I was lying in bed thinking about everything that had happened last night. What will the girls say? What would Will say? Lewis? My dad? Harrison? Sophie will bite my head off, but I couldn't care less about what she thinks. Consider it payback. Maybe I'm in over my head. Maybe it was the wrong decision; I guess I'll find out. Buzz. Buzz. Buzz. My phone lit up. It was Zane. Instantly, my eyes brightened, and the corners of my mouth turned up into a grin. Of course it was the right choice.
The text said: "Morning babe. I hope I didn't wake you. We still on for Mako?"
"Yeah. See you in 20?" I replied.
I got up out of bed with the most energy that I had in a while. Something about Zane just gives me some life; for the first time in a long time, the sparkle was back in my eyes.
"Sounds perfect. See you then. Love you" was the reply I got while brushing my teeth.
For once, I didn't hesitate going out to the moon pool. It had been like a drug. I was addicted to going out there because I felt comfortable which was great until I had to leave and felt miserable. I was beyond excited to see Zane. I swam in, but Zane wasn't there yet, so I did what I do best at Mako. I closed my eyes and let my thoughts consume me. I wasn't sure if it had been 20 seconds or 20 minutes when Zane pulled me out of my thoughts.
"Sorry I'm late. My dad stopped me on my way out to talk about café business, and I have to be a lot more careful getting here after it was destroyed..." He faded out with a distressed look on his face.
"It's okay," I smiled at him, "I just got here early. No worries."
"Thanks," he returned the smile as he bent down to be eye level with me.
We shared a small kiss. I couldn't help but think how lucky all of us had been with our boyfriends. All of them took the secret very well, and it always just seemed normal to them. The first time they saw us, you wouldn't believe that they hadn't seen us like that a thousand times. I've always been grateful of that fact; the guys never saw us as anything different because we had a tail.
Zane held up a picnic basket, "You want some breakfast?"
I smiled, "I'm starved." Zane helped me out of the water, and I steam dried. After we ate and kis... I mean talked... for a while, a thought came over me. I stood up and walked to the edge of the moon pool and stared at it with the little devil in my head saying, "You've lost your friends by doing this. You've lost your dad by dating Zane again."
I felt a pair of arms wrap around my waist from the back, "What's up Rikki?" He asked before kissing me on the cheek.
"It's not a big deal. Don't worry about it," I said, trying to be nonchalant and not really succeeding.
"C'mon Rik. Talk to me," he spun me around so we were face to face. He took my hands in his and just looked at me with thos intense, dark eyes just waiting for an answer. He had such a soft side for everyone he cared about. I sat down at the edge of the pool, and Zane followed.
"What will all my friends think, Zane? I mean it always comes out eventually when we choose to keep it a secret, but I'm scared I'll lose them when I tell them. I just don't know what to do."
"You know the girls will wholeheartedly support you," he replied grabbing my hand in his.
"You sure about that? You hurt me, Zane; they want to protect me. What about Will and Lewis. What'll they say? Are you and Will going to be able to sort things out?"
"They also want you to be happy. You can't tell me that when you looked in the mirror this morning that you didn't see a more relaxed and happy person looking back at you. And, Lewis and I are still pretty good friends. Regardless of our relationship, Lewis and I still kept up. Neither of us wanted to tell you though..."
"What! I'm gonna kill Lewis; I though he was on my side!"
"Hey! Now you know why we didn't tell you. I thought you would think that to be a good thing in this case. He's my friend too, Rik. And about Will... I'll try my best. It's not a one way street either though."
"You know they accept Will more than you though. No offense"
"Some taken. You're not having second thoughts are you?"
"I mean a little bit, but no deal-breakers."
"Good," he said as he leaned in to kiss me.
"Oh shoot! It's almost 10! I need to get to the cafe," he said pulling away and standing up.
"Alright. Meet you there later?"
"Sounds good. I love you," he said as he walked out.
I laid there for a while thinking about what I had been all day. How many hours a day can a girl lay and think about the same thing? No wonder guys call up soppy, emotional messes! I figured my dad must be awake and worried about me, so I headed back. I opened the door, but to my surprise I didn't smell any coffee. This was VERY unusual.
"Dad?"
No response.
"Dad?" I quietly opened the door to his room. He was snoring sound asleep. Poor guy. He's been overworked lately. I feel so bad. I know Gold Coast isn't the cheapest place to live, and since I haven't been working, I haven't been able to help out. Maybe that will change now that Zane and I are back together…
I decided to write him a note.
Dad,
Going out for a bit; meeting the guys. Call or text me if you need something.
Love,
Rikki
P.S. I started the coffee for you
I started the coffee pot and left the note on the fridge before walking out and heading towards the cafe to meet Zane.
A/N: There you have it. Just over 1,000 words of actual story. Big shout out to CaylaB5 for inspiring me to continue and helping me develop a plot line! You are awesome! So anyway, if you want to leave a review, please do. I read all of them and respond to most of them. They are always appreciated whether they are good or bad!