They couldn’t bring themself to hug Ellyn back. They wanted to; they even tried, their arms jerking, hands twitching, but they couldn’t. It was too close, too much of what their heart yearned for but had always been denied. So they didn’t hug her back.
“It’s important to want to make the ones we love proud,” she said, rubbing Cya’s bare back. “But it’s so much more important to make ourselves proud.”
Hemersyn had said the same thing, hadn’t he? Perhaps, they were both on to something.
“I’ve been trying,” Cya admitted, fingers gripping their sarong until they trembled.
“Good.” Ellyn released them and turned back to the ruckus in the pool, like she knew they needed a reprieve and wanted to offer it.
In the pool, Liel was perched on Oliver’s shoulders, and Toni was on Gem’s, and they were playing a dangerous-looking wrestling game Oliver had called Chicken. Glyma cradled Quin in her arms, the two bobbing about as they laughed at the antics. Avoiding the splashing water, Enfys lounged on the tile, gray skin turning pink from the sun, especially on the globes of her ass exposed by her bikini thong.
Feeding nuts and fruits into Krul’s open mouth while he sat on the pool steps between her tree trunk legs, Willow spoke animatedly with Yve. Hemersyn fitted an umbrella into a weighted stand between two lounge chairs where Abi and Jasmyn sat, passing Abi’s phone back and forth in typed conversation. The umbrella opened wide, casting Abi—who was still fully clothed in long sleeves and pants—in shadow, and the Ophys offered Hemersyn a shy smile and a quiet thank-you.
“Of course, my boy,” Hemersyn said with a friendly pat to Abi’s shoulder, and Cya swore the Ophys melted a little.
Dex, Rusty, and Jude were still nowhere to be found. It only took another ten minutes for Gem and Toni to notice too. At first, it was a passing observation, dismissed under the assumption they’d gone inside to explore or use the bathroom or play billiards in the den. But when none of them returned, worry set in.
Toni and Gem called their partners to no avail, and Ellyn texted Dex, her brows furrowing when he, too, didn’t respond. She used the family app to track his location to a store nearly two miles away. With that discovery came Hemersyn’s confession that Dex had requested car keys.
“So they just… drove away?” Gem asked.
“Was something wrong?” Ellyn asked.
“Something had to be wrong. Rusty, Jude, and Dex? That’s a weird-ass threesome,” Toni said, fins twitching anxiously.
“No one was hurt, but they appeared… stressed,” Hemersyn said carefully. “I didn’t think it prudent to ask details.”
Gem crossed his six arms over his torso. “We should go get them.”
“Dex wouldn’t ignore my texts without cause,” Ellyn said soothingly. “I’m sure they have a good reason—”
“Or they’re dead!” Toni cried. “Two Mammylions and a human? In Pride? They probably got jumped.”
“Or arrested,” Gem said, feeding off Toni’s panic. “And no matter what Rusty says, I don’t think he’d do well in jail!”
Toni’s hysteria glitched. “Not gonna lie, I think Jude would.”
“You’re probably right,” Gem agreed. “Thank gods he’s with them. He can keep them protected in exchange for Dex’s physical prowess and Rusty’s sex skills—I mean, street-smarts.”
“I doubt they’re arrested,” Cya injected, but no one listened to them. “Or dead.”
“How about we take another car and drive to the pharmacy to check on them?” Hemersyn suggested, and Toni and Gem nodded their agreement. To Ellyn, he said, “If you would entrust me with your son’s well-being, I suggest you stay here with your daughter. We don’t want to cause unnecessary worry for the rest.”
Hemersyn, Gem, and Toni left, and Cya followed Ellyn back to the veranda, a sinking feeling in the pit of their stomach. They’d had high hopes for this party, but with the dwindling guest list, they feared it was doomed for failure.
Of the six people who had disappeared, only two returned. Dex and Hemersyn rejoined everyone, but instead of explaining what had happened, all Dex said, “Uh, everyone’s safe. Jude wasn’t feeling well, so Toni took him home. Rusty and Gem… went with them?”
It was clearly a lie, or at best, a half-truth, but no one pressed for more details beyond voicing concern for everyone’s well-being. Before the vibe could deteriorate, Hemersyn announced that the food was ready, and everyone gathered around the long table to eat. Spirits lifted as they all shared a late lunch of slow-cooked meat, grilled vegetables, salad greens, and, yes, quinoa.
“Kwinoah,” Dex breathed in awe. “I feel so fancy right now.”
“Oh, it’s pronounced,keen-waa, actually,” Yve corrected.
The Lupyn frowned, then he spun on Cya, mouth agape in betrayal. “You let me walk around calling it kwinoah. You monster!”
With a self-satisfied smirk, Cya shrugged. “Oops.”
After lunch, Oliver—who’d been chatting with Dex about dyscus—suggested a low-stakes scrimmage, and he was met with surprising enthusiasm. Quin took a seat in one of the lounge chairs as Hemersyn dug around in the shed until he found an old, but rarely-used dysc. He handed it to Dex, then joined Quin on the sidelines as the rest split into two teams: Dex, Willow, Jas, Glyma, Liel, and Yve in one team; Krul, Oliver, Abi, Enfys, Cya, and Ellyn on the other.
