“Humans can hide their feelings, but they can’t hide their erections,” I explained, feeling knowledgeable.
The pair looked shocked.
“They can’t?” Ske’rar asked.
Ran’nor tilted their head curiously. “It doesn’t retract into your body?”
“No,” Jaeyoung ground out.
“You just walk around like that?”
“Yes.”
“I learned something new today,” Ran’nor said to Ske’rar.
“Me, too.”
As the conversation went on, the buzzing annoyance in my chest quieted down. The offer for group sex was only a misunderstanding. The Maeleon pair wasn’t roping Jaeyoung into anything he didn’t want, and he clearly didn’t want to have sex with them. I was oddly happy about that—which was strange because I’d never cared before about what kind of sex others had.
So, why did I care when it came to Jaeyoung?
After saying goodbye to the sexually adventurous couple, I glanced at my human companion. The tension left his body as he heaved out a sigh.
“Thank you, Linn’ar,” he murmured. “I was not in the right head space to deal with... that.”
“Were you upset earlier, too? When you ran away?” I asked, thinking of his sudden departure from the orchard.
He grimaced as if embarrassed. “Yeah. And then I got myself into a bigger mess...” He sighed. “I apologize. That was immature of me. And, once again, selfish.”
I didn’t need to hear him berate himself. I only wanted to know his true feelings and help him through his turmoil.
“You left so quickly that you forgot your items,” I pointed out. “I brought them to you.”
Jaeyoung blinked as if seeing the objects in my grasp for the first time. He must’ve been so frazzled during the sex talk that he didn’t even notice.
“Linn’ar,” he said, surprised. “Thank you.”
He trembled like he just finished running laps. I sat on the grassy slope and gestured for him to do the same so he’d catch his breath. He slumped next to me. His still-naked skin was clammy with sweat.
“Sorry,” he mumbled, running a hand through his hair. “God, I’m a mess today. This isn’t like me.”
“It’s okay to be upset,” I reassured.
He made a face. “Being upset is an emotional failure. And I can’t tolerate any kind of failure.”
I had no idea what he was talking about. Was this another strange human idea, or was this Jaeyoung’s own personal quandary?
“I don’t believe that at all,” I countered. “Your emotions are your emotions. There is nothing wrong with them.”
My feelers twitched with desire. They wanted to burrow into Jaeyoung’s skin, to ease the weight of his frustration and inject calmness. But he was already struggling. I couldn’t impose on him.
Jaeyoung flashed a tired smile. “If we were back on Earth, you’d be a goodtherapist, Linn’ar.”
The word didn’t have a local translation. “What does that word mean?”
“A therapist is a professional who talks to you and helps you work out your feelings,” Jaeyoung explained with a shrug. “Not that I have experience with one.”
“You do not talk about your feelings with anybody?” I asked.
