The next morning, too filled with excitement to sleep any longer, Mikayla sprung from her bed at six and began to get ready. Trying her best not to rouse her two still-sleeping roommates, she pulled on her nicest white tank and a pair of jeans that hugged her hips while flaring out at the bottom. To finish out the look, she grabbed a black belt, matching black boots, and threw on her classic red hoodie. 

Finally dressed and ready, Mikayla grabbed the keys to her motorbike, the black leather handbag her wallet was in that matched her other accessories, and left the dorm. 

It was still absurdly early, at least an hour before their scheduled meeting time. Mikayla knew this as she sped down the nearly-deserted roads towards the beach. Beau probably wasn’t even awake yet, let alone ready for their date, but she couldn’t help herself. 

When she finally came to a halt on the damp beach, kicking out the stand, she surveyed the beautiful sunrise. 

The sun, which was just starting to poke over the edge of the horizon, shed its bright, pale rays over the shimmering water and the fluffy clouds above. The sky was blue, both light with the oncoming morning and dark with the receding night. 

Mikayla took a deep, steadying breath of the chilled, salty morning air, revelling in the way it filled her lungs with calm. She closed her eyes and leaned back onto her bike, listening to the rhythmic push and pull of the tides on the sand; the soft, faraway calls of the seabirds. 

“Mikayla!” came a voice she hadn’t been expecting for another half-hour. 

She blinked her eyes open, her lips curling into a smile to match Beau’s own infectious grin. He was perched on one of the shorter, flatter rocks that were scattered around the bluff Mikayla had climbed around the day they met. His tail was draped forward, out of the water, but the braids Mikayla had woven into his hair the night before were quite astray. 

“I’m sorry, I tried my best not to disturb them, but…” Beau gestured dejectedly towards the mostly undone braids. 

“It’s okay,” Mikayla said, her smile audible in her voice as she approached him. “I can just redo them.” 

Beau visibly perked up at this, taking no time to turn and slide over on the rocks to allow room for Mikayla to sit behind him once more. 

They sat in comfortable silence as Mikayla ran her fingers through his soft hair, undoing what remained of his braids in order to start again. The way he leaned into her weaving fingers told her he enjoyed her touch. It made her smile. 

“Oh!” Beau exclaimed, his eyes flying open. “I forgot to tell you!” 

Mikayla hummed in response to show she was listening, her fingers continuing their progress through the last silky strands of Beau’s hair. One of her favorite things about Beau’s hair was all the woven-in pearls and shells and bits of coral. They made his hair glimmer and sparkle in the sunlight, surrounding his head with a constant, glowing halo. 

“My dad showed me the old laybris with the spell to turn human!” Beau said. “And the counter spell, of course, so I don’t get stuck on land.” 

“Lay-bree?” Mikayla asked, confused as she pulled her hair tie from her wrist and tied Beau’s hair up. “What’s that?” 

“Oh, it’s our sort of documental system,” Beau said matter-of-factly. “It’s slang, but it’s been so long since we’ve used the real name, so I don’t really know what it’s supposed to stand for.” 

“Ah,” Mikayla said, snapping the last loop of her hair tie around Beau’s hair. “So this spell. Have you tried it already?” 

“No, not yet,” Beau said, noticing that Mikayla’s hands had fallen away. “But my dad said that it’s a hardly noticeable feeling.” 

“Beau, I’m not sure,” Mikayla said, concerned as Beau turned to face her. “Is it hard? Or harmful? If something goes wrong… Can something go wrong? I don’t think-” 

“Mikayla,” Beau interrupted, taking Mikayla’s face in his hands and staring into her rich, brown eyes. “Do you trust me?” 

“Yeah,” she warily replied, nodding slightly between Beau’s hands, her eyes half-squinting with suspicion. 

“Then let me at least try,” he told her, his eyes wide and sparkling. 

And before Mikayla could protest once more, he brought their faces together and pressed his lips to hers in a chaste kiss, furthering his point. As he pulled away, he smiled to see Mikayla’s hesitant agreement. 

“Fuck you, Beau,” she groaned, running a hand through her hair. “Fine, but I swear, if you hurt yourself…” 

“I know, I know,” Beau said with a satisfied grin. “But I won’t!” 

Mikayla rolled her eyes with fondness as she stood and backed away from Beau. He slid back over to take up most of the space on the rock with his tail draped forward onto the sand once more. 

With his eyes closed and his hands braced on the stone beneath him, he began to chant. Mikayla couldn’t help but regard the spell as a song. It was musical and gorgeous and in a language Mikayla would never be able to even dream to comprehend. 

Wait, she thought to herself, her arms crossed over her chest to help with her nerves. When he turns human, he won’t be… He’ll have clothes, right? Wait, shit-! 

A blinding glow suddenly emanated from Beau, bright enough that Mikayla had to raise a hand to shield her squinting eyes. 

“Beau!” she called, alarmed, stumbling a step backwards involuntarily. 

When the light finally faded, Mikayla dropped her hand and blinked over to where her merman lover had sat not moments before because now, in front of her sat– 

“Beau!” Mikayla exclaimed again as she stumbled forward, her mouth open and her eyes wide. 

In front of her sat Beau, but not the Beau she was used to. This version of him was every bit as fantastical as the scaled, finned version of him, but there was something absolutely captivating in Beau’s human form. 

His skin was tanned and glowing in the early morning sunlight, his eyes a bright azure blue as he glanced down at his unnatural shape. Only his arms and face were exposed, however, much to Mikayla’s relief. The rest of his body was covered with casual, everyday clothing. 

A thin white T-shirt covered Beau’s torso, clinging tight enough to his body that it left little for Mikayla to imagine—though she need not imagine it, having spent hours with Beau in the oceanic waters—and a loose pair of cargo jeans the same bright color as his strong tail. Mikayla wasn’t sure, but she thought that his jeans may perhaps be sparkling under the sunlight, just like his tail did. 

But, unchangingly, his braided hair was still adorned with strands of pearls, and his classic crown of multicolored seashells sat on his head. 

His physical position on the rocks hadn’t changed, either, only with a pair of legs crossed over one another in place of the tail. But the way he was leaned back sent butterflies through Mikayla’s stomach. 

“Well!” Mikayla said with a cough into her fist, her cheeks pinking as she internally chastised herself for her own dirty thoughts. “Now that you’re… human, we can… I mean, if you like, would you…” 

Beau smiled, biting back a chuckle at Mikayla’s obvious awkwardness as she stepped towards him and held out a hand to help Beau up onto unsteady feet. He bit his lip as he waited for her to stumble her way through her words. 

It didn’t help how close he was to her, nor the way he towered over her. Mikayla felt her heart flutter—practically no one was taller than her, no one but her dad. And even then, he had barely three inches on her. But Beau was a mountain, and Mikayla wanted nothing more than to climb him. 

What the flying fuck?! Mikayla thought to herself, closing her eyes and shaking her head as if to erase her thoughts like an Etch A Sketch. Stop it, you dirty-minded piece of shit! For all the everloving fuck, pull yourself together! 

“Would you like to go for a ride?” she finally managed to ask, fluttering her eyes back open only to see Beau grinning smugly. “What? Why’re you looking at me like that?” 

But her defiant questions, coupled with her darkening red cheeks, only made Beau’s smile widen. He chuckled as she puffed out a frustrated sigh before slipping his hand into hers and nodding. 

“I’d love to!” he told her, his blinding making her furrowed brow ease. 

Mikayla’s heart practically stuttered to a halt at the mesmerizing, glittering smile Beau flashed her, leaving her mind to scream at the easily-swayed organ. Oh my fucking god, PULL YOURSELF TOGETHER! 

“Right!” she exclaimed after a beat of silence, turning to lead Beau over to where she parked her bike. “Right,” she repeated with less enthusiasm, as if to ‘redo’ her excited near-shout. 

Beau was laughing as he stumbled after her on legs as unsteady as a baby fawn’s. Mikayla tried to ignore the musical sound as she unhooked her rarely used helmet from her bike. She brought it particularly for Beau. 

“What’s that?” Beau asked as Mikayla turned back to face him with the shiny red helmet in her hands 

“A helmet, to protect your head,” Mikayla explained as she lifted the helmet to place it over his head. 

To help her, Beau bent his head and leaned forward to allow the sleek helmet over his still-braided hair. Due to the soft padding inside the spacious helmet, the pearls and wreath of shells that adorned his head were imperceptible past their usual presence. 

“But…” Beau said, frowning behind the reflective visor. “What about you?” 

Mikayla just laughed as she completed the fastening under Beau’s chin to fit the helmet to his head. To her, it was a hilarious notion. 

“Alright,” she said, patting the side of Beau’s helmeted head with a hand before turning on the spot to pull a pair of thick gloves onto her hands, straddle the seat of her bike, and hold out a hand for Beau. “Climb on.” 

“Er…” Beau hesitated, taking a cautious step towards the bike and Mikayla’s outstretched hand. 

Seemingly steeling himself, he took her hand and accepted her assistance, swinging his left leg over the bike and gingerly settling himself behind Mikayla. Her hand, still holding his, guided his hand to wrap around her waist. Slowly, his other hand followed, effectively hugging her warm body to his. Now Beau was the one with butterflies fluttering through his stomach, though he’d describe them as minnows. 

“Hold on,” Mikayla said, a smug smirk just barely audible in her voice as she kicked up the stand and gently pressed on the gas. 

They shot through the forest, down the now weathered-down dirt path Mikayla frequented. Above them, the thick blanket of trees hid the sky from view, but even the layered branches couldn’t hold back the sun’s brilliant rays of light. Beau’s eyes were wide and nearly unblinking as he tried to take in as much of his quickly-flashing-past surroundings as possible. 

Suddenly, they burst out of the trees and raced down the asphalt road of the highway. A faint squeak of surprise left Beau as they jolted and bumped off the dirt, his grip around Mikayla’s waist tightening. In front of him, her smile shone brighter than the morning sun. 

This is gonna be the greatest day of my life, flashed through both of their minds.