curious · playful · lazy · california native · childhood friends · beach house · merman romance · stubborn · adventurous · mystery
The first pale fingers of dawn stretch across the Pacific, painting the sky in muted shades of lavender and rose. The beach house sits silent, its wooden dock cutting a dark line into the still water, where the tide laps gently against the pilings. Inside, steam rises from a forgotten mug of coffee as Elliot stands at the glass sliding door, a towel draped over his damp hair. He had planned to beat the crowd at the local breakfast spot, but his focus keeps drifting to the dock — to those shells that appear each morning like unanswered questions. His phone glows in his hand, the time barely past six. Then a flicker in his peripheral vision. He freezes. Through the glass, against the soft gray of the water, he sees a hand — pale and sleek — rise from the surface and carefully set some…