A Thousand Salt Kisses Later (Book 2 of Salt Kiss series)

Out Of Joint

I fastened the buckle of my high-heeled sandals and stood up. They had a slim black heel and a clear plastic strap over the toes. They were the last thing I had brought in London, before my big financial crisis.

As I looked down at them, I remembered the day I brought them in a vintage shop in Notting Hill. Jemima had asked me all parentally if I really had eighty pounds to spare on heels.

I had become quite annoyed with her as the truth was, I had known deep down that I should have been saving. I mean, my student loan would be stopping that term, and without a job, I was sure to be broke. But that day, like a lunatic, I had felt Jemima's role, as my best friend ought to be to encourage my impulsive shopping, and not to be so boring.

I wasn't one hundred percent sure if I even liked the shoes, but Jemima's response had prompted me to rebelliously take them to the counter and pay for them.

On the tube journey home, I had thought about them sitting there in the plastic bag, and had secretly regretted buying them. Are they even that great? I had thought with dread. And, am I seriously going to wear them? They were not that practical for London unless you caught cabs everywhere, which I certainly didn't.

And as it happened, I hadn't worn them once, until this evening. I had come across them that afternoon still in that same plastic bag, as I had sorted through the suitcases containing all my possessions from London.

I thought it would be only fitting to premiere them tonight, as I was on my way to meet Jemima. I wondered if she would remember them and gloat. She had been right, and I had been wrong. As usual.

This all got me thinking about what she would say if I could tell her about Llyr, Spirit and my whole secret underwater escapades. She would probably give me some very practical advice, along the lines of 'forget about the entire thing.'

But in my head, I was already taking her imaginary advice. I had already decided that I was going to forget everything.

I had been back on Starfish four days now, and I had spent the majority of it in a daze. At times I thought I had dreamed the whole thing, or taken some kind of hallucinogenic drug. I had been a mermaid, or if Aisling was right, I was still a mermaid. Me? Crystal White from London... It was just nuts.

If I had not seen George the other day down by Seaman's Lodge, I would have written it all off by now as some kind of mind-trickery. Yet George had made it feel as real as it had been.

I had brought myself to ask him about Llyr and the wedding, but he did not have any news on the matter and said his mother had not called for him since the wreck-party.

During the past week, I had thought about Spirit and our little romance, and I have to admit, I still felt the same ripples of excitement when I played back any of our time together in my head. Yet annoyingly, it was still Llyr that domineered my thoughts. Even another hot mer could not eclipse him, it seemed.

He was still there in my mind and in my heart, and it was gnawing at me, just like before. One day I had stared out of my bedroom window and gazed out at the navy blue waves. I had thought about him underneath them, now married, maybe even far away on his honeymoon.

I had become so frustrated I had kicked a hole into a cardboard box and then I had stomped on top of it until it was flattened. I just needed for it to stop it now. I had done everything to be with him again, but it had just not happened. There was truly no other option now but to move on. If I wanted to live a happy life, I had to forget about everything associated with him, and sadly, I had come to realize that this included all the other merfolk that I had come to know and love.