8.5: Sudden Start

Third Person Perspective...

   He walked down City Hall's steps, his heart sinking slowly. The news couldn't have been worse for him; he had chatted with the mermaid, Maya, two days ago and his finical status was incredibly secure. His eyes drifted over to the summer festival. The wafting aroma of freshly cut grass and greasy hot dogs, bug replant, sunscreen, and cotton candy filled his nose. He had thought about going over to the festival after he went to what his boss called a quick meeting, however now the bright colors and laughter just made him feel worse about everything.
   The artistic history center were to his right... maybe he could just take a quick glance to see if there was anything decent going on there. Perhaps artsy statues and abstract renditions of fish would lift his spirits. He leisurely strolled to the center, now exactly eager to be going there. He needed a distraction, a mood booster though and this was the closest one.

   He stopped outside the building, to look at what was suppose to be a statue of fossilize seaweed magnified on a scale of two hundred. If this is what counted as art and history, the center its self did not seem to be promising. Why had the meeting gone so downhill? He wanted to bounce back to his usual cheerful self, yet he couldn't find the silver lining that allowed him to.
   Harbor Janes was not a slacker. He was a committed, hardworking, honest worker who would try to make sure what he did was top quality. Apparently, the city was being sued though. A toddler had managed to fall off of a boat that was in waters protected by the lifeguard service, but privately owned. The beach's owner claimed it was the lifeguard's incompetence that caused the accident. Harbor was the lifeguard on duty and, even though letting a two year old onto a speed boat and not fitting them with a life jacket or even bothering to pay attention to what they were doing was bad, the people had money and would sue whoever.
   Life guarding was still technically his job, thankfully. He wandered inside the center, forcing a smile onto his face, as a school group's anxious teacher started ordering the fifth graders to be quiet, get in line, and find Breelynn. Provided the lawsuit went well, Harbor would still have a job. If it went sour, he wouldn't. He was thankful that the toddler was okay, but truthfully he was even more thankful that he wasn't fired on the spot.

   As he scurried past the teacher, he spotted a lady at the bar. Wasn't elven am too early to start the vodka and cranberry juice? He might have asked her to mix him up a drink, if it wasn't for the fact that her violet highlights and sun bleached blondness caught his eye. This wasn't just a lady with a slight drinking problem, this was Maya. He pushed open the glass door, stepping out into the hot sunlight.

   "Maya?" He asked, as she brought the glass to her lips, taking a large gulp of liquid. "Are you alright? I thought there were rules you had to follow about land."
   "Harbor!" She exclaimed, not expecting to see her handsome human crush at the museum. That was why she had decided this was the best place to get a tad tipsy, instead of a decent bar. "What are you doing here?"
   "Oh, just thought I would enrich my cultural experiences and knowledge." He lied, not wanting to say he needed a distraction from the horribleness that was the lawyers and court system. He was lucky he didn't have to testify, lucky he had a job, he wouldn't try to push his luck further by telling her.
   "Ah. Well, my life is just... Harbor, are you single?"
   "Um, yes." He said, taken aback by the question. He had flirted with Maya a bit and she'd kissed him on the cheek, but he didn't think it was anything to take to heart.
   "So I am allowed to do this?" She tipped her head back, sloshing the rest of the alcohol down her throat, before taking a hold of Harbor's arms.

    She grabbed onto him, pressing her trim body against his muscular chest. Her arms were on his back, as his flew up, shocked by the sudden movements. She pressed her lips against his, slowly parting his lips as he decided to kiss her back, letting his tongue slip into her mouth. A few seconds past, then they parted, unsure if they should feel awkward or turned on.
    "I'm sorry. Things have been rather bad, I wanted to see if this was good."
   "It was." He said, staring at her lips, the lips that made his day so much better. He wanted to kiss her again, ask if he could bend her over the counter and slowly untie her outfit, to do the deed for the first time, yet he couldn't imagine even mustering up the courage to say so.

   "I feel like I owe you an explanation now."
   "Or we could kiss again." He said, flashing her a playful smile.
   "Right." She laughed, taking the smile to mean that he was joking. "Sorry about that. I know we just met and all, but it felt right."
    "I understand and completely agree. Hey, there's a bar near here. If you want to drown your sorrows or talk, at least we could do it without elementary classes staring at us." He gestured to the fifth grade class that was pressing their noses against the glass door.
   "I suppose that would be nice."She began walking away, as he followed her. They had to slip by the teacher who was glaring at them and muttering about public decency going out the window. The bar was across the street, the festival between the center and it. The were quick to get to the bar; they wanted to waste no time having to walk in silence. They needed to explain their feelings to one another.

   The bar was nice, classy yet not pretentious. I suppose it couldn't have been too classy, though since it was open before noon. They glanced around, at the minimal seating available. The bartender was polishing some champagne flutes, rolling his eyes at the two people who clearly didn't understand what type of customers the place wanted. Maya gestured with her shoulder towards a loveseat that looked like some mass producer who sold couches for nickels designed it, with the idea of class.

   "I suppose that I should begin at the beginning."
   "It generally is ideal when telling stories." Harbor replied to Maya's comment. "Where exactly is it, though?"
   "It's rather simple. I kissed your cheek two days ago, mostly flirtatiously mixed with friendliness. You know." He didn't, but he still nodded. "And my father saw."
   "Is he upset? Maya, I can tell him it was nothing."
   "No, you can't."
   "Look, I assure you-"
   "No, I mean you can't. Because I broke mermaid law. I was banned from my society."
   "What!? That's insanity."
   "I know, I know. Look..."

   "No, I don't think it is right. Who can I explain it to?" He refused to believe mermaids could be that quick to judge. He hadn't even, until today, Frenched her and she was banned? Ridiculous.
   "Harbor, there's larger issues. My ring lets me go from mermaid to human and human to mermaid. If I'm banned from society, I can't recharge it with my family's stone."
   "Do you have any friends who would sneak you to their family's stone?"
   "It has to be my family's. Each family has a color and one child from the family gets the ring that is that color on their fifteenth birthday. Since I'm an only child, I got the ring. Harbor, I haven't charged my ring in one week; I have three weeks left of transformation."
   "Will you stay mermaid forever, then?"
   "I'll stay whichever state I'm currently in."
   "Okay. Two things then."
   "What are they?"
   "One is do you have a place to stay?"
   "Nope. I'm a homeless moneyless twenty-three year old."
   "Come live with me."
   "What? That's so generous. I haven't even done anything for you. I couln't pay rent or anything."
   "You saved my life, that covers rent for a while."
   "Fine. Okay. But... look... I. I have stuff to say, but I don't know how to vocalize it."
   "That's alright."
   "What's number two?"
   "Will you go steady with me?"
   "Huh? Like girlfriend?"
   "Not like, just my girlfriend. We kissed and it was great, I like you, you like me. Why not? I know you're going through lots, but..."
   "Yes." She glanced into his eyes, saw the goodness and knew that it was the correct answer. Besides, he was a generous, respectful, caring, man. She liked him and wanted to get to know him better, a relationship would be perfect. He leaned forwards and kissed her slowly on the lips. There relationship had officially begun.