I sat back and stared at the ceiling. This can't be real. They can't be mermaids, or mermen or whatever. This was just a book, they were just mythical creatures. But I also couldn't just ignore the signs that were there even if others were quick to brush them off. Percy didn't though, he knew and basically handed me the answer. Even if he didn't say it out loud.
I had read enough stories and mythology to know that the ideas for these creatures had to have come from somewhere...Yet for them to be real, and I had possibly kissed one?
No, I had to be crazy.
I giggled nervously to myself, closed the book, and put it back on the shelf. Stiffly, I walked back to the front of the library. Jason was still sitting at the desk, his face scrunched as he stared at the computer, lips pursed like those girls who made duck faces on Instagram.
That adorable little duck face couldn’t be some mythical flesh-eating monster. Nah.
Percy walked out of his office holding another YA novel in his hands. I couldn’t help the blush that spread across my face as I remembered our shared kiss. That blush spread further when he walked up to Jason and bent over his shoulder to stare at the computer screen. I had kissed both of these men.
“That won’t do. You want to impress her, not bore her to death,” Percy said as he stared at the screen.
Jason glanced back at him. “What? Baseball isn’t boring.”
“She’s not the type to be okay just watching sports, she’s more likely to enjoy playing them.”
“Huh,” He typed something up on the computer. "Then what about this?”
“That's perfect,” Percy nodded.
Were they talking about me? Picking out what I might find fun?
I walked up to the desk, trying to calm my nerves and keep my face as calm as possible. “Hey, guys.”
“Hey, Atalanta. Find what you were looking for?" Jason asked, his eyes twinkling and his smile wide. Much different than the worried look he had before.
I glanced over at Percy who gave me a small nod.
"Yeah, I did. So, what are you up to?” I asked.
A small blush appeared across Jason's cheeks. "Percy was helping me go through date ideas for tomorrow."
"That was nice of him. Um, I'm not feeling all that well though, so I think I'm going to go home and sleep it off. I don't want to be sick for our date."
Jason frowned, then offered, “Want me to drive you home?”
I shook my head. "No, no, you keep doing what you were doing. Percy doesn't look all that busy, I'm gonna have his lazy butt take me."
Jason looked a little disappointed, but he nodded anyway. “Feel better. I'll come to pick you up around noon, okay? And don't worry if you're sick, we'll just have a night in or something."
I could help smile at his sweetness. “Okay. Ready to go, Percy?”
Percy readjusted his glasses. “I find it interesting that you didn't actually bother to ask If I wanted to take you home or not."
"Yes, but you wouldn't leave a girl to walk home alone, would you? Especially if she wasn't feeling well. I might develop pneumonia and die, and all your hard work on planning my date with Jason will go to waste."
His lips turned down in a scowl. “Fine. Come on."
I followed him out into the parking lot, relieved Theseus wasn't there. Of course, he wouldn't be there, but it was nice that there wouldn't be another awkward standoff between him and Percy. The few times I had ever seen them in the same vicinity there was always this uncomfortable moment of standing there watching them stare at each other. Definitely some lost love between the two of them.
Hopping in Percy's black sports car, I snuggled into his heated leather seats. It was a bit odd thinking about it how most of my intimate time spent with these men was them taking me home. Something I would have to start changing…well if they didn't turn out to be some sort of mythical monster. Which brought me to the real reason I talked Percy into taking me home.
"Are Jason and Ajax Mermaids? Well, Mermen?” I asked Percy.
His calm expression didn’t change. "It's not really my place to divulge someone else's secrets, Atalanta."
"But they are something. It's why you handed me the book. Isn't it?"
"I handed you the book because you were looking for it,” He said, glancing at me. His mouth quirked in a millimeter smile.
Ugh, he was so tight-lipped.
I sat back and thought about it for a moment before saying. "Just answer me this."
He flicked his gaze toward me. "I'm listening."
I fiddled with the sleeves of my jacket before asking, “Will they hurt me? If I continue to be around them?"
His grip on the steering wheel got tighter, and he let a slow breath out through his nose.
"No one in this town will hurt you. Not while I'm around," his expression softened. "but I know that none of them will hurt you. They are all good men. Even Theseus."
I never mentioned Theseus, but considering Percy knew my involvement with him it was no surprise he suspected I was wondering about Theseus as well.
"Okay, one more question.” I said holding up a finger.
I could see his eyes roll wide behind his glasses. "One more."
"When you kissed me,” I paused biting my lip and gathering courage. "does it bother you that I'm close with the others? You know I'm friends with Hip…and going on a date with Jason…And Theseus and I, well, there's something there."
He was silent for a few heartbeats. When he replied his voice was soft. "You are your own person. I may be interested in you, but it is not my place to dictate who you see or kiss. Especially since we aren't exclusive."
"And if we become more…involved?"
He let go of the steering wheel and placed his hand on my knee. “One thing at a time, Atalanta."
We were silent the rest of the ride back to the house.
Chapter Thirteen
Percy
I returned from dropping Atalanta off at her home. Jason sat at the front desk talking to Lidia, who I assumed just got off her shift with the toddlers based on the general disarray of her person. Clothes crumpled and covered in suspicious stains, and her hair which was always up in a neat bun any time we crossed paths was a mess. Despite this, she was still making the moves on Jason. Leaning heavily against the counter to show off her admittedly impressive cleavage and batting her eyelashes at whatever Jason was saying.
My first thought was to believe that Jason was oblivious to her obvious advances as that was who I had known him to be. However, something made me overanalyze it.
Perhaps Jason wasn't blind to the girl's attraction to him, rather, he was encouraging it or at the very least not discouraging her behavior. Considering the conversation I had just had with him about his upcoming date with Atalanta, watching this display set aflame a small pit of anger in my stomach.
Walking up to them, I did my best to keep my tone neutral. "Mrs. Davenport. So nice to see you. I hope your job at the daycare is going well."
She turned to me, her eyes sparkling with interest. “Hey, Percy! Yes, it's going really well, I was just telling Jason all about it."
It was hard to miss the way she ran her eyes blatantly up and down my body, checking me out. Lidia Davenport, while somewhat of a brat, with not much dignity in her pursuit of any male she deemed worthy, wasn't a horrible girl. Unlike some of Jason's other fans.