offense, T-are fiending after Kurt, but every time I see him, he’s

like, alone . If it’s not your thing, I get it.”

Kurt shakes his head. There’s something about being with my

friends that makes him more open. I don’t exactly see him pouring his

heart out to the other stoic members of the Sea Guard. It might be his

secret, but he likes humans more than he’ll ever admit. “There was

someone, once.”

“He? She?” The guys press.

“She.” He picks up the empty beer can and plays with the tab until

it breaks. “She was more than-she was everything. Then we were

separated.”

Truth, I’m a little jealous Kurt tells my friends this. Where was

all of this when we were on Arion’s ship together, duking it out? For

the first time, I wonder if Kurt sees me as a friend at all.

“I guess it happens when you move around so much,” Bertie says.

“You don’t know shit,” Angelo says. “Don’t worry, Bertie, we’ll

find you a girlfriend. Tristan’s cousins are still in town. That

Sarabell was giving me the eye the other day.”

“She’s-don’t go there, dude. I’m so serious. She’s bad news.” And

I’ve got her denture marks to prove it.

“Like juvie bad news?” Jerry’s eyes peel back. “Like she’ll steal

my wallet or something?”

Kurt and I exchange smirks. “Let’s just say you wouldn’t be able

to bring her home to mom and dad.”

“Ohhh,” Angelo nods. “You mean she’s not a Catholic. Yeah, my mom

would be pissed. Still-I’m an open-minded guy.”

I’m not feeding my friend to Sarabell for dessert. “So, Kurt is

always alone? Let’s talk about that.”

“Was she hot?” Jerry asks. “I bet she was hot.”

Jerry has had one kiss in his entire life, and that’s because we

paid a freshman to do it. He was pretty mad when he found out, but

then he got over it when he realized it was better than having no kiss

at all.

A flush creeps across Kurt’s face. “Her hair was long, like rich

copper running down her back. Skin white, soft. She made me feel as if

I was the only person in the world for her, like I was important.

Special.” Then he sits up straight. His wall of reserve is starting to

come back and the spell of the day is dissipating. Fat gray clouds are

covering the afternoon sun. “Then I had to go. I had to leave her.”

“Why don’t you go back for her?” Bertie asks.

“I don’t know where she is,” Kurt says.

“That sucks,” all of the guys admit.

Kurt tries to put on his best smile, and that’s when I realize

Layla’s been in the bathroom for a long time.

“I’ll be right back,” I say.

I run down the stairs to the basement. It’s deserted except for a

few stragglers petting each other in the dark corners of the

stairwell. The closest bathroom is in the girls’ locker room. I can

smell the pine-scented floor cleaner, the stale residue from the dirty

gray mops. Beneath that I pick up Layla’s scent, all frazzled energy,

burning sugar. It coats my tongue and I swallow against that pull I

feel in the pit of my stomach.

When I push the door open, she’s standing at the sinks, staring at

herself in the mirror. She jumps, hand flying to her chest. “You

scared me.”

“What’s going on?” I stand behind her. Place my hands on either

side of the sink to stop her from running away. I lower my face into

her hair and inhale deeply.

She closes her eyes and I can feel her heart hammering right

against my chest. Her hair is soft against my skin. I can feel the

tension leaving her body. She lets herself fall into me.

“This is so screwed up,” she sighs.

I bring my lips right over her ear, kissing the tender skin of her

lobe. “What is?”

She turns around, slowly, so I feel every inch of her graze

against me.

She grabs my face.

I don’t have time to catch my breath before her mouth finds mine

and I lose my balance, falling backward and backward until I hit the

lockers. The doors rattle, louder than the surprised gasps that come

from both of us.

She bites on my bottom lip lightly, then pulls back and keeps

kissing me harder and harder. She’s overpowering me, stronger than me

somehow, and I let her. I’ve forgotten what to do with my hands

because all I can think is how much I need her, all of her. I kiss her

neck, the length of her collarbone to the dip of her clavicles and

down. Warm fingers trace up and down my chest. She undoes my top

button and my knees go weak. I press my hands on the hard metal of the

locker for support.

Laughter fills the locker room.

We spring away from each other.

“What the hell, Angelo?”

“I didn’t realize the room was taken,” says the freshman girl

clinging to Angelo’s arm.

I turn on the cold water and let it fill my hands. I splash it on

my face.

“You need an ice bath, bro,” Angelo says.

Layla doesn’t say anything. She walks around them and runs up the

steps. I call her name, but when I get back out to the football field,

she’s gone.

Instead, Kurt’s standing there waiting for me and I know we have

to go. Jerry and Bertie set off a blast of fireworks. The sky is still

so light that the bursts are barely visible, and yet everyone cheers

just the same. I turn toward the street, away from the field, and Kurt

follows silently behind me. Even when we reach the train station, I

can still hear them-laughter and life and fireworks.

The street leading to Betwixt, the underground supernatural

nightclub, is teeming with people. Everywhere except the metal door

with a red star at the top. An invisible cloak makes people cross the

street so they don’t have to walk in front of it, keeping unsuspecting

humans away.

This is what cold feet feel like.

“Are you sure Princess Violet and Princess Kai are down there?” I

ask.

Out of all the mermaids running around Coney Island, Gwen singled

out these two. Kai’s father is Keeper of Records and Violet’s father

is one of seven council members.

The last couple of days, I’ve trusted my gut instincts. And my gut

is telling me that Violet is going to try to eat me like Sarabell.

Then again, everyone says your gut, your heart, and your mind have

different agendas. My heart says, “Go find Layla and finish that

kiss,” because never in my expert years of kissing has a girl kissed

me that way. My mind, which sounds too much like Coach Bellini, says,

“Get it done, boy. You’re on the right track. Just get it done.”

“They love it down there,” Gwen says, knocking once on the door.

“When Toliss comes to shore, it’s the only time we get to see other

creatures. Mermen get so boring after a while.”

Kurt and I exchange glances.

“Not you two, of course.” There’s the knock-back and she steps

right through the portal.

Kurt and I follow, shivering through the cold door. The girl at

the front podium is different from the last time. She’s blond and very

human. She smells like candied apples and copper. Her fake wings are

doused in glitter and she takes my money. A red-haired giant of a dude

lets us in through the second entrance.

Twinkling balls of light cling to the ceiling. Some of them stray

away and over to around the long strip of bar. The music is loud and

robotic, like the bald guy at the DJ podium is playing a video game

instead of music. But everyone shakes their wings, pumps their claws,

and sways according to the untz-untz-untz of it all.

I try to look for Marty and Frederik. Hell, I’d even take Rachel