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“I’m honored,” he said to her. “But can I tell you a secret?” Sid craned his neck to get as close to Andrea as he could and whispered loudly, “I’ve never pulled the chariot before. I don’t know how.”
“Mermaid Aaramere can help you,” Andrea said. “You can pull together.”
Sid’s heart jumped at the thought of pulling the chariot with Jayna. He turned to her and asked, “What do you think, Aaramere? Can you help me?”
Jayna’s eyes went wide, and she looked like she was about to object. But after a glance at Andrea she said, “Sure?” She didn’t sound convinced.
Sid smiled at Andrea and said, “Excellent! Give us a few minutes to set up, and we’ll give you a ride you’ll never forget.”
He moved to examine the chariot harness, but he could tell it was clearly made for one mer. Jayna had agreed to help, though, so there must be a way. Sid moved closer to Kalani and said, “Please tell me there’s a two-mer harness.”
Kalani shook his head. “This is it.”
He felt Jayna move to his side, but by the concern on her face, he could tell she didn’t have a plan for pulling the chariot, either.
Sid wasn’t willing to give up just yet. He may not have Kalani’s strength, but he was an expert at solving problems.
He examined the harness closely and had a thought that sent his heart racing. His face flushed as he glanced at Jayna. This idea is worse than that stupid song. Don’t do it, Hayes.
But then he saw the anticipation in Andrea’s face, and his heart melted. He was going to regret this, but he couldn’t say no.
Sid leaned close to whisper in Jayna’s ear, and her closeness was nearly unbearable.
You’re asking for it, Hayes.
He ignored the warning in his brain and said, “From what I can tell, the merbreather straps are at least as strong as any part of the harness. If we clip ourselves together and then attach our merbreathers directly to the chariot frame, that will take the place of the harness. How long would it take you to change?”
Jayna pulled back, the concern on her face deepening. She gave Kalani a pleading look, as though she were hoping he would nix this crazy idea.
But Kalani nodded approvingly. “You should be on the right,” he said to her. “That will make the corners easier.”
She looked like she was about to protest, but after a quick glance at Andrea, her expression hardened to one of determination. “I can be back in five minutes—if there’s a mertender on hand.”
Sid’s stomach did a little flip. “Perfect. We’ll be ready when you get back.”
After another doubtful glance at Kalani, Jayna turned and swam quickly towards the changing area.
Sid tried not to dwell on what he was about to do and focused instead on disassembling the harness. Kalani moved in to help him. “Do you really think this will work?”
The question sent a shot of panic through Sid. His confidence in the idea was based almost entirely on Kalani’s lack of objection, so to hear his doubts now was not reassuring. “I guess we’ll find out.”
Jayna returned a few minutes later wearing her merbreather. “Here, hold this,” he said as he handed her some of the gear from the chariot harness. Once she had taken it, he moved to her side and clipped a ring to the shoulder strap of her merbreather.
While several attendants helped Andrea’s aid load her onto the chariot, Sid clicked their merbreathers together, and then Kalani helped attach them to the shafts. It was a snug fit, and they were pressed together tightly. He felt the heat of her contact all up his right side, and desire flooded through him.
Jayna turned to face him. They were so close it was all Sid could do to keep his lips to himself.
“We need to synchronize our tails,” she said, “or else we’ll be slapping each other rather than moving.” There was a quiver in her voice that let him know she was just as affected by their closeness as he was.
Sid shoved his feelings deep inside and forced himself to think of Andrea and the challenge ahead of them. “Good plan. Since you’ll be on the inside of the turns, I’ll follow your lead.”
“Okay. Ready?”
He wasn’t, but he faked his most convincing smile. “Ready.”
They put their merbreather regulators in their mouths, their faces in the water, and together began towing the chariot around the pool.
The feeling of Jayna’s body pressed close to his side was extremely distracting, and the chariot pulled so hard on their merbreathers that they had to keep their outside arms down at their sides. But after a couple of false starts, they fell into a rhythm and began swimming in tandem.
