I like the way your body felt against mine when we showered together.
Okay, they were actually encroaching on sexting territory now, and he wasn’t sure if that was allowed. But he trusted Zef to tell him if they were uncomfortable.
I am flattered by your compliments. It makes me feel warm and tingly all over. Or maybe that is the margaritas Enfys made.
I like the way we fit together and the intimacy of being naked with you.
Yup, he was hard now, but Zef had been drinking, so he had to nip this in the bud.
Me too. Maybe we can shower together again sometime. But for now, I gotta get some sleep before my flight tomorrow.
Of course. Sleep well. We will speak tomorrow.
Goodnight.
Think of me when you blow your load.
Gem, get off Zef’s phone!
The next day, Bryce didn’t get to Envy until the evening, but Zef was waiting for him at the station, wearing their overalls and what looked like a crop top underneath. He could see the barest hint of their midriff as they waved exuberantly at him from the other side of the ticket gates.
Their hair was in a loose braid, and they wore heeled ankle boots that added several inches to their already impressive height. When they hugged him in greeting, he could tuck his head under their chin easily.
“Hello,” they said as they rubbed their cheek on his head. “I am so happy to see you.”
“You too.” He risked a peck to the underside of their chin, and they clicked in playful reprimand. “Missed you.”
“And I, you.”
He hooked an arm around their waist as they headed toward the trams, fingers teasing their exposed skin. Their cheeks flushed, but they didn’t push his hand away.
At home, there was a small potted plant waiting for Bryce on the kitchen island. Zef’s wings buzzed with anxious excitement as they watched him approach, communicating that this was clearly something of significance.
“What’s this?” he asked, and they pushed it toward him.
“It is a token of my deepening affection,” they said, trilling softly when he picked it up to inspect it.
It looked like some sort of succulent-type plant; he hoped it was as hearty as human succulents were because he was not good with plants. The underside of its thick leaves were a delicate red, the color staining the veins on the top.
“It’s beautiful,” Bryce said, and Zef smiled brilliantly. “Is this a Mantodean courtship thing?”
They nodded, all four hands fidgeting. “Yes. It signifies that my feelings are amorous in nature, and that I wish to engage more physically with you. Traditionally, I should have offered this before we—at your parents’ house, I mean. When we…”
“Showered together?” he finished for them, and their neck splotched with embarrassed color.
“Yes. If Toa Sian ever found out that I did this out of order, they would reprimand me for being bawdy,” they admitted, and he laughed. “But I am rectifying it now. If you wish to accept it, of course.”
“I do,” he said, holding it carefully so he didn’t drop it. “I really liked showering together, and I’m happy to engage more physically with you, in whatever way you’re comfortable.”
With a happy thrum, they converged on him, hugging him even more enthusiastically than they had at the station. They took the plant from him with a lower hand and placed it on the kitchen island so his hands were free, then they practically jumped him, whirring and clicking as he grappled to catch them. Granted, they were light as a feather, what with their hollow bones and slim stature, but he stilloomphedas they wriggled in his hold.
Somehow, he ended up with them entirely in his arms, legs hooked around his hips as they rubbed their cheek against his, a continual trill whistling in his ear. Their hands roamed over his back and shoulders, one sinking into his hair and tangling there.
He set Zef on the island to free his hands, then slipped them under their crop top, fingers greedy for more of their skin. They gasped as he slid one hand up their spine until it splayed between the joints of their four wings. He’d never touched them there before, even during their shower, but he wished he had because the sounds they made… Jesus, the sounds they made.
Almost like a whale song, different tones and octaves all at once, layering on top of each other. Their head fell back, mouth slack, eyes closed, and they… moaned. Or, a Zef version of one, at least.
“Good or bad?” Bryce demanded, and their lips spread in a smile.
