Susan playfully slapped Rachel on the cheek with her new tail.
Rachel held her hand up against her cheek in shock, then slowly turned her head and smiled.
"Oh, you are going to pay for that," she said, as she grabbed Susan by the tail and began to pull her into the water.
Susan giggled and protested weakly, trying to drag herself away on her hands and elbows. But Rachel's tight grip and the lack of anything to hold onto combined to thwart her. She plopped into the pool with a loud splash. Now in her element, Susan slipped free of Rachel and began to rapidly swim away, propelling herself through the water like a dolphin. Rachel gave chase following closely behind. Dan and Kat smiled at each other, thinking the same thing simultaneously, and joined in the game.
They spent all afternoon playing games - chasing, diving, jumping, stopping only briefly to preen or compare their beautiful new bodies. Kat quickly abandoned her wand - holding it was a nuisance and ruining her fun. But she was no fool. She placed it securely on a poolside table for safekeeping before returning to join the game with the others.
They had almost forgotten about the photo assignment until the gate to the backyard opened.
"Rachel? Are you back here, babe? You done helping your friend with her photo shoot yet?"
Dan quickly tried to cover his nude chest. "Oh my god! We have to hide! I can't let anyone see me like this!"
Rachel scoffed. "Relax. It's just my boyfriend, Todd. And you don't have anything he hasn't seen. Trust me, " said Rachel with a sneer as she looked down at Dan's breasts. "We're in here, honey. In the pool."
Todd turned the corner and came into view. To Dan he looked like the typical meathead jock - tall, big, beefy but without a lick of sense or any intelligence. But for some reason Dan didn't seem to mind. In fact, his wavy brown fair and cool blue eyes looked pretty hot - well, for a guy. Not that Dan was into that kind of thing. But he couldn't help but wonder what those sweet lips tasted like.
"Can you be a dear and help us? We sort of lost track of time and we need to take a few more pictures. The camera is on the table, " said Rachel.
Todd walked over to the table and picked up the camera beside the wand. The girls hopped up to the edge of the pool and posed, each trying to outdo the other with their best sexy look. Todd snapped a few picks.
"Cool costumes. Very realistic, " said Todd appreciatively. Judging by the large bulge in his pants he was really enjoying them.
"Thank you. I made them myself," said Kat with pride.
"She did not! These aren't costumes, they are real! She cheated and used magic to make us real mermaids," said Susan suddenly.
Dan was confused. Why would she tell Todd that? What difference did it make? It was almost like Susan was ... jealous.
Rachel gave them all a snide look, as if to remind them that Todd belonged to her. "Okay, whatever. I have had enough fun. You guys can stay like that and take more pictures if you want but I want to change back to normal. Todd and I have a date tonight."
Kat sighed. "I think I am through, too. It was fun but Dan and I need to get home. Can you hand me that wand so I can change us back?" Kat asked Todd, pointing to the wand on the table.
Todd held up the strange stick. "You mean this thing? This is what changed you guys?"
"Yes, now give it to me," said Kat a little too urgently.
Todd stayed silent, quietly examining the stick. A strange look slowly crawled across his face. "And you can't change back without it?"
Dan felt a chill course through his body. He suddenly really wished that he was back to normal, and that Todd had never seen them. He felt very vulnerable.
"Yes, you idiot! Now give it back to her so I can get out of here!" said Rachel angrily.
"I don't know, " said Todd with a smile. "Seems a shame to give up something so valuable."
Kat blanched, finally catching on to Todd. Apparently he wasn't as dumb as he looked. "Listen, the wand is useless to you. You need to study our family Grimoire to learn the spells. And only the female members of my family can use it."
"Oh, I wasn't talking about the wand," said Todd. "I was talking about a group of mermaids. I bet I could get a lot of money for you guys. And who needs this trinket when I can have a boatload of cash."
"Todd! You wouldn't!" pleaded Rachel. "I'm your girlfriend. I thought you loved me!"
"Sorry, babe. You were cute, but I really loved your money. And now that I am gonna be rich I don't need you anymore. And I don't date fish, " said Todd with a laugh. "Now if you'll excuse me I need to make some calls."
Todd walked away, holding the wand in one hand and his cellphone in the other. As he began to talk on the phone the water in the pool began to feel very cold to the scared girls.