Chapter 23
Pyxlevir took a putter from Gramlithyn and picked a light green ball from the basket near the counter where they’d paid for their round of mini golf.
Without hesitation, Gramlithyn plucked out a blue ball for himself, and Pyxlevir grinned.
Blue had been Gramlithyn’s favorite color for as long as he could remember, and it pleased him that not everything had changed in their lives.
“I haven’t played this in years,” Gramlithyn said as they strolled toward the first hole.
Pyxlevir purposely allowed Gramlithyn to walk slightly ahead of him so he could appreciate the way his faded jeans hugged his ass.
The beauty of Gramlithyn’s decision to give up traditional elven dress was how his preference for denim and cotton showed off his muscular physique.
Although Pyxlevir was proud to be an elf, he appreciated that having a mate with shifter blood meant Gramlithyn wasn’t a skinny waif like Pyxlevir himself.
“That’s okay, you were terrible when we were teenagers,” Pyxlevir teased. “It’d be weirder if you were suddenly good at mini golf.”
“As I recall, you were just as shitty as me. Do you want to go first?”
“Nope, I can do better if I can copy your strategy or take a different route if your attempt is an epic fail.”
Gramlithyn rolled his eyes but placed his ball on the artificial grass.
The course they’d selected was dragon themed, and Pyxlevir loved how the course designer had included the beasts everywhere.
They were on the placards with the hole number, etched into the metal on the putter, and Pyxlevir even spotted a stone one lounging among the drought-friendly flora nearby.
But Pyxlevir’s gaze was inevitably drawn to the hybrid lining up his shot.
Gramlithyn’s tongue slid out as he concentrated and swung his club.
His first attempt wasn’t horrible, and if he was careful with his next one, he could likely sink his ball in two strokes.
The pressure was on Pyxlevir to match his performance.
Not that Pyxlevir cared about the score. He was there to be with Gramlithyn.
But the game had to be played, so he set his ball down and wiggled his hips as he weighed his choices.
“Any advice?” Pyxlevir asked.
“Don’t swing too hard; there is a gentle slope near the hole.”
Pyxlevir swung and did a fist bump when his ball rolled to within inches of Gramlithyn’s. “We’re off to a good start.”
“Yep, I hope my job is too. It was a long week.”
“But you like it.”
“I did. It’s too early to tell, but young Gram with his dreams of working at Elven D’Vaire may have been onto something.”
Pyxlevir gave a little clap as Gramlithyn sunk his ball, then did the same with his own, and they headed to the next hole.
“I knew that guy,” Pyxlevir said. “Young Gramlithyn was pretty incredible. Probably my favorite person until I was eighteen.”
“You liked him, but he had some serious flaws. Ones he may not have remedied despite his absence and years of character building away from here.”
“Everyone has strengths and weaknesses. That’s part of life.”
“It’s disproportional,” Gramlithyn argued after catapulting his ball toward the hole.
“What does that mean?”
“Some people have minor flaws, and others have horrible ones. That’s why some people wind up murderers and others don’t.”
“Gramlithyn Verdanyth-Hippotigris, are you seriously comparing yourself to a murderer right now?”
“Okay, it was an extreme example, but you know what I mean.”
“No, I really don’t. You’re being way too hard on yourself.”
Gramlithyn blew out a breath, and Pyxlevir took his shot to give his other half a chance to collect his thoughts.
“Pyx, I’m pissed at myself,” Gramlithyn confided.
“We were best friends, but I made enormous assumptions. Now I look back and I wonder why I didn’t have the guts to discuss my feelings with you.
We talked about everything. Why didn’t I sit you down and ask you some fucking questions before I took off? ”
“Because the things we didn’t tell each other were scary.
Why didn’t I tell you when we were young that I wanted to have you as a mate?
I didn’t understand or have sexuality, but you were the one I wanted for eternity because I loved you.
I never told you that. We were young, and we weren’t perfect.
But if you stay mad about everything from six years ago, how can we move on? ”
“I hate that you’re right.”
“Because you want to beat yourself up. Get over yourself.”
Gramlithyn chuckled, then sank his ball into the second hole on his third shot. “Maybe you should work on being less honest with me about my personality and my flaws.”
“Nope, it’s my job to call you out. I expect you to do the same for me. If I’m going to have a permanent role in your life, a part of that is going to be as your best friend. I’m the person you can count on to tell you to pull your head out of your ass.”
“Okay, does that include me making fun of you because I’m a shot ahead of you now?” Gramlithyn asked as Pyxlevir missed the hole by nearly a foot.
“Live it up now because I’m already planning my comeback.”
“You look really cute when you’re pissed.”
Pyxlevir waited until they were at the third hole and Gramlithyn had his club in hand. He grinned. “Yeah, well, your ass looks really sexy in those jeans.”
As he’d hoped, Gramlithyn’s attempt was horrible, and the hybrid’s expression was a mixture of annoyance and admiration.
“You did that on purpose,” Gramlithyn accused.
“Guilty as charged, but I wasn’t lying.” To prove his point, Pyxlevir patted Gramlithyn’s bottom as they switched places so he could take his swing.
“As a comeback strategy, this is going to be incredibly effective.” A solid hand landed on Pyxlevir’s silk-clad butt, and Gramlithyn’s lips brushed the back of his neck where his long hair had parted as he bent over his club.
Pyxlevir sucked in a shocked but delighted breath as his ball crept barely three feet forward.
Considering the circumstances, it wasn’t the worst outcome.
He’d nearly missed it completely. “But Pyx, if you want to play games, I’m happy to reciprocate. ”
Reaching up, Pyxlevir cupped Gramlithyn’s face in his hands and kissed him. “How dare you use my own evil tactics against me.”
“Maybe you should promise to behave if you want to have a fair round of golf from here on out.”
“Why would I want to do that?” Pyxlevir asked, releasing his hold on Gramlithyn so they could venture to the next hole.
“Interesting question. Which one of us is wearing silk pants?”
Pyxlevir cackled. “Pretty egotistical of you to suggest that my attire would be a problem if we continued to flirt and touch each other.”
“Oh, sorry, I shouldn’t have jumped to conclusions,” Gramlithyn said, breaking eye contact to rest his ball on the artificial turf again.
“I was considering my reaction to you putting your hands on me. From what I’ve heard, mates are often attracted to each other equally.
I guess I was wrong. Or maybe it’s too hard for you to imagine being intimate with me.
Having your body entwined with mine as we discover passion.
Don’t worry, I understand, maybe it’s something that will grow as we build our relationship. ”
The images that flooded Pyxlevir’s mind were undeniably erotic, and his eyes slid shut so he could appreciate the brilliantness of his vivid imagination. His blood heated and his heartbeat quickened. A second later, his mouth dropped open, and he narrowed his gaze at Gramlithyn.
“You put naked images in my brain on purpose,” Pyxlevir exclaimed.
Gramlithyn’s smile was pure malice. “I guess being with me doesn’t gross you out.”
“If you ever thought it did, the problem lies with you, Gramlithyn. Even if you weren’t my mate, you aren’t ugly. Silly man.”
“Pyx, I think everyone is a little ugly standing next to you.”
With a roll of his eyes, Pyxlevir smacked his ball. “You’re nuts.”
“Says the top model for Elven D’Vaire.”
“My dad runs the company,” Pyxlevir argued.
“No offense to Kalthekor, but he takes business seriously. If you looked like some gnarled troll under a bridge, he wouldn’t put you on advertisements for his highly successful company.”
“I take a decent photo. I’ll give you that much.”
“Should I be happy that you’re humble despite your beauty or sad that you honestly can’t see yourself as the most beautiful elf to ever draw breath?”
Pyxlevir stared up at Gramlithyn. “Do you really think that?”
“Of course I do,” Gramlithyn replied, nodding his head to emphasize his point.
“That’s so weird. I’ve always thought of you as being the gorgeous one in our friend group. I’m just another Valzadari elf with blue skin and blue eyes. As a hybrid, you stand out. No other Verdanyth has black hair or brown eyes, and there isn’t another zebra with your lovely green skin.”
Gramlithyn leaned close and kissed Pyxlevir’s nose. Then brushed his lips across Pyxlevir’s forehead. “Maybe it’s okay that we both have different opinions about who the beauty is in our relationship.”
Although Pyxlevir wanted to toss his club aside and wrap himself around his mate, they were in public and there were other people on the golf course, so he grinned. “At least we can both agree that I’m the brains.”
“See, you think I’m going to argue, but you’re right. It’s you. The elf with the master’s degree, a solid track record, and the foundation of a long, successful career. I’m the dumbass that threw everything away because he was a scared little boy who still can’t talk to his parents like an adult.”
“Gramlithyn?”
“Yeah, Pyx?”
“Knock it off. If you don’t have anything nice to say, shut up and find something positive to focus on. That goes double if you’re thinking something negative about yourself.”
“Okay. You’re right.”
“Say something constructive.”
“Hmm, well, I’d say that what my life has most right now are two things. One is the lovely but evil elf glaring at me, and the other is potential. My future is whatever I want to make it.”
“Excellent work, my friend. Now, take your turn and try to be less good at this shit because I’m falling farther behind on each hole.”
“How have your already poor golfing skills atrophied in the past six years?”
“Probably because I’ve spent most of my time either studying or working,” Pyxlevir replied. “I literally finished school last semester.”
“You never mentioned getting a master’s degree when we were younger.”
“Maybe if things were different, I wouldn’t have pursued it, but honestly, I enjoy school and I learned a lot. It’s also imperative that my coworkers and bosses believe I’ve earned my job title.”
“Your dad wouldn’t let you be promoted if he didn’t think it was earned or warranted.”
“I know, my dad is a good businessman, but I want it to be obvious to anyone who works with me that I understand my job and do it well.”
“How’d you wind up with a centaur as your assistant?” Gramlithyn asked as they made their way to yet another hole. This one was tricky, and Pyxlevir wasn’t sure how to get his ball into the dragon’s mouth, but it couldn’t be impossible.
“Ask my uncles,” Pyxlevir said. “They sent over an overqualified centaur for an admin job, and they think I’m dumb enough that I don’t know he’s there to keep an eye on me. Like I haven’t been surrounded by overprotective centaurs since my parents met.”
“You didn’t have to hire him.”
“At first I did it so I could fire him because I assumed he sucked or would refuse to take orders from me, and I wanted to shove it down the throats of my uncles,” Pyxlevir confided.
“But he’s fabulous. He worked for Uncle Timotheus before me, so now the joke’s on them because he’s far too good to be in his current position, and I can’t wait to ensure he gets promoted often at Elven D’Vaire.
As far as I’m concerned, they’re never getting him back. ”
“I love it when you use your evil for good.”
“All my evil is for good.”
“At least you stopped fondling my ass so I can play golf.”
“Keep it up and the next time we go out I’ll buy some underwear and some thick-ass pants so no one can tell what’s going on with my dick.”
“Pyx, please don’t talk about your dick in public.”
“Why not, Gramlithyn, does it bother you?”
“I have enough trouble not thinking about it without you mentioning it. Don’t encourage my hormones.”
“But how can I get you to play with my dick if I don’t tease or flirt?”
Gramlithyn whiffed his shot completely and stared at Pyxlevir balefully. “Keep it up and you’ll have my hand in your silk pants in about five seconds. We’ll both get arrested for public indecency.”
With a malevolent chortle, Pyxlevir grinned and took advantage of Gramlithyn’s bent stance to brush their lips together. “When you say it like that, a part of me thinks getting arrested doesn’t sound like the worst thing ever.”
“I was going to suggest another date for tomorrow night, but now I’m scared of you.”
“How about a movie in my bedroom?”
“Movie in the living room. Roommates present though.”
Since Pyxlevir wasn’t opposed to staying up after their roommates went to bed for at least a few minutes of kissing Gramlithyn, he nodded. “Sounds like a fantastic way to spend a Saturday night.”
“Despite your illegal tactics, this has been fun too.”
“I’ve never been happier about losing anything.”
“Good, because there’s no way you’re catching up now.”
It was true; they were nearly done, and Pyxlevir had to hope for Gramlithyn’s ball to splinter into a dozen pieces to get a chance to complete, but it didn’t matter. Pyxlevir was there to be with Gramlithyn, and he was enjoying every minute with the handsome hybrid.