You Call This a Gift?
Chapter 27: Annalisia

“Are you for real? Please don’t lie to me!” I yelled out in denial.

“I’m 100 % serious! He wants to take you out on a ‘date’ tonight,” Lorraine replied smiling.

“YES! Tell him yes!!!... I mean yea, sure, why not, I’ve got nothing better to do,” I said trying not to sound extremely desperate.

“Done and done!” she said still smiling.

I put on my little black dress and black high top sneakers; it was a plain dress, nothing fancy. Sable and Kenna fought over doing my makeup until they agreed to share my face. Lorraine spritzed me down with perfume and fixed my hair. After they all finished, I looked in the mirror. The makeup was simple, thank goodness, but the hair was curled and super fancy, which I was not a fan of, but I was not going to tell Lorraine and hurt her feelings. The sound of knocking echoed through the house. “OMG! He’s here…I’m so nervous!” I said gripping my stomach.

“It will be great!” Sable said.

“You look stunning!” the other girls said.

I took a few deep breaths and reminded myself to walk to the door, not run. I pulled the door open and looked at Jonah standing there smiling with a bouquet he had made of wild flowers. “Are those for me? They are beautiful,” I asked.

“Yea, of course!” he said handing them to me.

I gave the flowers to Kenna and asked her to put them in some water for me. Then, we walked down the path towards the camp exit.

“Where are we going? We can’t leave camp property after dark,” I asked suspiciously.

“We’re not leaving camp; we’re almost there,” he said taking my hand in his. I blushed as butterflies danced around my stomach. “Close your eyes,” he said sweetly to me.

I followed his demands smiling. He led me a little further and gave me permission to open my eyes.

I glanced around. He had set up a picnic for us. There was a faux fur blanket, fruits, drinks, chips, and cupcakes placed beautifully on the blanket. A lantern stood in the middle of the blanket to provide light. There were also more wild flowers decorated around.

“This is so beautiful!” I applauded him.

“Not as beautiful as you…,” he replied with a smirk.

So cheesy, but so good regardless. I joined him on the ground. We snacked and talked for over twenty minutes.

“So you have told me a lot about you, but you have never told me what your gift is…,” I mentioned.

“Well, that’s because it’s a boring gift and I haven’t told anyone,” he replied pulling away from the conversation.

“Well, for starters, no gift is boring; everyone is unique and has something special about them. Your gift does not define you,” I said trying to assure him.

“Well, I’ve always been made fun of for it,” he said while throwing petals from a dandelion he was plucking.

“Well, you know I wouldn’t do that,” I said taking his hands in mine. I leaned in and gave him a kiss on the cheek. His face flushed and the frown turned upside down.

“Okay, Okay, I’ll tell you,” he said. He then leaned in and whispered in my ear what his gifts were.

“Wow! That’s so cool! And you have two gifts just like me!” I said happily.

“Eh, I guess so,” he replied still smiling.

“So when do I get to see this gift in action?” I asked.

“Tomorrow morning?” he asked laughing.

“It’s a date!” I said giggling right back.

After we had finished, Jonah began walking me home.

“I had a really good time,” I said knocking my shoulder into his.

“So did I,” he replied nudging me back.

We got to the door and stood on the porch. “So…,” I mumbled.

“So... I had a question I was hoping to ask you,” he said nervously.

“Ask me,” I replied hoping he would ask what I wanted.

“Would you want to go out with me… like be my girlfriend…?” He asked looking down at his feet.

I pulled his head up to meet his eyes. “Duh! Yes, I would like to,” I said smiling ear to ear. I laid another kiss on his cheek and made my way inside. I glided all the way to my bedroom and dropped on my bed lost in space.

I woke up and couldn’t get ready quick enough. I ran to the door and watched the time click away on my phone. Knocks clicked on the door and I swung it open grabbing Jonah into a hug.

“Well, good morning to you, cupcake,” he said laughing.

“let’s go, go, go, go…,” I said pulling him along. We got to the wood line. “So are you really going to show me?” I asked excited.

“Yes, but will you swim with me?” Jonah asked me with a smirk.

“You’re a mermaid; you’re too fast to swim with,” I said giggling unsure if I was correct.

He let out a light giggle and said, “I will not swim fast, I want to be with you in the water, I want you to see the part of me I’ve been too ashamed to show. Will you please join me?”

I looked deeply into his eyes saying, “Of course I will.”

He took my hand in his. We made our way through the woods and climbed up on the rock that we had claimed ownership of. I took a deep breath allowing the smells to overtake my senses. The moon was glimmering over the lake, the stars were painted over the sky they let out slow twinkles every so often, and the sound of the rippling water was soothing everything in me. His hand was still entwined in mine. I felt sparks zip through me his hand was so warm and perfect. I couldn’t believe I was here with him. I was so glad to be here now in this moment. I tilted my head upwards ever so slightly to meet his eyes. They let off a glow like somewhere far behind them there was a flame flickering. I felt myself being drawn closer to his lips. “Was that because of his siren lull or was it because I wanted nothing more than to kiss him,” I didn’t know, and I didn’t care. I was here and I wanted his lips against mine right now in this perfect moment.

He took his hand from mine and placed it against my cheek slowly pulling me closer. “You are everything and more to me,” he whispered as he touched his lips to mine. My body was overtaken with goosebumps and I finally understood what people meant when they said they experienced fireworks. His lips were so soft and cool to the touch. I could feel good electricity flowing through my body. He slowly pulled his lips away and placed his forehead against mine.

“Wow…,” I mumbled softly. His lips were extremely tempting, and I wanted more.

“I’m so glad I have you in my life,” He said smiling.

“Not as glad as I am,” I replied giggling.

“Your laugh is the best sound I’ve ever heard,” he said pulling me in for another kiss. He stood up and hopped off the rock. Reaching up, he placed his hands on my hips to help me down.

He stood at the edge of the water and pulled off his shirt dropping it in the sand. “Are you ready?” he asked with a smirk.

I stared at his soft muscles, glad they weren’t excessive. “Absolutely,” I responded with a smile.

He dove into the water sending it splashing back at me. I glanced down at my now soaked shirt. I took my shorts and shirt off slowly revealing my bathing suit. I watched as his legs began to transform. The water bubbled around him as his scales began to slowly appear. His tail was absolutely beautiful. It was a dark muddy gray with a few blue scales here and there. “That’s incredible,” I thought to myself while smiling.

“Are you coming or what?” He groaned cockily.

I placed my feet in the water. I wiggled my toes through the wet mushy sand. I continued through the water until I was a little more than knee deep. I gazed down at his tail with amazement. Before I knew it, he had wrapped his arms around me and took off swimming backwards. His tail swished and flipped through the water.

“Beautiful night for a swim, eyy?” he said laughing.

I glanced around watching as the water spit up from his tail’s flapping. My stomach skimmed across the water and I felt like I was flying. I put my arms out as to pretend I had wings and tipped my head back slightly to avoid the water that was splashing in my face. It was such an incredible feeling grazing across the lake. I wrapped my arms around his neck and leaned in for a kiss. He stopped swimming, held my face between his hands, and kissed me softly. I could not believe I was here with him….finally. I had never felt the way I did right now.

Being with him made me feel safe, strong, loved, and happy. Being around him caused my heart to swell and skip a beat. I was so more than grateful to have him in my life. “Am I falling in love? Is it too soon?” I wondered.

I pushed in this time for a deeper longer kiss. I felt his lips rip away from mine and his hands release my face as his body plunged underwater. His head popped out of the water a few feet away.

“Jonah!” I screamed.

Something pulled him from my lips and was dragging him across the lake.

“Let him go, dammit!” I screamed in desperation as I tried to swim towards him. I was completely incapable of swimming nearly as fast as whatever was taking him from me.

“Jonah!” I screamed one more time with all the hope left in me. I continued my screaming as he vanished into the distance.