Page 32 of Amber: Deja Brew

Chapter 12

Amber

“Why does this always happen to me?” the pink-haired mermaid moans.

I try to think of the right thing to say to a beached—or in this case, floored—mermaid—when cold water sprays across the cafe and hits me right in the face.

I let out a garbled scream and swallow a mouthful of water. The shock of it, coupled with frustration over the bad reviews, and the embarrassment for the poor mermaid, causes me to shift.

Luckily, I don’t transform into a troll. Which means the customers—most of whom are still here, gaping at the poor mermaid who told them to leave—don’t get to witness me impersonating a police officer. But I don’t shift into something semi-normal, like a fairy, angel, vampire bouncer, or grumpy werewolf, either. Nope, I shift into a naked mermaid.

“Ahhhh!” I shout as I crash to the floor.

It’s so cold and wet and hard. When it collides with my bare chest, my boobs explode in pain, which really isn’t fair. Last night, Chase rested his head on my chest and teasingly compared my breasts to pillows. So why don’t they feel like pillows? I’m definitely not prepared for anything else. Or for the fact that falling chest-first freaking hurts!

“Oh, hell, that’s going to bruise,” the mermaid says from where she’s lying on the floor to my left. “You okay?”

“Yeah... Yeah,” I shake my head a few times, like that will somehow also shake the pain out of my chest.

“I’ve fallen like that before,” the mermaid adds sympathetically. “Next time, bend your elbows, and protect your head. Or lie down on the floor before you do your crazy Chameleon shifting thing. You’re lucky you fell boob-first, not face-first.”

“Lucky...” I repeat as the pain slowly dissipates, and I finally come to my senses. And realize that I’m naked, on the floor, with a bunch of random people staring at me. I quickly grab handfuls of hair and cover the sides of my chest, but I really can’t tell what they can and can’t see.

“Pretty embarrassing, isn’t it?” the mermaid asks, shooting a pointed glare at the customers.

A few of them have the decency to look preoccupied with something else—like gaping over the counter at the sink—and a few finally take the hint and rush out the door, but the rest stay and keep staring.

“Young people these days,” Violet complains. The water decides that’s reason enough to target her and shoots out toward her face. Somehow, the old lady manages to react fast enough and raises her purse just in time to block it. “What’s it like, being a mermaid?”

“Cold,” the mermaid says.

“Embarrassing,” I add.

“Just ignore the staring, and you’ll be fine. I’ve learned to.” The mermaid lets out a dejected sigh. “But thanks for shifting into me and keeping me company.”

“It isn’t a problem,” I tell her, not wanting to admit it wasn’t intentional. “And I’m really sorry this happened.”

“It’s okay,” she replies, or I think she does. The chiming of the front door drowns out her words, and Chase and Wes rush in.

“Ambear?” Wes shouts, looking wildly around the cafe. The problem isn’t that he doesn’t recognize me—it’s that the water aims for the door chime and hits him straight in the face. He sputters and blocks the stream with one large hand, and the water takes that as a cue to find a new target.

I know water can’t actually choose targets, but I swear it’s going after loud sounds. Chase rushes into the cafe next, and the water targets the chimes and hits Wes in the face again. Violet starts to cough, and a stream changes direction and hits her straight in the face. A customer gasps, and the water finds a new target, dousing him next.

“Down here,” I call out, suddenly craving a large body of water... and a long, luxurious swim.

“Me next, me next!” the mermaid calls after I get doused by a torrent of water. The stream targets her next, and she lets out a pleased sigh. “That feels nice, but I wish I was at the hot springs right now.”

“I’ll take a pool, or the ocean,” I tell her.

She grins. “Those would be nice, too.”

“Ambear?” Wes gasps, and I look up to find him gaping down at us.

“Bean?” Julian shouts a split-second later, like he’s only just realized that I’m not behind the counter with him. He starts to cough, which means the water was on point, and then I hear footsteps.

Next thing I know, all three of my guys are towering over me, staring down at us mermaids. I expect them to get confused, or at least have some trouble figuring out which one’s me, but they seem to just know. Their eyes zero in on me, completely ignoring the other mermaid, and their eyes fill with warmth.

Julian’s the first to react. He peels off his shirt, revealing hard abs, perfect pecs, and finally muscular bare arms. Then he bends down and drapes the shirt over me, adding an added layer of protection on top of the hair.