Worried, I checked every corner of the place until I heard a rhythmic noise coming from the basement. Following the sound, I found Kaos perched on a folding chair in front of a working washing machine.
He had an open book on his lap and was bobbing his head. Noticing the earpods, I approached him slowly so as not to startle him.
I stood at his side and touched his arm with my tentacle. An involuntary zap of electricity travelled from me to him, and I stepped back.
Kaos sprang up from the seat, sending the book flying in the air, toppling over the chair, and falling backwards. I caught him and cradled him to my chest.
His eyes were blown wide, and he was hyperventilating, but the moment he realized I was holding him, his stiff body relaxed into my embrace.
“I’m sorry,” I said.
He pulled the earpods out and smacked me in the arm. “You scared the shit out of me. And electrocuted me too. What was that? It’s not the first time I felt a sweater-out of-the-dryer static from you, but this was more intense.” His words were an avalanche, deadly, and with no sign of stopping.
Guilt curled in my gut. “Normally I can control the electric energy in my tentacles, but with you it’s more difficult. I’ll be more careful.”
“I don’t mind the feeling. It’s nice. But unexpected. And I’m quite jumpy if you haven’t noticed.” He gave me an adorable look of exasperation.
“So it’s not your reaction to me?”
“No.” He pursed his lips, thinking. “I’m much less startled around you than normal, actually. I’ve been pranked so many times that I guess it’s a reflex.”
“Anyone in particular I need to have stern words with?”
He searched my face and frowned. “You sound like you mean it.”
“Maybe I do.” I so fucking did.
“Silly tentacle Daddy.” He wiggled from my grasp to the floor, righted the chair, and planted his ass on it.
“What are you doing here?” I picked up the book that had landed on a garment rack in the middle of the room and handed it to him. I wasn’t sure what I’d been expecting him to be reading, but “A Guide to Running a Small Business” had not been it.
“The pile of dirty clothes on my bathroom floor was getting too high for my liking. So I scooped it all into a trash bag from the kitchen and found this place.” He gestured to the red washing machine and the dryer next to it.
“But why are you sitting here? You don’t have to watch it spin.”
“Oh, I know. I’m used to using pay machines to do laundry, so I brought a book along. As far as basements go, this one is like a decent apartment in San Fran. Look at the wooden floors, the top-notch amenities. I don’t mind waiting here.” He wiggled his toes, drawing my attention to his eggplant-patterned socks. “Are you offering something better for me to do?”
“You can watch me…” I curled a tentacle under his chin, “...cook.”
“I like watching you do all sorts of things.” He slid his hand under my T-shirt, sending ripples of arousal through me. “Especially when you do them to me.” He paused, tilted his head and tapped the image on my T-shirt. “I like Swimming in the Sharks too, but you have an insane amount of their T-shirts. Are they your favorite band?”
“Well, yes.” I caught his hand and brought it to my lips, inhaling his natural scent. “But I get the T-shirts for free since my brother is in the band.”
Kaos sat up, and his ears stood at attention. “What?”
Clearing my throat, I braced for being in my brother’s shadow yet again. “Nereus is my brother.”
“Holy shit, that’s awesome!” Kaos clapped his hands. “I’ve watched every single interview of them I could find. They sound like they’d be so cool to hang out with. Is your brother loving the concerts and the fame?”
Kaos could have asked for free tickets or merch. Instead, he inquired about my brother’s wellbeing. His heart was too big for his chest. “Oh yeah. His dreams have come true, and he’s madly in love with the Shark Man.”
“Aww, I’m so happy for them. I saw the band live three years ago, but not since then. Maybe one day.” He took one of my tentacles and wrapped it around his neck like a scarf. “Are you close with your brothers?”
“As close as we can be considering we all live far away from each other. I just called Ner actually, and I spoke with Marin last night.” I sent the tentacle up his neck to pet his ear. “How do you get along with yours?”
He leaned into my touch. “Not really. They’re all busy with their lives. I talk to my best friend every day, though. He’s like a twin brother to me, I swear. He’s also an influencer, but he’s fantastic at what he does. His makeup tutorials are peak.”
“You’re great at what you do as well.”
