Sea Salt (Forbidden Love) (Editing)

Chapter Eleven- War

{Chapter Eleven}-Summer's P.O.V:

Friday is finally here and I have never been happier to see it, especially since tomorrow I will be able to continue solving Lover Boy's secret. I smile at the receptionist, Kelly, as I practically bounce towards the exit after a long day of work.

"Have a good weekend," I say.

"You too," She replies with a smile of her own.

As I turn my gaze away from her, it lands on the last person I expected to see at 6 p.m in the evening.

His vibrant eyes almost suck all the air from my lungs as they trap mine in their gaze. However, I stay composed though my heart is racing over a thousand miles per hour. My big strides become small ones as my pace slows down. Every time I saw him, I was never able to have a good look at him but with him entering the lobby and striding towards me, time seems to slow down.

My eyes drink in every single detail, from his head to his toes.

The way he walks...The way his dark hair softly curls...

The way his eyes light up even from across this long lobby...

The way his navy blue suit fits him perfectly...

How broad his shoulders are...

I allow my eyes to just travel, feeling no shame in doing so as I am making up for lost time. God only knows how long it has been since I got to see him. See him as Lover Boy.

My gaze finally meets his again. It burns through me, almost scorching me. I want to look away but I just can't as it continues to burn every fiber of my being, making me want to run.

His gaze held a warning.

A warning that I know should be taken seriously. A warning that I should back down.

But I refuse to.

I straighten my back and square my shoulders as I release an equally fierce message to show my determination.

Time suddenly speeds back up and he finally walks pass me, like nothing ever happened...like that stare down never existed.

I halt in my tracks and look over my shoulder to be greeted by his broad back as he walks further into the building.

Looks like I just proclaimed war.

~~~~~~~~~~

My curls whip around me as the salty breeze passes over the beach. As I look out at the blue, sparkling sea, I can't help but remember the look in Lover Boy's aka Mr.O's eyes from yesterday.
I know that he doesn't want me to unravel what he is trying so hard to hide but I need to know what is happening...what happened to me...what happened to us.

I take one last deep breath in before turning away and walking towards the line of trees. I push aside branch after branch until I come up to the Blowing Seaweed. I slowly approach it and allow my fingers to gently trace the inscription of the heart.

My heart starts to ache for everything to go back to the way it was. I'm not sure what everything is right now but I'm going to find out even if it takes me an eternity.

I walk away from the tree after taking one more glance and stand in front of the cave where my last memory occurred. I need to find out what he is...who he is.

That thought makes me realize I don't even know his name...

I always just called him Lover Boy.

But what is his name?

I feel like I know so much about him but yet nothing. I have so much to discover. I stride to the opening of the cave to find it closed.

What in the world?

It is like there was never an opening here.

Just then his look comes to mind once again. He wouldn't...

But he did.

How is he able to do these things? How can he shoot lasers and freeze time? How can he enter my room without going through the front door or window?

Furthermore, why is he so persistent in stopping me? I thought he wanted me to find him. I thought that's why he gave me the letter and clues in the first place. Why is he doing this?

I close my eyes and ignore the pain stabbing at my heart.

I'm not giving up.

I pull the memory and play it again in my mind.

I smirk as I sneak up silently behind a boy with a familiar mop of dark hair as he impatiently taps his foot.  I went shopping with my mother so I got to our meeting spot late.

As I stand right behind him, my hands start to attack his sides causing him to squirm. He jumps around, howls of laughter spilling out of him. 

"Basta ya! (Stop it!)"  He shouts as I continue, the huge smile on my face turning to an expression of awe.

I stop tickling him, staring at him with big eyes full of amazement.

"Qué? (What?)" He asks as he looks at me oddly.  I can't understand what he is saying but I find the words so beautiful.

"You speak a different language?" I ask breathlessly, still in shock.

"Sí," he says before catching himself. "I mean, yeah."

"What language is that?" 

"Spanish."

"Wow...where did you learn it?"

"My family used to live in the Caribbean Ocean close to Cuba. We picked up their language, Spanish."

"Wow, it must be cool to be a-"

I replay the last line over and over and over again, demanding my mind to uproot the last part of the memory. Suddenly, I feel it. I feel it uprooting and coming forward. I grasp it.

"Wow, it must be cool to be a merman!"

Merman?

Before, I can wrap my mind around that thought another memory comes to mind. The memory I had when I first met Mr.O.

Lover Boy and I stand in the cave as children, facing each other.  My curls fall down my back in wet tresses as a pink bikini clothes my body.  Lover Boy wears a pair of beach shorts, his dark locks falling around his face.

He holds out his pinky to me and says with a bright smile. "Let's be friends but you have to keep my secret.  Pinky promise?"

"Pinky promise!  You're so cool, I always knew they existed!" I exclaim with joy, my own bright smile on my face as I wrap my pinky around his.

Then, flashes of the mermaid fountain in the lobby, the mermaids made of stones in the cave, the sea, the fish swimming under my feet when I was going to Mr.O's office hit me all at once.

My eyes widen and my breathing speeds up with my heartbeat.

Oh my gosh...it was right under my nose the whole time.

I feel my knees buckle and my body falling to the ground but none of it registers. All that I'm aware of is that one fact.

He's a merman.