He swallowed the awkward laugh, internally facepalming. What was wrong with him? Cya had always been hot, so why was it turning him into a crazy person now?
“Oh, I didn’t think signs were necessary.” Cya cast Hemersyn a worried look. “But please, don’t actually touch anything. My mother will be quite cross if she comes home and one of her prized vases is broken.”
“For sure. No prob-lay-mo, cap-ee-tan.” Dex saluted them. “Museum rules, everybody. Look, but don’t touch. Which is, honestly, a great rule for life too. Shouldn’t go around touching people without express consent.”
Cya was frowning now, like they were having trouble following his train of thought.
“What is happening?” Gem whispered in Rusty’s ear.
“I don’t know exactly,” Rusty whispered back.
“Kinda wish I had some popcorn, though,” Enfys added.
“Dex, sweetie,” his mom said.
“Shall we adjourn to the veranda?” Hemersyn offered.
“Oh my gods, gross!”Jasmyn signed.“I can smell your boner.”
“Igotta talk to my sister right now in private!” Dex cried, making Cya jump at his sudden volume.
Grabbing Jasmyn by the wrist, he hauled her back outside before she said anything else horribly embarrassing. Behind him, he heard Cya stammer out a greeting to everyone else, followed by a, “Mrs. Triever, I presume? It’s wonderful to meet you. Dex has told me a lot about you.”
Outside, Dex dragged his sister out of view.“Dude, you can’t just—”
“You have a boner for Cya,”she accused.
“I do not,”he lied.
“Um, tell that to your reeking scent glands.”
“I can’t control my scent glands.”
“Or your raging boner, apparently.”
“Stop sayingboner!”
“B. O. N. E. R,”she spelled out.“That’s what you have. For Cya.”
Technically, he wasn’t actually hard right now, even if he easily could have been, but the implications were the same.“Okay, fine! Yes, I like Cya.”
Jasmyn grinned triumphantly.“I knew it. You were all, ‘we’re just friends,’ but I knew you were simping.”
“Wearejust friends, even if I’m simping, because I don’t think Cya’s into me like that.”
Her dubious expression was, honestly, pretty validating, until she said,“Oh my gods, why are boys so dumb?”
“You need to be chill about this, okay? And stop yelling about my boner in front of our mom. Just be cool, okay?”
He added extra emphasis to his signs, and Jasmyn nodded.“Okay. I’ll be cool. Just try and keep your uncontrollable lust in check. You’re my brother, and smelling your boner is low-key traumatizing.”
“You’re such a brat!”
She flashed him the sign forasshole, and he flipped her his middle finger.
“Is everything okay?” Glyma asked from behind him, and Dex jumped and whirled around.
The Succubus stood at the bottom of the ramp beside Quin, Willow, and Krul. Toni and Jude were walking up the driveway with Oliver and Liel, Abi and Yve trailing a few feet behind them.
