Gentle Waves of Love

Some adult content

The gentle sway of the waves pushed me further inland as I floated along the surface of the water. My nerves threatened to overtake me the closer I got. Why did I hesitate? We’d met many times before.

Since the day I found him floating on debris of his wrecked vessel, I couldn’t stay away. At first, I hid beneath the water and watched him walk along the pale sand, looking out towards me as if he searched for something.

When he discovered the rocky coastline further down the beach, he would sit upon a crag and stare, eyes fixated on the water. Each time, I drifted closer to the shoreline until I could almost reach out and touch him.

One evening, he called out, “I know you’re here. I can feel you. Please.”

I knew not what he pleaded for, but he drew me to him like he had the gift of the siren’s call.

When I raised my head above the waves, he gasped. Unsure of my welcome, I turned to dive below.

His words halted my descent. “Please don’t go. I’ve been looking for you.”

Ever since, when time would allow, we met and shared stories. We discovered our similarities. And our differences.

Each time I left, I carried the warmth of his skin on mine long after I traveled far into the ocean’s depths. I ran my fingers across my lips. Even now, his taste lingered on my tongue, though it had been many days since we last touched.

“Kye? Are you there?”

I searched the familiar outcrop for his form. His husky voice sent a shiver down my spine. One evening, he brought an old book of poetry, and read it out loud. His deep timbre resonated through me with the alliteration of the stanzas. He could read the barnacles on a shell, and I would think them magical.

I swam closer, careful to keep from disturbing the waves. I wasn’t ready for him to see me yet, content to watch from the water.

Moonlight lit the beach as if the moon goddess herself stood on the sand instead of the darkness of night as it should be. My eyes wandered over his body. He reclined on a multitude of colors, a vibrant contrast to the smooth, black surface of the rock beneath. The blanket was a gift from his late mother when he told her he liked boys instead of girls at just fifteen summers. It had become as important to me during our visits as the man himself. Its tattered edges, a testimony to its use and love. Love I was only beginning to understand.

My breath hitched when he sat up. He always sensed my presence nearby. The fragile string that tied us together since the first time we met, tugged at my heart and drew me towards him as if I had no will of my own. I did not mind. The moment his dark eyes met mine, I belonged to him.

“Kye? Please come out.”

I couldn’t resist his plea and swam to the rocks. He stared down at me, the smile on his face bright enough to rival the moon overhead.

“Hi.” Heat rose from my neck to my cheeks.

A leather tie at the base of his neck kept his dark hair pulled back, though a few stray strands danced around his face in the breeze. He was beautiful. I had swum the depth of the seas over, seen all the treasures the oceans held, but nothing compared to him.

Every encounter turned me inside out and made me want more. The days he worked late, or father bid me to court and prevented our liaisons, filled me with longing almost to the point of pain. Did he feel the same?

“Here, let me help you.” He reached down under my arms and pulled me out of the water and onto the blanket. He grabbed a towel from the picnic basket sitting to the side and wrapped it around me. Goosebumps broke out on my arms. In the water, I was impervious to the cold, but on land the slight breeze chilled my skin.

He sensed my discomfort and pulled me towards him, tucking me close to his chest. I shouldn’t be surprised. He always seemed attuned to my needs before I even knew myself.

I rubbed my nose along his shirt and breathed in his unique scent, a mix of male musk and light cologne. I wanted to bathe in it, draw it into my pores so there would be no doubt to others whom my heart belonged to.

“I brought us some hummus and fruit. I wasn’t sure what time you’d be here, so I fixed things that would last awhile. I hope you like it.”

He withdrew his arm and pulled the basket between us. As silly as it sounded, I felt bereft from the loss of contact. How could he affect me so?

“This is cheese. I know you eat fish and seaweed, but I thought you might want to try it. And these are grapes and strawberries. Oh! And some carrots and celery for the hummus. Hopefully, there’s something here you can eat.” A faint blush stained his cheeks.

I laid my hand over his. The contrast was like the darkness of night compared to the light of the noonday sun. “I will like anything you have prepared for me.”

He let out the breath he’d been holding. Was he as nervous as I?

He finished removing the food and placed it on the blanket between us. He withdrew a bottle and two glasses. “This is a sweet red wine made from muscadine grapes. I don’t know if you drink alcohol or not. I should have asked, but it’s not very strong. I thought you might like a taste.” He poured a small amount into each glass and handed me one.

“Cheers!” He clinked our glasses together and motioned for me to take a sip. The pleasant aroma hit my nose, and I took a tentative drink. Flavors burst on my tongue, sweeter than the kelp wine father served at gatherings. I turned the glass up and drank it all in one swallow.

He laughed. “Slow down now. You don’t want to get drunk.”

Warmth spread through me, and I released the towel. The tension I’d been holding onto in my shoulders relaxed.

He held up a red berry to my lips. “If you liked the wine, you’ll like this.” I opened my mouth and took a bite, mindful of his fingers.

Heat blazed in his eyes, and he swallowed hard. “You’re going to be the death of me.” His whispered confession sent a thrill through me. 

I plucked a purple berry from the container. “What is this?”

“A grape. The other was a strawberry.”

I held the grape to his lips. His tongue swirled around my fingers before he took it into his mouth. I sucked in a breath when my sex stirred within its sheath.

We continued to hand feed each other, neither saying a word. Every bite or lingering touch sent sparks arcing from one to the other. By the time we finished, I would have given Poseidon’s trident to have his hands all over my body.

He leaned into me, and I met him halfway. Our lips crashed in a tidal wave of passion. I opened to his tongue demanding entry. Our hands sought every inch of available skin. I wanted more. I wanted to feel his body slide against mine.

As I reached for his shirt, an electrical current zipped through the air. The gentle waves became a torrent of unrest as they crashed along the shore, the spray soaking our nest. Dark clouds drowned out the moonlight, and the air grew heavy.

“Kye!” My father’s voice boomed across the water.

I pushed Matthias away. He jumped up and stood in front of me, shielding me from my father.

“What is going on here, Kye? Who is the human?” Panic raced through me. Even as young guppies, we were taught to never interact with humans. If you were lucky, your punishment would be removal of a few scales. For our interference, the humans paid the price with their lives.

“I’m his boyfriend, and I hope to be his husband, if he’ll have me,” Matthias answered.

Even through my fear of my father’s wrath, excitement bubbled up inside at his proclamation. Though I lived in the sea, Matthias spent a lot of time teaching me about human customs and words. I knew both terms. All I cared about was he would be mine. Forever.

 My father brushed off his words as though he was an annoying swarm of krill. “Kye, come along. Your grandfather is expecting you in court. The courtiers have become restless, waiting to start.”

Matthias stiffened and shifted his stance as if he prepared for battle. I wrapped a hand around his calf and whispered, “It is alright.”

He didn’t move far, just enough I could see around him to my father floating in the waves.

“Father, I…” What could I say to make him understand I wanted to stay by Matthias’s side? I loved him. The thoughts of leaving, to never again feel his touch on my skin or his breath on my lips, caused an ache so deep in my chest, it felt as if the kraken himself had reached inside and squeezed my heart with his razor-sharp tentacles.

“Sir, I request permission to court Kye.”

Startled, I gazed up at Matthias. My proud warrior stood tall in front of my father, feet apart and hands clasped behind his back, never flinching at the menacing scowl directed at him.

Triton studied Matthias. As the son of Poseidon, he had the power to herald the will of my grandfather, Poseidon. If he deemed Matthias dishonorable, father would banish him from the waters forever to walk on dry land at the very least. Or left to the mercy of the monsters of the deep at the very worst. Neither of which I could bear.

“You think you are worthy of my son, you with two legs and no tail?”

“I am wholly unworthy of your son, but he means everything to me. I would swim to the ends of the world and beyond, in creature infested waters if it meant I could be by his side always. He is my everything, and I would give all I have to be with him.”

“You know what you ask, human?”

“I do, sir.”

My breath stalled in my chest, and my heart threatened to explode. “Matthias! What are you doing?”

He started to remove his clothing and dropped it to the rocks. When he finished, he stood shamelessly in front of me.

He reached down and cupped my heated cheeks. “For a year now, you have come here to this rocky shore and sat with me, learning about my family and friends. About our customs and culture. But we can’t continue this way.”

Hurt brought tears to my eyes, and he rushed to finish. “No, you misunderstand. We need to be together in one form. We cannot be truly together with you living in the sea and me on land. And I cannot stand the thoughts of spending another night without you by my side, holding you. Loving you. I choose to be with you. I choose you.”

He jumped from the outcrop and into the water. A scream left my throat as I scrambled to follow him, afraid he would drown in the tumultuous sea.

By the time I reached him, my father had his trident pointed at Matthias’s throat.

“Father! Please! I’ll come back to court with you. Marry whomever you wish, just please don’t hurt him.”

Matthias turned his stormy gaze to me. “You will marry no one but me.”

“Kye. I have only ever wished the best for you. I want you to be happy. Does this human make you happy?”

“Yes, father. More than you will ever know.”

“So be the word of Poseidon.”

By day, legs become one, and lungs become gills. 

Ever the sea you roam. 

By night, fins split asunder and air you shall breathe, 

The land shall become your home.

Lightning danced across the sky from the end of father’s trident. A bolt hit Matthias, lifting him out of the water before arcing over and striking me. Pain radiated through my caudal fin, and a silent scream left my throat. When my vision cleared, we were once again on the blanket and Matthias held me in his arms.

“Wh-what happened?” My throat felt as if I had swallowed a jellyfish, and it stung me on the way down.

“Son.” Father floated nearby. “I expect to see you both at court in the morning with a formal announcement. It will thrill your grandfather.” Before I could respond, he dove beneath the waves and disappeared.

Matthias stared down at me, a shy smile on his face. “So, Kye. How do you feel about sleeping in my bed tonight?” I followed his eyes down my body.

I’d often imagined what it would be like to have legs instead of a tail, but the reality of it startled me. I gave them an experimental wiggle.

“I suppose I must learn to walk first.”

He laughed. “Yes, I suppose so.” His face turned serious. “But first. I have something I planned to give you earlier, before your father appeared.” He reached into the basket and pulled out a small box. He opened it and held it out to me.

“Kye, the moment I opened my eyes and saw you, even though I thought it a hallucination, I knew it meant you were to be mine. I spent months out here searching the shore for you, hoping to catch just one more glimpse so I knew you were real. And then you appeared.

“I knew right then, you were the one I would spend the rest of my life with. I didn’t know how it could be, and I prayed to every god imaginable that somehow we could be together. Your grandfather heard my prayer and reached out to me in a dream. He said in order for me to be worthy of his grandson, I had to prove I would give up everything as I knew it. When Triton appeared tonight, I knew the time had come. I would give up every limb I had to be with you forever.”

He took the ring out and placed it on my finger. Tears gathered in my eyes and spilled onto the blanket. It was a simple black band with a mother-of-pearl inlay. It was perfect.

“Will you spend forever with me?”

I captured his face between my hands and pulled him down until we were a hair's breadth apart. “Yes, I would have nothing more than your love until the end of time.” 

He crushed his lips to mine, and my world became whole.

Matthias

I eased around the rudder of a sunken ship. It must have been glorious at one time; its golden stern and wooden masts filled with pirates or world explorers.

Bright schools of fish zoomed by, ignoring my presence. Though I’d called the sea home for over ten years now, I never tired of the wondrous creatures unseen by human eyes until now.

I spotted Kye’s shimmering green tail before his upper body came into view. He dashed ahead through the water, dipping behind a coral bed.

Days not spent in court with his father and grandfather, we explored, collecting rare shells or studying new species. Even picking up a gold coin or two from lost treasure. A collection of trinkets sat along our mantle.

At night, we climbed into bed in our secluded cottage on the shore of a deserted island and made love until the first rays of light broke through, changing our form. 

I slipped up behind him and wrapped him in my arms. Our tails tangled together, disturbing the seabed.

I whispered in his ear, “Boo.”

His laughter reverberated through the water. “You should know by now you cannot sneak up on me.”

“I do, but I enjoy the hunt.” 

He turned in my arms. Brows pinched, nibbling on his bottom lip.

“What’s the matter?”

“Are you happy here? Happy with me?” His uncertainty still plagued him after all this time. Many a night he woke from a nightmare in which I was gone, and he was alone.

I tugged him closer and grasped his chin, tilting it up so he could look into my eyes.

“The moment you found me, something changed inside me. You not only saved me physically, but mentally as well. I was drowning in a sea of sorrow and despair. You gave me something to live for.” His breath hitched and tears floated away with the sweep of the current.

“You will never know how my love for you flows through me. It grows stronger with each passing day...and night. Whether we are on land or in the deepest sea, I will never regret for even one moment being with you. There’s nowhere I’d rather be.” I brushed a soft kiss across his lips. “Now, let’s go.”

We broke the surface of the water just as the sun’s last few rays spread across the sea and winked away. Our transformation into two legs, seamless as we reached the shore. Hand in hand, we crossed the sand and stepped into our home.

No. There was nowhere I’d rather be. Forever.