In an attempt to distract them both from the horrors they had witnessed in their bedroom, Zef cleared their throat daintily and said, “There is a festival at the Mantodea Colony in a few weeks. A yearly tradition. It is not open to the general public, of course, but we are allowed to bring personal guests. I was wondering if you would like to accompany me.”
“To the Mantodea Colony? Uh, hell yeah, I would,” Bryce said, and Zef cracked a smile. “I’ve wanted to see where you grew up ever since I got here. As long as it’s okay for me to be there.”
“I would not have invited you if it was not allowed,” they said blandly, and he chuckled.
“Right. Then, yes, I would love to come with you. Oh, and I can meet your progenitor, right?”
“Yes, I will introduce you.”
“Cool.” He took a bite of his pot pie. “By the way, I have it on good authority that parents love me.”
“Oh?” they teased. “Is that ‘good authority’ your own parents?”
“Well, yes,” he said, before pointing the prongs of his fork at Zef. “But not just them. My ex-girlfriend’s parents loved me.”
That genuinely piqued their interest. “Do you have many of those?”
“Ex-girlfriends?” Bryce clarified, and Zef nodded. “Um, two. I dated a girl in high school. We were together junior and senior year. Then I had a girlfriend for part of college, and I dated a guy after that who was doing the same vet school as me. We were together for nearly two years.”
“But it was not sustainable?”
Leaning back in his seat, Bryce contemplated a moment. “I mean, high school relationships hardly ever last, and Jocelyn and I dated sophomore year of college. We were kids, you know?”
“And the man?” Zef pressed.
“Jacob lived in Utah. I would have tried long-distance, but he didn’t want that. He wasn’t coming to Montana, and I wasn’t going to Utah.” He shrugged. “Kinda made the choice for us.”
“Irrevocable circumstances.”
“I guess.”
Zef took a bite of soft gidym root and chewed slowly. “Did you love them?”
Bryce’s fork skittered over his plate with an unpleasant squeak. “Uh, I’d like to think so. I mean, Leanne and I were high school sweethearts, so that was puppy love, you know?”
“Puppy love?” Zef asked.
Rubbing the back of his neck, he smiled sheepishly. “You know, young, teenage love. Never lasts, even though it feels so real at the time.”
“Ah, yes, I understand. We have a saying in our language as well for such things. Just out of the shell.” They sent him a playful grin. “‘Did you hearLeanne and Bryce were in love?’ ‘Oh, come now, they are just out of the shell’.”
With a throaty laugh, Bryce settled more comfortably in his chair. “Yeah, that’s puppy love. We had that, I suppose. And Jocelyn… Yeah, I loved her. She was funny and a little wild. Made me feel adventurous. I liked that about her.”
“But?” Zef prompted, and the skin around his eyes tightened.
“She, uh, broke things off when I told her I was bisexual. She said it made her feel ‘weird’.”
An angry thrum vibrated through their chest. “I am so sorry.”
“Yeah, that one hurt. Probably my first real heartbreak.” He chuckled, even as he subconsciously rubbed at his chest. “But I survived. Tried hook-up culture after that. Wasn’t for me. Then I met Jacob, and I was smitten.
“That break-up hurt too, but it was a more mutual thing, so I wasn’t quite as devastated. We loved each other, even at the end. Just wasn’t enough to get past the… irrevocable circumstances.”
“And he was a good partner?” they asked after the silence stretched too long.
Bryce nodded. “Yeah, he was. No one’s perfect, of course. He wore socks to bed. Drove me crazy.”
“What a terrible character flaw,” Zef teased, and he laughed again.
