14. Is That a Scuba Tank in Your PocketAre You Just Happy to See Me?

14

IS THAT A SCUBA TANK IN YOUR POCKET OR ARE YOU JUST HAPPY TO SEE ME?

TERESA

" T eresa?"

At first, when I hear his voice, there's a shot of lust-filled adrenaline. Then anger—that he's the one here to save me. It puts him in a position of power here and I don't like it. I was supposed to make him beg for me, but now I'll be indebted to him for saving my life.

Play it cool, Resa.

"I've got a lot of questions for you, mister," I call back, squinting in the darkness so I can see him.

At this point, the tide has risen, much of it coming into the cave. My whole body is shaking from the cold and the wet. The rain boots now feel like a mistake. But it was either wait at the entrance of the cave for someone to finally hear me or stay dry and never be found in the back of the cave where it's higher and drier.

Finally, I see him. He's naked. Again. We can't keep meeting like this.

"Why are you naked again? Actually—I take it back. I probably don't want to know. Maybe I should just be happy you've abandoned whoever your latest conquest was to play my white knight."

"Are you okay?" he asks, rushing over to the cave entrance.

He slides through easily compared to me. Skinny bastard. In moments, his hands are all over me, checking me for scrapes and scratches. I want to shake him off, but each touch calms me.

"I'm fine, I'm just stuck."

"How did you get in here?" he asks.

I feel so embarrassed. Every evil thing ever said to me about my size comes crashing down on me.

With a shrug, I sigh. "It was easier to get through earlier."

He places a hand at my neck, looks me in the eye. "It's okay. You're not the first person this has happened to. These caves can be incredibly dangerous."

"Where was that disclaimer when you brought me back to your sex cave?"

"My sex cave?"

"Just forget it. "

"I don't use that cave for sex, I use it for—We need to get you out of here."

"Oh cool, so we're just going to change the subject again."

"How long have you been here?"

I look at my phone, giving him that, at least. It's dead. "Who knows?"

"You're shaking."

"Yeah, well, I'm tired and scared and wet, so it's bound to happen," I mutter grumpily.

He pulls me close. Immediately, I tear up. Being held after the night I've had is a balm to the soul. I breathe him in. He smells like the ocean breeze on a good day.

"Maybe there's another way out of here. Did you see any? Some of these caves are interconnected."

I shake my head. "I don't know. I kind of started freaking out and didn't think to look. Besides, it would have to be pretty small, and well, we already know the problem there."

"You got in here, so we know you can get out. We just have to figure out how."

I nod, tears leaking out as I try to hold them back.

Pacari searches around the cave—though I don't know how he can see at all. It's almost pitch black in here—moonlight doesn't travel that far.

"I mean, if nothing else, you can go get the coast guard or something and they can figure out how to get me out. Honestly, you should probably just do that—"

A pretty loud splash interrupts me. Or maybe it's more of a kerplunk—the sound of someone jumping into water from the back of the cave.

"Pacari?" I call out.

No answer.

Great. Don't freak out. Don't freak out.

I'm definitely freaking out. "Pacari!?"

Putting a hand to the wall and stepping carefully, I walk carefully, stepping out slowly until I feel solid ground.

Until I don't. As soon as I feel the hole, I pull back, sink to my knees, and reach forward until I'm there again. My hand dips low, making my stomach flip. I lower myself down until my hand touches water.

O-kay. So there's at least a puddle here. But it sounded like he fell. How deep does this hole go? Is he stuck down there? Is he going to die trying to save me?

Bracing myself as well as I can against the simultaneously slippery and porous rock (yikes, does it hurt to put my knees on this), I bend lower and lower.

It's way more than a puddle.

As I pull my hand back, something grabs it. I shriek. Whatever grabs me feels coarser than skin—like scales. I don't stop screaming, pulling my arm back, until I hear Pacari's voice .

"Shhh, shh, it's okay, Teresa. It's me. It's me," he soothes.

His voice is right next to me, and the next time I feel his hand, it feels like skin again. What is going on? Just a second ago—I could have sworn that wasn't human skin grabbing me. Maybe he prunes easily—but pruned fingers don't feel like that .

"It's okay," he repeats, pulling me close. "I'm here. I'll keep you safe."

The proximity calms me, gets me to stop screaming—which apparently I was still doing. He kisses my cheek, my neck, my eyes, my forehead.

"You're safe with me."

I take a deep breath. He's grounding me, after everything. Even though I still don't have answers for why, I forgot what it was to be with him—when suddenly the memories feel so clear. No answers why I've found him naked on the beach three times now—

Wait.

Just now, when we first met… And…

I shake my head, trying to jostle the real memory of what his cock looks like. I saw it when we met. Perfectly human and perfectly human sized. Not… Not a giant monster of a thing somewhat reminiscent of a green geoduck. When I went to Japan for a dance gig, I remember how none of us could stop laughing at how phallic the shellfish looked.

This is such a dumb time to be thinking about Pacari's cock—especially his weird fantasy cock that has to be some sort of dream I had and have effectively replaced the dream memory with the real memory. My memories about him are all sorts of fucked up, though I still can't place why. I hate how he makes me feel like I'm having a mental breakdown.

His lips caress mine, dragging me out of my thoughts. His mouth feels different now, lips thicker and tongue more… Oh god, it feels so good when his tongue strokes along mine. Unreal. When he pulls away, I want to keep kissing, but he puts his forehead to mine, strokes my cheek with his thumb.

"You need to listen to me. I found a way out, but it's dangerous. And I have—I have something that will make it less dangerous. You need to trust me. Please trust me that I will get you out of here in one piece."

"Um, okay. What is it?"

"We're going to swim out."

I laugh. "I can't hold my breath for more than like a minute. We're good swimmers in my family, but I'm not a free diver, which apparently you are."

He shakes his head. "I have something… it'll help you breathe."

"Yeah? You got a scuba tank up your ass?"

His hands come up over my head, and I feel beads roll down my face. When the necklace is settled, he pulls my hair from under it so it sits better.

"A necklace," I scoff. "I'm not against taking bribes for you abandoning me, but I don't see how that's going to help me swim. Bad timing. What's the real solution?"

"You remember me," is all he says.

"Yeah, duh, you gave me the best orgasm of my life. I'm still trying to process that."

"But you still remember me."

"What world are you living in that people forget you after that?!"

"Same one as you," he laughs. "I'm not… I'm not human."

"Great, I'm going to die in this stupid cave with a crazy person. And it's not even the sex cave."

"What sex—there is no sex cave. That cave is where I keep my human things after I transform."

"After you transform? What, are you a mermaid? A… what are those seal people called?"

"Selkies?"

"Yeah. So you're one of those?"

"No. I'm Yacunayi . I am a creature of the sea like them, but different."

He's sounding incredibly serious right now about something that can't possibly be true. Except… That image of his strange cock waves in my mind. Not to mention the fact that I've repeatedly found him naked on the beach—though he could just be a streaker. But above all—the weird way my memory couldn't fully place him only ten minutes ago .

"No more jokes, Pacari," I sigh, knowing I believe him way more than I should.

He shifts, pulling himself from the water. I hear the trickle of water gliding off of him and back into the hole. He walks towards the moonlight coming from the entrance to the cave. And—strangely—I can almost see him before he gets there. Spots of green and blue flash before they dissipate. In the outline of the moonlight, his shape almost seems to change from—was that a fin?—to human.

Except for his hands. I can't quite make out if I'm seeing them as they are from this far back, so I carefully trail along the side of the cave til I've joined him at the entrance. His hands are full of water…

And they are green. Green with fins coming off of his wrists and arms where the water trickles down him. His nails are thick, long, and sharp.

Distinctly inhuman.