Page 20 of Tentacles for Christmas
“That’s all I ask.”
Standing I stepped towards them, but Cam put a hand up. “I’ll take myself out. Thanks. There’s a latte for you on the dock, but it’s probably cold now.”
“Thank you,” I replied, both for the coffee and their willingness to keep talking to me.
After Cam left, I reheated the drink they’d kindly bought me and busied myself working on my customer’s boat. My dad called and asked if I wanted to watch football, but I turned him down. He’d see right through me, and I wasn’t ready to tell him what Cam had seen.
Besides not wanting to admit I’d been found in a partial shift by an outsider, it was what Cam had caught me doing. Superman did not need to know the person I liked saw my jacking off. I’m sure he’d had embarrassing moments in his life, and I’d grown out of the mindset that my dad was perfect, but I was still unwilling to share mine.
Forcing down some soup and bread around five pm, when I realized the latte was my only food for the day, I waited until full dark before I started worrying Cam wouldn’t show up. They hadn’t said it would be the same day, but I hoped.
Right when I was stripped down and about to start shifting, a light appeared on the path. I could hear the sound of Cam’s approach before I made them out in the dark, their cell phone held aloft to see the walkway.
Resting my arms on the pier, I kept my naked lower half hidden in the black water. My shift was bursting to break free, but I resisted. Cam stopped and put their phone in the bag they carried, light off since I had a security light on my boat.
“Aren’t you freezing?” Cam asked, and I noticed they had a full wetsuit on under their jacket and sweatpants. “It’s barely above freezing out. The water can’t be over fifty-five Fahrenheit.”
“More like forty-five,” I answered without thinking. “But no, I'm not cold.”
“Alright then.”
Cam closed their eyes and took a deep breath before pulling off their clothes, swapping them for booties, gloves, and a swim cap. They had likely swum in the San Francisco Bay or even the Pacific, considering where Cam moved from, and was used to the cold. Blue lake was colder. I remembered they said something about growing up in Connecticut, which had snowy winters, but I had to assume they swam in heated pools there.
“Just so you know, I texted Riley and let him know where I was.” Cam gestured towards the bag where the phone was tucked away with their clothes.
Blinking, I thought about the implication of Cam telling Riley they were swimming with me. Riley was a gossip at times, like his mom, and if he knew, he would definitely tell King. Channing lived at the house with them, and our packmates were over all the time. Including my dad. It wouldn’t be long before the whole pack knew.
“Well, that’s one way to let them know.”
“Know what?” Cam snorted and sat on the pier. “That I don’t want to go missing without anyone to look for me besides my boss?”
Feeling something between amusement and terror, I decided to rip the bandage off.
“For all the shifters in Blue Lake to know you learned about their existence.”
Chapter thirteen
Cam
Afteradayspentdeep-cleaning my houseboat until I was sweating, despite the cold, I decided I had to know more. There was no way I could wait another day. The thought of possibly seeing Rowen come in for a coffee while we skirted the elephant in the room.
Or the squid in the small town? The alien in the houseboat?
The fact was I didn’tknow, and not knowing was killing me.
Also…I may have gone down a path of looking up tentacle porn. I found everything from old Japanese art to fully animated monsters. I learned about acecaelia, which was a tentacled creature who had a humanoid upper body, and wondered if that was what Rowen was.
The imagery was oddly hot, but I kept finding AI or extremely non-consensual scenes. The former I was ethically opposed to after seeing how it was used in the tech world. The latter might have been a turn on in the right situation, but I couldn’t imagine Rowen treating me that way, and my boner died.
Twice, I’d started walking towards Ship Shape, thinking about demanding answers, before turning around. Rowen offered to talkand I turned him down. He’d given me a way to learn more, and I was going to take him up on it.
Riley had run into me the second time I turned back towards the marina, wondering if I had errands to run and needed a ride. Taking him up on the offer, Riley drove me to BJ’s Bi-Lo, the only market in Blue Lake.
He mentioned a rumor about me getting pizza after volunteering in the park with a certain shy redhead, and I couldn’t believe that was only the night before. When Riley helped me carry my groceries down the pier, I admitted I was thinking about going for a swim with Rowen.
Riley seemed surprised, and I assured him I was used to swimming in the lake and the Pacific. I had to wonder, though…Did Riley know about Rowen? I couldn’t risk saying something without knowing, but assured my new friend I would be safe.
When he left, with a promise that I would check in after my swim, I unpacked my groceries. Normally, I was too tired to cook after walking up Main Street to the store and back, but Riley’s help meant I had a lot of energy.