Chapter 8
Chapter Eight
Jett
It’s Monday. As much as I would like to hide away inside my home with Landon forever, I have responsibilities.
I have to head over to the farm and make sure the Greys are okay.
I have animals to feed and check on. I have snow to shovel.
Landon has a manuscript he needs to finish and chores to complete before his parents arrive.
Knowing that doesn’t make this any easier.
There’s a tangible link forming between Landon and I. I can feel it in the pit of my stomach just as much as I can feel my tentacles. My body, my soul, and my mind have all been made up. We want Landon. My heart aches as I think about him leaving my home and venturing back to his own.
It’s not forever. I keep needing to remind myself that he’s still my neighbor. This isn’t a break up. We still have feelings for each other and plan on keeping this going. So why the fuck do I feel so sad?
“There we go,” I say, tugging my hat onto Landon’s head. He’s wearing one of my jackets, my pants, a pair of my boots, and a pair of my gloves. He’s all bundled up in my clothes. The sight helps alleviate some of the ache inside my chest.
“Thank you again for everything, Jett.”
“Don’t make this sound like goodbye.”
“It’s not,” he says right away. “It’s not. I promise. Text me when you get to the farm. And then again when you’re back home.”
I grab him by the front of his coat and pull him into a kiss. We lock lips for a long time, just enjoying the feeling of each other. Eventually, we pull apart.
“Keep doing that and neither of us are going anywhere,” he says with a grin.
“As much as I’d prefer that, I have to go to work,” I say, matching his smile. “Come on, we’re taking my snowmobile.”
Landon makes an excited noise as he steps outside.
The sound makes my chest warm with affection.
It still hits me by surprise, how I could develop these feelings so quickly.
They’re still so new. Will it always feel like this with him?
Will the sight of his smile always make me feel giddy or the thought of him away make me want to cry?
Is this what love feels like?
We trudge through the snow over to my garage.
I managed to make a path through so we wouldn’t have to try navigating hip deep snow.
I stop for a moment, just looking around.
The tops of the trees are all covered and it’s beautiful.
I might be an ocean creature but I’ve always adored the snow.
Living out here gives me picture perfect beauty every single day and I wouldn’t trade it for the world.
I’m thankful that Landon seems to agree.
Once we’re in the garage, I hop onto my snowmobile. Landon climbs on behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist. I smile to myself as I turn the key, getting it started.
After getting my snow glasses over my eyes and my scarf around my face, I turn my head and call out to Landon. “Tuck your face against my back. The wind is going to be cold!”
He squeezes me around the middle, letting me know he understands. With that, we’re off.
My snowmobile rides across the snow as I maneuver us over my driveway and onto the road.
We race down the road. Landon makes an excited noise behind me as we cruise.
I find myself grinning behind my scarf, hitting the gas just a little bit more.
I don’t want this to be over but I’ll admit I’m enjoying the ride.
It doesn’t take long before Landon is gesturing to the right, showing me where his driveway is. I pull in, doing my best to navigate through the snow. It’s still really fluffy in places and I don’t want my snowmobile falling into any soft patches that’ll be hard to drive back out of.
I cut the engine and stand up, pulling Landon with me.
“Well,” he says, looking over at his house. “Here we are.”
“Here we are,” I repeat, nodding my head. I pull my scarf down and pull my goggles to the top of my head. “This is not goodbye.”
Landon’s nose is adorably red. I lean down and kiss it. He lets out a happy little sigh, one that speaks straight to my heart.
“Text me when you arrive,” he says once more. “I mean it, Jett. Don’t you dare ghost me.”
“I won’t. I couldn’t even if I wanted to. This weekend has been like something from a book. I will hold it close to my heart until the day I cease to be. You, I will hold close to my heart as well. I don’t say that lightly.”
Landon looks down at his feet. When he looks back up, he’s grinning from ear to ear. “Good,” he says. “I feel the same way.”
I can’t take it anymore. I put both my hands on Landon’s face, pulling him into a kiss.
I kiss him like this will be the last time I ever do so, making sure he understands the magnitude of my feelings towards him.
While I am gone, I want him to remember this kiss and reassure himself that this is all real.
I want to look back and remember as well.
“I’ll see you soon,” Landon says, taking a step away from me.
“See you soon,” I say, waving. Then I turn around, get onto my snowmobile, and drive away. It’s the most difficult drive I’ve done.
My day passes quickly. I start by seeing all of the animals, checking on how they fared in the snow.
They all call out to me, excited that I’m here.
I have a feeling they’re mostly excited because they know I’m coming with food.
Then I work on the momentous task of shoveling.
There’s a lot of snow, but thankfully, the Greys have a plow that I can use for the majority of it.
I work up a sweat when it’s time for me to get out and use a shovel.
It’s a good sweat. Finally, I check in with the Greys, making sure they’re okay and properly stocked.
Eventually, as the sun is starting to set, I make my way back home.
As I walk inside, my chest bursts with emotion. The string of lights flip on as I hit the switch, but instead of enjoying them with Landon beside me, I’m all alone.
I’ve always been content to be alone. In fact, I’ve always preferred it to having company. Landon has changed that. He’s come into my world, fallen into my lap, and rearranged my entire being.
I text Landon, letting him know that I’m home and jumping into the shower. He texts me back a moment later, telling me to take a picture. I find myself chuckling, excitement filling my stomach.
With my shirt off, I take a picture in the mirror.
The text I get back is mostly just a keysmash.
I was worried this despair of being so far from Landon would be the only thing I feel.
I’m glad to know that’s not true. I can still feel excitement and joy just from talking to him over the phone and text.
We spend the night talking back and forth. Before I go to sleep, I ask him if I can come over after work tomorrow and he answers with an immediate and excited yes. I go to sleep with a smile on my face.
The next day, I get a message from Landon telling me I can’t come over after all. Apparently, he’s coming down with something and isn’t feeling well. He thinks maybe he’s eaten something bad? I told him I would come take care of him but he declined, saying he didn’t want to get me sick.
The pit of my stomach sours. Hopefully, whatever bug this is, will pass quickly.
Except, it doesn’t pass quickly. One day turns into two which turns into the entire week. He even thinks about calling his dads and telling them not to come. I talk him out of that. Who better to care for you when you’re sick than your parents?
I miss him but I respect his desire to not have someone in his space while he’s feeling sick.
Thinking on it, I haven’t been feeling like myself the last few days either.
There’s a feeling in my stomach that just won’t go away, something thick and heavy.
I can’t seem to focus no matter how much I try.
I feel irritated at every little thing, like a caged animal looking for its way out.
Not really knowing what to do with myself, I pick up my phone and call my sister.
“Jett? Hey, what’s up?”
“Hey, do you have a minute to talk?”
“For you? Always.”
“I’ve been feeling kinda weird lately. Can I just kind of talk things through with you?”
“Weird how?”
I bite my bottom lip before getting into it, describing exactly how I’ve been feeling lately to my sister. She listens the entire time before finally sighing when I’m all done.
“You know I love you, right?”
“Yes?” I say slowly, wondering where she’s going with this.
“I know it’s been a long time since we’ve had the sex talk but surely you haven’t forgotten everything I taught you, Jett.”
“I’m sorry, what? What does sex have to do with any of this?”
“Okay, let’s start over,” she says. “When an octopus finds someone they are compatible with, what happens?”
My brain comes to a screeching halt, like a record scratching to a stop. How could I have been so stupid? No wonder Landon and I are feeling like shit right now!
“They push pheromones into the air,” I say with a wince. “Which prepares their mate for deposit.”
“Bingo! You got it in one. You’re separated right now which means you’re both going to be sick with pining sickness.
You need to be with each other for that to go away.
You also need to sit down and have a talk with him about everything else.
His body is changing, Jett. That can be scary if you’re not talked through it! ”
When an octopus finds someone they’re compatible with, a few things happen. Just like in the wild, they secrete pheromones into their air which their partner breathes in. Those pheromones essentially change their partner, making their body produce the equipment needed to hold an egg.
At the same time, the octopus’ body changes as well.
It begins the process of producing a mating tentacle along with any eggs made with both partners’ DNA.
Because I bottomed, I started the entire process off.
That heavy feeling in the pit of my stomach isn’t just from missing Landon, it’s my body forming the eggs that will become our children if they’re properly placed within Landon’s body.
“Oh fuck,” I find myself murmuring, all of this hitting me like a ton of bricks. How could I have completely blocked all of this out? How could I forget how my own body works?
Inside of me, an egg or possibly even multiple eggs are being formed. Our children. Landon’s children. Oh gods! Are we ready for this? Does he even want children? Would he want children with me?
This is all so overwhelming but at the same time, my instincts take over. My inner octopus knows what it wants, it knows exactly how this will all go. I cling to that certainty, letting it wash the worries away. This is all so much but at the same time, I can’t help but feel like it’s destiny.
None of this even matters until I sit down and talk to Landon about it. I shove all of the worries and excitement and everything in between into a box, focusing on finishing this conversion with my sister and then getting to my mate as soon as possible.
“Sounds like it, yeah,” Himari says with a little chuckle. “From what you’ve told me, this doesn’t have to be the end of the world. Just talk to him, Jett, I’m sure he’ll understand.”
“Fuck,” I say again. I stand up and start bundling myself up. “Thank you for the talk, but I have to go.”
“Go get your man!” I hang up the phone and step outside, planning to do just that.