“Thank you,” Zef whispered, reaching out to rub his arm.
It was firm under their hand, and they cocked their head in curiosity and gave it a squeeze. Goodness, there were muscles there. Well, of course there were muscles. Bryce had a muscular system, but they had never noticedthe firmness of his arm muscles before. Yet, here they were, just blatantly showcased by his t-shirt.
And why did his shirt look tighter than normal? It accentuated the round curve of his belly and the slight swell of flesh around his nipples. Oh, he had nipples. Zef had not noticed those specifically before either. They had seen them, when Bryce had been shirtless and sleep-rumpled. And when he had been shirtless and wet.
Oh dear, now they were thinking about him shirtless, which was not helping the sudden, strange tightening in their stomach. What. Was. Happening?
Apparently, Bryce was wondering the same thing because he said, “Uh, Zef? What’re you doing?”
“Nothing,” they said, only to realize that they were, in fact, doing something. They were massaging his arms with all four hands. They squealed in horror, jerking away from him and pulling the blanket tightly around themself. “Why would you let me do that?”
“There was no letting. You just started doing,” he said.
“I was not—I did not… I was sleepwalking,” they lied.
“No, you weren’t,” he said.
“I was possessed,” they lied again.
Bewildered, he crossed his arms over his chest. “Possessed? By what?”
“A ghost,” they said primly.
“And this ghost wanted to rub my arms because?”
“Your shirt,” they blurted, and he barked a disbelieving laugh.
“My t-shirt? What about it?”
“Yes, it is… and well I.. I—I can see your nipples clear as day.”
Covering said nipples with his hands, Bryce cried, “Stop staring at my nipples.”
“They are the ones staring at me,” they shouted back. “Go change your audacious shirt this instant.”
“It’s just a gray t-shirt!”
“And yet, it is flaunting all”—they gestured wildly at Bryce’s torso—“of that! Your muscles. And your belly. And your nipples! And it is making me uncomfortable.”
With an infuriating smile, Bryce rubbed at his beard. “Zef, are you attracted to me right now?”
More offended than they had ever been in their life, they shrieked, “You shut your tramp mouth!”
Bryce’s jaw dropped, and Zef squeaked, covering their mouth with their top hands. They stared at each other for almost a full minute of silence before they winced.
“I am sorry. I do not know why I said that.”
“I think I might,” he said as he promptly walked away from them, disappearing down the hall to his bedroom.
“Where are you going?” they demanded, their temper rising again when they heard his laughter echo from his room. “Why would you laugh at me? That is so mean.”
He simply laughed harder, and they whined, eyes filling with tears again. Why was he so cruel?
When he returned, he was carrying two books. They looked like textbooks.
“Oh, of course. Just do homework while I stand here, crying and cake-less!” they lamented.
“When was your last fertility cycle?” Bryce asked as he flipped through the top book, and Zef gasped at the sheer gall of him.
