The four of us made our way to the café and had a quick breakfast together. The three males seemed to have come to some sort of agreement last night, the conversation flowing freely as they discussed Odelm’s musical instruments and Xylo’s preparation for my delivery. I sat in silence, listening totheir male camaraderie, pleased I didn’t need to worry about them getting along.
When we arrived at the infirmary, the three healers were already there, hard at work. Odelm and Kaede waited near the door, out of the way, as Xylo ran his daily scans and gave me my prenatal vitamins. Xylo and Chyox confirmed all was well.
Before leaving with Odelm, an imp of mischief possessed me. I walked over to Xylo and stood on my toes to make myself tall enough to reach his face. He grabbed my hips to steady me, and his eyes lit in wonder as I placed a quick kiss on his cheek.
“What was that for?” he asked as his eyes met mine.
“I felt like it.” I smiled. “I hope you have a good day. See you at dinner.”
He let go of me, stunned.
I peered over at the healers. They looked at us in confusion.
Rolling my eyes at them, I turned and sauntered out of the infirmary. Before I’d gotten even as far as the lift, Kaede and Odelm caught up with me.
“What was that about?” Kaede asked as he pushed the button for the third floor.
“The kiss? I’d read about it when researching humans. They often talked about a ‘wife’ kissing her ‘husband’ on the cheek when he went off to work.” I shrugged. “I was curious. I wanted to see what it was like.”
“But Circuli do not kiss,.” Odelm protested.
“I know, but I grew up in a lab, instead of among other humans. In all my readings, humans constantly touched each other for affection and comfort—holding hands, hugging, cuddling, kissing, even during sexual relations.”
The doors opened, and I walked out. Kaede and Odelm flanked me in silence as we walked to the terrarium entrance.Stopping before we reached the door, I turned around to face them.
“Look. I read when humans were in a relationship, they kissed before saying goodbye when one was leaving. I just felt like it. I don’t know. But if my attempts to show affection are going to offend anyone, I’ll put a stop to it. I’m just trying to figure things out. Find out who I am, where I belong in all of this.”
I looked away.
Kaede grabbed my hand in both of his and looked down at me. I could picture his neon-green eyes intent on mine behind his visor.
“Selena, I’ve been in your shoes. Do whatever feels natural. Yes, it’s true humans are a highly affectionate and expressive species. Most of their gestures to provide love and comfort are harmless to others. They may be startled at first, but they will adapt. There are many different species within CEG, and they’ve all learned to get along. Holding hands for humans is the equivalent to entangling vines or tentacles for Circuli. Don’t allow others to prevent you from exploring your human nature.”
I nodded in agreement. “Thank you for understanding how I feel, Kaede. You helped to put my thoughts and feelings into words.”
He let go of my hand and stepped away. “Message me when you want to meet up for lunch. I am going to go work on a few things.”
Kaede walked off before we could respond—back to professional mode. I was more shocked by his compassion and forwardness. It seemed our conversation last night had changed something in him.
Once Kaede was out of sight, I turned to Odelm and grabbed his hand.
“Ready for another swimming lesson?”
He looked down at our clasped hands before meeting my gaze.
“I am ready when you are.”
Throughout the swimming lesson, Odelm hovered.
His tentacles stayed just out of reach, directing me, almost as though he was afraid something would happen. Though I didn’t have the extras he had—blades, tentacles, or the toe webbing I was completely jealous of—we were able to figure out the basics. While I knew I’d never swim as well or as fast as he did, I was relieved to feel the beginnings of competence. It lessened my worry about how I would fare planet-side; I’d been stressing about what I’d do on a world with a lot of water.
Plus, I was enjoying just spending time with Odelm.
Stepping onto the black sand beach after I’d begun to tire, I twisted my silver hair to squeeze out the water. Odelm held my clothes out to me.
“Shit. I forgot to grab a towel from the suite before our lesson again! We really need some sort of box here with a few towels. I keep forgetting to bring one, and I don’t want to drag on clothes all wet, especially not before lunch.”
“Oh, I had not even considered that, since we do not have that concern. I am sorry, Selena. But I will see if it can be arranged for tomorrow.”
