Just a Taste

Mermaid

Needless to say, it didn't work.

Smothering the laughter that threatened to bubble up, Dan went to her rescue. Picking the burning thing up off the counter, he tossed it in the sink and turned on the water full blast.

In no time at all, the fire was out, the flames replaced by hissing steam.

He heard Lily draw in a shuddering breath behind him. Was she crying? God, he hoped not. Crying females were not his thing.

He turned to check and was relieved to see that there weren't any tears. But she did look a little shell shocked. Also, messy. Green goo dripped tracks down her face and onto her chest—adding stripes to the polka dots on her chest. Her makeup was smeared, turning what used to be a smoky eye into a raccoon mask. Even her hair stood up unevenly around her face, looking like she'd just woken up after a terrible nightmare.

"I'm guessing that didn't turn out the way you wanted," he deadpanned.

For a second she just stared at him before a smile quirked at her lips.

"I was just trying to make a smoothie. I had no idea the blender was possessed by demons."

"You have to be careful on this here island. A lot of the crabs we eat turn into evil ghosts and possess small kitchen appliances. They're killers."

Lily laughed. "Death by blender. That's one I haven't seen in the horror movie flicks."

Just then, Dan noticed the camera still blinking away from its makeshift cookbook tripod on the counter. "Looks like you already filmed the first half of the scene," he said, picking it up. "Now we just have to film the aftermath. Go ahead, do something scream queen worthy."

Without missing a beat, Lily struck a pose, clapping both hands to her face, Home Alone-style.

"The crabs are out to get me! They're going to kill us all and take over the town. Oh, where is Handy Danny when you need him?"

Dan carefully set the camera down and stepped into character.

"I'm right here, of course. But I'm afraid you're covered in crabby crack-producing poison. If we don't get it off you, your skin will crack off like a cooked crab shell and you'll die."

"Oh no! Whatever will I do?"

"There's only one thing to do, I'm afraid," he said, scooping her up and slinging her over his shoulder, caveman style. "We're going to have to throw you in the ocean!"

Lily shrieked. "No, anything but that!"

Dan smacked her bottom, enjoying the way it rippled under this hand. "Hush now, it's the only way!" Ignoring the rest of her yells, he strode outside and down the boardwalk, trying not to notice the feel of her damp breasts swaying against the thin t-shirt that covered his back, and certainly not giving in to the desire to lick the tender looking skin of the thigh pressed against his chest.

Carrying her to the edge of the dock, he unceremoniously dumped her in. "There you go, sweet damsel of mine. Into the cleansing soup of the ocean!"

And not a moment too soon, either. If he'd had her in his arms for one more second, he'd have foregone the dunking in favor of kissing the smoothie off of her.

He expected her to come up laughing—any time now. Where was she? He knew for a fact she knew how to swim. Surely she couldn't have forgotten how. But what if she'd hit her head on something? It seemed unlikely, but still.

Dan crouched down at the end of the dock, trying to peer beneath the waves He didn't see anything...

Suddenly a pair of arms burst out of the sea and grabbed him by the neck, toppling him off the wooden planks. Before he knew it, he was getting a firsthand look at what was under the water. Nothing dangerous...except for a polka-dotted mermaid.