Seven

I hadn"t been on many dates in my life, but even if I"d been on a million, nothing could"ve compared to the date I was on. How many humans got to say, "My date took me to the bottom of the sea, and I spent hours exploring?" Not many, I can assure you.

My eyes were wide as Eben picked me up off the sand and lowered me into the water, his hands wrapped securely around my waist. He was still in his human-with-a-side-of-tentacles form, and he tightened his grip on my waist, using his tentacles to swim as we sank into the sea.

I blinked as my head dipped below water and realized it wasn"t touching my eyes at all. Eben"s "air suit" was working perfectly. I could feel the wetness of the water against my palms, but only the pressure of it everywhere else.

"You can speak." Eben"s voice was muted but still audible, bubbles floating up toward the surface as he spoke.

"This is so cool." My eyes were still wide as I scanned the area around us. There weren"t any lifeforms so close to the surface, but the water was clear and warm too. A slight current tugged me to one side, but Eben"s hold on me kept me from moving at all.

Eben smiled at me, his gold eyes twinkling happily. "I"m glad you think so. Before we go any deeper, I"m going to get us a bit further from the land, since a lot of the creatures avoid coming close."

"That makes sense."

He smiled before turning us in the right direction. All I had to do was wrap my arms around him and hang on as he swam, and I thought I could get used to this. Not just the underwater date, but a life with Eben, Tarika, and Nala.

Waking up to the salty sea breeze, having breakfast with the others out on the beach while we watched Eben swim around in the water, then hanging out with Eben while Nala and Tarika did their own thing. Exploring the island, the sea, finding out new and fascinating things about Eben and his adventurous history... There hadn"t been a single moment when I"d missed my old life.

I supposed it would be different if I had a family or friends looking for me, but I hadn"t had any of that for years now. I had no one back in the city, but here? Here, I had everything.

Maybe feeling like this after only knowing Eben for a week was crazy, but being "normal" was overrated and not real anyway. Everyone had their own brand of crazy, and if mine included wanting to stay on an island forever with my kraken mate and our two siren friends, then I was happy.

"Whoa." I realized that while I"d been busy musing, we"d swam right into a highly populated area of the sea. There were schools of fish everywhere, crossing by each other with an ease that made me wonder if humans couldn"t learn a thing or two from them.

"I can even name a few of these," I mused in wonder as I observed all the different colors and shapes. My visibility was surprising high considering how deep underwater we were, and I wondered if this was another bit of Eben"s magic at work. I"d ask him later. "Oh! That"s a seahorse!" I waved my hands excitedly, then stopped short when the movement in the water scared some fish nearby.

I shot Eben—who was watching me with a look I could only describe as fond—a sheepish grin. "I got too excited again."

"There"s no such thing as "too excited."" There was a touch of reprimand in his voice, and I smiled.

"Okay. Are we going any lower?" I glanced at the darker water below us, and Eben frowned, chewing on his lower lip.

"I"m not sure. Humans can"t go too deep, right? I"m sure I read that."

I smiled. Of course, he was worried about that. "I think it depends on the equipment we have. I have your magic, so..."

Eben did not look convinced.

"It"s okay if we don"t go any lower today. This is gorgeous all on its own."

"When we get back, I"ll read up a little more so I know exactly what I need to do so you don"t get hurt, and then we"ll try again," Eben said decisively, and my smile widened. God, he was such a sweetheart.

"Okay! Oh! Can you talk to the fish?"

Eben shot me a deadpan look. "About as well as you can talk to a cat or a dog."

"So, no, then?"

He sighed, sending a bunch of bubbles toward the surface. I wondered how his breathing worked. Did his lungs just filter oxygen from water instead of air? I couldn"t see gills of any kind on him, and unlike me, he didn"t have a tube of air above his head reaching all the way to the surface.

"No, Hobie, I cannot talk to the sea creatures," Eben said patiently, though his lips twitched. "The smaller ones know I won"t eat them, so they don"t fear me, but that"s about it."

"So, you eat the bigger creatures? What"s the biggest sea creature you"ve eaten?"

The look on Eben"s face said he couldn"t believe this was the conversation we were having on our first date. "Uh, I ate a mola mola once. Maybe that?"

I squinted my eyes as I tried to remember what that was. "Oooh, are you talking about that fish without a tail? Something Sunfish?" I remembered reading about it once.

"I think that"s it, yes. I didn"t have to eat for six months after I ate that one."

I was pretty sure that fish was supposed be like nine or ten feet long, which explained how filling it was. Still, imagining Eben—even in his kraken form—eating a fish that fucking huge was extraordinary.

"I never, ever want to see you hunt," I told him seriously, and rolled my eyes when he broke into loud, booming laughter that scared off half the fish around us.

We stayed underwater for a few hours, and by the time we returned to land, I knew this would become something we did a lot of. Hobie seemed to be utterly fascinated by the underwater civilization, and I was going to read up on everything I could find about human physiology so I"d be able to take Hobie all the way to the bottom of the sea without causing harm to him.

"Hey, look who"s back!" Nala cheered, peeking out of his and Tarika"s house. "We were about to come looking for you."

"Did you need something?" I asked, and he shook his head.

"Nah. Tarika was just worried you might be in trouble. As if we would"ve even been of any help if you couldn"t deal with it." Nala shook his head with a wry smile.

Tarika"s voice called from inside the house, and he gave us a wave, then disappeared from view while I carried Hobie back to our home.

"Tarika says dinner will be ready in an hour!" Nala called, sticking his head out again, and I stepped back out to shoot him a glare.

"Are you making her cook alone?"

Nala gave me an exaggerated pout. "I"ve been banned from the kitchen."

Hobie chuckled in my arms, then smirked at Nala. "I"m sure you earned it."

Nala grinned, sharp teeth on display. "I totally did."

"We"ll be there in an hour," I promised, then proceeded to carry Hobie inside.

"Do you cook?" he asked as I set him down and steadied him on his feet, keeping a tentacle firmly wrapped around his waist.

"Uh, not really." I ran my fingers through my hair, and thought maybe it was time I learned. I wanted to be able to provide for my mate instead of depending on Tarika all the time.

It"d been a while since I"d stayed in my human form for so long, but I was starting to get used to it. I didn"t mind, not when it allowed me to spend more time with my mate.

"Hmm. Once I"m healed, I"ll cook for us. And Tarika and Nala too," Hobie said, sounding very sure of the fact.

"Do you enjoy cooking?"

Hobie hopped over to the couch before falling into it, and a blush stole across his cheeks. He turned his eyes to his lap, embarrassment wafting off of him in waves. "I can"t cook many things, but I"ve always wished I had my own kitchen. I told myself that if I ever got one, I would learn how to cook and make the tastiest food for everyone I cared about."

"That is a very wonderful notion. And now you do have your own kitchen."

He glanced up at me with a wide smile, his brown eyes glittering with a mix of joy and excitement. I wished he could always be as happy and relaxed as this. I wished he wouldn"t have another nightmare tonight, though I knew it was a futile wish.

"I do, don"t I? I could look up recipes online and make all kinds of things." He shot me a bashful look, ducking his head so his hair fell into his eyes. "Would you eat the food I make?"

Before I could answer, he shook his head. "Never mind. You don"t eat human food, right?"

"Hobie." I waited until he looked up at me. Placing my palm on his cheek—and resisting the urge to smile when he pressed into the touch like a cat—I hoped he could see the sincerity in my eyes. "I"d love to."

Hobie gazed up at me for a long, drawn-out moment, before a wide smile overtook his face. "Yeah?"

"Yeah," I agreed with a soft smile, and he hummed happily before sinking into my side. I"d discovered quite quickly that despite Hobie"s aversion to anyone else"s touch—except the doctor, though I supposed Hobie hadn"t panicked because he"d expected it and I"d been holding his hand—he was very clingy with me, not that I minded in the slightest.

Hobie didn"t waste any opportunity to be close to me, and I enjoyed having him in my arms, or, more often than not, in my tentacles. Hobie was starved for kind touch. Touch that comforted instead of threatened, cared instead of harmed, loved instead of broke. He"d been hurt for far too long, and I was going to make sure that he never knew pain again for as long as he lived.

A soft snore pulled me out of my thoughts, and I looked down to see Hobie out cold, his arm thrown over my torso.

Careful not to wake him, I shifted him around with my tentacles so he lay on the couch with his head in my lap.

Brushing the dirty-blond waves off his face, I ran my fingers down his cheek, in awe of how soft his skin was. He was such a precious human. The depth of my emotions for Hobie felt almost strange in the face of the short time I"d known him, and yet they were as true as my kraken form.

I"d been waiting for Hobie for many lifetimes, and now that I had him in my arms, well... I wasn"t in any rush. As long as he was at my side, that was all I needed to be content.

While we"d gone on a "date" today, I didn"t have any expectations from Hobie. After everything he"d been through, everything that was still eluding his memory, I understood that he might need time. Luckily for him, I was a patient man. I could, and would wait as long as he needed, and in the meantime, I"d enjoy just being with him, because above all, that was what I wanted. As long as we were together, everything else would just be a bonus.