“Look,” I say. “Hopefully it makes more sense why I’ve been so bent on helping you get Dominic back. It’ll help me get home. And now I owe you for not telling anyone about me. So, I’ll go along with it. We can pretend that we’re together. I was going to try and find you a new partner to make Dominic jealous anyway, and I guess this isn’t that different.”

Sean beams, looking an awful lot like that ridiculously happy Shoreline High dolphin painted everywhere around this pool. “You mean it?”

I nod. “I’ll come to your swimming sessions, or whatever they’re called, so Dominic and Miguel can see us together, and Dominic will remember what he’s missing. And hey, maybe if I get really into this fake relationship, it’ll make my whole Journey go by faster. By the time I leave, we’ll have Dominic begging for you back. Then you can very publicly leave me for him, make it all about how the two of you were meant to be together, blah blah blah, and I’ll hop right back into the Blue.” Back to my family, my friends, to the mer who might one day make my heart feel something similar to what Sean feels for Dominic.

That settles it.

I curve my tail upward, the pale orange tips of my fin poking above the surface.

Sean’s eyes bulge out of his head, like he can’t believe that a merperson’s tail is within arm’s reach.

“Have we got a deal?” I ask, then wiggle my tail in front of his face.

Sean nods.

“We’ve got to tap on it,” I say. “Merfolk always tap fins when they’re sealing a deal.”

He reaches forward and slaps my fin like he’s giving me a high five. We practiced slapping hands, me, Drop, Breach, and Bubbles laughing over how ridiculous the motion was. I never once pictured a human high-fiving my fin. The sight is so absurd that I start giggling, and Sean soon follows with his bark of a laugh.

“This is so weird,” he says.

“It’s about to get weirder.” I swim to the side of the pool and grab the edge. “I’m going to climb out of here. I need you to find lots of towels. My legs won’t come back until I’m completely dry. And you’ve got to look away or else things are going to get really intimate way too fast. I know we’re fake partners now, but I do not need you seeing the extra bits the Blue decided to give me up here.”