With no way to hide herself, Marina knew the only options she had left involved talking to the surfer. As she treaded water with her tailfin, she looked up at the woman on the dock and smiled sheepishly. "Looks like you caught me. And you didn't even need a net." She spoke with roughly the same casual veneer she employed every time she pretended that her last girlfriend hadn't snuck in through her bedroom window for her clandestine nighttime visits.
The woman tilted her head. "I usually try to avoid messing with things in the water while surfing, let alone mermaids. What's that getup all about?"
"I'm... trying out a new costume wetsuit. I'm one of those mermaid girls. You know, like the ones who post underwater photos online." She knew that good liars stuck to what they knew, and she was definitely an avid follower of many mermaids' social accounts.
"Uhhh I don't really know what that's about. But that's a hell of a suit you've got there, even for a mermaid."
"Th-thanks. I wasn't expecting anyone else out here."
"Neither was I." She straightened up and set down her board, removed her backwards baseball cap, and scratched her head. "I'm sorry to disturb you."
"Oh, don't be. I-- well, I don't own this beach or anything."
"This your boat? I didn't see a trailer on the car back there. I presume that's yours."
"I'm renting the boat. There's a company that drives boats to all the smaller coves around here. It's nice to have more open sea to explore instead of going to the crowded tourist spots. They're coming to pick it up tonight." This was all the truth, which reminded Marina that she actually had a finite amount of time left to sort out her situation.
She glanced over at the boat, giving it a more careful look, and evidently spotting what she was keeping inside. "You dive, too, huh? I love scuba diving."
"Yeah, I'm a mermaid through and through. Even when I'm not trying out elaborate swimsuits. Uh, speaking of which, talking like this is kinda hurting my neck. Would you mind giving me a hand up?"
"No problem at all. Actually gimme your hands" She squatted down, reaching her hands out towards the mermaid. Marina could see that she was quite fit, firm muscle tone gracing her whole figure.
"Um, sure." She did as asked and their hands intertwined. Then with a mighty pull and a smooth movement, the surfer took her arms and helped her up onto the old planks. Marina found this much easier than climbing into her boat with the monofin. Soon she was seated on the docks, enjoying the warm sun mixing with her wet "skin." She took her teal hair and rung it out gently over the edge, hardly believing how long and heavy it had become. She hadn't noticed the weight while in the water.
"Is that a wig?" the woman asked.
Marina bit her lip. "Um...uh, no, it's mine, just dyed." She watched her sit down nearby and saw her staring at her tail. "Been a surfer long?" she said in an attempt to shift the woman's attention.
"Wha-? Oh, yeah...been surfing since I was little." The woman tore her gaze away from Marina's tail and looked out across the nearby beach and water.
"Diving too like I said" she continued, "Sometimes for fun, but I work for the city aquarium, collecting samples and specimens for their exhibits and research projects."
"It's good work, too. I've always loved the ocean. I'd like to still be able to surf and swim in it when I'm 50."
Her gaze was out on the water, but she caught the surfer briefly glance back at her. Not to make eye contact. Clearly eyeing her wetsuit. This drew her own thoughts back to her situation. She was so into chatting she had momentarily forgotten.
"Speaking of...specimens, how're the fish out here, besides yourself?" she asked lightly.
Marina chuckled. "I saw a few while I was swimming, so you might get a bite."
They sat for another minute, in silence. Marina looked off into the hazy blue horizon and contemplated what to do now that she had company. More swimming was probably not a good idea. She didn't want to disturb draw more attention to her altered form. She thought about checking her phone in the boat, but that would require awkward shuffling across the dock.
The woman cleared her throat perfunctorily. "Sorry, my name's Valerie, by the way."
Snapping out of it, she grinned at the surfer. "I'm Marina."
She turned it over in her mind for a second, then glanced over at the mermaid and gave her a wry smile. "That's a fitting name." Her expression suddenly changed as she fixed her eyes on Marina fully.
Marina furrowed her brow. "W-- what?"