Zef nodded. “Yes. I was curious what ritual they enacted before they engaged in sexual intercourse. Neither of them could answer. Greg walked away, and Maggie changed the subject rather quickly.”
“Yeah, that’s probably because most humans aren’t comfortable talking about that kind of stuff,” Bryce said, fighting off laughter. “It’s pretty personal.”
“Oh dear, that would explain their discomfort.” They leaned back against the door jamb and hugged themself with all four arms. “I will apologize to them at the first opportunity.”
“They’d most likely prefer to pretend the conversation never happened. But an apology may not hurt.” The door shut, but Bryce waited for Zef to properly process the devastating news before asking, “What do you mean by ritual?”
“It is my understanding that people engage in certain rituals before copulating. Candlelit dinners and bubble baths. Sensual dancing or massage. Some require drugs or alcohol,” Zef explained, splaying their top hands. “I was curious which ritual led to Oliver’s conception.”
“Wow, I can’t believe you asked Mr. and Mrs. Barnes what they did to set the mood. That’s bold as hell.”
Bryce laughed, but he was not laughingatZef. Since they were too embarrassed to laugh, he was not laughingwiththem either, but he still was not laughing at them. Zef decided to take it as good-natured teasing instead of mockery.
“I made an egregious social faux-pas,” they bemoaned, which only made Bryce laugh harder.
“Maybe a little,” he said, not unkindly, as he wiped tears from his eyes, big belly jiggling with every guffaw. “Oh man, being friends with you is gonna be fun, I can tell.”
Touched again, Zef rubbed a hand over their chest. “I would like to be friends.”
“I’d like that too, Zef,” Bryce said, and Zef ducked their head to hide their pleased smile. “I’d say we should shake on it, but…”
Instead of words, Bryce finished his sentence with a playful wink, and Zef huffed, tilting their chin with a lofty air. “But you have not earned that quite yet.”
“Ha, sass. I like that too.”
Emboldened, Zef flipped their hair and said, rather smugly, “Then prepare yourself, because according to Gemae, I am a bad bitch.”
And oh, that made the human laugh again, and, yes, Zef decided they liked that very much indeed.
Chapter five
Piercings and Mug Systems
Bryce
As the others preparedto leave, Bryce said his goodbyes, then withdrew to his new bedroom. He unpacked his bags and filled the dresser and closet with his clothes and various personal items he’d brought with him to help him feel more at home. A family picture in front of his parents’ farm house. The card all his family and friends had signed as a “going-away” present, even though he wasn’t going away forever. His cowboy boots and hat—he didn’t expect he’d wear them much here, not if he didn’t want to stick out like a sore thumb.
After all his bags were unpacked, he jumped in the shower to wash the feeling of travel from his skin. A generic-looking bar of soap sat innocently on the soap dish, but Toni’s words about possible skin-melting ingredients made him leery of using it. He didn’t have any other options, though, as the shower was empty of all other supplies.
Instead of risking possible disintegration, he simply rinsed off, scrubbing a washcloth extra hard in all his nooks and crannies to make up forthe lack of soap. First thing on his to-do list would be heading to a shop to buy toiletries. Hopefully, Zef wouldn’t mind accompanying him; the idea of going alone made his stomach flip-flop unpleasantly.
Freshly showered, Bryce texted his family, letting them know he’d arrived at Zef’s safely. He took a selfie and quick video of his new bedroom, and his mom and Nan gushed their enthusiasm. His dad took the longest to respond, and Bryce imagined him grumbling under his breath about how the buttons were too small for his sausage fingers.
His chest ached again, and for a moment, his eyes burned. He was so very far from home, from everything familiar. What if he’d made a mistake? He’d put his NAVLE© exam on hold to come here, and left Mr. Morris to handle the veterinary practice alone. Sure, he’d be there for part of the breeding season in the spring, but he still felt guilty for his almost abrupt departure to join the Hellian study program.
Oh God, what if he’d just made the biggest mistake of his life, and his future was ruined?
His left temple started to throb, and he groaned, lying back on the bed and closing his eyes. At this rate, he would work himself into a migraine, and he really didn’t want his first days in Hell to be spent curled up in the dark, suffering. He breathed in deeply and exhaled slowly, rubbing the bridge of his nose. He massaged around his eyes, adding pressure to the sockets to relieve the sudden and short-lived pain. It faded as quickly as it had come, and he sat back up.
“Let’s not panic our way into a stress-migraine,” he told himself as he pulled up his Notes app and started a list of groceries he’d need.
Once he had a substantial list, he left his room and wandered down the hallway. He paused at the shelves of teeth, inspecting them more closely, and he made a mental note to ask Zef for those anatomical diagrams.There were several molars that looked suspiciously like human teeth, but he couldn’t be sure without asking the demon for confirmation.
He wondered if his mom still had his baby teeth and if Zef would want to see them. Maybe that would make for a good Christmas gift, which was something he never thought he’d consider.
In the kitchen, he found Zef cleaning up the supplies Toni had used to make sandwiches. The last sandwich sat on a plate at the corner of the kitchen island, and Bryce’s stomach rumbled. He hadn’t eaten since breakfast, and he was suddenly famished.
“Is this mine?” he asked, and Zef nodded without looking at him.
