Chapter 6 #2
I think that was why I liked him even more…
“Just over here,” I pointed as they came up the stairs and down the small hallway. They didn’t even grunt as they brought it in. They set it down in the corner, and I admired their work.
The wood was so dark it bordered on black, perfect for my bedroom's aesthetic. I ran my fingers over the surface, tracing strange swirls I'd never seen in mahogany before. They glimmered, catching the light as they spiraled into knots, as if there were enchantments trapped beneath the surface.
“This is quite a setup,” Lucien put his hands on his hips as he looked around the room. “You moved in quickly, didn’t you?”
I shrugged my shoulders. “My bedroom is my office, I had to set it up. One day away is money lost.”
Atlas kept to himself, his body trying to scrunch up into himself like a ball.
“Atlas, you wanna see what I do?”
Atlas looked to Lucien as if to ask permission.
“Go on, big guy, go see what the lady does!” He pushed Atlas over to my desk. The desk wobbled, and one of my stress balls started rolling off the top shelf.
Atlas caught it and squeezed it in his hand.
“You might like this.” I walked up to him and grabbed his abnormally large hand.
When I took his hand, I tried to feel anything unfamiliar, like fur, feathers or claws.
Mostly, I felt just skin, but as I began to move his fingers to close them up into a ball around his palm, I could feel that there weren’t five digits.
The butterflies in my stomach continued to flutter.
Four digits, maybe claws, were on his hand.
“Alright, now squeeze. When I get nervous or anxious, I take this ball and squeeze it. It makes me feel better by putting my concentration into something else. First, I watch it change shape, second, I listen to it squish, third, I feel it with my touch, and this one is extra special…”
I held the stress ball up to my nose, cupping both of my hands underneath one of his. “Smell. This one smells of coconuts and sunscreen. Like the beach.”
Atlas tilted his head. I lifted his hand to his nose, and he took a breath.
“It’s nice.” His voice was a high-pitched squeak, and his face turned a pretty pink.
“I want you to have it for when you get anxious or flustered. Maybe it will help you.”
Atlas squeezed the ball several times and nodded. “Thank you. I will use it.” He smiled, under all that facial hair.
I then showed him the rest of my desk. He wasn’t much for talking, but I wanted him to become comfortable with me; otherwise, we would not get anywhere. I showed him my computer, the camera, the ring light, keyboard, and what I did for a living.
There weren’t any comments of, “You do what for a living? Is that stable enough income for you? You play games?” He just nodded and touched things delicately, as if they were glass.
He hummed when he thought something was more interesting than others, and even had me turn on the computer to see what a few of my favorite games were.
Atlas especially liked my avatars, the ones that looked most like me. The curvier ones with the same hairstyle as mine, short booty skirts and high boot outfits. The graphics in this game were so good, you could even see my chest heaving up and down. Yup, boobies boobaling for sure.
Then I heard the squish of his stress ball squishing over and over.
“Since I bored you with what I do…” I turned my chair around and gazed up at him. “What are the things you like to do?”
Atlas avoided looking at me, but I reached for his empty hand. I realized I was probably holding just two of his fingers, even though whatever made him appear human made it look like I was holding his full hand.
“I chop down trees.” He tilted his head and scratched his chin with his free hand. “And bring them to Lucien when he wants them. Sometimes I help carve them when needed, especially when it is a harder wood.”
I hummed. “Anything else you do, anything for fun?” I stood up so he wouldn’t have to bend over so much.
Did he have a heartbeat? I pressed my hand to his chest to test, and didn’t feel a thing.
Hmm.
Atlas shivered under my touch. “I-I like…” he stuttered, and the stress ball was being squeezed and squished more rapidly.
I felt around his chest more to see if it was in a different spot, but I still couldn’t find it. Are Mothmen actually dead?
I went to pull my hands away, but Atlas stopped me. “No, keep going. It feels nice.”
Don’t have to tell me twice.
I used both of my hands to feel around. Atlas was having a time figuring out what to say, so why not?
I felt around the upper chest, down to his middle, and when I got to his hips, I noticed they went backward.
The human manifestation of him showed his hips and legs going down, but where I felt him, he went backward slightly.
Ohhhh, abdomen. Insects have an abdomen. His heart is probably in there. In his butt. Haha, he had a heart in his butt.
Atlas let out a sound like a teakettle hitting its boil, and I jumped back. A wet smack followed as something hit my desk. The stress ball had burst apart, spraying silver glitter-flecked goo across the desk.
Whoops.
“I’m so sorry!” I gasped. “Asking to touch you like that is something I should have done. I was just admiring your physique. That was rude of me!” I blushed, realizing what I had done. I was groping the man—Mothman, and he didn’t tell me to stop. “You must tell me when you are uncomfortable!”
I felt my face turn bright red. I covered my face in embarrassment, but the gentle tug of Atlas’ hand on my wrist stopped me.
While Atlas took wheezing breaths in and out, he said, “No, do not be sorry. I… enjoyed it.”
A chuckle came from the doorway. Lucien was leaning on the frame, picking at his nails. “Trust me, I know I did.”
Oh, gods!