Commission for Anon. Thanks again!

	CAW! CAW! CAW!
	The seagulls overhead cried as they flew past in search of their next meal or a place to roost for the day. I looked up, the bright sunshine reflecting off my mirrored shades as I watched the small flock go by. I grimaced and applied a bit more sunscreen to my face. The heat was intense and I was starting to worry about the two creamsicles I had in my hand, wondering if they’d melt before she arrived. I didn't mind the heat and sun much, I liked the sunrise and sunset, but I didn't want to catch a terrible sun burn. Again.
	I looked around, glancing up and down the boardwalk to kill some time. I must be early, I thought, or she's running late, I also told myself. As I looked around, I saw the same old shops and restaurants, each one facing out toward the sandy, golden beach and crashing, rolling waves. Men, women, mamano, and children of all kinds walked across the old wooden boardwalk, each group having their own little conversations. A seagull harpy harassed a man for some of his fries, a werecat walked hand in hand with her husband with a few shopping bags, a man and two sirens sang and played in a little band on the pier, just to name a few. 
	I looked back over the ocean, listening to the waves as I kept waiting for my friend to arrive. She had to be late at this point. I sighed, wondering if I’d have to eat both popsicles myself. I heard a few kids cry out in terror down the beach. I looked over to see a moaning, shambling creature covered in seaweeds rise from the ocean toward where a small group of kids were building a sand castle. I sighed again and headed down the stairs to the beach. The group of kids scattered in fear and I watched as the seaweed monster put their hands on their hips and laughed. They stepped past the sand castle and started to strip off the sea weed and leave it in the hot sand to reveal the womanly shape underneath. She had blue skin with green scaled limbs and webbed hands. The aquatic monster girl scanned up and down the beach before she spotted me, “Hey! Anon!” She called in her Bostonian accent before dashing over to me. 
I got a good look at her as she neared, her pulled back hair was a dark black as were the sclera of her eyes. Her slightly glowing yellow eyes were locked on me as she grinned with sharp, shark like teeth. She had a very cute face, and a surprisingly curvy body with wide hips and shapely breasts both hidden behind a set of nylon, water resistant clothes. Her crop top was a plain dark green and her skirt was the same color. The sides of her head and the back of her shins both had a short set of fins, “Hey, Margaret,” I greeted her back, just before she lunged at me, wrapping her rough scale covered arms around my neck tightly. 
	“I missed you,” She grumbled before letting me go, “How have you been? It’s been a while!”
	“Yeah it really has, Margaret.” 
	She stuck her green tongue out, “Stop calling me that. It feels weird when you say it.”
“Sorry, Mar. I thought you had outgrown that,” I smiled sheepishly before handing over her popsicle, “I got you this.”
	“Thanks!” The ‘deep one’ woman opened it up and looked at the partially melted orange and vanilla ice cream treat, “Just like when we were in school, huh?”
	I nodded and glanced behind her to see the parents of those kids she had scared looking a bit agitated toward Margaret, “Come on, let’s get out of here,” I whispered, trying to not look embarrassed.
	She looked where I was and grinned before nodding, “Oops. Looks like I pissed them off,” She grabbed my wrist and we took off down the beach.

	Underneath a small cluster of palm trees, I laid out on a towel with Margaret laying nearby on another where she soaked in the sunshine. I chuckled as I watched her lay on her stomach, “You’re gonna cook like that.”
	She shrugged and peered at me over her sunglasses, “I gotta dry off before we go into town. I don’t wanna leave slime everywhere. But do tell me if you start smelling cooked fish sticks.”
	I made a face, “You know I was never a big fan of seafood.”
	“How in the name of Mother Hydra do you live in a coastal town your entire life and NOT like to eat fish!?” She sat up and gave me a bewildered look, “You go FISHING all the time! What do you do with the fish you catch!?”
	I shrugged, “I just catch and release ‘em. It’s a form of meditation, not food for me. And to answer the first question, I went to school with a ton of fish people. Girls like you, mermaids, that kelp girl, and you know the rest. I just always had the image of you guys in my head when I tried to eat fish. It was like, only one or two steps removed from eating one of you guys.”
	“...Wish...eating…me…” Mar muttered under her breath and I could hardly hear her.
	“Huh?” 
	“Hm? Nothing. I just think its goofy that you think like that. You’re like, the youngest boomer I know with that fishing crap. I also think you were getting stiff eating fish. Oh yeah, all the aquatic girls smelled fishy all the time, maybe you were thinking of eating them in a sexual way!” She giggled, “Ooooh, Anon wants to eat out a fishy girl badly~! Ooooh, Anon gets boners thinking of eating fishy ladies~!” She sang in a very off key and almost shrill voice. 
I didn’t mind how she sang, I was totally used to it, “Your singing is improving, Mar,” I smiled.
	She blushed, her face turning totally red, “T-thanks, Anon,” She glanced down at the sand and picked up a handful of it, “H-have I really? Everyone since third grade has told me I suck.”
	“Well, you didn’t kill a seagull this time like in the fifth grade.”
	“THAT WAS TOTALLY UNRELATED! IT DIED OF NATURAL CAUSES WHILE I WAS SINGING!” She shouted in embarrassment as I laughed my ass off at her. She lobbed the sand at me, covering my shirt in it, “You are such an ass sometimes!”
	“Yeah, yeah, I know,” I finished chuckling at her then started to giggle again, “Oh man, the way you screamed when that bird fell in front of you. Now that noise was bad.”
	“I’m gonna hold you down and scream in your ear!” She hollered as she dove onto me and wrestled in the sand with me. I pushed against her, trying to get her off while laughing the whole time. Eventually, Mar ended up on top of me, straddling me as she held onto my wrists, “I’m gonna do it!” She warned, slowly leaning toward me, “Unless you apologize.”
	“You want me to apologize?” I smirked, “For what? I thought you could take the teasing.”
	“I can but you’re being too much of an asshole!”
	I sighed, “Alright, alright. I’m sorry. Are you happy?”
	“Better,” She slowly and embarrassingly got off of me. We sat together on my now sand covered beach towel and stared at the ocean, “Are you teasing me about sounding better too?”
	“No. I’m being serious about that. You’ve been practicing,” I assured her quietly, “You need to practice more on land. Being underwater distorts what you're hearing, right?”
	She nodded in response, “I know. I just don’t like to hang out on land without you though.”
	I get that. You know how I hate being underwater without you guiding me,” I admitted as I folded my arms. 
	“I can’t believe you’re so damn weird about fish and water,” Mar scoffed at me and lightly punched my arm, “Ready to head into town?”
	“Can we swing by my place? I wanna drop off all my sandy gear.”
	“Fiiiiiine. But you’re buying dinner.”
	I gave her a look, “I already told you I was going to buy you dinner!”
	“Good! I’m excited for dinner! We’re gonna go to the Siren’s Last Call, alright?” She laughed as she helped me pick up all my things.
	I sighed, even if she was kind of embarrassing to hang out with, her enthusiasm was appreciated.
 	
	The trek back to the boardwalk from my place was short. Numerous apartment buildings dotted the area around the restaurants and shops. It was a bit pricey, but I thought it was worth it just to be so close to Mar’s ocean home. Even if this was the first time we had seen one another in four months due to the colder months being too harsh this year for most water mamano to come on land without special protection. The deep sea mamano sat on my couch and watched the TV as I changed into something a bit less sandy, “Are you ready yet?” She called with a little groan.
	“Just a second!” I hollered back as I put on my ‘WOMEN FEAR ME. FISH WANT ME’ shirt and returned to the main room, “Alright. We can head out.”
	The fish woman looked at me and gave me a little smile, “You’re such a dork,” She turned off her crabbing show and got up, “What kind of woman would be scared of you, ya big dork?”
	“A woman who doesn’t like ugly dorks?” I guessed as I put my shoes on.	
	Margaret folded her arms and frowned at me, “You know I hate it when you say things like that. You talked like that way too much in middle and high school, Anon.”
	I sighed apologetically, “Sorry.”
	“Stop looking so sad,” The deep one girl wrapped her arms around my neck and gave me another hug, “You’re not even ugly. I’m the freaky one here.”
	“Come on,” I hugged her back, “I wouldn’t say that. The right word is… interesting, not freaky. There’s not a lot of girls like you out there, right?”
	“True,” Neither of us wanted to let the other go but the fish woman removed her arms from me slowly and I did the same, “A lot of people do think I’m kinda scary,” She admitted.
	“I don’t. Fish, fish women, aquatic life-- well most of it, aren’t really something to be afraid of,” I assured her before I grabbed my light sweater, leaving the zipper undone to show off my shirt.
	“Man, Anon,” Margaret folded her arms and shook her head at me, “Why are you such a dork?”
	“I’m built different,” I grunted and started to leave, “Come on, you wanted to do some shopping before dinner, right?”
	“Right,” The fish woman shook herself and followed me back out into the waning sunshine. The heat wouldn’t last, the cold ocean air would quickly overtake it as the sun went down. Mar followed close behind me as we quickly left and made for the town.

	“What do you think?” Mar asked as she exited the changing room wearing a sea green sundress. 
	I nodded, “Not bad. What’s it made out of?”
	She frowned and her shoulders slouched, “Cotton. Why do I have to live at the bottom of the sea?” She groaned and went back in the changing room.
	“You’re still living with your parents, right? You must be saving a lot of money,” I commented, trying to point out the silver lining.
	“Well, yeah. Why would I move out on my own? I’m not like you, I can’t live alone,” The fish woman grumbled as she shuffled around with more clothes, trying to find something to put on.
	“What do you mean, not like me?” I called as I crossed my legs and leaned back against the department store wall, Mar was silent for a bit of time, “Mar?” I called.
	“You’re smart, nice, you can manage money well, and you’re responsible,” She explained, “You’re so busy all the time. That’s why we haven’t hung out in a while, huh?”
	I nodded, “Yeah… I’m just really glad you still wanted to hang out with me even if I hadn’t even called you in a few months.”
	“How is work, by the way?”
	I shrugged, “Not bad. Way too busy and tiring. I’m… really sorry I never put time aside to see you.”
	“Anon, I’m not mad at you. You’re still my best friend. I even--” She stopped herself behind the door, even stopping putting her clothes on, “Nothing. Think I should try anything else on? Not really any point when I can’t wear any of them. Oh, how about this?” She slipped something on and stepped out of the dressing room. It was a leotard style one piece swimsuit that girls like sahuagin usually wore, “Hm? What do you think?”
	I could feel my face turn red as I saw the waterproof material cling to Mar’s breasts and toned stomach, “Uh-- uh--” I stammered, just staring at her.
	“Is it that bad?” The fish woman whined.
	“No! No!” I put my hands on her exposed shoulders to keep her from vanishing back into the changing room. We both stared at one another’s eyes nervously for a few moments before I let her go, “It, uh, it’s… cute.”
	Her face immediately turned red as well, “I… I’ll buy this then, yeah,” She quickly decided as I slowly took my hands off her shoulders.
	We both nervously shuffled our feet before Mar slipped back into the dressing room and got her usual clothes back on. She had only picked out a few things to buy which she held in her nervously gripping hands, “Are you uh, not getting anything?”
	“Oh, I uh, need to try on these jeans,” I realized as I took my turn stepping into the changing room and slipping off my slacks before stuffing my legs into the jeans. They were a little loose, but I was a little thin so I would have to hoist them up with a belt, “So, about that comment you made earlier, do you think you’re not fit to move out on your own?”
	“You know me. I’ve never been good at money management. Nor do I think I could keep a house in working order,” She sighed at herself as I put my belt on “I’d get evicted living on my own just from being a bad tenant. That’s if I don’t lose my job first.”
	“I’m sure you just haven’t found the perfect job for you yet,” I assured her, “It took me forever to find the job I like and want to keep with.”
	“Like what? Underwater treasure hunting was a bust, I feel bad catching fish, and helping map the ocean floor didn’t last long. There was only so much ocean floor to scan,” Mar sighed. I could hear her shuffling around on the bench outside the changing room.
	“Why not try a job on dry land? Move in with a roommate?”
	“A roommate? I don’t know a lot of people who live on land…”
	“Well, I’d be your roommate if you wanted that,” I offered while stepping out of the changing room, “What do you think?”
“Of course I’d want to be roommates with you, but you know what people will start to think of us if we live together, even as friends,” She explained then looked up, “Or did you mean the pants?”
I bit my tongue as I thought to ask her to be more than just friends with me, struggling to believe that she felt the same, “Either works. If you want to try rooming, just let me know. We might need to move so you can have somewhere to soak since you need to do that, right, Mar?”
“Right. Thanks for reminding me, my scales are gonna start drying out if I don’t spray myself down soon. Oh, and the pants,” Mar looked down and put her hand on her chin, “Turn,” She ordered and I obeyed quickly, “Well, it makes your butt look cute.”
	“W-what?” My face lit up red, still facing away from her.
	Mar clammed up as she realized what she had just said, “I, uh…” Without another word she reached forward and pinched my butt, making me yelp in shock, “I mean it!” She decided, doubling down as I ducked back into the changing room, “You should buy it!”
	I could feel how flush my face was, but I couldn’t bring myself to say no, “A-Alright!” I called as I put my other pants back on and got the jeans and some shirts to buy. I exited the dressing room and saw Margaret had her head in her hands, “You okay?”
	With a nod she leaned back, “I just don’t know what came over me.”
	I shrugged, “Come on, let’s get going. I wanna go browse the fishing rods down the street.”
	Her embarrassment totally faded and she gave me a scoff, “You are SUCH a dork! But fine, after you help me moisturize my skin I’ll go look at lures and bait and rods. Heh. Rods.”
	“And I’M the dork, huh, Mar!? You’re laughing at the word ‘rod!’”
	“Would you shut up and hurry? I want to see the lures they have! They’re really shiny!” Mar hurried out to go pay for her clothes and I followed her out.

	I walked down a dark, dimly lit pier with a soggy deep one woman walking right next to me. The waves of the dark ocean crashed against the shore and the rocks in a rhythmless pattern that soothed my weary mind. I could feel whatever madness and embarrassment that Margaret had instilled in me slowly wash away like sea foam on the beach. A brisk wind blew through me, making me shiver a bit. Even Mar shuddered from the cold breeze. I took off my coat and tossed it to her. On any other day, she might have whined but she brought the warm garment to her face and blushed over it at me before putting it on. Not many people were out. Mostly monsters of the night looking for some surprise seaside loving from the men they would make their future husbands. A manticore nodded at us and went back to prowling the alleyways between quiet, lonely shops. The only things that were open at this time were some convenience stores for monsters and men who needed late night pick me ups, snacks, or emergency and overpriced late-night-sex-spicer-uppers. Other than that, restaurants and bars were open. 
We had a specific place in mind, Siren’s Last Call, a karaoke bar on the docks with some tasty food and overpriced drinks. But I knew why Mar was interested in it, the free singing. Mermaids and Sirens took the stage to sing love songs to their loved ones in wonderful singing voices. Mar went to, well… 
	“Anon! Come on!” The deep one shouted as she ran ahead, hurrying into the bar without me. I sighed and slowly caught up to her, weighed down by the bags I carried. I stepped into the bar and saw that Margaret had already taken a seat at the bar and the sahuagin was already pouring her a Long Island iced tea. The bar was small, there was a little stage with a microphone set up where a mermaid sang a Disney sounding song for all to hear. There were some gruff looking sailors with their harpy and mermaid wives at all tables in the center of the building. Along one wall, there was a well stocked bar where Mar was.
	“So, you and Anon again, huh?” The bartender asked, neither of them noticing me yet, “You two going steady yet?”
	Mar frowned, “No… we’re just friends right now, Kelly,” 
	Kelly nodded, “Well, why not?”
	“Because I’m a jobless bum,” The deep one sighed and picked up the drink, “If I had a job, maybe on land, maybe I’d go for it.”
	“Well, we’re hiring here. Start you off washing dishes and then move you to a bartending job if you get the license,” Kelly suggested, “And I know you, we’ll get you that job for sure.”
	“I… I’d do that. For him.”
	“Speak of the devil, there he is!” The sahagin announced as I took a seat next to my friend, “What’ll it be?”
	“A bottle of Davy Jones Lager light, please,” I requested with a glance at my best friend who looked deep in thought, “Everything okay?”
	“Huh? Yeah, I’m fine. Just thinking,” She grumbled as she stared down at her drink.
	“Here’s your light beer crap,” Kelly shoved the bottle toward me, “You’re the only reason I stock that, you know? Anything else for ya?”
	“I think burgers for us both would be good. Unless you want something else, Mar?”
	“No, that’s fine,” She confirmed as the mermaid on stage finished her song and a lot of patrons in the bar clapped for her.
	“Alright, that was Sherry with ‘The Siren’s Last Dance.’ Next up is Penelope with ‘Loving embrace,’” Kelly had picked up a microphone behind the bar as she managed the karaoke. 
	“You wanna go up soon, Mar?” I asked, sipping on my drink.
	The deep one girl perked up and nodded, “Yeah, I should go up. I think I’ve got something in mind,” She started humming along to ‘Loving Embrace’ in her sort of charming but totally out of key way. A few moments passed of me being serenaded by the humming as she slowly drained her drink. Before long, Mar was getting a second one as I nursed my first, “You still offering the move in with you thing?”
	“Huh? Is that what you’ve got on your mind?” I chuckled at her but gave her all of my attention, “Of course I’m still offering. My lease is up in another month, so if you want to, I could let the landlord know now so we can move somewhere with a soaking tub for you.”
	“You’d really do that for me? You’d let me uproot you and move you to a new place just to conform to my needs?” She looked a little misty eyed before going back to her drink.
	“Yeah, of course I would. You’re my best friend, Mar. Spending a lot of time with you sounds nice. My apartment has been feeling pretty empty lately. Can’t even have a cat at my current place so I’ve been thinking about moving anyways,” I chuckled.
	“Could we get a dog? I’m tired of having dumb fish as pets. I want something you can play with for a pet!” She giggled, her cheeks turning rosy as she got a little tipsy.
	“Well,” I put on my best mock dad voice, “A dog is a big responsibility, young lady. Are you sure you can walk it, feed it, bathe it, and everything else that comes with it?”
	“You are such a dork!” She howled with laughter at me, “Oh, Kelly this guy is a riot, huh?”
	The bartender just nodded, “Yup. Real swell guy you got.”
	“Did you know…” She took a big gulp of her drink, “This guy doesn’t eat fish! How bizarre is that!? And, and get this, he thinks of fish girls when he does eat them. Do you think he imagines eating them out?” She giggled like a loon as my face turned completely red and Kelly chuckled at my expense. Mar gripped my shoulder and shook me a little, “Hey, I wanna take you up on that moving in with you offer. I wanna try to work here. Like, I love this place,” She held her arms up to the ceiling and pointed to the decor on the walls. I thought it was a bit tacky, but she did always love mariner paraphernalia, lures, fishing rods, all that stuff. I really liked the pictures of boats they had up on the walls. My little boat was on the wall with me and Mar posing by it, “I wanna pull my own weight when I move in with you. Especially with that dog. We are getting a dog, right? Right!?” She got in my face with desperation painted across hers.
	I smirked, “It might be the alcohol talking--”
	“Light weight!” Kelly shouted at me from down the bar.
	“Thanks, Kelly!” I rubbed my face, “Look. I’m more than happy to have you around for however long. The rest of my life, even.”
	“And a dog too?” She asked meekly.
	“And a dog too. Whatever dog you want. I’ll take it fishing with me. I’ll take you too if you want,” I chuckled. 
	“I do wanna go fishing with you,” She smiled, “There’s the food!” She grinned as a big burger was placed before her atop a bed of fries. I got the same and both of us dug in. The mermaid and harpies that sang were a nice bit of entertainment. Other than that, we ate in silence with Kelly checking in on us ever so often. 
	As we finished our meals, Margaret wrote something down on her napkin and handed it to Kelly. Mar’s face was flush and she was numerous drinks deep now. The sahagin gave the sheet a skeptical look, “Ya sure? I’m not gonna tell you no, but you’re a little smashed right now.”
	“No, no, no. I’m okay. I can do it!” Mar insisted, “Tell me when I’m up!”
	“Alright, you’ve got it, Margaret.”
	“What was that all about?” I wondered as I finished eating, “Ask for some hard song?”
	“Nah, not really,” She seemed to be quickly sobering up as a nervous look crossed her face, “Same thing as usual.”
	“Those rock songs, right? Oh, hey, if you move onto land you can start collecting those CDs, right? You’ve been whining about wanting to buy them but the sea water would wreck them,” I recalled as I stared at her.
	Mar looked me in the eye with her pretty yellow on black gazers, “I’d like that. You’re really hyping me up for this, you know?”
	“I am? Sorry,” I sighed and tried to sober up a bit, “How was your--”
	“And that was Big T with a small collection of sea shanties,” Kelly interrupted me on the intercom, “Next up we have Margaret with a very special song!”
	“I’m up,” Mar looked pale as she stood.
	“Are you sure? You look ill,” I warned.
	“I’m fine. I-I need to do this,” Her shaky voice didn’t instill much confidence in me. I sat back and watched my friend slowly walk to the stage. From the look on her face you would think she’s on some kind of death march. My childhood friend slowly stomped up the stairs on the side of the stage in her flip flops, skin tight swimwear and my hoodie. She swallowed nervously as she took the microphone and brought it to her lips, a little bit of feedback reverberating through the speakers around the bar, “H-hi,” Mar whimpered into the microphone in her hands.
	“Hi, Margaret!” A few regulars greeted back with some cheering. 
	Mar nodded at the barkeep and some distorted rock guitars came through the speakers, “This, uh, dedicated to my best friend, Anon,” More cheers broke out, “I, uh, just hope you feel the same way,” As the drums and bass came into the song, Mar started to sing while staring right at me. Her voice started off shaky and nervous, but soon fell into the mood of the song.
"Riding fast on the road through the night,” I stared in disbelief as her singing voice came out loud and surprisingly confident and only a tiny bit off key.
“Fighting to hold back the tears in my eyes,
I can't stand this feeling in me,
I don't wanna be lonely-yyy!

There's just one thing left for me to do,
I cry out underneath the stars and the moon,
Can't lie to myself I know that it's true,
I just need you-uuu!

“Your the first thought I have
All the good times we've had
You're the right one for me
My big fish in this sea
My heart soars above
You're the one that I Iove!
I just need you-uuu!"

	The song went on for a few more minutes with even some of the crowd singing along with her. With a few shaking breaths, Mar’s song ended having ridden on nothing but feelings and passions. The mermaids and harpies all cheered for the deep one girl as she slowly stepped off the stage, still looking pale and ill as she made her way back over to me, “That was Margaret with a very passionate and cheesy 80’s  rock song, 'Love under the Moon.' Next up is…” 
	I tuned Kelly out as Mar sat next to me, facing away from me as she stared down at the counter, “You really mean all that?” I asked.
	“Yeah. I do,” Mar replied, nervously wringing her webbed hands together.
	I nodded, “I’m really your… big fish in the sea?”
“Yeah, yeah. You can just say no and that I’m a big dummy if you want. I know you’re too good for me,” She sighed and picked up her drink again.
“Already putting yourself down? Margaret, you really don’t think I feel the same?” I wondered, almost feeling pained.
She shrugged, looking defeated, “I don’t know, Anon.”
“Mar, of course I love you,” I confessed, stopping my teasing, “I--” She lurched over to me and wrapped her arms around my neck and I could hear her blubbering in my ear, “I just confessed to you that I would be happy staying with you forever!” 
	“I knoooow,” She tried and failed to hold back tears of joy, “I’m such a dummy…” She let me go and wiped her eyes before looking up at me with an adorable smile, “Oh, I’ve got something for you.”
	“Oh?”
	“Hold out your hand~” She ordered after grabbing something in her scaled hand. I nodded and put my palm up and Mar dropped something heavy in my hand, “A ring for you! Since you’re gonna be my husband!”
	I looked down, it was a big, hefty and solid gold ring, “What!? This thing is huge!”
	“Is it? My family has a lot of gold that we don’t know what to do with,” She shrugged, “It's not really worth anything to the old ones down there.”
	“I…” I slipped the ring on, “Thank you. I’m more than happy to be your husband, Mar. Should I do something special for you too?”
	“Of course!” She grinned, holding out her hand.
	“Well, I don’t have it right now. But I’m gonna take tomorrow off. We’re going fishing!” I proudly decided.
	Mar stared at me but that disbelief turned to a big grin, “You are such a dork, Anon!”

	I watched as Mar cast her line, sending her new lure out over the glimmering water. I sipped on my Monster Energy zero ultra, “Yep. That’s a good cast,” I complimented her and recoiled from the awful taste of my drink.
	She just gave me a look. We were standing on my little shipping vessel by the cliff face. It was my secret spot, a special get away for the two of us. Not many other vessels were out and a few birds rested on the rocks of the cliff. My boat had a little area to sit and stand where we fished, a little cabin with a small bed and a few other amenities, and a raised spot to drive the boat above the cabin. A little radio quietly played 80’s rock, Mar’s choice. She tugged on her line as I dumped out the Monster and put the can back in our little cooler full of drinks, “Woah!” Mar cried as the rod pulled back on her.
	“Hold it tight!” I ordered, “Start reeling, but not too hard, you’ll break the line. But don’t go too soft, the fish will get away. Your feet are too close together, you’ll fall overboard! And–”
	“I’ve got it! Shut up!” She hollered. I watched as the deep one woman nervously reeled in her catch arduously slowly. I watched with bated breath, eager to see her reel in her first fish after taking so long to figure out how to cast the line properly, “I got it! I got it!” She giddily cried as a fish popped out of the water with a splash.
	“Good job!” I helped her pull it onto the boat and watched the fish flop around on the floor. It was a tiny sea bass.
	“It's so small…”
	“Pick it up and pose with it!” I shouted, grabbing my camera to get a picture, “I need a picture of your first catch!”
	Even if she looked sad over the disappointing size, she picked it up and held it up for me to snap a picture of. I got the photo and nodded, helping her release it back into the ocean, “Thanks, Anon. That was really fun,” She leaned over and kissed me on the cheek.
	“Woah, just a cheek kiss?” I teased.
	“What, you wanna get to first base already, dork!?” She obviously was debating whether or not to throw me into the ocean, “You don’t get first base until you take me on a date! I swear, you’re a bigger coom brain than a horny jubjub!”
	“This IS a date! I dragged my boat out just for you!”
	“Dork!” She shouted before casting her line again, “I still love you though.”
	“I love you too,” I chuckled and gave her a kiss on the cheek that she turned into a kiss on the lips before pushing me onto one of the seats. I smiled and sighed dreamily, this was going to be a great day fishing since I already got my greatest catch.