Author's Note: Apologies to all my fans for the delay in posting this chapter, I had a lot going on these past few months, some amazing discoveries and tragic events. I'm not sure what the future will bring in regards to my writing, but I thank you for your patience and hope you all enjoy this final chapter to the Rolling in the Meep series :D
*****
"Are you ok?" Ahri asked, almost immediately once they saw the two walking up to the beach.
"Uh yeah, I'm alright now, thanks." Nikki said, a little startled by how easily Ahri had sensed her unhappiness. Only now did Elena look up from her phone, a look of confusion on her face from the conversation. Amarisa squeezed Nikki tightly and she smiled, appreciating the comfort.
"Shall we go?"
They returned to the raft area, and got onto the bus that would take them back home. It was a very bumpy right and the driver speed up the hill like it was nothing. Elena had clutched Nikki's arm hard, absolutely frightened at how the driver handled the sharp corners, at various occasions it looked like it was almost going to plummet off the edge. "Oh god, oh god." She said breathlessly while Amarisa and Ahri snickered and tried not to laugh too hard.
When they got back to Amarisa's house they all took turns taking showers to wash off the day's adventures, and then it was time to go out for food again. Every dinner had been exciting so far, and this time was no different. They headed to the middle of the town where a lot of the mermaids were gathered, and kiosks had been set up. The air was rich with the thick smoky smell of fire grilled meats, as well as all sorts of other delicious aromas. Ahri walked ahead briskly, obviously familiar with what each kiosk sold, and soon she had returned proudly with two large barbeque squids on skewers for Elena and Nikki. "A gift." She insisted when they tried to give her money. "She likes the fried foods." Amarisa muttered under her breath to the two girls. Every vendor looked more enticing than the next, one vendor sold giant, spicy sausages with garlic, the smell that wafted towards them made Nikki's mouth water. She ended up giving in and buying one for herself and Amarisa, who warned them that there were a lot of delicious things to try and to not fill up on just one item. But several minutes later it was her who was ordering the black pepper steak with fried egg and spaghetti meal to go.
"We can share." She insisted when reminded of what she had suggested earlier. Then there was the fried station where one could pick all sorts of things to be fried on the spot, shrimp, yam, onions, potatoes, chicken, clams, mushrooms, there were the standard things to deep fry and yet there was so much more. The two mermaids hung back while Nikki and Elena picked and chose one of almost everything on the menu. Daringly, Elena even asked for a skewer of chicken hearts to be fried. "What do they taste like?" Nikki asked as they sat down at a picnic table to eat all the food.
"Hm, try one." Elena said. It tasted...good, a well-seasoned meat that was dense and a little chewy. Nikki liked it, and when Elena was having some of the peppered steak Amarisa had bought she took another chicken heart off of the skewer.
"I'd get so fat if I lived here." Elena commented, gushing over how good everything tasted.
"Aha yes, it can be quite hard to resist." Ahri said as she came over with a container. "Butter basted chicken wing?" She said, offering.
"Oh absolutely."
Twenty minutes later they were all feeling very stuffed. They moved away from the food stalls to head over to the grassy areas to relax. Nikki rested her head in Amarisa's lap, as she stroked her hair. She looked over at Elena, who was sitting cross-legged and was resting in Ahri's arms happily. Nearby, music was playing, and mermaids were dancing. They looked so carefree and joyful, Nikki couldn't help but smile as she watched them. "They look so free and happy." She said to Amarisa, almost in awe. Amarisa leaned down and kissed her on the lips. "And you?" Amarisa asked. Sweet sweet Amarisa, the angel that had come from the lake and given her a love so strong and powerful that sometimes she would just lose herself in the thought of it, how lucky she was to have her, how impossible it was that anything other than fate could have brought them together. "Yes." She said, pulling her lover down for another kiss.
*****
The next day Nikki and Amarisa set off to go to the cabin for their special day. Ahri and Elena waved goodbye to them happily from the front door of Amarisa's house and from the looks of it, Nikki could get that they wanted some alone time too. With a shudder she wondered if they should sterilize all the surfaces once they got back from their mini-vacation. It was only for a day so they had only brought the necessities, and a few things for fun. Nikki had brought a book and Amarisa brought a carving to work on. But Nikki doubted that they would be doing much of either. Her love for Amarisa was so great, she could barely contain herself, soon they were groping and kissing each other as they headed down the street to the cabin's location, and it wasn't even unusual, there were other couples doing pretty much the same thing. "Let's see, number 15." Amarisa said, detaching herself from Nikki as they approached a split in the pathway. They followed down the path, moving further and further into the woods until they could no longer see the other mermaids.
When they reached the cabin Nikki gasped, it was beautiful and quaint, the rich brown wood looked warm and welcoming, and there was a small patio on the front with a very large canopy bed. "A lot of mermaids like to enjoy the night, some often sleep outdoors." Amarisa explained. They spent the next few minutes exploring the interior, there was a single bedroom, a kitchen area for cooking, a bathroom with a big Jacuzzi tub, and a living room area with a nice comfy couch and a TV and a fireplace.
They put their stuff down and Amarisa suggested, "How about we go for a swim?"
Already the day was heating up, the nice breeze in the early morning was gone, and Nikki could already feel the sun on her body, warming her up. It was so beautiful here, the way the ocean's waves rolled onto the sandy shore, the calling of seagulls in the distance, to be able to look out in the distance and see nothing but water, Nikki felt an enchanted feeling of endless possibilities. Nikki shivered as her foot touched the water, the first feeling of the cold water was always a shock. Beside her, she could hear Amarisa let out a whoop as she dived into the water. Nikki took another step into the water just as Amarisa splashed her.
"Hey!"
"Come on, we don't have all day!" Amarisa exclaimed with a laugh as she dove into the water and resurfaced further away. Nikki splashed more water on herself before she ducked under the water. She shook the hair away from her face as she came back up and tied it into a tight ponytail before she swam after Amarisa. Amarisa was a much stronger swimmer than her, and she had to push herself to catch up to her. Amarisa closed the gap between them.
"It's so gorgeous here." Nikki said in amazement, she watched a few mermaids swim against the waves before they relaxed, arms spread out and allowed themselves to be pushed back to the shore.
They spend most of the morning playing in the water, they occasionally joined the other mermaids for games, Nikki showed them how to play Marco polo, and one where they tried to see who could have the most seaweed in their hair. Nikki won that one after she came up with a way to braid the seaweed into her hair.
