Amanda dashed into the changing room. Fifteen seconds into going into the room, I heard Amanda groan slightly. I assumed she had taken the bikini off and she had changed back into a human woman. "Joe, what's going on? Why am I in here?"
I shouted back, "I'll explain after you come out. Don't wear the bikini?"
"Why not?"
"I'll tell you when you come back out," I replied. She didn't seem satisfied with the answer, but she got redressed in her one-piece. Of course, she shed years again as she didn't have much else to wear. The youthful 16 year old stepped out of the room and walked up to me.
"So, what's the big deal about the bikini?" she asked.
"It turned you into a mermaid, Amanda. Completely into a mermaid."
Amanda nodded. "That's what was supposed to do, right? All I remember was trying to breath underwater. What happened after that?"
"Yes, the bikini did what was supposed to do. You became a mermaid, a driven one, if you catch my drift," I hinted to her.
Amanda gave me a thoughtful, one-squinted eye look. "You mean, it made me," she paused as her face reddened. I nodded in agreement. Her face became bright red. "Did I, ahhh, try to..." she stumbled for the right words.
"You tried to kiss me and turn me into a merman. The ring saved me. I had to get you into the changing room on the promise I'd let you kiss me. Once you took the bikini off, you were no longer a mermaid. You never did anything wrong, I promise you," I told her.
Amanda looked down at the floor, a sad look on her face. I gave her a comforting hug but she still seemed sad. I tilted her chin to look at me instead of the floor. "It's alright, really."
She finally smiled then wrapped her arms around me and planted a huge kiss on my lips. I was completely surprised by this, but wasn't inclined to complain. It was a little odd to be kissing a teenager again, but it was still Amanda after all. And now she wouldn't drown me or change me.
"Up for another swim?" she asked.
"Sure." I walked to the edge of the pool and took a deep breath in preparation of diving in.
"I don't think I'll need this one-piece anymore" said Amanda from behind me.
I turned around in surprise to find a no longer 16 year old Amanda standing there, the one-piece at her feet. But instead of naked, she was wearing the blue bikini! I had a moment to realize that Amanda had never taken off the bikini and had simply put on the one-piece on top of it. And that meant she was still a mermaid. And that meant we had kissed while she as a mermaid. And then, before I could do anything about it, she pushed me into the pool.