Page 99 of Goldilocks
Eric put his plate down and stood. “Pan’s still hot. I’ll make you some pancakes.”
Numbly, Sam sat next to Roan. Ivan was giving him unsubtle side-eye, and Sam’s mind was stalling out. Roan was looking at him too, though he wasn’t trying to be subtle about it. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. Uh. Guys?” Sam’s mind started to run again. “You can’t tell anyone about Roan.”
“Who’d even believe us?” Ivan asked jovially.
The couch was coarse against Sam’s fingers as he squeezed the cushion. His behind was sore to sit on, and his face was overly warm. Roan leaned over to set his plate on the coffee table, and as he leaned back, he shifted, tail becoming legs. Sam snatched the throw blanket from the back of the couch and covered Roan’s lap so that Ivan didn’t catch a single glimpse of his privates.
There was a metallictingas Ivan’s fork fell from between his fingers and struck the plate. His eyes widened. “Christ,” Ivan muttered. He stared, and Sam tried his best to read his expression. It wasn’t fear. He guessed wonder, perhaps awe? Or perhaps total shock.
Eric re-entered the living room with a plate full of pancakes drowned in maple syrup. As he offered the plate, Sam tried to read his expression. Like with Ivan, he saw no fear, but there was worry. Was that a glimmer of stress Sam could see? Or perhaps a mental breakdown approaching on swift winds?
Eric sat next to Ivan, his gaze crawling over Roan before he angled his head toward Ivan. Almost as if his reaction depended upon Ivan’s. Ivan offered Eric what looked to Sam like a reassuring smile.
“So,” Eric slowly began. “Your boyfriend is a mermaid?”
“Merman,” Sam corrected.
Another long silence stretched. In it, Sam worriedly studied Eric and Ivan, his thoughts erratic, branching, until finally, it all settled with a calm exhale. He didn’t know either of them that well, but he’d seen enough, hadn’t he? Enough to know that neither man would do anything to harm Sam. Enough to know that Eric loved him, and Ivan loved Eric, so he would follow his lead.
“I, uh, hadn’t realised he was going to show you his other side. You probably got a big surprise.” Sam picked up the cutlery and cut a bite out of his pancakes.
“Surprise is right,” Ivan said. “Didn’t expect to start my day being woken by a demanding fantasy being, did I? I’ve done a few tattoos of mermaids before, never done a merman, though.”
Eric watched as Sam took in a forkful of pancake and chewed.
“Yeah,” Eric finally agreed. “It was a surprise. Um…how long has this been going on? Six months, right? Goldilocks, you said that’s how long you’ve been dating yesterday?” Eric had a puzzled look as he spoke.
Roan nodded. “We are now permanent mates.” He huffed, angling his chin so that the bite on his neck was on display.
Sam’s worry morphed into embarrassment as Eric and Ivan both looked right at the mark. “Roan,” Sam objected. “You shouldn’t – are we done with the conversation now?” He didn’t want hisbrother,of all people, to be looking at a love bite he’d given his boyfriend.
“Permanent mates as in…married?” Ivan questioned.
“Yes,” Roan said as Sam said, “I guess?”
Roan’s gaze swept to Sam, and before Roan could come out with anything embarrassing, Sam nudged him, pleading with his eyes to end this torture. Sam couldn’t handle anything explicit being spoken about in front of others, never mind his sibling.
Roan leaned in, rubbing his cheek against Sam’s. “Yes,” he repeated.
“I got it,” Sam murmured back quietly.
Eric and Ivan mercifully made no comment on the mark.
“So…we should probably talk living arrangements,” Eric said. Ivan snorted in amusement, giving Eric a look that said‘You’re changing the topic that fast?’“And you snuck out on me this morning, but you’re not meant to be driving yet. I can bring you to your college classes until you get the all-clear from the doctor.”
Sam’s classes. His course that he signed up for to prove that he could get in. His course that he did just to prove that he could, and to prove that he was capable of academics if he put his mind to it.
His course that he hated every second of every minute simply thinking about.
Sam’s idea of his life and where it would go was simple: he’d fish. He’d maintain the boat. He’d look after his dad. And while doing that, he’d further his education and prove to the whole world that ‘poor fisherman’ didn’t equal ‘stupid.’
And who exactly was he trying to prove that to? Maybe to start it was himself, and it was those bullies in school and even his teachers who never seemed to expect much of him. Or maybe it was his aunts and uncles who’d watched him from a distance as he’d followed in his father’s footsteps while every other cousin went off to college. If Sam didn’t act, he’d be left behind. And he’d been chasing after thisideaof what he wanted for so long, that he’d been ignoring the simple truth that his idea of what he wanted was very far from what he actually liked doing. Sam didn’t want to be left behind, but was the place he wanted to go instead the same direction as everyone else?
If Sam wasn’t in college, where would he be instead? His gaze moved to the window, where he could see the glimmer of the ocean through a gap in the buildings.
“I think I’ll defer,” Sam said.