Hey Emily-Jane :) No that's not weird, someone else I know does that, which gets me thinking I must get published!

Happy New Year Everyone! Thanks for the support in 2010 and see you in 2011!

Ang

7

She was definitely a mermaid, he smiled in his sleep. All greens and blues and purples just like the waves she lived in. He didn't have to catch her this time; they were embracing, and kissing with their heads above the surface and he could feel her tail flash against his legs. She smiled beguilingly and flicked her tail as she swam off, lending him to follow. She went toward shore and lay in the shallow water while he squinted at her confusedly.

She was telling him goodbye. She had saved him from whatever had forced him out to sea and now she was leaving him to live the rest of his life on shore. But he wanted to be with her. Tail or not. Only she wouldn't let him. He frowned as she slipped away and no matter how deep he paddled or how much he swam up and down, she wasn't there...And she wasn't coming back.

"Gabi!" He sucked a breath in through his nose as he woke sharply, disorientated by his dream. She was knelt beside him, stroking his hair and he was surprised she was there.

"Its okay, you just had a bad dream again," she explained gently.

"It was about you." He said without thinking.

"Had to be bad then," she mused sleepily.

"No, you were beautiful," he said next, still dazed.

"Wow, the power of unconsciousness." She smarted, rising to leave.

"Don't go," he begged roughly, causing her to look back with surprise.

"Earlier you didn't want to…" she wondered.

"You're sober now." He remarked knowingly.

She should have been insulted but she wasn't. She could see the dangers of him sharing sleeping space with her while she was under the influence, she certainly would have taken advantage of the situation and ruined their friendship.

She turned back and watched as he flipped up his duvet, revealing his attractive chest to her and a body she could snuggle for days if she was allowed. She tiredly blinked twice and then slipped into the space beside him, her own small body now covered with pyjama shorts and a racer vest.

"It seems a bit soon to be sharing beds." She sighed as she snuggled closer, not knowing quite where to put her hands.

He wrapped his arm around her and folded the other under his head. "You can touch me you know," he said of her awkwardness with her hands.

"That's a dangerous invitation," she remarked, finally curling her fingers into her palms and resting them against his ribs.

He frowned quizzically at her comment but she didn't stir so he relaxed back into sleep, smiling softly as he felt her shuffle, her small soft body pressed into his deliciously as he found his way back to sleep.

She didn't leave after all. His mermaid came home.

/

"Hey Chad!" Troy called out to his buddy on the sand. "Have you seen Gabi?"

"Nope. Don't tell me you fell for her charade already?

He'd fallen for her, Troy mused. But not in the way Chad was intimating. He'd fallen hard and fast in love with her at about 3am when she had woken and fidgeted and then burst into soulful sobs, seeking his embrace for comfort.

He'd given it freely, holding her tight and secure in his arms as he'd rested his lips against her hair and soothed her with soft words.

His chest had ached as he fought to comfort her and he'd become a little too addicted to the way she felt there against his muscled body, her hair invading his hands.

So where was she? He wondered. He'd thought the very same thing this morning when he'd woken alone, testily tightening his arms to find she was no longer there. She was no longer anywhere. Her, and her things, were gone.

"Do you know where she might be?" Troy asked Chad next.

"Probably at the next street corner shooting crack," Chad replied starkly.

"You do know she doesn't do drugs?" Troy checked gently.

"Yeah, right."

"It's true. Dude, she's been living with me for three days and the only thing she touched was some weed."

Chad hesitated in his next come back, his eyes squinting unsurely. "That's it? Nothing else?"

"I swear."

"No withdrawal symptoms?" Chad asked.

Troy tilted his head and gave him a look. "No."

Chad remained silent as his eyes flicked across the populated beach, searching for problems to solve.

"Then I guess it's time I found out what's going on." He conceded.

"I know she misses you." Troy offered.

"She told you?" Chad was surprised.

"She's not the person you think she is," he assured.

"Then you should go look for her. So she doesn't hurt herself." Chad suggested.

"I have no idea where to start…" He sighed.

"I do," Chad looked to him.

/

Denny's was a strange place. A mixture of day time diner-cafe and evening pub/restaurant.

Chad had informed Troy that it was the place the four of them always came, before.

As he stood outside, Troy took a deep breath in, smelling the fried oily food and the exhaust fumes of the city's pollution. He never did like cities, he mused. He'd rather smell the salt water and fresh fish any day. But she was there. Laughing away without a care in the world with a captivated audience of one.

The guy wasn't the same guy from last night- who Troy quickly filed as unthreatening in his mental records. This guy was being very familiar- almost like he was flirting and Troy felt a little kick of jealousy as he pushed open the diner door and sauntered in, heading straight for the stunning Mexican dressed in a green shorts-suit and sky high red sandals; her hair long and gorgeous down her back as she cupped her chin and listened attentively to her equally dark partner.

"You moved out, then." He said, bringing her attention up and that of the dark-skinned man before her. He had to give her credit, she didn't even blink.

"How did you find me?" But there was a tremor in her cold voice.

He shrugged. "Lucky guess."

"I found somewhere else to stay." She explained when he didn't move.

"Oh? Where's that?" He asked with interest.

"I'm sorry dude, is there a problem?" The man with Gabi asked.

"Not with you. I'd just like to know where my wife plans on sleeping tonight if that's OK," he replied, his eyes never leaving Gabi's face.

"Your wife?" The man spluttered sharply, causing Gabi to cuss under her breath.

"Oh god, Troy, this is so not what you think," she quickly stood holding her hand to his chest. "Marco, we're not married." She added to her friend.

"I'm not leaving." Troy insisted.

Gabi rolled her eyes. "Troy, I'd like you to meet my brother, Marco. Marco, Troy." She introduced.

"Your…brother?" Troy frowned.

Gabi nodded, rolling her eyes ceiling ward again.

"You could have just told me," he accused and she knew then that she had hurt him. The protective shield was down and his blue eyes revealed his true emotions.

"Let's go outside…" She suggested. "I'm sorry Marco," she added to her brother.

"It's ok little sis. I have to get back to work anyway. See you later." He nodded to Troy as he slipped from his seat and left them both awkwardly fidgeting.

"It's sweet that you came here but I can take care of myself." She insisted.

"So how come you didn't go to your brother before?" He wondered.

"I didn't go to him. He came to me. And now he's going to want to know why I'm living with a man he knows nothing about," she sighed.

He frowned. "I still don't understand…"

"I choose not to live at home," was all she said.

"But they don't like you living with strange men?"

"This is why I don't tell you anything Troy. Because my life is…complicated." She huffed.

Yeah, he could see that…

"So you're staying with your brother?" He asked with a swallow.

She shrugged, scooping the frosting from her cake with her finger and closing her lips around it to suck the sugar coating.

"Then why don't you come home?" He asked next.

She sighed and pressed her chin to her shoulder, finally looking up at him beside her.

"Are you mad at me?"

"Honestly? Yeah, a little. I was worried." He admitted.

"But you don't even know me," she shook her head.

"Does that mean I don't care?" He enquired, surprising her.

"You shouldn't." She opposed.

"Well, I do." He shrugged. "Deal with it."

She smiled at his assertiveness and let it fade as her words became serious. "I am sorry." She hedged, then, "I just got scared."

"I get it," he assured. "I get a lot more than you think."

She looked to him, her chocolate eyes resigned. "I know. That's what scares me."

/

The car ride home was strangely quiet. Each of them had their own thoughts to master and Gabi was avoiding revealing any more about her vulnerability where Troy was concerned. That night, in his arms, she'd felt like she could spend every one of her nights being held that way; like she were the only girl he cared about and that feeling was frightening to her.

She knew, though, that he would ask more questions only she was tired and cagey from her new-found feelings and she didn't feel like talking.

"So what is the deal with your family?" He wondered as they came back inside his apartment where he placed her suitcase down.

"I'd rather not talk about it." She replied tersely.

"You don't want to talk about anything, Gabi," he accused softly. "I don't know anything about you."

"I thought this was a no-strings deal?" She asked back.

He shrugged, throwing his truck keys to the side. "Sure, but seeing as we live together now, it would be nice to at least have an idea where you come from and what the heck is going on that would make you want to leave home." He asked pointedly.

She looked away and sighed. "Why do you keep pushing me?"

"Because I want to know you. I want to know about the things no-one else knows. I want to know what makes you laugh or cry and I'm sorry if you think that's pushy. I just…" he paused, not knowing what else to say.

"You don't understand how hard it is for me," she began emotionally.

"How can I? You don't tell me!" he shot back.

"I tell you it's hard and it's not enough!" She swirled, her dark eyes bright with anger.

"What's hard Gabi? What's hard about telling me about you?" He insisted.

"There's too much to know. It's best you know nothing." She folded her arms.

"Best for who?" He wondered, coming toward her. Her eyes shot to him nervously and she wondered if he was going to force the words out of her.

"Best for me, okay? Yeah, I really am that selfish bitch you didn't think I was capable of being!"

"I don't believe that for one second." He denied, right before her now, stalking and ready to pounce. She frowned, feeling everything was out of her control as she quickly read his intention and did nothing to stop him coming closer.

"Don't even think about it…" She warned quickly right before he wrapped his arms right around her and hitched her up against his body where she wriggled to be free.

"Why not? You want to kiss me as much as I want to kiss you." He stated, planting his lips on hers firmly and stealing the kiss she was fighting. Her small hands pushed at his chest and suckered him from her body.

"How dare you!" Her eyes burned with fire and he knew it wasn't anger at all she was feeling, it was the same heated passion that swelled his groin. "You have no right to just grab me and…"

He kissed her again, more softly this time, taking her face in both his palms and allowing her the freedom to move. Only she didn't. She stiffened for a minute, put her hands against his chest in semi-protest and then she moaned in pleasure and ran her hands up around his neck, pressing her body to his as their kiss deepened and he wished he had done this a long time ago.

His hands dropped, allowing his fingers to tease the hem of her shorts, his warm fingers brushing her sensitive skin there right before he cupped her beautiful backside and drew her ever closer, into his aching groin where she pressed closer in agreement.

But she could kiss, he mused as their tongues touched and whirled and his head span too with the happy adrenaline filling his veins.

She let out a muffled protest and broke away, panting heavily as she stared at him in awe, wondering what had just happened in those few moments where they'd left the ground and been flying somewhere else.

"What do you put in those kisses?" She whispered confusedly.

"I could ask you the same thing…" He returned with a smile.

She broke away from his body, the buzzing need across her skin becoming too much to bear as his temptingly muscled body pressed against hers. At least with some distance she might be able to think straight.

He watched her go and wondered if she would leave again, after they had experienced such a spontaneously combustible first kiss. He tilted his head as she plonked herself on the sofa and tried to make sense of their chemistry, running it through her mind with visible unease.

"I'll get you some bedding." He suggested finally when she didn't look his way again after several moments and that brought her gaze up, her mouth opening as if in protest.

Go on; ask me, he begged silently. Ask me if you can share my bed again.

"Thank you." Was all she had and he smirked at his wishful thoughts as he went to get the sheets.

/

The dawn of a new day was always a miraculous thing and this one held no less meaning to Troy as he stood and drank in the view of the beach along with his coffee. He hadn't wanted to wake his guest- who shared his panoramic patio windows- so he'd slipped behind the curtains and stood now between them and the glass patio doors, appreciating everything he had right now, in this moment.

Thank you. He silently praised whoever was listening as he reminded himself how lucky he was to be alive to enjoy the splendour before him.

"What are you doing?" Her dry, sleepy voice pierced his soulful ode to the world from behind.

"Watching the world wake up." He replied, not moving.

"You're behind the curtain," she mused, flipping open the end to arch a brow at him. He smiled softly at her, loving her cranky face even first thing in the morning.

"I didn't want to wake you." He explained.

She slid down the narrow space even though she could whip the drapes open and he smiled bemusedly at her wanting to join him and see what he was seeing.

"It's the beach." She looked up to him.

"Oh no, it's much more than that," he insisted, pointing out the highlights to her. The gull on the coastal breeze, looking for breakfast, the sun laced behind the clouds and dulled by their wisps of moisture, the spray as the waves crashed, fizzing excitedly at the end of their journey. She saw it all through his eyes and was awed by his outlook.

She smiled up at him until he blushed. "What?" He complained.

"Nothing. You just surprise me sometimes, that's all." She admitted, leaning against his arm. He took the hint and wrapped it around her shoulders and she hugged him around the waist affectionately, shocking him even more.

"Are you okay?" He checked.

She nodded against his chest but he felt there was more to her agreement so he swooped down to rid his coffee cup and then encased her fully into his arms.

"You're not are you?" He murmured as she burrowed close.

"You're right, my family is a difficult thing to talk about and there are a few reasons why." She sighed. "First off, my dad left us when I was twelve. That might not be such a bad thing if he'd never been around but I was daddies little girl and then bam, gone. I still don't know why," she swallowed and he brushed his hands up and down her back in support.

"That doesn't give you much closure." He commented.

"Exactly. And I guess I blamed mom. It was immature and obvious but it's what I did and we never got on, which is why when she came here, I didn't want to see her. She never even came to see me after Tay died. She never asked me if I was ok. She just heard I wasn't doing so good and she paid for me to go to rehab." She explained further.

"Rehab?" He asked, wondering if she would finally tell him.

"Yeah. For trying to commit suicide. Not drugs, like everyone thinks." She closed her eyes and let the trails of pain slide down her face as she admitted all her sordid secrets to the only person she believed might understand- or at least who might not judge her and have her readmitted.

"That day in the sea, when I rescued you- you did that before didn't you?" He prompted.

She nodded, "When I saved you."

She looked up, her face wet with tears. "You were right, I was there that day and I lied to you because I didn't want you to know what kind of person I was. I didn't want you to know that I'd done it before," she added.

"What stopped you?" He asked.

"You did." She answered easily. "I was all for it and then you had to go and drown and…" She hitched a breath and he cupped her face to wipe her tears with his thumbs. "I ran away after so no-one would know."

"That's why you were in your underwear…" He remembered.

"And I couldn't go back home after that because I couldn't face telling my family what I'd done, they just knew I was acting out and causing trouble and they wanted to do something but not to comfort me."

"Not even Marco?"

"He never liked Jason. He said he was just using me for sex but we never even had sex, but he didn't even care about that you know? He thought Tay and Chad were a bad influence, god they are so small minded. If only they knew how much I miss her…"

"You and Marco seem fine now," Troy encouraged.

"Only because I'm out of rehab. He wasn't happy about me coming back here. He wouldn't believe me that we weren't married." She mused.

Troy wondered how long he had been holding her as she squirmed in his arms because he hadn't even realised he was still embracing her in this way. She freed herself a little and turned back to face the sea, folding her arms across her body.

"You see why it was so hard for me?" She asked.

"You saved my life," he replied, ignoring her question.

"I know."

"I don't know how to say thank you in a way that shows you how much I mean it," he commented.

She turned to him with a playful smile and tilted her head. "You could kiss me," she suggested.

Quite happily, he mused as he tenderly braced her face and leaned down to do just that, brushing his lips against hers oh-so softly.

"I'm glad I saved you that day from the sea," he said then, broaching the subject she hated to discuss. "I got to repay the favour," he smiled.

She stared at him for a moment, for the first time feeling like she deserved to be saved and there was a reason for being alive.

"What do you want for breakfast?" She asked instead, pulling away and severing their contact.

"Can you make those delicious eggs again?" He smiled disarmingly.

"Of course." She agreed, fighting her way out of the drapes to head for the kitchen.