I blinked. “I have no idea what that means, besides the obvious meaning.”
“I only like women,” he replied.
That was odd. On a whole, most drakcol had no preference when it came to gender, though a few people existed who only liked one gender or who weren’t sexually attracted to anyone. I could see where Camden’s preference might present a problem, with Cencay being non-gendered.
“So I don’t like you. Romantically speaking,” Camden continued, glancing at me, then quickly away. “Just so you know.”
That did make me feel better, because I’d been keeping my distance to not lead him on. Now, we could become good friends. I was already fond of him. “I figured that out. I am not a woman.”
Camden laughed. “No, you’re not.”
I smiled at him, then continued, “You didn’t do anything wrong in regards to Cencay. They are young, though, so perhaps allow them some space to get a hold of themself and their feelings.”
“How young?” he asked, looking distinctly uncomfortable.
“They’re not a child,” I instantly replied. “Don’t worry.”
He let out a huge gust of air. “You had me freaked out there.”
“No, they are seventeen in Standard, so…” I trailed off as I tried to recall the difference between Standard and Earthen. “Twenty-one, Earthen.”
He bobbed his head. “I see.”
“They are not so young that Cencay should’ve reacted so strongly, but…” I trailed off. I didn’t want to share anythingpersonal they would rather me not share, and yet, Camden was human and didn’t exactly understand drakcol, just as we didn’t always understand them, however similar we were.
I continued, “I believe they perhaps romanticized being with a human.”
Camden gave me a tense smile. “Many have.”
I offered my throat in concession. Many humans had been abducted, sold, and used for fetishistic reasons. It wasn’t right, not to mention, I imagined, uncomfortable, for humans to be viewed as such.
“I won’t hold it against Cencay,” Camden said. “But I’m going to keep my distance.”
“That’s wise. I will try to better explain it to them. Or maybe I’ll ask Seth.” He was the undisputed leader of Team Human, but I did feel bad bothering him. However, I wasn’t sure what else to do.
Camden made an unintelligible noise that NAID didn’t bother to translate. I didn’t press. I had no idea what he was going through, but he shouldn’t have to deal with admirers who only saw him as the most attractive human on board.
I paused in my step, then had to hurry to catch up with his much longer strides. That was something I understood, in part. I knew exactly how attractive I was and how much people simply desired me for my body and not who I was. Some of those people were put off by my malformed wing. No one outright said anything, but it was in their looks or how they treated me or wouldn’t touch it or want me to have my wings free during sex. The pity looks. The offers to take me flying. All of it.
“Sometimes being beautiful is uncomfortable,” I commented.
Camden burst into laughter, making me smile. He gave me a wry grin. “You must have the same issue.”
“To an extent, yes.”
He shook his head, still smiling. “It sometimes sucks, but pretty privilege is a thing.”
“What?”
“It’s a human expression. It means you have an advantage above others for simply being perceived as more beautiful by society.”
“I agree.” I sometimes got things or more attention for simply being more beautiful.
Camden threw an arm over my shoulder, and I stiffened slightly. We still hadn’t discussed permissions, but perhaps in his human way, he thought our relationship had moved forward enough to simply allow him to touch me. I guessed it had changed—I was no longer concerned about him developing a romantic attachment to me—but I didn’t want him to touch me.
“Well,” he said, “we’ll have to stick together.”
I gave him a smile. “I suppose we will, though it might make Noxlyn jealous.”
