Page 14 of Love at First Swim
Raiden piped in, “Yeah, Gun, what is her name?”
Gunner let out a groan, “Arielle. Okay?”
Genna’s face lit up, “Like the Arielle who went with you tonight?”
He nodded, “Yep.”
Genna shook her head, “How did you know for weeks that she was meant for you?”
Gunner rubbed the back of his neck, “I sort of had her pictures printed out from Cassidy’s party?”
Raiden threw back his head and laughed and Genna punched him, “You are a jerk. I could have given you her number.”
He laughed, “Fine. But I already have hers now. I want to see if I can invite her to your party.”
Genna folded her arms over her chest, “Since you are such a brat, I won’t tell you my secret.”
“What secret?” Genna shook her head and Gunner put his hands together, “Is it something to do with my girl?”
Genna nodded and he gave her shoulders a soft squeeze, “Please Genna. Tell me.”
She bit her lip, “Alright. Since you said please.”
“Arielle is here. She is out in the pool as Ariel the mermaid..”
Gunner felt his jaw drop open, knowing how revealing the last costume was, and hurried outside with Raiden, Rickie and Genna close behind.
Raiden was laughing and Gunner could feel the growls coming from his chest.
“You let her swim with all these guys around looking at my girl?”
Genna huffed, “I didn’t know she was your girl. You could have told me that earlier you know.”
Gunner made it to the edge of the pool and sure enough, his mermaid, his siren, was there. Swimming with a green tail on her legs and purple seashells barely covering her breasts.
He looked around for a towel and stood at the edge of the pool, waiting for Arielle to surface. She was beautiful in the water, as if she was truly born to swim as a mermaid.
When she came up to talk to some of the little kids on the other side of the pool, getting her picture taken as she did so, he saw the peeks of her skin from her long hair sticking to her.
It made him want to groan and he walked around to where she was, and when she saw him, her eyes widened and then she smiled.
“Hey there my prince.”
“Arielle, you have to get out.”
“What? Why?”
The kids around her groaned, and moaned, “But she is a mermaid. She can’t get out of the water, or her tail will go away.”
Arielle nodded, “Yeah, that. I can’t get out Gunner, I am working.”
She hissed that out at him and he shook his head, “Not anymore.”
She glared up at him, “Ah. The flaws. Okay. I knew you had to have one.”
Then she ducked back under the water and Gunner cursed, making the kids all yell at him.
He sat on the concrete next to the pool watching her swim and hating that other men were watching too, when he saw that Raiden, Rickie and Genna were very gently moving the older guests and kids inside to enjoy the party while Arielle swam.
