“Eleri also said it’s normal to be emotional when you’re bleeding. I can offer you processed sugar and pain medication or a hug?”
Cassie found herself laughing through her tears as she sat at the table in her underwear. The way he said it was so mundane, as if he’d been waiting for it to happen and had a whole script prepared. Maybe he did. Without his focus on her voicelock to keep him occupied, she’d caught him researching all manner of things about humans. It shouldn’t have surprised her that he knew more than she did about her own species at this point.
All of those, please.She tucked her knees into her chest instinctively as a fresh wave of cramping hit her. Örim rose from the table and brought over a white pill and a glass of drinking water. She took the pill while he reached around in the food storage cabinet for a brick of something that he placed in front of her.
You’ve had chocolate here this whole time?Cassie asked, horrified he hadn’t offered it before.
“Eleri specified it was for menstrual bleeding purposes.” Örim sat back down in his chair. “Do you want a hug now?”
I can’t believe you hid this from me.She snatched the chocolate off the table and crawled into his lap, sitting there while she ate. He shifted his weight to accommodate her, draping his arms gently over her shoulders.
“It wasn’t my intention to hide it from you. We can get more if you like it.” She felt him settle around her, his touch growing more confident the longer she stayed.
CHAPTER 29
Cassie
Ever since Örim had confessed his feelings to her, the air between them had been strange. Not awkward or uncomfortable but charged with electricity about what could happen but hadn’t.
It was small gestures; the way he lifted her on and off his levibike instead of just offering her a hand. The way his fingers pressed against her shoulder or her lower back as they walked down toward the school. Cassie observed more than one curious pair of eyes on them as they moved together.
S’samph was already waiting for her near the schoolhouse. “I assume you haven’t found any new information about the Aviarist’s movements.” S’samph’s frill lifted as he glanced over at Örim.
“Not yet. A few false leads, but nothing substantial.” Örim released his hold on her shoulder.
“Let’s go to the training ground then.” S’samph gestured to his levibike. Cassie followed him after a final backward glance atÖrim, who waited until she was on the levibike before he headed inside.
“I’ll come pick you up after class,” he called to her. Several of the younglings stood outside the building gawking at him watching Cassie until he finally herded them inside. It would only be a matter of time before everyone in Laurus knew they had feelings. Cassie suspected everyone already knew they had feelings. When she arrived at the training ground with S’samph, the others were already mostly there.
K’kaen regarded her with a flick of his tail. “So, you and the teösian?”
“It’s always been her and Örim.” Wreeta came up beside Cassie. “If you weren’t paying attention, that’s your fault.”
“Start your laps.” S’samph’s voice rose above the chatter. “Fifteen today.”
Wreeta and Cassie both groaned as they paired up to start their jog. “I’ve never slept with a teösian before. What’s it like?” Wreeta asked as soon as they were out of earshot of the next closest running pair.
Cassie considered the question. It seemed odd. How would Wreeta know he sat next to her most nights while she slept? “Örim doesn’t sleep. Teösians don’t sleep.”
Slowing down her jog, Wreeta produced a breathless trill. “I don’t mean actually sleeping. I mean, you know, lifting each other’s feathers. Singing filthy songs in the same octave.”
Wreeta warbled in annoyance at Cassie’s blank stare. “Sex, Cassie. I’m talking about sex. What’s the sex like?”
“Oh.” Cassie took a deep breath against the burn that started at her feet and simmered all the way to her scalp. “I don’t know.”
“What do you mean you don’t know? I’ve seen the way he looks at you. We’ve all seen the way Örim looks at you. That male looks at you like he wants to tie you to a tree branch and sing arias about your cloaca.”
“I don’t have a…” She had no idea what the word Wreeta had just used was. Until a few days ago, she hadn’t even known what her own reproductive organs looked like.
“How have you not had sex yet?” Wreeta stared at her. “Holy filoplume, have you never had sex before?”
Cassie shook her head and tried to pick up her pace. She hated running, but getting away from this conversation might be worth trying to keep pace with Arz instead of Wreeta.
“Hey! Come back here! I’m highly motivated to continue this conversation. You’re not going to outrun me today.”
Eventually, Cassie relented and slowed down enough for Wreeta to keep pace. “Sorry, I’m not trying to make you feel weird about it. Giradey are highly sexual. We’ll have sex with pretty much any species. I know most species aren’t like us. But sex is fun. You guys are mates. You should try it.”
“I don’t think we’re mates yet.”
