Chapter 25

TWENTY-FIVE

CHIP

"I really can't thank you enough, Chip." Anthony called over to me.

It was odd being the one who was always in charge usually it was my sister Brownie. But I'd found the pod of lost sirens and easily guided them home. Anthony was only slightly younger than me with light brown hair, green eyes, and dark brown tail. When he smiled it was free and easy and there was nothing behind his eyes. No spark of a challenge, or quick wit, or even a hint of fire. Not that I was looking but it was difficult to not compare every guy to Monroe.

"Anytime. Really."

He gave me half a smirk. "Well I hope not anytime. I'd really be embarrassed if I got lost a second time in the currents."

"I think you're all set now." Reese gave him a little wave and turned to swim into our hut.

He swam closer to me. "It was really nice meeting you, Chip."

I drifted back a little putting space between us. "Nice to meet you too. I think my Father will be waiting for you to give you a tour of the castle."

"I was hoping you might." He said so low it was almost a whisper and he gave me a shy flirtatious smile.

I struggled to find an excuse not to. "Oh, I wouldn't want to take that pleasure away from my dad."

He nodded and shoved the wet strands of his hair out of his face. "Oh, um. Then how about another time? Perhaps like a date?"

I froze. I didn't know what to say. By all accounts Anthony was a nice guy and very reliable. But he just wasn't what I wanted or needed. I glanced around the water seeing if anyone else was watching or listening.

I bit my lip. "Um it's really nice of you to ask but I'm not sure it's a good idea."

His face fell. "Are you dating someone?"

"Yes." I hesitated. "No." I groaned. "I don't really know."

"It sounds complicated." He held his hands up. "Not that it's my business. I shouldn't have asked in the first place."

"Oh no, it's not you. You're nice." I was at a loss for words. "But I guess, yea. Slightly complicated."

"Well if you ever change your mind or if your guy continues to drop the ball . . ." He started to drift back from me and winked. "Let me know."

He flipped back into the water and tiny drops sprinkled on my face. I gave a heavy sigh. I was being loyal to a guy that I had no clue what we even were. He said goodbye to me with a pat on the shoulder with a sticky rubber glove after we spent so much time together. It felt like a major brush off. Was I clinging to something that was more like a fling? I'd hate to think that was all it was to him, because that wasn't what it was to me. I slipped under the water and swam toward our hut. I popped up just inside and moved to sit on one of the rocks we used to dry ourselves. Reese was already there in a towel. She used a wide tooth comb to get the knots out of her long red hair. When I started to dry myself off she gave me a sideway look like she was studying me. For the past few days it'd been the same look over and over again. Yet she barely said anything. I couldn't take it anymore.

I rubbed a towel over my tail with quick movements. "What?"

"I didn't say anything." She turned her head and began brushing again all the while her eyes never left mine.

"You've said plenty, you just haven't said anything." It was a silent communication, a feeling, she just kept looking at me."We're alone now. Say it."

The door flew open and Pickles sauntered in to the hut. She wore a black sundress with big yellow sunflowers all over it and a white turtleneck under neath it. She almost glowed with happiness. "Hey, I'm glad you're back."

"Are you?" I snapped a little too forcefully.

She wrinkled her nose at me and turned toward Reese. "What's wrong with her?"

"So many things." Reese sighed and put her brush on a shelf.

"Excuse me. Rude." Once my scales were dry I watched as they faded and turned into skin.

" That's rude? Well how about this . . ." Pickles put her hands on her hips. "Dawson told me there was something between you and Monroe. Something romantic. And I had to hear it from him instead of you. That's rude."

"Dawson told you that?" I jumped to my feet. My pulse quickened. If Dawson said that then Monroe must have said something to him. Which meant Monroe thought there was something romantic happening between us and I wasn't going crazy. But, I had to be sure I'd heard my sister right. I narrowed my eyes on her, "Dawson said something?"

She rolled her eyes. "Well he is my soulmate, so yes, he tells me things. I just can't believe you didn't tell me you two were a thing?—"

"Would be nice if someone told me that."I walked over to my cubby and grabbed my clothes.

" Oh ." Reese paused. She nodded. " Ohhhhh . So that's what's bothering you. You two haven't DTR'ed yet."

"What the hell is DTR?" I started to throw my clothing on as quickly as possible.

"Define The Relationship. DTR." She smirked. "You don't know what you are and it's making you grouchy."

I shoved my feet into my rain boots. "I am not grouchy."

"You're grouchy." Reese and Pickles said at the same time.

I sighed. "It was just weird, okay?"

Pickles raised her eyebrows. "What was weird?"

"We had so much fun together. You know? It seemed like things changed with us. We talked. We bonded. We laughed. We kissed. But then when we got back on land he practically ran in the other direction. He barely even said goodbye." I groaned. "It was embarrassing. Oh and he was going on and on about being so excited to be back on land. Which kind of felt like he was happy to be away from me. And the way he hopped into Holden's truck covered in rain gear?"

"We wear rain gear all the time." Reese pointed toward her big yellow rain boots.

I started pacing. "It's not the rain gear it's how he latched onto it so hard. Like being a siren and living underwater is the worst thing ever."

"Well I mean no one likes to shift uncontrollably." Pickles shook her head. "You can understand that."

I stopped pacing. "Maybe I am being too hard on him. But the rubber gloved goodbye was a bit harsh."

They both nodded.

"Plus I haven't heard from him since."

"It's not like you've been available." Pickles picked up my phone from my cubby and handed it to me. "You were at sea for a good while. Granted, if you had told me you and Monroe had finally moved on to the smooching stage of this relationship – that we've all seen coming, by the way – then I would've known to hang on to your phone. I would've told him where you went. Maybe he's been trying to call you since that rubber glove goodbye and you haven't responded? Maybe he's upset right now."

I opened my mouth then shut it.

Reese chuckled. "This is why communication is important, Chip."

I grumbled and took my phone from Pickles. When I glanced down at my phone there were a few voice messages. All from Monroe. My heart skipped beats. My whole body warmed. I pressed the button to access my voicemail and put it on speaker phone. "Hi, it's me. Monroe. Um . . . just wanted to call and say hi . . . so, uh . . . hi? Okay. Call me back."

Pickles arched one eyebrow.

I clicked for the next voicemail and let it play out loud. "Hey, it's Monroe again. Uh, I hope everything's okay. Haven't heard from you since I left so I'm just checking in. Um, hope everything's okay. So, yeah. Call me."

Reese pursed her lips and nodded.

I didn't wait, I skipped right to the next voicemail. "Hey Chip, it's me . . . Monroe. Of course you know it's me. Not that I expect you to. Not that you really don't know. Okay this message is a disaster. It's just me calling you … again. It's been a few days and I . . . I was thinking about you. Right, so . . . um . . . call me back."

"Ohhhhh . . . " Pickles giggled and wagged her eyebrows. "He misses you."

I sighed. "He didn't say that, he just said he was thinking about me?—"

"That's boy math for he misses you." Reese winked dramatically.

"I hate when couples just don't communicate to solve their issues." Pickles rolled her eyes. "Just call him. He's still out with Dawson, King Ailwin took them on quite the little side quest apparently and hasn't returned them yet."

"We're not a couple?—"

"And you never will be at this rate if you don't talk." Reese nodded agreeing with Pickles. "She's right, you should call."

"Fine. Fine, I'll call. I'll call." My heart raced in my chest as I dialed his number. I held it up to my ear and waiting as it rang. After a few rings it went to voicemail. When it beeped, I left him a message, "Hey Monroe, it's Chip. Sorry I haven't returned your calls, I went on a rescue mission to retrieve lost sirens trying to make it here from Key West. We just got back and I found my phone in my cubby in the hut. Right, so I guess tag you're it?"

I hung up.

"Smooth." Reese rolled her eyes.

Pickles shook her head. "That was pathetic, Reese. It was worse than his messages. He said more than you did."

I looked to my sisters and cursed. "Well, this is a disaster. Look at me. Look at the mess he's made me."