"Do you believe in that story about mermaids?", Mindy asked Talia. The two of them were standing on the side and listening to Kalina's and Maya's excited chatter.
Talia shrugged. "Unless I see them, I can't be a hundred percent sure they exist, but just because I didn't see them, doesn't mean they are not real."
If Mindy asked Talia this a month ago, Talia's answer would be that there are no such things as mermaids. Her life was too gloomy for her to believe in anything magical.
However, since then, Talia met Damon who found her in the attic, he gave her a place to live and food and more than she ever dreamed of. So yes, thanks to Damon, Talia started believing in fairytales, miracles, and above all, she believes in Damon.
"How about you?", Talia asked Mindy. "Do you think mermaids are real?"
"Yes.", Mindy responded without missing a beat.
"You do?"
"Of course. There are many things in the world we don't know about, but that doesn't mean those things don't exist. Take us for example. If you go to human town and ask if werewolves are real, what will they say?"
Talia thought how Mindy's words make sense.
Talia took a mental note to ask Damon about those mermaids. Considering his adventurous and rebellious nature, if there is anything mysterious down there, he definitely found it.
"Stop talking about mermaids…", Tatiana snapped at Maya. "At this rate, Lina will find herself at the bottom of the lake, searching for them. Will you take responsibility for her safety?"
Maya pouted. She was secretly hoping that Kalina will join her and the two of them give it a go together. Caden forbid Maya from going again down there, but if Kalina comes, then Caden won't be able to stop them. Who knows, maybe this time she really sees mermaids?
"Stop being such a worrywart.", Kalina frowned at her sister. "What's a life without some excitement?"
Tatiana cocked an eyebrow. "Some excitement? Didn't you hear about murky waters and currents that make you disoriented so you get lost in kelp forest? Unless you are a fish, stay out of it. Or even better, tell Tony. If he agrees that you can go mermaid hunting, I will stay out of it."
"No, no…", Maya was quick to interject. "Let's not bring guys into this."
Tatiana smiled smugly, feeling victorious. "And why is that?"
"Guys are overprotective. If it's up to them, they will jump into a volcano and wrestle rattlesnakes, while keeping us under a glass bell.", Maya said.
Talia agreed with this. She had a fresh memory of Damon jumping into a waterfall and then shouting at her for doing the same.
"OK. OK.", Kalina said while waving her arms between Tatiana and Maya to get their attention. "No more mermaid talk. We said that we are going into the water, so let's get down to swimsuits." She turned to Maya and mouthed, "Later".
"I saw that!", Tatiana snapped.
Kalina blinked at Tatiana innocently. "What did you see? There was nothing…" She pulled her t-shirt over her head and got busy unbuttoning her shorts. Just like other girls, she had a swimsuit under her clothes.
Talia was fascinated by the tattoos that covered Kalina's exposed back. As Kalina's body moved, it looked like that artwork came to life.
"Are you sure that there are no stands for these umbrellas?", Axel asked Damon suspiciously.
"My Omegas searched for them, but they had no luck finding anything.", Damon responded with all the sincerity in the world.
Axel didn't believe him. Damon was standing on the side and enjoying Maddox's struggles.
"The stands should be in the same place from where tables and umbrellas came. It's obvious that they are a set.", Axel said dryly.
Damon nodded. "They should. However, it's been ages since any of these were used, and over time things got lost. Don't worry, I'm sure they will be found. Or if they are not, we can come up with something that will work."
Damon didn't care about the stands. He asked Omegas to bring a large white canopy that they use in the garden of the packhouse when there is a gathering. That should provide shade for all their towels.
The canopy will arrive any minute, but Damon didn't want to reveal that because, just as Axel suspected, Damon was enjoying Maddox's struggles.
"I thought that your front is impressive, but your back is even better!", Talia's excited voice drifted toward Damon and his ears perked up. Was she talking about him? Definitely!
He straightened his posture and puffed his chest so that she can get a better view of his back.
"That bird is beautiful…"
Damon's brows came together. He has a lot of muscles, but he was not aware that any of them resemble a bird.
Damon turned toward the direction where Talia was, and his expression darkened when he saw Talia fawning over Kalina. Damned tattoos!
By the time Talia finished visually inspecting Kalina's tattoos, Mindy, Maya, and Tatiana were in the waist-deep water, passing a massive beach ball among each other.
"Are you two coming?", Maya asked in a singing voice.
"I'm ready!", Kalina exclaimed and dashed into the water.
Talia realized that she was the only one not ready. She unbuttoned the top three buttons of her dress and pulled her arms out before she shimmied out of the garment and flicked it with her foot on the towel.
Talia made a step toward the water when everything turned dark.
"Ahh!", Talia screamed and started flailing her legs.
There was a fluffy fabric all around her and she lost her footing!
She didn't fall, and there were two strong arms holding her, and something firm pressed on her back. Was she being kidnapped? In front of everyone!? And why was no one helping her!?
"Relax, kitten. It's me.", Damon's voice sounded close to her ear.
Talia was flabbergasted. Damon? What the…?
"I need to talk to you.", Damon said.
"Can you let me go first?", Talia squeaked.
"Sure…", Damon kept her down and she struggled to remove fabric that was obstructing her face.
It was a beach towel.
Talia was not happy. No matter what Damon wanted, was there a need to wrap her in the towel and carry her? The beach was packed with people, and they all saw him acting like a kidnapper.
Talia wanted to keep the towel away, but Damon was quick to grab it and wrap Talia in it from shoulders down.
"What are you doing?", Talia asked while wondering what got into him.
Damon looked at Talia and his brows furrowed while he scrambled to find an acceptable answer to her question.
He thought that his biggest problem was Talia admiring someone else's body (aka Kalina's tattoos), but then he saw her getting undressed and she was left in only a red bikini and… how can he allow others to see her gorgeous body? That is only for him to see, damnit!
If he knew that it will be one thing after another, he would put a stop to the idea of an afternoon on the beach!
