Five

"So, Marley is a sweetheart."My uncle gives me a knowing look.

"She is." I smile into my coffee cup. Last night was amazing. Spending time with her felt so natural. I didn't want the date to end after supper, so I was thrilled when she agreed to come over to watch a movie.

It was hard to keep my hands to myself when all I wanted to do was touch her. But that kiss at the end of the night was worth the wait. Her soft lips and taste drive me wild. I had to, for yet another night, take care of myself after my time with her. I don't think I've ever gotten this hard, this often, in my life. Maybe it's the mate thing, but just looking at her has my monster side going wild to claim her.

Today is the test, though. I'll know for sure once she sees the real me. If she doesn't like me as a monster, then I won"t mention we"re mates. It would be too hard to have to deal with that kind of rejection. If she doesn't like who I am, then I'll go home and do my best to try to forget her.

Yeah, easier said than done. Marley isn't someone you can just forget about overnight, if ever.

"Are you two going to date?" He elbows me playfully.

"She's… she's actually my mate," I say, looking up at him nervously.

"What! Oh my god, Lucius, that"s amazing. Congratulations."

"Yeah, well, she doesn't really know yet, or the fact I'm a monster." I sigh, setting my cup down.

"Are you going to tell her?"

"I'm going to show her today. She invited me to hang out with her friends. I"m about to head down to the beach now." My stomach rolls with nerves. I hope Marley doesn't hate what she sees.

"You know what," my uncle says. "I think she's gonna see you for who you are, not what you are, and that's what matters. You"re smart, kind, and a good person. You just so happen to be part centaur."

"Thanks," I snort.

"You got this."

I hope so.

* * *

I can see her standing with one of her friends by a blanket that"s laid out on the sand. A few people are sitting on it with a beach umbrella and a cooler next to it. My nerves kick up again when I see how many people are with her. But the moment she looks past her friend and notices me, they turn into an excited flutter as she gives me one of her stunning smiles.

"Luci!" she shouts cheerfully, stepping around her friends and running over to me.

"Hey there, pretty girl," I say, automatically wrapping my arm around her waist to pull her close to me. Using my free hand, I grip her chin, tilting it up so that I can kiss her softly.

"Hi," she says softly as she smiles up at me, a blush painting her cheeks. "I'm glad you could make it."

"Thanks for inviting me," I say, looking at her friends.

"Everyone, this is Lucius. He's here for the summer."

I nod my head in greeting as they all let out a few ‘hey's.'

"Come on, Marley! Let's go swimming." The girl Marley was talking to laughs as she pulls her tank off, revealing her bikini top, and takes off toward the water.

"Wanna go for a swim?" Marley asks me. "You must be dying of heat." She giggles as she looks at what I'm wearing.

Well, here goes nothing. "Yeah, ahh, sure." I feel like I'm going to puke as I pull my top over my head. From the waist up, I look human, so the only thing I see in her eyes is lust as she takes in my muscles, her eyes running up the full sleeve of tattoos on my left arm, licking her lips.

I look away, not needing to get a fucking boner right now when I'm about to be in just shorts. Next to go are my shoes, my hooves sinking into the warm sand.

"What the…" someone says from behind Marley, but she doesn't hear him. Fuck, this is a bad idea. Maybe I should have done this with just the two of us.

No turning back now. Grabbing the waistband of my pants, I pull them down and off. I'm in swim trunks, but you very much can tell that my legs are not human legs and I have a full-blown tail flowing through the bottom of my trunks.

"Marley, what the hell!" One guy barks out a laugh. "You didn't mention you were bringing a Monster to beach day."

"My name is Lucius," I snip.

"You"re…" Her eyes widen as she slowly takes in my legs. My heart pounds in my chest as I wait for the rest of her reaction.

"I'm half human, half centaur."

"Wow…" she whispers.

"More like full freak." One of her friends snickers.

"Can horses even swim?" another asks.

My anger bubbles deep inside me. They don't know me; they have no right to judge me just because I look different from them. I knew this was stupid. Why did I try? "This was a bad idea," I say, bending down to grab my pants. "I'm going to leave."

Not bothering to put my shoes on, I grab them and start to walk away, disappointment taking over.

"Wait!" Marley shouts, grabbing onto my arm to stop me when she catches up. "Please don't leave. Don't listen to them. They can be assholes. I'm sorry for my reaction. I was just taken by surprise."

"You"re not disgusted by me?" I ask her, searching her eyes for the truth.

"What? No!" she says, grabbing my hand. "No, I'm not. I think you"re very handsome, Lucius. So you"re part Monster, you"re a little different from me. But that doesn't matter. You"re still the kind, funny guy I went on a date with, that I watched a movie with. So, please, stay."

I look behind her, seeing her friends still laughing like a bunch of assholes. She looks over her shoulder. "Don't let them get to you. The assholes laughing aren"t even my friends. They just hang out with my friends' group sometimes."

"Marley, the water is amazing!" her friend says as she jogs over to us, dripping wet from the water. "Oh." She stops when she realizes and her eyebrows shoot up. "Dude, you"re a Monster."

"Yes," I say through gritted teeth, waiting for the insult.

"Nice. I've met a few before. You guys are pretty cool. I wish I had tentacles or something. Might be helpful with work." She laughs.

Okay. This one I like."Sadly, no tentacles. But I can run pretty fast."

"Now you"re speaking my language. I'm on the track team." She high-fives me and I smile.

Marley gives me a hesitant smile of her own. "Stay? We can hang out with Stacy."

"Are they being dicks?" Stacy huffs, glaring at the others. "Don't mind them. They're just my boyfriend's asshole best friends. They share a brain cell."

That makes me snort, and my eyes widen when it comes out more horse-like than I intended. Marley giggles. "You"re adorable."

"Oh, just what every guy wants to hear." I tease, but I'm honestly relieved. She didn't look put off, didn't call me names or freak out. She seems to be okay with what I am. Maybe things can work out.

"Alright, let's go swimming."

Marley gives me a beaming smile that melts my heart and grabs my hand, dragging me toward the water.

An hour later, we"re all tired and wet. "Come on. We brought some lunch. They should have made a little fire by now."

I follow Marley back over to where we left the assholes. They seem to have some of the food cooked already. "We only brought burgers and s'mores," one of the dickheads says.

"No alfalfa. Sorry, pony boy." The other one smirks. He and his guys burst out laughing.

"What's your fucking problem?" I demand, my voice rising as my anger finds its way back. "I didn't do anything to you."

The blond asshole stands up. "You"re my problem. And all the freaks like you. You"re coming into our town, our college, and changing everything. Go the fuck back to where you came from. Because we don't want you or any other Monster here." He sneers.

"That's enough!" Marley shouts at the asshole as my chest heaves, my fists clenching. I want to punch this fucker so bad, but I won"t. I won"t give them more power over me. "You might feel that way, but I don't. You don't speak for all of us. God, you're such a fucking asshole." She turns to me, her hand slipping into mine. "Come on, Luci. Let's go."

I stare the smug fuck down for a moment, wishing every second I could wipe it off his face. "Yeah," I say, looking down at Marley. She looks so upset, and it makes my anger fade a little. "Let"s go back to my place, pretty girl."

She nods. "Let me grab my stuff."

As she gathers her stuff up, I look back at fuckhead one and two. With a grin, I lower my voice. "You might think I'm a freak, but who's the one going home with one of the most stunning women in Coral Springs?" Their smirks drop, but mine grows. "Yeah, I thought so. Enjoy your lunch, guys. I'm sure it will be just as eventful as you"re jacking off alone tonight."

With that, I go over to Marley and carry her things for her. I'm pissed and in a shitty mood. I'm trying to calm down for Marley, but it's hard. I knew there was a chance this would happen by coming here. I'm just glad it wasn't Marley who reacted like that. Her standing up for me was so damn hot.