Page 8 of Catch of a Lifetime
It was hard to tell on his weatherbeaten face, half of which was hidden behind his beard, but Jerry’s cheeks tinted pink and he cleared his throat. “Marcy took it off me after I told her about your big freakout last time I used it. Besides, makes more sense her keeping it at ours, else you might lock yourself out and need it and I’d be out on theMary Janewith it.”
I wasn’t the only one who’d had a big freakout.
It was the second most embarrassing moment in my life. Number one would always be going into cardiac arrest at my mother’s sixtieth birthday party.
You can’t top that.
The day Jerry forgot to pick up the milk for Marcy, decided to let himself in and sneak a pint of milk from my fridge rather than drive out to the Tesco Express, and had walked in on me and Dave was close, though.
Everyone screamed. Jerry was so horrified at what he saw that he almost outran Dave, who went after him with his fangs (and other body parts) out and at full extension.
I fumbled with my keyring, trying to get the key off it, before I lost patience and handed the whole thing over. I caught hold of his hand before he pulled back. “Jerry.”
“Yeah, Joe?”
“Thank you.” I let go.
He tried to bump my fist as he said, “You’re my boyyyyyy.”
He had to make it weird, every time.
Grinning, Jerry jumped up. “Tide’s turned. I’ll be as quick as I can, but it might take a bit. We should probably see if we can drag him higher up before I go, or you’ll be sitting in it.”
“You think I’m worried about getting wet?” I said. “We’ll be fine.” I didn’t want to move him any more than was necessary.
“Okay. I’m off. Stay cool.”
“Will do.”
He headed off, puffing up the beach to the dunes. I watched until his stout figure vanished behind the dark tufts of marram grass.
Then it was me and Dave, alone on the beach in the wind and a lightly misting rain.
3
Isat on my heels, tucked into Dave’s side as close as I could get without touching him and inadvertently pressing against a bruise I couldn’t see. I stroked his flank, keeping my touch light and being careful to skirt his gills and the hideous wounds.
When he’d been in his human form, there had been…I swallowed hard…there had been some gushing. Things were flowing. Once he’d shifted, the flow had slowed to a sluggish ooze. Now, I was pretty sure it had stopped. It was hard to tell. There was still plenty of blood around the horribly gaping wounds.
I wanted to wipe the blood away to check but all I had was a single tissue in my hoodie pocket. Getting that rag anywhere near his cuts would be unsanitary even if I hadn’t already blown my nose on it, which I had. Twice. It was a damp and soggy mess anyway, like the rest of me. The brisk wind and intermittent sun between showers had only gone so far to drying me off after my earlier dunking.
I wanted to throw myself on him, wrap my arms around him, hold him. God, it had beenso longsince I’d felt his solid body against mine.
Pulling out the well-used tissue, I blew my nose a third and final time.
It took a moment for me to register that Dave was awake and watching me. His eyes were nothing more than a narrow gleam of indigo between the slitted lids.
“Dave?”
He took in a deep, slow breath and released it in a barely audible little hum.
I shivered as it rippled over my skin and sank down to my bones, warming me from the inside out.
He hummed again. A soft, pleading note curled around the edges of the low and sultry vibration.
I didn’t hesitate. I rose up onto my knees and stretched an arm across his body to plant it firmly in the sand by his shoulder, bracing my weight as I curled over him. I touched his jaw with a tentative brush of fingertips first and then, when he didn’t flinch or show any sign of discomfort, I settled my palm to his cold cheek. He turned into it.
I made a horrible choking sound.
