The Sea God's One-Night-Stand *Tides of Fate*

11)

"Fade into you" by Mazzy Star

A/N
Hey guys! Sorry for the confusion in the comments. This book is being rewritten from third person POV to first person. The old chapters that used to be here aren't the same as the rewritten ones. 
Happy Reading! 
-Alycat1901

"Monster" Meg and Dia
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Six weeks managed to pass by with me hardly noticing. All former reservations and bad feelings about spending time with Ajax vanished the more we got to know one another. What started off as persistent behavior where Ajax had made certain not a full day ever passed where he didn't say hello, morphed into the two of them meeting every single day even if it was only for one hour given one of us was either working or traveling that day due to our individual jobs.
The small friendship we developed began to stem little by little, growing from small meetings to longer times we spent with one another. Before long, he and I were casually eating lunches or dinners together at least once a day. We could talk on the phone for hours regarding the news or how our individual days were going.

I would not allow any more outrageous spending on his part - even though I could not stop his consistent sending of varieties of flowers – so, we paid for our own meals much to Ajax's displeasure. Still, it was plenty obvious to anyone who watched us together we were not solely friends. The way we smiled and watched each other revealed all. Yet at the same time, we were not yet exactly together in the romantic sense. We would hold hands and Ajax truly enjoyed the few times we hugged, but he respected my wishes for us to take things slow. Having been so incredibly nervous to even give thought to starting some new relationship, I didn't want us to rush into anything. But even when taking things slow, I could not help but note that being around Ajax was the happiest I had ever been with a man, Tate included.

Ajax had the amazing ability to not only make me feel confident about myself, but I also found I never before enjoyed just how spectacularly fun it was just to spend time with someone that simply reveled in turning into one of my closest friends.

It was at the apartment one particular Wednesday while typing out an expense report that Isla came over to where I sat at the breakfast bar. She gently nudged me with a bony elbow. "So, how are things going with too-good-to-be-true?"
This was the nickname she had resorted to branding Ajax when not in front of him. In Isla's somewhat humble opinion, she believed that when something or someone came across as too good to be true, it probably was. She simply could not fathom that a kind, thoughtful, and heartbreakingly beautiful man such as Ajax was fine with not having sex.
I simply gave life to a mental theory that my momma's always cautious attitude in life was contagious and Isla had somehow caught it.

"Amazing." I smiled, trying hard not to blush just thinking of the man I now deemed one of my closest friends. It got to the point that Ajax even knew the little things about me from what I took in my coffee to what my biggest irrational fear was. Clowns and caramel, although, not necessarily in that order.
"Well at least one of us has had some good things happening lately." Isla pouted, rubbing her tired eyes. I did not miss noticing how exhausted she looked as of late. Puffy circles sat under her eyes as Isla poured herself some coffee from the nearby pot. "I swear, I feel we're being haunted," she muttered vaguely, finding a packet of zero-calorie sugar to dump into her cup. Upon stirring, she took a very long sip of the now lukewarm cup.

I wrinkled my nose as Isla next went to pull a package of turkey-bacon from the fridge. My roommate had become convinced over the recent weeks that our apartment was being haunted by a ghost. On two occasions, Isla felt she saw a woman in a room before the spirit vanished. Other than that, she would swear it was the little things that were happening that neither of us were doing. Clothes vanishing, objects not being where we left them. I didn't give these irrational fears much thought considering Isla also assumed the entity she coined the 'ghost bitch' was also hiding the remote for the living room.

I personally felt Isla was simply overworked and still upset things didn't work out with the guy she was seeing. "See the ghost again?" I instead asked, typing away on my laptop as I saved the file.
"Yeah," Isla said slowly, looking lost in thought. "Girl, would you believe if I told you during my three in the morning pee I saw my ghost chick looking into your room?"
"Was she helping with these expense reports...? She could also pay a utility bill or two if she wants to stay with us." I joked, causing Isla to roll her eyes.
"Seriously. It was watching your room and seemed..." she trailed off, biting her inner cheek.
"Seemed what?"

Isla did not look as though she knew how to answer as she started opening the turkey-bacon to drop into the now fully heated frying pan. "Seemed pissed she couldn't get into your room."
I arched an eyebrow as I finally closed my laptop to snag some breakfast. A nearby Macintosh apple in the fruit bowl was calling my name. Isla really did look spooked at the memory of whatever it was she saw as she stared off into space. "So, you're saying your ghost girl was mad because she could not get into my bedroom...?" I trailed off in confusion.
"Yeah, no lie. It's like she was trying but couldn't...By the time I blinked, miss red-head suddenly vanished."
"Red head?"
"Yeah, she's got a mop of pretty red hair, and-"
I didn't pay any more attention as a strong whiff of the sizzling turkey-bacon flooded my nose. It felt as though I had suddenly lost control of my gag reflex. Standing, I bolted for the direction of the nearby bathroom before hurrying towards the open toilet. The contents of my stomach were soon expelled by the time I reached the bowl, leaving a rather nasty residue of coffee and apple backwashed.

"Oh crap! You have food poisoning," Isla whined, slapping her forehead as she came into view. "That is totally my bad, chicka, I thought for sure even though it said use until the fifth, four days overdue would not really harm anything..." she trailed off sheepishly, no doubt referencing the chicken she made for stir-fry the other day.
"Well, it harmed," I said weakly, groaning as the doorbell rang in the next room signaling Ajax's arrival. "Can you get that? I need to wash up."

Isla nodded before walking off, leaving me to grab my toothbrush and an overabundance of tooth paste to scrub my mouth clean. I even made sure to gargle mouthwash when I was done. By the time I stood tall after being hunched over the sink, I found she was feeling a tad queasy from standing up too fast. "Darn that rancid chicken," I mumbled before leaving the bathroom.
Soon enough, Isla was inside the kitchen muttering angrily at herself for not checking her bacon from burning. I walked into the living room in search of Ajax, jumping slightly as a strong pair of warm arms wrapped around her shoulders. "Good morning, love," he neared chirped, causing my cheeks to redden from enjoying his proximity. Ajax was getting braver in recent weeks. Even though he was at first tentative to hold my hand in case I protested, he slowly gained confidence to elevate from handholding to the smallest of hugs. Little by little, he increased the amount of time he held me close to him. Today was no exception. His warm arms remained wrapped around my shoulders as his bronze head rested on my bare shoulder. "Miss me?"