But I’d be lying if I said an image of Ross and me watching the sun set on their last day, them snuggled up against my chest, didn’t flash through my mind. The two of us witnessing the moment together when the magic wears off and they stay on land and a whole new life begins for us up here.

“I have a confession,” I say. “I think I’ve been sucked into every fake dating trap. I mean, I’ve seen it so many times in so many rom-coms and thought I could avoid it at all costs, but I can’t. I’ve fallen for Ross. Which is ridiculous, right, because they’re not sticking around. But would it be . . . Would it be terrible if I asked them to reconsider going back?”

Kavya’s pursed lips switch to a grimace in an instant, a snarl literally coming out of her. She looks like she’d like to shove my head into this green monster smoothie and drown me in blended banana and kale.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Kavya spits. “Do you know how selfish that is? Sean, that’s their home. You haven’t even known each other for a month!”

Suddenly, the whole setup of the Journey seems like a joke. All this time it seemed like mer really were selfless, coming up here to lend a helping hand to a human, while still offering mer the opportunity to see if they prefer life on land. But really, what kind of choice can you make in a month? Of course every mer would go back to the Blue. You’re supposed to know for sure that you’d be willing to say goodbye to everything you’ve ever known in just four weeks? It practically guarantees that every one of them would go running to the ocean as quickly as they could. Ross even said it themself. The only person they know of who didn’t is—

“Your mom,” I say, cringing at the unintentional punch line. It stings even worse when Kavya doesn’t so much as smirk at it. “What about your mom? She didn’t go back. It could happen, right? Do you think I could talk to her about it?”