerged from a back room and grinned once she noticed me. “Hey, Cor.” She crossed her arms over the plaid shirt that hung loosely from her tall frame—only two buttons on her chest done up. “To what do I owe the visit?”
I’d definitely interrupted something. Clearly the former Queen of the Gods had denied it purely to be nice.
“I stopped by to see if you two wanted to come to the beach with Seid and me, but no hard feelings if you two had plans.” I waggled my finger at the kitchen countertop littered with cutting boards, knives, and various vegetables.
Hera winked at Meg and bumped her hip against hers.
Meg took Hera’s hand, squeezing it before giving the corner of Hera’s mouth a quick peck. “We appreciate the invite, Cor, but we planned to stay in today.”
Biting back a smile, I interlaced my fingers in front of me and watched my best friend and the woman I still considered a sister giving each other doting eyes. I’d never seen either of them so happy. It was enough to make my stomach bubble—that or indigestion. Their contentment made me miss Poseidon even only fifty feet away, waiting for me.
“You two have a nice day then. I’ll call you later, Meg.” Slipping my sunglasses from the pink beach bag hanging from my arm, I turned to leave.
Meg’s hand caught the crook of my arm. “I’m proud of you, Cory. I think some fresh air and sea spray is precisely what you need to get your head straight. Glad to see that the hubs of yours finally convinced you.” She bumped her knuckle against my cheek.
“I have, you know, I would’ve done this eventually with or without his influence.” I lifted my chin and folded my arms.
That wasn’t entirely true. I said “eventually,” but it would’ve been weeks versus days more than likely, and Poseidon, unlike our past times together, looked out for my best interest before his own.
“Uh-huh.” Meg gave me a playful shove. “Now go. Get. Go ride a dolphin or something.”
I walked out the door and caught one last glimpse of Meg and Hera. Meg wrapped her arms around Hera’s waist, while Hera rested her arms on Meg’s shoulders. Hera pressed a tender kiss to Meg’s lips, and I averted my gaze before shutting the door behind me.
Poseidon pulled his long ash-blonde hair into a loose bun at the base of his skull as I climbed into the truck. He slid his sunglasses down his nose, peering around me as if looking for someone.
“I’ve noticed you’re Meg-less. She not coming?” He bobbed his brows over the rim of his Aviators.
Still grinning, I shook my head. “Nope. Hera’s there.”
“Say no more.” Seid slid the sunglasses back to their proper position with a deep chuckle and roared the big blue beast to life. He slid one of his large hands over my knee and squeezed it before pulling out of the parking lot. “Feel free to lower the windows, the moon roof, whatever you want. I know you like the feel of the wind in your hair.”
And I did. I always had. Specifically, the wind that carried the smell of salt from the water and the faint scents the sun gave off somehow from its warmth.
After bouncing in my seat, I pushed the buttons for the two front windows and the moonroof, closing my eyes as the sun blessed my cheeks with its rays. The hair on Poseidon’s muscular forearm brushed my leg as he reached for the radio, flipping it on.OceanManby Ween blasted through the speakers. Our gazes snapped to each other, silent for a beat, before bursting with laughter.
“I swear, I never intend to be a walking pun. It follows me,” Poseidon said, shaking his head and resting one elbow on the window seal, the other arm draping casually over the steering wheel.
“I like you punny.” I turned in my seat to face him, tracing my fingers over his bared, tanned arms sticking out from his sky blue tank top.
My insides melted when his gaze shifted to my hand stroking him. “Oh yeah? Good thing I’m taking thesea-nic route to the beach then, hm?”
