I'm a Mermaid, Not a Merman

Chapter 14

"And then you just walked back in dead silence?" Sammy asked incredulously.

"Of course not," Dani said. "It was almost dead silence."

"Augh, this was painful to listen to," Sammy said, "I can only imagine how it was to watch."

"Stop making fun of us."

Sammy chuckled. "So it's already 'us' huh?"

"Stop it. Liam is a nice boy. I just want to protect his feelings."

"So what are you going to do now?" Sammy asked. "Go on this date to protect his feelings? Become his girlfriend to protect his feelings?"

Become Liam's girlfriend...

"Oh my gosh," Sammy said, "so you do like him."

"What?"

"'What'"? Sammy imitated sarcastically. "Don't give me that, I saw that smile. You do like him."

"I... I don't know," Dani said. "I... just... need some time to think about it."

"I mean I always wondered," Sammy said, "when you eventually came out, exactly how this side of things would play out..."

"Maybe you should keep your nose out of other people's business," Dani said. "Maybe you should focus on romancing Xander instead."

"Hey," Sammy put up her hands defensively, "you were the one that came to me."

"Whatever," Dani said. "I'm just... really conflicted right now."

"About what?" Sammy responded flatly.

".... um, the fact that I assumed my whole life that I was going to grow up and fall in love with a girl and stuff. That might have something to do with it."

"If you like it, go for it," Sammy said. "You'd be such a cute couple, both dressed up as merpeople... and... there's another smile from you."

"Stop that."

Sammy laughed. "I'm sorry it's just... I know I'm being intrusive and this is your own decision bla bla bla... but you obviously like him. Embrace it. Embrace him."

Dani sighed, bowing her head and resting it on her folded arms.

"Personally Dani," Sammy said, "I think that if you enjoy it, explore it. Feel it out as you go along."

"I just... I don't know."

"Okay then," Sammy said, "imagine that you decide this isn't for you. So you decide to find another girl who's bisexual or gay - "

"Ugh," Dani groaned, "dating already takes effort, trying to find someone specifically like that sounds hard."

"This," Sammy said in annoyance, "is just a hypothetical scenario. Relax. Imagine that you find a girl like that. She seems to be attracted to you."

"Is this hypothetical girl into mermaids?"

"I.... probably not. What matters is, do you feel like you have any attraction, whatsoever, to that idea."

"Well," Dani said, "I didn't feel much into guys before."

"But you acknowledged that you resisted it too," Sammy said.

Dani sighed. "I really am attracted to guys... just guys."

"It seems that you've decided then."

"Yeah."

"And you're going on a date with him?"

"Yeah," Dani said with a growing smile.

"What are you doing for it?"

"Um.... he hasn't decided yet."

"Augh," Sammy grunted, "amateurs. Okay, this is what you're gonna do. Text him and tell him that your sister and her boyfriend want to do a double date. We can go bowling."

"Oh... okay."

"Bowling doesn't work for you?"

"No it's just," Dani said, "I wasn't sure if he's supposed to come up with the date himself..."

"What do you mean supposed to? Like in the traditional sense? Who cares. I also don't think that was ever really a thing. Maybe if a guy wants to surprise you after you've been dating for a while, but other than that, there's nothing wrong with chatting before. A date at this stage is just a more organized hang out with less people."

"Okay," Dani pulled out her phone.

Since she'd openly been presenting as a girl, she'd felt free to let her phone background, online accounts, and more all go mermaid themed. Although Sammy wasn't super interested in PC gaming, she was very interested in the mer minecraft server they'd made.

She took a bit to write out the text, and let out an exhale.

"Now you've committed to it," Sammy said.

"uhhh... I know."

"You'll get through it," Sammy smiled. "And gosh, I really hope that it gets more pleasant than just 'getting through it.' I promise, that as time goes on, you'll get more comfortable with dating."

"It's just all the annoying logistics," Dani said. "Figuring out what to do, then since it's a double date, who's going to drive? And -"

"Gosh you make me tired just thinking about how complex  you're making this," Sammy said. "Just figure it out as you go."

Dani's phone vibrated.

>Yes, that works. How does Wednesday night work?"

>That works well for me. I'll talk to my sister and see if her boyfriend is -

"He's free," Sammy said. "If he isn't I'll make him. And he will drive everyone."

Dani backspaced a bunch.

>My sister says her boyfriend is free then, and he'll pick all of us up."

A moment later, Liam responded with an okay. Dani fell back against her bed.

"Congratulations, you planned a date," Sammy said, "was that so hard?"

"It was excruciating," Dani said. "I like just being able to go to their house and hang out."

"Well dating," Sammy said, "is so that you can not only go out and do other things, so you put more effort in, but so that you can focus on getting to know the specific person you're interested in."

"I know," Dani said. "I just... it feels a bit nerve-wracking. I'm now doing it officially. I'm going out with a guy."

"A guy that you already kissed. A guy that you said you enjoyed kissing."

"I know," Dani said, "my brain doesn't make any sense."

"Just please," Sammy said, "for the sake of my sanity, please just relax and have a fun time."

"Honeyed words," Dani said, "from someone who just wants an excuse to ruthlessly defeat us all in bowling."

"Being competitive to an absurd degree is how I have fun," Sammy said. "You can talk each other's ears off while you pretend that you're bowling."

"Oh you're going to eat those words," Dani challenged. "You're going to get one strike, and then you'll never going to reach that height again."

"Be glad Dani," Sammy smirked, "that I am not a betting woman."