Damien had just gotten one of what was possibly the worst phone call of his life. His aunt was on the other end of the line weeping. He had just been rudely woken up after just sleeping with some woman he had met at a bar. That same woman was still asleep right beside him with a bare breast poking out from under the blanket. Even the hot session from just a couple hours ago is forgotten as his aunt's words echo in his head. It makes him angry while making him sad. He did not want it to be true. His cousin, Jesse, cannot have disappeared.
A day and a trans-continental flight later, he meets his aunt and uncle at the airport. He is not here to stop and chat with them; they still are planning to fly to Greece. His parent's are not here and they are not expected to be since they had passed away in an accident many years ago. It had been his aunt and uncle who had been his guardians. Together, the three of them step on the plane that is ready to fly over the ocean.
Back in the Aegean Sea, a mermaid wakes up in a merman's arms. Though this was only the second time Jesse slept next to Riley, the feeling of their two naked bodies pressed against each other keeps her preoccupied every second she has been awake. Unlike the first time, Lily, Brynn, and Miek were also sleeping in the room. The fear of waking Lily or Brynn prevented Jesse's hands from moving around unnecessarily since she can hardly imagine how angry they would be if they happened to see her attempting to molest their brother in his sleep. She is grateful that they even allow her to stay at their place so offending any of them is the last thing on her mind.
The sunlight is already pouring into the sea and everyone around them starts to wake. Jesse cannot help but notice that Riley's manhood steadily growing in front of her. This is the first time she has seen it like this. Jesse can feel it pulsing along with his heartbeat. With each beat, his cock grows a bit until it reaches a nice length. As though it had a mind of its own, Riley's smooth length seems to call out to her, begging for a touch. Jesse resists with all her might. Suddenly Riley's cock moves, but Jesse sees that it is because the person it is attached to has awoken.
"G' morning, Jesse." says Riley groggily.
"Good morning." replies Jesse sweetly.
Jesse looked at Riley's face for a moment before looking back down at his manhood. Riley does not seem to notice this as he quickly gets up and swims out of the hammock, his hot flesh still fully erect. Jesse quickly follows him wondering what the others will say when they see him. She sees that her answers will soon be answered as Lily is already waiting in the next room. Jesse turn red as she and Riley sit down on the furniture. She tries to keep her eyes on Lily's face to avoid any further unnecessary staring. For a split-second, Jesse could have sworn that Lily's eyes glanced at Riley's conspicuous manhood. Lily's mouth opens and Jesse turns a deeper shade of red at what she hears.
"Looks like something almost happened to you guys...," says Lily with a sly look on her face.
"No, no... Nothing happened...," says Jesse, her eyes looking at the uninteresting floor.
Riley looks around curiously from his sister to Jesse. He sees Jesse blushing furiously and then notices that his flesh is still standing strong.
"Oh sorry about that, guys. I didn't notice earlier." explains Riley. "I hope that I didn't poke you earlier." He adds to Jesse.
"Sorry.... I am the one who should apologize... I should not really be getting worked up like this... I'm just not used to being around mermen, that's all." says Jesse, without pausing to take a breath.
Riley smiles at her, understanding her situation. His flesh is already starting to soften slowly. Lily smiles, too, but it is a peculiar smile. Jesse has seen this smile before on other women. A smile that says she had just caught something juicy. Before any of them open their mouths to say anything further, Brynn swims into the room followed by Miek, both of them still yawning and tired.
"That was a fun night. Let's do it again." mumbles Miek.
"Yeah... yeah it was." adds Brynn.
The two of them sit on the other side of Riley. Even though they just got up, they are already leaning on top of one another, trying to get comfortable enough to pass out. Riley, Lily, and Jesse just look at them with their eyebrows raised.
"I think we should just go on ahead without them, they'll get caught if we bring them up in this state." whispers Lily.
"Where are we going again?" asks Jesse, confused.
"Lily wants us to with her to see the human ship. It is not the right conditions at the surface, but we need to scout out to find the perfect place to see human boats. In the worst case, we would have to go close to one of the human villages. I know it's dangerous, but that won't stop a mermaid like Lily." says Riley.
Jesse turns to Lily again and sees a bright smile on her face from her brother's compliment.
"Let's go to Varon's first. He probably isn't awake right now." says Lily excitedly.
From the tone in her voice, Jesse can easily tell that she is the undisputed leader of the group. She quickly gets up and leads them out of the house. Both Riley and Jesse follow her as they head for the center of the village where all the shops are. The three of them approach one of the taller buildings and enter through a second-story window. Inside, Jesse sees the same kind of bed that Marissa had, though it looked more like a green potato. Lying on that same potato-shaped bed was Varon, still asleep as Lily had predicted.
Lily swims up without making a sound. She motions to the two merpeople behind her not to do a thing. She floats over to Varon until she is hovering just over his body. Jesse cannot help but think that they are two inches away from what most would consider sex, but the next move drives that out of her head. Lily grabs Varon by the shoulder and shakes him awake.
"You. Are. Supposed. To. Be. Awake. Right. Now." says Lily between each shake. She stops the shaking with the last word.
"Wha- wha- wha- wha- What are you doing?" asks Varon during each shake, stunned to see who is on top of him.
"You should have been at our place ages ago!" yells Lily.
"Oh. Sorry." says Varon, now completely awake.
A few moments later, the four of them are swimming towards the brightly lit surface. According to Lily's idea, they are to split up into two groups. She tells Varon to go with her brother and...
"Jesse, you'll be with me." says Lily with a sort of commanding tone.
"Right." responds Jesse, remembering the mermaid's expression soon after she had seen Riley in all his glory after a night in his bed.
"Riley, Varon. You guys go towards the human village on that island and keep track of the ships. We need to know how big those ships can be. Jesse and I will go towards the other two islands over there." says Lily, pointing. "We need to know where all the humans can possibly see us from."
Riley and Varon quickly swim towards the visible town in the distance. Jesse looks over to the islands that she and Lily are supposed to be looking at. She remembers seeing them from the beach where she found Riley; though she does not recall being large amounts of people there. However, the human village where the mermen are heading was on the island where Nikos lives and where she was vacationing. It is a large town so she hopes no one can spot them in the busy harbor. Jesse suddenly feels her wrist taken by Lily as she is dragged off towards their destination. Jesse has an idea that Lily wants to do something more than just scanning for humans.
She ponders what could possibly be going through Lily's head. Unlike with the other three she lived with, Jesse had the least amount of contact with Lily so far. It could have been just coincidence that they have not talked much, but Jesse feels that both of them have been subconsciously staying away from one another. At the first island, the two of them hardly say anything while looking for signs of humans. After finding nothing and also searching the second island, Lily finally suggests taking a break. They swim onto the beach and lie on the hot sand, side-by-side.
"Jesse, what do you think of Riley? Be honest." says Lily suddenly.
"I- I- I like him." replies Jesse, remembering how Brynn said that the others had caught on immediately. "I like him a lot."
"How much is 'a lot'?"
"I don't know. I just really like being around him." says Jesse. "I feel calm... safe... I don't say much to him but I feel as though I can say anything without fear."
Jesse hears the sand shift and quickly feels Lily's gaze upon her. She turns to look back and sees the piercing blue eyes staring right into her. She gets the same feeling inside of her as when Nikos was gazing through her mind. She knows her thoughts are safe but nevertheless dreads Lily finding out about any of her naughtier thoughts and daydreams regarding Riley. What she said was the truth, but she can't help but fantasize a lot.
"What do you want from him then?" asks Lily.
Jesse can see the conviction and seriousness in Lily's eyes. Lying, or even trying to lie, at this point seems to risk everything that Jesse has ever wanted. She did not even expect to be confronted with this question so soon after entering this world. If she lied and Lily noticed, her goal and dream would vanish instantly. Even if Lily did not catch on, she could not pursue the lie for the rest of her life. If she told the truth, then it would be up to Lily how things would turn out. If Lily accepted her answer, she could still continue chasing after Riley's heart. However if Jesse was denied, she would face an uphill battle.
"Well?" asks Lily, still staring intently.
Nothing but the truth seems to fill Jesse's mind. She could tell that Lily was not just a pretty mermaid, she was incredibly sharp. Lying would be the stupid, cowardly way to go. Jesse's mouth opens and the entire truth flows out. She tells Lily everything since she first saw Riley on the beach. She even tells her that she was once a human until recently. Details of how she feels about Riley come out, but Lily just continues to stare without interrupting. Jesse keeps on talking knowing that the mermaid is taking in every single word she says. Even when Jesse finishes her tale, Lily just continues to stare, but Jesse can sense that her mind is whirring crazily. Almost out of nowhere, Lily just sighs. Jesse looks back at her curiously and full of tension; it seemed to have been more of a sigh after making a huge decision rather than one made after a sense of relief.
