18. Chapter 18

Sid tried to focus on the children, the other mers, even Jeff and James—anywhere but on Jayna. What had he been thinking? He knew Swim with Me was a love song that ended with a kiss. Why had he thought that song would be a good choice for Marevitrum and Aaramere to sing as a duet?

Sure, it was his favorite song from the Sirens of Atlantis, and he had been captivated by the way Aaramere sang it in the show. But he had expected her to only sing the song, not act out the romantic ending of the scene. For several long, agonizing seconds, he'd worried Jayna was going to kiss him.

Then for several more, he'd hoped she would.

Fortunately, she hadn't. It would have only been a stage kiss for her, and it wouldn't have meant anything.

It would have meant far too much to him.

For the rest of the afternoon, Sid did his best to smile and laugh and splash while pretending he wasn't going half out of his mind with longing. The sound of her laughter, her sweet interactions with the children, her incredible beauty—every little thing she did was like injecting plasma straight into the reactor fueling his attraction.

When the sun dipped low in the western sky, Sid felt bittersweet relief that the service activity was at an end. Both he and Jayna had managed to hide the tension that had grown between them after their song, but it had been exhausting.

As they were saying goodbye to the last of the guests, Kalani approached their ledge hauling the aqua chariot behind him. The chariot was a simple floating platform with a big seashell enclosing a small bench. The whole contraption attached to a harness that allowed him to pull it through the water.

Kalani had been pulling it all afternoon with as many as three riders at a time, which said a lot about his strength and stamina.

"That looks like fun," Sid said as Kalani disconnected the chariot harness and pulled himself up onto the ledge.

Kalani gave a tired, wily grin. "I'm glad you think so." He nodded towards the crowd. "Because it's your turn—by special request."

Sid turned to see a man pushing a wheelchair that held a frail young woman in a bright blue mermaid tail. Her hands and arms were curled, and her head lolled to one side. She had implants at the base of her skull that likely gave her some control of her body, but even with the advanced bionic technology, she was still wheelchair-bound.

They stopped at the edge of the pool, and Kalani said, "Mermaid Aaramere, Merman Marevitrum, this is Andrea Jordan." Kalani leaned close to Sid and said softly, "It seems you have an admirer."

Sid put on his best smile for Andrea. He pulled himself out of the water as high as he could to make eye contact with her. "Hello, Andrea. It's nice to meet you. Have you been having fun with the mermaids?"

Andrea nodded, and though her mouth didn't move she answered in a sweet, clear voice with only a slight synthetic edge. "I'm having a lot of fun. I want you to pull me in the chariot."

Sid drew in a breath. Kalani hadn't been kidding.

He had to assume it was possible for the chariot to carry both Andrea's chair and her aide, or Kalani would have refused their request. But he imagined pulling it would be difficult with even the lightest of loads. Sid considered himself a strong swimmer, but his afternoon as a merman required muscles he had never used before. He had no idea if he could pull the chariot.

He hated the thought of backing down from this challenge. Not only would he disappoint Andrea, but he worried it would make him appear weak.

But he also knew better than to let masculine pride goad him into doing something potentially disastrous. He was already exhausted, and he couldn't risk putting Andrea in danger.

"I'm honored," he said to her. "But can I tell you a secret?" Sid craned his neck to get as close to Andrea as he could and whispered loudly, "I've never pulled the chariot before. I don't know how."

"Mermaid Aaramere can help you," Andrea said. "You can pull together."

Sid's heart jumped at the thought of pulling the chariot with Jayna. He turned to her and asked, "What do you think, Aaramere? Can you help me?"

Jayna's eyes went wide, and she looked like she was about to object. But after a glance at Andrea she said, "Sure?" She didn't sound convinced.

Sid smiled at Andrea and said, "Excellent! Give us a few minutes to set up, and we'll give you a ride you'll never forget."

He moved to examine the chariot harness, but he could tell it was clearly made for one mer. Jayna had agreed to help, though, so there must be a way. Sid moved closer to Kalani and said, "Please tell me there's a two-mer harness."

Kalani shook his head. "This is it."

He felt Jayna move to his side, but by the concern on her face, he could tell she didn't have a plan for pulling the chariot, either.

Sid wasn't willing to give up just yet. He may not have Kalani's strength, but he was an expert at solving problems.

He examined the harness closely and had a thought that sent his heart racing. His face flushed as he glanced at Jayna. This idea is worse than that stupid song. Don't do it, Hayes.

But then he saw the anticipation in Andrea's face, and his heart melted. He was going to regret this, but he couldn't say no.

Sid leaned close to whisper in Jayna's ear, and her closeness was nearly unbearable.

You're asking for it, Hayes.

He ignored the warning in his brain and said, "From what I can tell, the merbreather straps are at least as strong as any part of the harness. If we clip ourselves together and then attach our merbreathers directly to the chariot frame, that will take the place of the harness. How long would it take you to change?"

Jayna pulled back, the concern on her face deepening. She gave Kalani a pleading look, as though she were hoping he would nix this crazy idea.

But Kalani nodded approvingly. "You should be on the right," he said to her. "That will make the corners easier."

She looked like she was about to protest, but after a quick glance at Andrea, her expression hardened to one of determination. "I can be back in five minutes—if there's a mertender on hand."

Sid's stomach did a little flip. "Perfect. We'll be ready when you get back."

After another doubtful glance at Kalani, Jayna turned and swam quickly towards the changing area.

Sid tried not to dwell on what he was about to do and focused instead on disassembling the harness. Kalani moved in to help him. "Do you really think this will work?"

The question sent a shot of panic through Sid. His confidence in the idea was based almost entirely on Kalani's lack of objection, so to hear his doubts now was not reassuring. "I guess we'll find out."

Jayna returned a few minutes later wearing her merbreather. "Here, hold this," he said as he handed her some of the gear from the chariot harness. Once she had taken it, he moved to her side and clipped a ring to the shoulder strap of her merbreather.

While several attendants helped Andrea's aid load her onto the chariot, Sid clicked their merbreathers together, and then Kalani helped attach them to the shafts. It was a snug fit, and they were pressed together tightly. He felt the heat of her contact all up his right side, and desire flooded through him.

Jayna turned to face him. They were so close it was all Sid could do to keep his lips to himself.

"We need to synchronize our tails," she said, "or else we'll be slapping each other rather than moving." There was a quiver in her voice that let him know she was just as affected by their closeness as he was.

Sid shoved his feelings deep inside and forced himself to think of Andrea and the challenge ahead of them. "Good plan. Since you'll be on the inside of the turns, I'll follow your lead."

"Okay. Ready?"

He wasn't, but he faked his most convincing smile. "Ready."

They put their merbreather regulators in their mouths, their faces in the water, and together began towing the chariot around the pool.

The feeling of Jayna's body pressed close to his side was extremely distracting, and the chariot pulled so hard on their merbreathers that they had to keep their outside arms down at their sides. But after a couple of false starts, they fell into a rhythm and began swimming in tandem.

With only one hand for steering, Jayna seemed to have difficulty making the first turn. On the second turn Sid tried to help, and the turn went more smoothly. By the time they had completed a loop of the pool, they swam like they had been attached to each other for hours.

"Again!" Andrea's synthetic voice called out, and they started another loop.

On their third turn around the pool, the light of sunset turned the entire grotto a brilliant pink. As they returned to their starting place, Sid realized his hand had somehow clasped Jayna's. Reluctantly, he unlaced his fingers from hers to grab the edge of the pool.

"I'm impressed," Jayna said softly while Andrea was unloaded from the chariot. Sid turned towards her, and the nearness of her face sent a surge of longing through him.

"Thank you," he said softly. He fought desperately to keep his voice even despite the pounding in his chest. "The feeling is mutual."

Their eyes locked for several heartbeats. Jayna's gaze moved to his mouth. She bit her lower lip, and Sid realized she wanted to kiss him as much as he wanted to kiss her. And this time, he couldn't pass it off as her acting the part in a lover's song.

They were so close, and the connection that had been growing between them was undeniable. Sid moved to erase the distance between them, and Jayna responded by closing her eyes and parting her lips ever so slightly.

There was a loud rap on the side of the chariot, and they quickly pulled apart. "All clear," Kalani said as he swam alongside them. "Good job, you two."

In less than a minute, they were disconnected from the chariot and each other. The side that had been pressed against Jayna felt cold.

"Marevitrum and I will take care of the rest of this," Kalani said. He pointed a finger at Jayna. "You get cleaned up and then go get some rest. You have a big day tomorrow."

"Yes, coach," Jayna said with a tired smile. Then she paused and turned towards Sid. Their eyes met, and longing surged through him. She smiled shyly and, in Dr. Tierney's lilting Irish brogue, said, "It's been a pleasure, good sir."

With that, she turned towards the waterfall and swam away.

Sid watched her tail disappear beneath the surface and sighed in defeat. He'd probably end up dashed on the rocks, but there was no point trying to resist her siren's song anymore. Lad, if ye must do this, then ye'd best do it right.

Doing it right meant a meeting with Rosalind.