“So it would seem to be a date,” I say slowly, my brows furrowing. “I don’t seem to mind the idea of a date with him, but there is the issue of being an undine.”
Oli nods his head. “When you get to the date, you just have to be straightforward with him. Tell him you’re an undine and what that means. Then you have nothing to be anxious about because he’ll have all the information in front of him and the decision to continue the date is up to him.”
“You know what I’m anxious about?”
“Duh!” Oli says right away with a grin. “I researched everyone’s species when I joined the team,” he says in explanation.”
“You did what?” Daniel asks, looking shocked.
“What? I’m the setter! It’s my job to know everything about my team as the playmaker!” Oli says, crossing his arms over his chest and looking shy all of a sudden. “Silly, don’t look at me like that,” he says, pointing at Sullivan who’s smiling softly.
“Sorry, sorry. I know you hate it when I get all sappy on you.”
“Shifters,” Oli says, rolling his eyes but based on his soft smile, he’s teasing. Then he looks back at me. “I just like knowing everything, it helps me feel more in control. Undine is a type of fae that shares a special bond with their romantic partners, one that can be broken so long as it’s not broken through adultery.”
“That’s right,” I say, nodding my head. “If my partner were to ever be unfaithful, their heart would stop.”
Bo gasps, clutching at his chest. “For real? What if you guys were poly, would that mean the other two could never sleep with each other?”
I watch as Amour’s face turns bright red. He adjusts his glasses, looking anywhere but at Bo. I wish I was better at reading people so I could better understand what’s happening with them.
“Not necessarily,” I say, tilting my head to the side. “I think consensual polyamory is very different from being unfaithful. Everyone is on the same page in that type of relationship.”
“That makes sense,” Kurstin says, nodding his head.
“I, personally, think this is great,” Kent says, placing his hands on my shoulders from behind though he practically has to jump to reach. “When’s the last time you’ve been on a date?”
“Oh, umm. Never?”
There’s another chorus of gasps before Oli is pushing me down onto the couch, everyone surrounding me. “Okay, we’re about to give you the best rundown of dating advice we can all think of. Don’t worry, Maki, we’ll help however we can to make sure this date goes off without a hitch.”
I pull up my note app on my phone and start listening intently.
Chapter Five
Rin
“This feels like aterrible idea,” Kei says, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed.
“Yeah, I’ve gotten an earful from Azaad already,” I say with a wince. My head mod wasnothappy about what happened and I may or may not have gone a bit viral over the entire thing. I haven’t streamed since Monday, giving myself a little breather after that disaster of a storytime. I’ll be back to it tomorrow withmy marathon stream but for now, I’m just trying to get my head back into the right place.
“Not surprising,” Rodney says, throwing another blanket onto the couch. Kei watches from his place against the wall, biting his lip to keep himself from yelling at Rodney for constructinganothernest on the couch. “I’m surprised he’s not demanding to be on call during your date tonight.”
I sputter as I slip into my shoes, almost falling over. “It’s not a date,” I hiss out.
“You sure about that,” Kei asks with narrowed eyes. “Kinda seems like a date to me. Hell, you even put slacks on instead of jeans,” he adds, pointing at me.
“And your shirt has acollar!”
I run a hand over the front of my polo. Then I look up at my friends with a frown. “Should I change?”
Rodney pops his head over the back of the couch. “Absolutely not! You look hot!”
“Hot enough fora date,” Kei tells me.
“It’s not a date! I’m going to take this guy out to dinner. We’re gonna chat. I’m gonna tell himagainthat I’m sorry for the misunderstanding, and then we’ll go on our merry ways. Maybe we’ll even leave as friends.”
Kei makes a growling noise at the back of his throat. “Whatever,” he finally says, walking over to me. “Can I scent you? I don’t know if he’s got a pheromone-based nose but it would make me feel better.”
