The waiter cleared the table outside the cafe\u2019s front door and slipped two mint-green paper menus onto two white plates. I opened my mouth to object, fingers tugging on the stretched-out sleeves of my mustardy sweater. I was hoping for an inside seat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThank you,\u201d she said first and slid into the sunnier spot. The waiter put his hand on the back of her chair to wish her, only her, a delicious meal. She smiled with white teeth and a fluency I had never seen in real life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She told me about her job at a flashy digital agency as I watched the sun play with her clean hair and white skin as if they were pools of saltwater. Her blue eyes held a ring of green in the middle that I could see when she opened them wide, wider to tell me about the size of her new office. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI could put a hot tub in there it\u2019s so huge!\u201d she said. \u201cGet in hot water to get out of hot water, you know?\u201d I didn\u2019t. But I was enjoying her light reflecting back on me, making me seem more appealing than I knew to be true. I was afraid that if I looked away, I would lose my own potential.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
***<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cShould we split the calamari?\u201d she asked, making the same face as her profile pic. \u201cOr are you one of those people who doesn\u2019t like to share?\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI can share,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou look like you might be a pig for squid. Are you a hog for a cephalopod?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think so.\u201d I said carefully. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cDon\u2019t get me wrong,\u201d she said. \u201cI appreciate a girl who can eat.\u201d Her blue eyes searched my sweater; I drew my arms in tight. She was testing me for weak spots. My jokes could be like that too, but hers were better. My mother told me I scared people. \u201cNo one\u2019s out to get you,\u201d she\u2019d said, pinching my arm between her fingers. \u201cTry not to bite everyone\u2019s head off.\u201d She was too kind to say what was real: I was hard to love. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
***<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We ordered the main course and three men turned to admire her as they passed. One stopped and asked if he could take her picture. She ran a hand down the back of her neck and offered him her left side. That\u2019s when I realized our outdoor seating was good marketing: a beautiful woman makes a shiny lure. In my whole life, I had never thought of myself as bait.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
***<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019m glad I found you,\u201d she said, pulling my mind to attention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMe too,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI always wanted a sister,\u201d she said and reached her pink hand across the table, palm up, waiting for mine to fill it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMe too,\u201d I agreed, even though growing up, I only asked for a dog. I placed my fingertips on hers to see how it felt and she snapped her other hand on top of us both. Our hands were the same, except for my nails, short and chewed on. Hers long and impossibly iridescent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNow that you\u2019re here, I don\u2019t think I\u2019ll ever let you go,\u201d she said, showing me her teeth like she had to the waiter. She barked a laugh, her hands still holding mine, her nails starting to find skin. \u201cMy sister! My very own sister, can you believe it?\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
***<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The waiter placed the squid in front of her and I watched the creature\u2019s smallest tentacle reach for a slice of lemon. It was an illusion; the dish was warm and grilled. I stretched my own arm across the table to stab a bite. She pushed the bright white plate two inches closer to me. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAre we sharing?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou can have it,\u201d she smiled, leaning all the way back in her chair. \u201cI\u2019m not hungry anyway.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I was starving. I forked puckered legs into my mouth over and over, as she mooned about a trip to hidden hot springs, each pool more scalding than the last.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSounds uncomfortable,\u201d I said, a bite lingering in my cheek. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOh, you know the story of the boiling frog,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
But I didn\u2019t.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSuffice to say, it\u2019s quite pleasant actually!\u201d she laughed. Heads turned at the table on the other side of the glass door to catch the source of her perfect sound. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou like things hot, I guess,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She cocked her head like a curious seal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHot tubs, hot springs\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI run cold,\u201d she said. \u201cAt least that\u2019s what my boyfriends tell me!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMe too,\u201d I said, a little warmer after filling my stomach. \u201cMaybe it\u2019s genetic.\u201d But then why did she choose seats out in the early winter air?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHave the last bite,\u201d she gestured at the plate, one arm and one lemon left in an eddy of speckled aioli. I obeyed and washed it down with iced tea. She told me about the regular mud baths that kept her skin young and flexible. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s like being buried,\u201d she purred. Suddenly, the world in front of my eyes flickered and faded. Then the sirens, the freezing pavement on my neck. I couldn\u2019t move or speak but I was still there and so was she. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
***<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cShe\u2019s mine!\u201d I heard her shriek through sobs to a cast of blurry figures. \u201cLet me stay with her!\u201d Her silky arms wrapped around me, she brought an ice cube to my lips, still sweet with tea. She lifted me into her car on her own, cooing nursery rhymes as she worked. The last thing I remember is how the leather seats stank of the beach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
________<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rebecca Ackermann is a writer, designer, and artist living in San Francisco. Her short fiction has been published by <\/em>Barren Magazine, <\/em>Wigleaf,<\/em> Flash Frog, and others. Her essays on tech and humanity have appeared in <\/em>The New York Times, <\/em>Newsweek, <\/em>The Week, and elsewhere. You can find her tweeting bad jokes and strong opinions @rebackermann<\/a>.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"