Ten years can change people in so many ways.
Ten years ago he was an egotistical jackass who didn't truly care about anyone except himself even though he truly was in love with a young woman.
Ten years ago she was a moody, rude, and sometimes a just plain stupid young woman who fell for the bad boy. She thought she knew everything.
He was rich. She was poor.
He was a playboy who wanted everyone to know it. She was a virgin who acted like she wasn't.
They went off to college, got degrees, got jobs. They each went through countless relationships. And despite what anyone might say or what the romance novels would be, the two were happy with out each other. They lived their new lives with the same passion they always had. Neither of them felt like something was missing.
She was a mermaid who became an environmental scientist tasked with protecting the underwater environments. He was the man who protected the secret who became a very cunning, and very good business man.
She learned to control her temper most of the time. He never once made a shady business deal.
Whenever the moon was full Zane thought of Rikki. He never noticed it, but he never made plans on full moons because on a subconscious level he wanted to be there if she ever needed him.
Whenever she shops she thinks of him. Of the time he bought her the most beautiful dress she'd ever seen. Of the time when she was still poor. It still hangs in the back of her closet, two sizes too small, but she can't force herself to get rid of it. So it stays, gathering dust.
Still, even though they think of each other frequently they never make the connection that they never truly fell out of love. Though technically they never said it to each other.
She comes back for a wedding of a best friend. He comes back for a business deal. She's late for the dress rehearsal and though Cleo is pretty even tempered, she is not going to be pleased. He's trying to keep a smug smile off of his face from the amazing profit he's about to make. He can't wait to get home so he can lose all of business façade and dance in delight. Both of them are too absorbed in their own world. They're both rushing and weaving through the crowd outside the café.
The café. Rikki's Café. Each of them stops in their tracks. It's still open, it's still called Rikki's. They're both frozen starring at the sign. That's when it happens.
He watches as a teenage boy tries to throw a drink of water on another boy. He watches in amusement at their horseplay until he sees her. Until he sees Rikki for the first time in ten years. He's already moving towards her, shouting at her, but it's too late. The water has hit. They're in a public place. Way too public. The ocean is not close enough. There is no spot to hide.
He grabs her hand a runs at top speed to the only place that could possibly be safe. A cave not like the moon pool, on the far end of the beach.
"Zane." She says. She can feel the transformation coming and they're still too public.
He doesn't say anything. He picks her up and jumps into the secluded hole surrounded by rocks. Her mermaid self is much heavier than she actually is so when she transforms, he kind of collapses.
"Long time no see." Zane huffs out.
Rikki just looks at him, at the entire situation and laughs. She can't stop the laughter and soon it consumes both of them. By the time they finish Rikki is once again human.
That's where we find them ten years later.
Ten years changed them. That's why the second time around they don't go their separate ways. They don't wonder what could have been. This time they're here to stay.