“You don’t know what he is? Is he an alpha? A beta?” Shay asked, vibrating so hard she was at risk of levitating off the ground.
“Will you both let the poor boy speak!” Ba yelled, but there was laughter in his voice.
Cameron shook his head. “There really isn’t much to tell. I was at the airport…”
He went on to tell them everything he could remember about his encounter with Emory, and they listened with rapt attention. When he finished, Pa got up to make them all “celebratory tea.” Cameron was pretty sure this was just their normal tea, but they were going to drink it to celebrate.
Ba walked over and clasped him on the shoulder. “I’m so excited for you. We absolutely cannot wait to meet him. No rush, of course, we will probably keep at least somewhat with tradition and not insist on meeting him until after you’re mated.”
Cameron nodded, his mind whirring a million miles a minute as he thought about mating and meeting the parents. Was that really what they were talking about now? How had his life turned upside down in the span of one day?
Ba gave him one more squeeze before heading into the kitchen to help Pa.
The room fell silent, which was noticeably unusual for them. Cameron’s guard went up, and he studied Shay’s face in profile, noting the deep crevices around her mahogany eyes and the subtle shifting of her jaw.
He’d always been good at tracking other people’s emotions. He’d first heard the term “hyperawareness” from the police officer who removed him from his biological parents’ home. He’d then heard it again from the social worker who had placed him at a halfway foster home. At the time, he’d been too young to understand it, and growing up in a loving home, he hadn’thad to deploy it often. It had come back out in spades in college, though. He was pretty sure it had saved him during many of Thomas’ drunken tirades and heated arguments.
It made his octopus antsy to have to be vigilant at home.
After a few more uncomfortable beats of silence, Cameron booped Shay’s afro puff. Growing up, Cameron had loved that they both had curly hair, naively believing that it meant they’d been destined to be siblings. While Cameron had loose, ginger ringlets, Shay had pillowy, ebony hair, which she often tied into a puff at the back of her head. She would skin anyone else alive if they dared to touch her hair, as she should, but she’d always let her kid brother play with it.
She’d tried to show him how to braid it once, but he’d done an admittedly bad job of it. At her request, their parents had begun taking her to one of the popular Black-owned hair salons in town. When Cameron and their parents helped her move down to New Orleans for college, the first thing she’d done, before unpacking even a single box, was find herself a new salon. No matter how sad it made Cameron to have his beloved sister live halfway across the country, he’d known the move was the right decision for her when she’d found not one, not two, but six different salons within walking distance of the campus.
Cameron booped her puff one more time, and Shay shook her head as if coming out of deep thought. She turned to meet his gaze, concern written all over her face. “This all seems so fast, Camy. Literally last week, you couldn’t even commit to getting on a dating app, and now…”
“I know. Honestly, it feels almost surreal. I had a lot of time to think about it on the plane and… Well, you know my hesitations.”
Shay nodded, squeezing his knee softly.
“I don’t know how to explain it. It sort of feels like my octopus is already on board, and my human brain and feelingsare still catching up, but I guess I’m not as opposed as I thought I would be? Or thought Ishouldbe?”
Shay pursed her lips. “Are you happy? With this man? He seems good enough for you?”
Cameron couldn’t stop his grimace. “I hardly know him, Shaybay, but thus far he at least doesn’t give me aquarium-in-his-basement vibes.”
Shay snorted, breaking the tension between them. She hopped onto the couch and wrapped her arms around him. “Wow, what a ringing endorsement. I’ll be sure to start practicing calligraphy for your wedding invitations.”
Cameron rolled his eyes and tapped his head against hers. When they were kids, Cameron went through a phase where he shunned the idea of fated mates and instead decided he would find his own partner, date for many years, and get married, like people did in the olden days. There was something comforting about a lengthy vetting process. He’d explained this to his sister and parents, accompanied by a tri-fold presentation and scrapbook. While they said they understood, he had a feeling they were just humoring him.
Most fated mate couples, and even regularly mated couples, chose mate bonds instead of wedding bands, but some cultures still engaged in elaborate ceremonies reminiscent of weddings. Octopuses had their own traditions, but he’d distanced himself from octopus culture when he’d left his biological parents behind. Growing up, a wedding had seemed as logical to him as any other sort of traditional affair.
“Yeah, well, I don’t know about all that. I’m not even sure what kind of shifter he is, so I should probably figure that out first,” Cameron said.
Shay nudged him with her elbow until he turned to look at her. Her eyes were full of their usual mischief but also a warmth he hadn’t known he needed to see. “I can’t wait to meet him. I’lltry to come visit. Get the interrogation out of the way early to make sure I don’t have to puthimin an aquarium.”
Cameron groaned and dropped his head to her shoulder.
“No teasing your brother,” Pa chided as he bustled back into the room with a tray full of tea and cookies.
“I’m not teasing. Just promising to properly vet my new brother-in-law.”
Cameron felt sweat gathering in his armpits, and Ba clucked his tongue in disapproval. “Drink your tea, little ones, and then we can go for a swim. It looks like poor Cameron may be overheating.”
Cameron’s face did feel like it was on fire, and the idea of shedding his human skin for a while sounded amazing. Shay had a gleam of excitement in her eyes, and they both shoved cookies in their mouths and practically chugged their tea.
They made their way to the backyard together while Pa and Ba promised to join them shortly. Cameron’s family hadn’t had the pool when he was first adopted, but when he and Shay entered middle school, they’d come into some money thanks to Pa's shifter research. He and Ba had built this gorgeous in-ground saltwater pool, and they’d spent hours upon hours in it as a family.
Cameron kicked off his shirt and pants, not bothering with modesty around Shay. Most shifters didn't mind nudity since it was easier to shift when naked. Before he could take off his underwear, though, Shay let out an over-exaggerated whistle.
