Page 9 of A Contemporary Mythos Summer
Spying Cordelia out of the corner of my eye, I gave her a nod I knew she’d understand, and after bumping the ball to her, she propped it with her fingers, perfectly setting it up for me to spike the ball between Hades and Stephanie.
“Hoorah,” I shouted, snapping my fingers and pulling Cory in for a hug.
Stephanie whispered something to Hades, who I could’ve sworn full-blown smiled, and nodded. After flicking her hair over one shoulder, she served the ball in Cory’s direction. Cory readied her arms to bump, but hissed and held a hand in front of her face as if being blinded by something.
“What the—” I started, pressing my hand to the small of Cordelia’s back.
Stephanie clapped her hands excitedly and bounced. “Courtesy of the Elysian Fields. Did you know the sun shines so brightly there it can make a wickedly bright reflection?”
“My Queen,” Hades said, bowing to Stephanie.
Cordelia tore her sunglasses away to rub her eyes with a tiny snarl. It took everything in me not to uproariously laugh to Olympus. Being a professional gamer and used to fighting all forms of sea creatures, I do believe Stephanie underestimated how competitive my wife could be.
Tossing Cordelia the ball, knowing she wanted revenge, I smugly crossed my arms, anticipating that I wouldn’t need to use them this round. A wicked grin formed at the crease of Cory’s mouth as she served the ball. Stephanie stuck her tongue out, eyeing the ball as it flew over the net. Right before it hit against Stephanie’s upturned forearms, the ball flew out of bounds after three mysterious hits. The faintest hint of scales shimmering from the sun flashed between us all before it disappeared.
“What the Tartarus was that?” Hades growled, his fists clenching at his sides.
Cory bumped her hip against mine. “Minnows may be small, but they can be tricky little things.”
Gods I loved this woman. I still hadn’t forgiven myself for neglecting her all those years ago. Driving a wedge so deep between us, she’d have rather spent time with aquatic life than me. And really, who could’ve blamed her? They thought of the world of her andexpressedit. But the Fates had given us another chance, and I sure as Tartarus wasn’t about to fuck it up this time. Curling my arm around her, I pulled her to my side and kissed her, not caring my brother, and his wife were witnesses, not giving a manatee’s ass the entire world could be watching—I kissed the love of my life with every breath in me.
The game went on for another forty-five minutes, the rivalry growing higher and higher, competition heating as we all fought the urge to use the full force of our powers—the full force of kings and queens of the Pantheon. That created a challenge, let alone bumping a ball back and forth over a net without letting it touch the ground. In the end, Cory and I won—barely.
Chuckling, I ducked under the net, holding my arms out to my brother. “Aw, come on, Bones. No hard feelings?”
“I’d say you cheated, but that’d be the wrong brother,” Hades mumbled.
Without a chance to protest, I grabbed his hand, shook it, and pulled him in for a hug.
Hades let out anoofas his chest collided with mine, his shoulders tensing. “How you ended up the touchy-feely one eludes me.”
“One of us had to be.” I stepped away after giving three hearty slaps to my brother’s back.
Cordelia cleared her throat and held a hand out to Stephanie. “Great game. Sorry if I uh—got a little carried away.”
Stephanie slapped Cory’s hand away and instead embraced her. “Are you kidding? I love your spirit. You’re a rare soul, Cory. Don’t ever forget that.”
“You two only have so long on this vacation of yours. As much as I love seein’ ya in the light, I don’t want to take up more of your time, bro.” I punched Hades’ shoulder.
Hades rubbed his chin as he eyed my wife and his laughing and chatting about Cerberus. “Yes. Steph did say she wanted spinach and artichoke dip from some Irish restaurant here. Said it’s amust.”
“Well, then you two better get on outta here.” I stepped aside.
Stephanie gave Cordelia another hug, squeezed her shoulders, and trotted to Hades’ side, taking his hand. They waved at us as they walked away, Stephanie rising to the balls of her feet to plant a wet one on Hades’ cheek.
“Great seeing you on the surface,” I yelled, waving. The several people passing crinkled their noses at me. “What? The surface. You know, like, the beach?”
“We’ve been here for hours. You brought your board, and yet, you’ve done not one minute of surfing.” Cordelia propped her hands on her hips. “You even made the Gulf have unnaturally tubular waves.”
“I promised I’d never neglect you again. I meant it.”
Frowning, Cory took my hands in hers. “Having our own things is not neglecting me, babe. Go on. Go surf for a bit. Not like I don’t get all hot and bothered watching you.”
“Oh, yeah? Any special requests?” I traced my fingers up her spine, pausing at the tie of her bikini top that I desperately wanted to pluck away.
“Surprise me.” She ran a hand between my pecs as she bit down on her lower lip.
After retrieving my board and shoving it under my arm, I made for the water. As soon as it hit my toes, it was like a jolt of electricity surging through every neuron of my body. The Gulf sighed around me as I waded in to my hips, a welcoming calmness. Laying on my stomach on the board, I paddled to where I’d made the waves curl with perfect precision.
