“It’s just, uh, more cramped in here than I thought.” Yes, this could work. I turn an accusatory glare at Kavya. “I thought you said this thing was spacious.” It is, and I feel bad for blaming Kavya for my turned-on clumsiness. But I can’t tell Sean that my heart is racing picturing what it would be like to feel his gentle touch against my scales, so here we are.

Then it hits me like a wave: I’m attracted to Sean. I’m completely and totally attracted to him. Completely attracted to a human.

What. The. Flick.

Sean bites his lip, which only makes me think of what that plump pink thing would feel like between my teeth, which makes the flush in my fin go even deeper. My topmost scales even start to lift just a bit, to reveal the most tender of nerves, the same motion that happens just before scaling. It’s my body’s way of saying it is ready to get it on, and I cannot have Sean see that. This is tsunami-level embarrassment. I have got to turn back into a human, and fast.

“Everything still good?” Sean asks.

“Yep, totally good!” I say. Why is my voice suddenly so high-pitched?

I snatch the towel from Sean’s hand, then run it up and down my fin in a hurried motion. The fabric catches on a few upturned scales, sending pinpricks of pain shooting through my body. It’s enough to distract me and make the steadily lifting scales go back down, and the flush to lessen a couple shades. After a few hurried back-and-forths, I’m dry enough that the change kicks in.

A flash of heat spreads through the lower half of my body. Then a crevice forms right in the middle of my tail before the two halves split entirely. The scales melt into my body and flush white, while the spines in my tail fin separate into individual toes. It’s actually really gross when you watch it up close.

“Oh, sick,” Kavya says, but in a way like she’s fascinated and not disgusted. “Mom described that to me before, but she never mentioned how nasty it looked. Does that hurt? It looks like it should hurt.”

“Not at all,” I say, not really blaming her for calling my body nasty because, let’s face it, it wasn’t pretty in transformation mode. The final change kicks in and soft, red-tinted leg hairs so fine you practically can’t see them bloom up from my skin.

Sean’s gaze lingers a tad, even though the change is complete. Then, in a reaction that is so uncannily similar to my tail flush just a few seconds ago, Sean’s cheeks explode with red. His eyes shoot up to the roof of the car.