Page 94 of Hush, Little Baby

Charlie

Never did I ever imagine I’d be playing mermaids in a billionaire’s penthouse pool, with said billionaire, but here I am.

I guess it’s more like I’m playing mermaid, and Niko is being supportive. He sits on the pool’s edge, shirtless, in swim trunks, forearms resting on his knees. I know he’s watching every kick of my legs, every slosh and sprawl, but he isn’t giving feedback unless I ask. He’s just quietly sitting there, watching with a smile like my existence is a little show just for him.

I do a dramatic underwater somersault, breaking the surface in a spray of water and pool chemicals, hair in my eyes. “How many points?” I wheeze.

“Ten out of ten, baby boy.”

I roll onto my back and float, arms spread, letting the sky burn into my retinas. The air out here is chilly on wet skin, but the water is perfect, heated to that not-quite-body-temperature sweet spot.

I was hesitant when he suggested swimming, but I’m so glad I got in the water. To be honest, I ache all over from last night. I realized after a few minutes in the pool that Niko had suggested it on purpose, as a way for me to stretch all the muscles he overworked.

When my arms start to ache more than my ass, I decide it’s time for a break, paddling to the side and hauling myself onto the steps, breathing hard. There’s a fresh towel next to Niko, thick and hotel-white, but he doesn’t pass it to me. He waits, hands open, so I decide to humor him and stand there, dripping all over his patio stone, until he pulls me into a towel wrap and then into his lap, both at once.

“You’re so warm, jeez,” I murmur. My lips brush the side of his neck accidentally. He smells so good. I snuggle into his chest, letting the towel and his arms do the drying. My hair is a wet mess against his collarbone. He pets it anyway, running fingers through the worst knots with patient little tugs.

Nikolaus’s voice is low and close to my ear. “As much as I want to keep you as my mermaid forever, I think it’s almost lunchtime. We can eat out here if you want.”

I nod. “Out here. But not too close to the edge, please.”

“Course not, baby. I’d get my Daddy card revoked.” He stands as I giggle at him, then lifts me with him and sets us on a deck lounger on the inner part of the terrace.

He fetches water from inside while I drip-dry under the glassy blue sky. It’s almost noon; the city below is loud and busy, but up here, it’s just us.

Nikolaus returns with a glass and a bottle, and even pours it for me. “Lunch will be served shortly. Elise made hamburgers.” He sits next to me, towel around his hips, arms folded.

“That sounds yummy.”

I’m not expecting Nikolaus to have a quiet moment, but he waits until I’ve had three big gulps of water before he says, “Your birthday is in four days.”

I go still. “Oh.”

The number lands in my stomach like a penny in a dry well. The date had been looming over me like a dark cloud just a week ago, but with everything going on, I hadn’t needed to think about it.

He leans his head toward me, dark hair catching the sunlight. “I want to do something for you. Anything. What would make you happiest?”

It’s such a normal question that I almost laugh. I have zero clue how to answer it. It’s been a while since my life could afford the luxury of party-planning.

“I mean, I’m already here,” I say. “That’s kind of…plenty.”

Nikolaus grins, but it’s a soft smile, like he’s inspecting me for cracks. “While it makes me happy to hear you say that, I need some actual ideas. You could ask for anything. A trip, a present, something silly or serious. Dream a little. We could spend the week in Monaco, or go to a theme park. I can rent one of those party ponies to hang out up here with us, or buy you a horse farm outside the city. Whatever you want.”

“I don’t know. I’m not even sure where Monaco is.”

My brain jumps back to classroom birthdays in elementary school, a few out-of-state phone calls with my parents in recent years, and the sad pizza party at the club last year, where I showed up, got a cupcake, and left before the playroom closed.

The rest of me wants to crawl out of my own skin. “I wasn’t really expecting to make it to this birthday, honestly.” It comes out like a joke, but with an edge that surprises even me. I watch condensation crawl down the cold water glass in my hand, and suddenly, the city haze is all I can see.

Nikolaus does not look away. “Sweetheart… Talk to me.”

I shrug, picking at the soft loops of towel between my knees. “Last year, when I got that new round of tests, I was sure they’d find something terminal.” I laugh, miserable. “Guess my present is that I just get to keep feeling like this for another year.”

He touches my arm, just above the towel, with enough pressure to keep me from floating off into the stratosphere. “That isn’t how I see it at all.” His words settle themselves in my chest, hot and heavy. “And maybe we don’t have to do a big thing right now. Maybe we just… do what you want.”

I want to say something about not being a burden, but I know what he’ll say—that I’m not, that he wants this, that taking care of me makes him feel good. I don’t have the energy to argue.

“What if I just want to be with you?” I ask, honest and a little scared. “Not with horses or world travel or whatever.”