Shifting (Swans Landing) by Shana Norris Page A

sensations her touch sent through my body. A miniature version of the Eiffel Tower stood on top of a book of Shakespeare on her desk. “You like Shakespeare?”
    She sighed. “Yes, I like Shakespeare.”
    “Let me guess,” I said. “ Romeo and Juliet .”
    She tilted her head back, tossing her hair behind her shoulder as she said, “No. The Tempest .”
    “Which one is that?” I asked.
    “The one about the people on the island.”
    I frowned. “Oh.” I’d had enough of islands to last me ten thousand lifetimes. Change of subject. “Have you ever been to Paris?”
    She followed my gaze, then shook her head. “No, that’s from Las Vegas.”
    “When did you go to Vegas?”
    “Three years ago,” she said, shrugging. “Family vacation. My mom always wanted to go.”
    The farthest my family had ever been was Manteo, farther north along the Outer Banks. It was difficult to do family vacations for us. We couldn’t go inland, and if we stayed near the coast, we got the urge to swim, which was dangerous in places where no one knew about finfolk.
    “Where else have you been?” I asked.
    She named several trips, some near the coast and others far inland. I tried to imagine all the places she had seen, the ones I’d only experienced through pictures and movies.
    “My turn,” she said. Elizabeth’s body stiffened slightly and she stared hard at me. “Why didn’t you go with Sailor when she left? I thought you two were stuck at the hip.”
    My finger traced circles over her thigh while I thought about this.
    “Sometimes I think I should have gone,” I admitted. “I had a way out of here, away from this island, and I gave it up. But I don’t want to find more finfolk. I don’t want to swim forever. I’ve spent my life swimming and sometimes I’m so sick of it. Sometimes I want to walk for the rest of my life.”
    “I thought all of you people liked being finfolk.”
    “Sailor once called it a half-life,” I told her. “And she’s right. We live with a constant ache for what we don’t have. If we’re in the water, we want to be on land. If we’re on land, we want the water. It never ends.”
    “I think it would be fun.” Elizabeth shifted in my lap, moving closer to me. “To change, and be something else for a while. Leave everything behind and swim far away.”
    I didn’t want to be Finfolk Dylan right then. I wanted the chance to imagine being a normal guy. So I turned myself around, pushing Elizabeth down onto the bed and moving over her. I kissed her hungrily, feeling like I could never get enough.
    She grinned up at me when I pulled back so we could catch our breaths. “So, what about you? How many girlfriends have you ended up with like this?”
    Mara’s sleeping in my bed didn’t count. We had kissed only a little, and I’d been too afraid to touch her, thinking if I did it would break whatever moment we’d had. That she’d realize I wasn’t the one she wanted after all. Which had happened anyway, despite me keeping my hands to myself.
    “None,” I told her. “Not like this.”

 
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Chapter Ten
     
     
    Mara smiled wide when she opened her front door. My stomach still did a little flip-flop whenever she smiled at me. I hadn’t talked much to her these last few days. Sneaking off with Elizabeth during lunch and after school had taken up a lot of my time. It was nice to see Mara again.
    “Dylan!” Lake called from his table in front of the windows. “Come see the masterpieces.”
    He had a table full of shadow boxes laid out side by side and each one contained an angel made of seashells. They were all created from the same types of shells, but each was a unique blend of colors. Usually I envied Lake for how easily he could create amazing works of art from ordinary things, but today I felt nothing.
    “They’re great,” I said, trying to gather up some enthusiasm.
    “I thought I’d make a bunch of them for summer this year,” Lake said. “They