“Whoa, what’s that?” Dex asked.
“That’s Bob,” Quin said.
“He’s an asshole,” Oliver said.
“Righteous,” Dex said.
At Quin’s prompting, he dropped his bags beside the leather couch, then Oliver led him back into the cafe proper, giving the still-hissing Bob a wide berth as they left Quin’s office. Cya and the insanely tall Araknis were still behind the counter, but the Pyclon—Dex had forgotten his name too—was cleaning up dishes and wiping down the tables in the sitting area.
“That’s Rusty.” Oliver pointed at him, then to the Araknis taking orders. “Gem usually works the espresso machine, but since Cya is taking his place when we head to the new location in Greed, he’s been working the register. He will be training you today. Cya—”
“I know Cya,” Dex interjected. “We go to school together.”
“Oh, okay. One less introduction, I guess,” Oliver said as he led Dex around the bakery case and behind the counter. “Rusty knows the bakery case in and out, so he’ll take the lead on teaching you that, but Gem will be your trainer for pretty much everything else. Gem, you know Dex, right?”
“We’ve met,” Gem said with a playful wink of one small, red eye. One of his six hands reached out and took Dex’s, giving it more of a squeeze than a shake. “Welcome to the fam, babes.”
“Your eye makeup is poppin’,” Dex said.
The black-and-red striped fur covering every arm from elbow to wrist vibrated with a happy hum, and Gem beamed at him, showing off two little fangs. “Aw, thank you.”
Standing this close, Dex could smell the heavy musk ofpackrubbed into the Araknis’s skin mixed with his natural coffee and cinnamon scent. He glanced down at the nape of Gem’s neck. There was no mark, but he was claimed all the same. Every Mammylion would know to keep their distance.
On instinct, Dex released Gem’s hand quickly. “So, I don’t always pick stuff up fast, but I’ll do my best.”
“Oh, don’t stress,” Gem dismissed, giving the top of the register screen a pat. “The system is really simple, but I’m still here for a few weeks, so you won’t be expected to know everything by tomorrow.”
“Cool.”
“Rus, have you met Dex?” Oliver asked the short, pink Pyclon as he joined them behind the counter.
“Uh, kind of. Hey, man,” Rusty said as he sidled up next to Gem, dressed head to claw in black clothing.
Now that they were standing next to each other, Dex could smell the matching pack scent shared between them. They were either very close packmates, or they were totally boning each other. Seeing as Rusty captured Gem’s lowest hand in his, threading his black-painted fingers with Gem’s brightly-colored ones, Dex assumed there was clear and present boning taking place.
Excited to have another Mammylion around, Dex immediately offered him a high-five, tail wagging. “Alright, Mammylion buds represent!”
Rusty cocked an incredulous eyebrow. “Huh?”
“Mammylion high-five, bro,” he said, and the Pyclon grimaced but hesitantly lifted his hand. Dex slapped it, making Rusty wince. “Boom!”
“Well, aren’t you just peppy,” Gem said, placing two hands on Rusty’s shoulders as another teased the end of the Pyclon’s tail. “Which is just wonderful because Rusty loves pep.”
Rusty growled, scowling up at Gem, and Araknis giggled, waggling his dark tongue.
“Alright, alright!” Dex clapped his hands. “Pep bros.”
“Oh my gods,” Rusty said miserably.
“Oh my gods,” Gem gushed enthusiastically. “You hear that, Rus? Pep bros!”
“You can’t leave me here,” Rusty whined.
Bending down to eliminate the significant height difference, Gem smacked a noisy kiss on Rusty’s furry cheek. “Don’t worry, babe. You won’t even notice I’m gone because you’ll be having so much fun with Dex, your new Mammylion pep bud.”
“I hate you,” Rusty grumbled.
“No, you love me, and I love you too, more than I’ve ever loved anyone ever, because you’re my favorite person in the whole wide world,” Gem said, teasing tone shifting to something sincere and sweet by the end of his claim.
