Chapter 22
twenty-two
CIELO
“Hey, Cielo,” a woman says, stepping up to the counter and ordering a coffee from Rosie.
Her name is Haddie, and she comes to work out often.
She is of indeterminate human age but still impressive, her arms quite large for a female, her legs very strong.
I think she could walk for miles and not grow tired.
She is a sight to behold. I have told her that she would be much revered on Erethar. The male Vyastil would compete for her attention.
She snorted so loud that I thought she might expire. Her face grew red, and she started to choke.
I trilled loudly, but eventually she regained her senses and told me that she adores me.
I have not had anyone but Dante say that to me. I do not think she means to be intimate with me, so I have decided that she is just a friend.
“Hello, Hahdeeeee.”
She flexes for me. Rosie says it is an inside joke, and that makes sense to me. I keep the knowledge of it inside, a secret between us.
“Love those ribbons in your hair. Did Rosie do that?”
“Sure did!” Rosie pipes up. “Thought he needed a little bling with all that pretty hair.”
I feel my skin turning a different shade of blue, and Haddie waggles her eyebrows at me.
“Preeetty,” I say as I pull the shots for her. The machine is simple once you learn it, and I find myself doing very well at making shapes on the top of the drinks. They are useless, but fun to do.
Today I am making a large breast with an engorged nipple for Haddie. It is the only time I can do this. Rosie said so. It will offend others if I attempt it.
Haddie does not seem to mind. She finds it funny. I am glad. I have come to realize that humans who take themselves too seriously are quite hard to deal with.
Just as I think that, Everest appears with Rathyn in tow.
I stop what I’m doing and round the counter to pull him into a hug. Rathyn growls low, but he does not mean offense. He is just possessive. I know what that feels like. I am the same with Dante.
Everest squeezes me and glances up, a smile on his pretty face.
“Hello, friend. Funny seeing you here.” I cock my head at him, and he chuckles. “It just means that I totally came here to see you.” He glances over at Rathyn, who is looming.
I nod toward him, and he does the same, greeting me in Eretharian.
“Rath, babe, can you like, go work out or something? Remember, there was a Zumba class you wanted to take?” He scoffs, and Everest scowls. “You said you’d take it, so I could talk to Cielo. Alone. He has a break in ten minutes, and we have things to discuss.”
Rathyn grumbles under his breath. “I am suspicious of people who pay to dance in a small hot room. They look far too happy for such an activity.”
“They’re just happy people. Unlike you.” Everest folds his arms across his chest and glowers.
“You going to the Zumba class?” Haddie asks Rathyn, a white bit of foam lingering on her upper lip. Her tongue peeks out and swipes it away.
“Yes. He is,” Everest says. “Are you?”
Haddie nods. “Yep. A fun way to end my day.” She quickly finishes off her latte, burps, and then grabs onto Rathyn’s arm.
“Come on, serious man. Let’s go wiggle our hips together while my heart pounds out of my chest from the caffeine intake.
” Rathyn startles a little but lets the large woman lead him toward the other side of the gym.
As Haddie guides him away, she glances over at Everest and winks.
“Who is that amazing angel?” he asks. “God, and look at her thighs. She could crush a man with those.”
“Haddeeee.”
Everest snorts. “Ha, look at him. Rathyn doesn’t know what to do with her.”
“She’s impressive. I bet she’d be much revered in Erethar,” Rosie says, and I nod.
“Well, I guess so. Even Rathyn seems scared.”
He giggles again, and it is good to see him smile.
“Latte?” I ask, and Everest nods.
“Please. We have a lot to discuss.” He leans toward me. “And sorry for all this secret stuff, but if Rathyn knew, he’d be such a grump about it, so I’m gonna plan with you, and we’re gonna make it happen.”
My hearts flutter in excitement.
I move back around the counter and begin making him his drink. It is simple, an iced latte. I do not like these as much as the warm ones, but I have had plenty. When it is done, Rosie waves me away so I can go speak with Everest.
It is odd. Here on Earth, people who work get breaks. Sometimes ten minutes, sometimes an hour. In the Outerlands, we are expected to work from the time the sun appears to the time the moons come out.
We do not get breaks.
I find that I enjoy them very much. It seems that people here value their workers.
Rosie rolled her eyes when I told her this, talking about corporate overlords, but I do not understand this.
I am just pleased I can make enough money to support Niaus, buy her clothes, and occasionally buy Dante flowers when I see some that remind me of him.
The way his eyes light up and how happy it makes him…I do it often.
Everest links his arm through mine and guides me toward the gym, the same one that Rathyn disappeared into.
“Sorry, I just want to watch this.” The music is loud even through the closed doors, and it makes the large floor-to-ceiling windows rattle slightly. “Oh my god, do you think he’s actually gonna Zumba?”
There in the back of the class with Haddie is Rathyn, his hands on his hips as the instructor belts something into the microphone.
Everest giggles softly as Rathyn begins to move.
I don’t tell him this, but the people in the city of Erethar, the social class that Rathyn belongs to…
well, they dance quite often. They are structured waltzes and stiff processions.
But in the Outerlands, we dance freely, wildly, nature guiding us. We move to the beat of the music.
It is natural for the Vyastil, and I think Rathyn will soon discover this.
“Anyway, I wanted to talk to you about a double date. You know, with Rathyn and me—you and Dante.”
“Daaate?” I ask, and Everest grins.
“Have I told you how good your English is getting? Anyway, yeah. A date. Like I was thinking the two of us could go see a movie and then go out to dinner or vice versa. What do you think?”
“Mooovieeee?”
“Yeah, like you sit in front of a huge screen and eat popcorn and shit.”
My eyes widen. “Poooopcorn.”
“Yeah, I guess. Sometimes it tastes like poop corn when they don’t put enough butter on it. So, what do you think?” He sips on his drink as he watches Rathyn move, peering over at me as I process it.
“Doooble date. Me and Dante?”
“Yeah. I think it would be fun. Just the four of us. There aren’t many of us who are dating interspecies. It would be nice to have another couple to hang with, you know?”
I bob my head, even though I do not know. I am perfectly happy with just me, Dante, and Niaus. But it does sound nice to spend more time with Everest.
I peer before me and see Rathyn’s movements getting looser, even though he is still far too stiff. I should show him how it is done, but my break will soon be over, and I cannot leave Rosie for too long.
She gets very overwhelmed when she is alone.
“Yes, I will speeeak to Dante. We will go eat pooooopcorn and watch a mooveee.”
“Great.” He pumps his fist and then snorts. “Oh my god. Is Rathyn twerking?” I don’t know what that means, but he is undulating his bottom quite vigorously, his tail bouncing back and forth.
“Tweeeerk.”
I copy the movement, and Everest gasps. “Oh my god, you look good doing that! You should so show up Rathyn. He’d be such a butthole about it. Oh, hey, and I was thinking about going to this like, fancy restaurant, you know? So you’d have to dress up. Wear something fancy.”
My eyes widen. “Fancy?”
“Yeah, like real nice.”
My mind goes to the socks that Dante’s mother made me, the pink jacket I adore, and those panties. Those are very nice.
“I heeeve the perrrrfect theeeng.”
“Oh, fuck yeah. I can’t wait to see it. I’ve only ever seen you with that pink jacket—which is awesome, by the way. You should so wear that.”
I grin, and my mind conjures up what Dante will think when he sees me wearing all of those items together.
A double date.
Movie.
Poopcorn.
Fancy human clothes.
I cannot wait.
Dante is not home when I arrive at the apartment, so I do a little cleaning up. He always tells me not to bother, but I do not think he understands that it is so little in comparison to what I have spent my life doing.
Under the service of the Vyastil government, I was assigned to whatever high-ranking officer or official needed me. I was at their command until I was relieved of duty. They usually let me rest just enough to keep me at optimum performance.
I was fed.
There was some sort of shelter.
But I was never safe. I was never comfortable.
I was never allowed to say no.
It is still very unsettling for me to sit and do nothing. Dante never seems upset if he returns home from work to find me on the couch watching TV or finding new ways to use the phone I was given. But the guilt is sometimes overwhelming.
My Dante often distracts me with touching and kisses.
Sometimes he offers me his cock, and of course, the cum he is now feeding me.
And he seems to understand the moments I do not wish to be more intimate.
Days when the darkness in my head gets a little bigger, or the pain of missing Erethar gets a little wider.
In those moments, instead of distracting me with sex or his cock, he distracts me with tender touches, curling into my arms, allowing me to simply bask in his presence.
I do not know if he understands what that means to me, and I do not know that there is a language in which I can express my gratitude.
But I will continue to try.
For now, it is easy to keep the place clean. It helps him avoid the pain his body feels and the fatigue that plagues him after long shifts at his shop.