This is the last chapter without any *spice*, from now on each chapter will have some, just needed some time for the background. Constructive feedback is helpful and appreciated! Thanks to @kenjisato for editing!
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Enchanted Emporium was closed for the next two days. This free time allowed Marigold to catch up on chores, binge-watch reality TV, and plan the next quarter for Enchanted Emporium. As she was loading clothes into the washer, she felt her phone vibrating in her back pocket. She looked at the screen and smiled.
"Hey Cove, haven't heard from you in a while."
"Goldie, the sea has kept me away from you for far too long. I have returned and will be at your home in two hours."
"Well, you sure don't give a girl time to get prepared!"
"You don't need to prepare for me, you know that. See you soon." Cove disconnected the call before she could make any objections.
Cove was a long-time friend and merman, who she met before she turned. He was one of the few from her clan that kept in contact with her when he was on land. Cove periodically came to land because he worked as a nurse at the local hospital. His abilities included healing physical ailments, which made his career a breeze for him. He would work for a few weeks, get tired of land and humans, and then return to the sea for a few months. Cove was there for her when everything had happened, and had never treated her differently. She appreciated his friendship and kindness when she had no one.
'Well that gives me two hours to clean and get the spare room ready,' she thought, as she headed upstairs.
'Judas, our friend Cove will be coming today.' Judas awoke from his slumber to slowly blink at her before closing his eyes again.
"So sorry to interrupt your sleep, Your Majesty," Marigold whispered to herself as she began cleaning.
--
Callisto grunted as his weights dropped to the ground. He walked up to the mirror to stare at his reflection. While he considered himself to be in shape, his muscles weren't overly pronounced. His bare chest shimmered with sweat, which allowed his tattoos to appear to be glossy on his skin. His wavy, dark hair was slicked back into a ponytail, allowing a few wet pieces to cling to his forehead.
Callisto believed himself to be average-looking, but his past girlfriends would always say he was being humble. He, however, knew how to use his charisma and charm to get who he wanted. And he wanted Marigold.
He grabbed a towel from a nearby bench to wipe away the sweat that had accumulated on his brow. He then heard his doorbell ring. He racked his brain to figure out if he had forgotten about any upcoming visits, and was left confused.
He threw on a shirt and headed upstairs towards the front door. He propped open the door to see who was visiting unannounced.
"Brother, it could only be your favorite sister," he heard a small, smoky voice from the other side of the door. He rolled his eyes and released a deep, loud sigh before opening the door fully.
Through the door came a woman who seemed to glide across the floor.
"Sister, is your phone not working? I don't think an in-person visit was necessary," Callisto mocked, through gritted teeth.
Before him, stood his sister, Noir. Noir was breathtaking and often used her beauty to her advantage. She was a dainty, five-foot-eight, raven-haired, brown-eyed vampire who turned on her heels after hearing Callisto's question.
"Brother, you are acting like you aren't excited to see your favorite sister?" Noir's head cocked to the side as a grin began to form across her thin red lips.
"You're my only sister and my favorite pain in the ass," Callisto chimed, as he came towards her with outstretched arms for a hug.
Callisto and Noir were biological siblings who were turned ten years apart. They were the closest out of the remaining three siblings and the only two to keep in touch. He gave Noir a tour of his new home, and suggested that they go to dinner since she was only in town for the evening.
--
Cove arrived exactly two hours after their phone call. Marigold was able to clean up the spare room and move Judas' belongings.
"Goldie, my one and only, how are you?" he asked in a cheery voice, as he embraced her.
"Good, happy to see you," Marigold returned, as she leaned into the embrace. It had been almost one year since she last saw Cove. After his last assignment at the hospital, he went back to the deep sea to migrate to cooler waters with the rest of their clan. Cove stood five foot nine, was dark-skinned, with an athletic build; he wore his black hair in a low fade with his goatee and mustache always perfectly manicured.
They both headed inside her cozy house. Cove headed upstairs to the spare bedroom to put his luggage away and change clothes before coming down to join Marigold and Judas.
"Hello Judas, still a handsome boy I see." Cove began petting Judas' head and chin, while Judas began to purr.
Marigold was sitting on the couch, scrolling on her phone while Cove got settled. He came to sit down on the other end of the couch and leaned his head back while releasing a heavy sigh.
"I'm getting too old to keep turning all the time. It takes so much out of me now."
"Yeah, I'm not sure how you have been doing it all these years," Marigold acknowledged, while taking in her friend as he closed his eyes and yawned.
"I didn't have a chance to cook. I imagine you are hungry. Wanna go for sushi?" She grinned, knowing that Cove wouldn't resist and it was guaranteed to improve his mood.
Cove opened one of his eyes to glance over at Marigold while a smile started to form across his lips. "I will drag myself off this couch for sushi."
--
Since Penola Cape was a coastal town, the seafood was always fresh, which was one of the main appeals for Marigold. Merpeople were omnivores in the sea, however, on land they were considered pescatarian only. There was a local place that had the freshest sushi she had found on land. When Cove was visiting, they would go as often as once a week.
They walked to Sushi Galore, one of two sushi restaurants in the small town. Marigold knew the owner, who also happened to be a merman, but from the shore clan. He had turned fifty years ago, established a family, and a business, and never looked back. She was grateful to meet another merperson who had permanently turned and often confided in him about missing her old life.
They walked inside the restaurant and sat in a booth near the back of the restaurant, across from the stage. Sushi Galore had live entertainment every weekend, but this weekend was karaoke. Cove and Marigold loved going to a karaoke night and won every time they participated. Merpeople were musically inclined, all of them could sing, and play any instrument with very little instruction.
Marigold and Cove always ordered the same thing on his first night in town. Two sushi boats with two sake floats. They were laughing and talking when Marigold looked towards the door, with a shocked expression. Cove looked behind him and saw two beautiful people enter the restaurant. A very tall white male with dark shoulder-length hair and a slightly less tall white woman with dark hair.
"You okay, Goldie?"
'What is he doing here? Can I not go anywhere without him being there, too?' she thought, as she cleared her throat and turned her attention back to Cove.
"Yeah, I'm good. Just saw someone I wasn't expecting," she chimed back, followed by a forced smile.
"Are you talking about the man or the woman who just came in?" Cove peered around the booth again to get a second look.
"Stop looking over there, or they will see!" she hissed. Cove rolled his eyes and kept looking until the woman made eye contact with him and he quickly turned around.
"The guy. I'm convinced he's stalking me," she whispered, as she turned around to look at them again.
'Who is that woman? She's beautiful, they look good together,' she thought. 'Why would I think he was into me?' She became annoyed with herself, that she had entertained this man; He was obviously toying with her.
----
Callisto and his sister were seated in the same section as them.
"Do you know that guy? He keeps staring," Noir pondered, while moving her head gesturing towards the table where Marigold and Cove sat. He glanced over at the table and didn't recognize the man, but his eyes landed on her.
'Why is she with him? She didn't say anything about a boyfriend,' he thought, as he took in the appearance of the man. He was quite handsome and acknowledged that they looked good together, but felt envious. This was an emotion that Callisto didn't feel often, and it made him uncomfortable.
"You are staring hard at that guy not to know him," Noir remarked, while looking over the menu.
"I don't know the guy, but I know the woman he's with. I met her a few days ago in town," Noir observed him white-knuckling the menu. "Easy there Incredible Hulk, no need to destroy the menu because she has a man," she mocked.
The server came over to get their order and it was difficult for Callisto to stop looking over at Marigold's table.
"So this guy is being weird and keeps staring over here. The guy that walked in that you said you knew," Cove informed Marigold after they placed their order with the server.
Curiosity got the best of her and she turned to look, and behold, she caught his wide hazel eyes staring back at her. 'He looks pissed,' she thought as she shot him a forced smile and wave. He just kept staring and then his glance went towards Cove, and then back at her, before he turned his attention back to the woman at his table.
The tension between the tables was interrupted by the server dropping off food for Marigold and Cove. When she glanced back over, Callisto was deep in conversation with the woman across from him.
"I think he thinks that we're a couple." She looked at Cove, as he was deep in his sushi boat.
"So what? Unless you don't want him to?" Cove posed the question to her, as he went back to his sushi boat.
Marigold sat there, quietly eating her sushi, while Cove's words continued to repeat in her head. She wondered why he was questioning her when he had a beautiful woman at his table, who seemed like a better fit than she ever could be.
"Miss, the gentleman at the next table sent this for you." The server lowered a bottle of sake on the table, with a note attached that said, "Congrats to the beautiful couple." Both Cove and Marigold looked at the note and then at each other. Marigold felt her face getting hot from anger and then looked up to see Callisto staring at her with a smug grin.
