He pulled a book off a shelf and held it out to me.
The cover read Cryptozoology: A Study of Hidden Creatures in Our World. The cover was colorful with a bunch of mythical creatures: a unicorn on its hind legs, a centaur crossing swords with an elf, and a mermaid perched on a rock singing.
I ran my fingers over the mermaid and whispered, “Percy. Why is the mayor choosing to turn this into a tourist town featuring mermaids?”
“I think you know the reason.” His voice was smooth and deep, like black felt.
"Well, why don't you tell me? Confirm my theory."
He stepped into my personal space, the smell of old books and pine trees settling over me. I'd never been this close to him before. Like Ajax, except being this close to him I didn't get the feeling of comfort but a feeling of safety, a feeling of being protected. I stared into those pools of brown behind the glasses. They were sharp, seeing right through the barriers I built around myself.
"I will when you tell me about the girl with no name,” He whispered.
I stiffened, my jaw dropping open. "You saw that, huh?"
He nodded. "It certainly piqued my interest. Why a woman who is as self-confident as you would go with a title that screams a lack of identity."
"I'm not that self-confident,” I murmured.
"I don't think you're seeing yourself well enough," He replied, his hand reaching up to cup my neck, his thumb running the line of my jaw.
"Oh, and what do you see?" I asked, trying not to sound breathy at his touch.
He leaned in closer, his lips just a hair's breadth from mine. "I see a woman who’s been through something. Something most people wouldn't have survived and came out the other end, somewhat broken. Despite that, you've kept yourself together and pulled yourself through the trenches to come out the other end stronger than before."
I could feel the tears falling down my face as my body shook. I pulled back from him, the temptation to lean the rest of the way into that kiss strong, but I was also scared. Scared that he was peering far too deep into my soul.
He kept his hand on my neck, not letting me go far. Instead of backing away or running from my tears as most men seemed to do when a girl cried, Percy kissed my tear-soaked cheeks and held me closer, humming softly as his other hand ran up and down my back in comfort.
"You can let people in, you know."
I shook my head. "I can't."
"Why? You're smart, you know bottling everything up won't help you."
"This is about more than me. I have to keep my family safe."
"I can protect you, Atalanta."
I frowned. "I hardly know you."
“What, and that means you're not deserving of my protection?” he asked, an eyebrow cocked.
"It means I don't know you, therefore my secrets stay mine."
He nodded, conceding. “That's fair enough. Though my invitation for protection will stay."
"I don't understand. What about me would make me worthy of such a thing?”
"You intrigue me and aren't afraid to challenge me."
I chuckled. "So does a good math problem."
"You're not wrong. But a math problem doesn't look so kissable. A math problem doesn't make me wonder what it would sound like as it screamed my name in pleasure."
My eyebrows shot up. "Wow, you don't pull your punches."
"No, I don't."
I hadn't realized one of his hands had settled at my hip until he pulled me towards him, my hips resting flush against his. The other hand at my neck pulling my face forward into his lips in a hard, claiming kiss.
I didn't sink into it immediately, shocked for a few moments but then his hand ran up and delved into my hair. A warm pit gathered in my center, demanding for me to pull him closer, claim him right back. Percy was a fantastic kisser; his lips were soft yet demanding. Perhaps even better than Jason.
I gasped and pushed him away. "Jason!"
"Jason? What about him."
"I can't be kissing you. I have a date with him tomorrow. And he-”
"And he what?"
I bit my lip, still feeling tingly. "He has feelings for you.”
Percy nodded and crossed his hands over his chest, leaning his shoulder against the bookcase.
My brows furrowed as I studied him. "You're not surprised?"
"No, I'm not. I've known about Mr. Monroe's feelings for me for a while. He's not very good at hiding it." His tone was matter-of-fact, back to the cold, calculative librarian.
"Then you know that I shouldn't be here kissing you, especially when he's nearby."
He shrugged. "You mentioned having a date with him tomorrow. It seems that he is moving on from me. As he should."
"Because you're straight?"
"Because he's far too young."
"You don't look much older than 23 or so."
"Looks can be deceiving," He leaned back in to give me a small peck on the lips before walking off back towards the front.
I was left standing there, a jumble of confused emotions and heated need.
It took me several minutes to calm down and focus on the book that I so clumsily dropped during Percy's plundering of my lips. Making my way to a study table in the back, I cracked open the book and skimmed through the table of contents before finding the chapter I was looking for.
Mermaids
Appearing in mythologies worldwide, these cryptids possess the top half of a human female and the bottom half of a fish. Known in Greek mythology as sirens, they are sneaky creatures who use their alluring voices to entrance men into their waters to drown them and devour their flesh.
"Ick, their flesh? Oh yeah, Homer's Odyssey." I recalled the story of the character tying himself to the mast of his ship so he could listen to the sound of the sirens singing without throwing himself into the water.
I continued to read, skimming the book's pages. There were several photos, some were ugly fish-like creatures with skeletal faces and huge fangs and claws. While others depicted beautiful women with long golden hair and shiny tails, beckoning to men on ships.
"In some myths, their tears turned to pearls and their blood or flesh could make you immortal,” I mumbled aloud.
There were few myths about them being able to take on a fully human form to come to shore and find human mates. Though it seemed the human would often meet a watery death after providing the mermaid with a child. Most of the older stories about them were quite violent. Sometimes vengeful sprits or gods that would drown people for the fun of it. But there were a few that depicted them as benevolent water spirits who would guide lost boats or save children abandoned by the riverside.
It really seemed that mermaids were like humans, not all good or bad. The bad ones were a bit scary though. I mean, drowning you and devouring your flesh? Like freaking crocodiles.
Near the end of the chapter, there was a much smaller section titled:
Mermen
Drawn to the section, I pulled the book closer and muttered the words aloud, "The male counterpart of the mermaid, Mermen are often depicted as ugly creatures with green skin and seaweed like hair. Their temperament varies from myth to myth, some being horrid creatures who enjoy calling huge storms to sink ships while in some stories they are much kinder than their female counterparts, said to be wise teachers and amazing caregivers. However, like the female counterparts, Mermen are also said to have the ability to entrance humans with their voice and are just as dangerous because of this ability…"
Just like the mermaid section, there were photos, a few of which were ugly looking like the book said but there were a couple that were gorgeous specimens. Tall and well-muscled with beautiful faces.