Chapter 12
CHAPTER TWELVE
MATEO
“Oh, gods,” he groaned as he finally took the first bite of his food.
Dax had already dug in, and his responding enthusiastic nod made Mateo a little less embarrassed about his own reaction.
Apparently neither of them realized just how hungry they were.
Once they started eating, they both went quiet, their focus on their food as they scarfed down their meals.
Mateo was hungrier than usual since he’d taken to avoiding the kitchen so he wouldn’t have to be around his roommates and the constant mess.
He ate at Spellbound, but with him being as busy as he had been, plus avoiding Dax for a few days in the cafeteria, he hadn’t gotten to eat much.
Which was his own damn fault, and he had no one else to blame but himself.
A tentacle appeared in front of his face, holding out a napkin. “Here. They put all the napkins in my bag.”
“Thanks,” Mateo said around a bite of food, plucking the napkin from the tentacle’s grip.
It was still a little weird that the same tentacle that had walked on the ground was now handing out napkins and holding food.
Mateo wished he could see magic. How else would he know Dax wasn’t just placating him when he said those tentacles were self-cleaning?
“You’re still staring,” Dax pointed out.
He still didn’t look bothered by it, but Mateo felt his face flush, and he jerked his gaze away again.
He didn't mean to stare. Dax had been nice to him, and he wasn’t about to call him a liar by saying he was wrong about how clean his tentacles were.
He knew his thing with germs was weird. Though he’d challenge anyone to grow up with his sister and not be a little fastidious.
She was his opposite, always had plates of food in her room growing mold and somehow, even when she wasn’t there for very long, she left chaos in her wake.
If she wasn’t such a kind and loving person, they probably wouldn’t be as close as they were.
She made up for her messiness by being the best sister he could ask for.
Thinking about her made him want to text her, which was when he remembered the broken phone.
He hadn’t mentioned it to anyone yet, too busy trying to make up for the trouble he caused, but he’d need to get a new one soon.
He needed it for work. With Roz being deaf, she sometimes found it easier to just text the cyber security team instead of calling a meeting.
Which reminded him… “I, uh… I’m sorry about earlier. With your phone. I’ll pay you back, I promise. I just need a little time–”
Dax actually laughed, which surprised Mateo enough to look at him again.
“Don’t worry about it. I do experiments in the water all the time.
I promise, this is not the first time I’ve sent a device to its watery grave.
I’ve already put in for a company replacement.
My project manager insisted I get a waterproof one this time.
Apparently, it’d cost less to get the more expensive model than to keep replacing the ones I drop during experiments. ”
“But–”
Technically, Dax didn’t break his phone because of anything work related. Was it right to go through the company for something new? Mateo hadn’t even bothered asking about getting his phone replaced. It was his fault it’d been destroyed and he should be the one to replace it.
“I promise, it’s fine,” Dax reassured him.
“I use my phone more for work than anything else, which is why I only ever have a work issued phone. Whether or not I was working, it’s still a work device and the company replaces it whenever I break it.
” He shrugged, a grin on his face. “It helps that I do my job well and am generally not a troublemaker. They like me enough to put up with my few clumsy moments each year.”
“Each year?” Mateo squawked. “How often do you drop your phone in water?”
Dax’s innocent grin wasn’t convincing in the slightest.
“What about you? Do you get a fast replacement because you work in tech?” Dax asked, drawing the attention away from him. Mateo saw right through him, but he didn’t point it out, shaking his head.
“I didn’t have a work phone. It was my personal device. I can’t afford to replace it right now, though, so it’ll have to wait a week or two at least.”
Dax’s brows furrowed and he cocked his head. “They wouldn’t replace it? I’m sure if you had a specific model in mind, they’d at least give you a voucher–”
“It’s not that,” Mateo said quickly. “I didn’t ask. It’s my fault, not the company’s. It’s fine. I can survive without it for a little while.”
He’d need to use his laptop to tell his family he’d be without a device for a while.
His sister especially would lose it on him if he disappeared with no explanation and stopped answering her texts.
Especially because he hadn’t gotten around to telling any of them that he’d moved.
She’d go looking for him at his old place and find it empty, and then she’d really lose her mind.
Protective older sisters were kind of scary sometimes.
Mateo could tell Dax had more to say about the matter, but it wasn’t going to change his mind. He was the one who caused Dax to get sick, he fell in while helping him, and he was the one who needed to replace his device.
He distracted himself by using the napkins to clean off his hands.
He wished they’d provided wet wipes, since the sauce they’d drizzled on the fried chicken left his hands feeling sticky and he hated that, but there was nothing he could do about it.
And he still didn’t think the pond was clean enough to–
“Here. Let me help,” Dax said, wrapping one of the tentacles that had been in the pond around his hands before pulling away again.
Mateo grimaced, expecting a slimy feeling or maybe even more sticky because of the whole tentacle thing.
Instead, as Dax released his hands, all he felt was damp, like he’d just washed his hands.
When Dax handed him another napkin, he dried his hands off, stunned to find the sticky feeling gone and no slimy algae feeling to replace it.
He looked between the pond and Dax again, a deep frown on his face.
“It’s clean, I promise,” Dax laughed. “You’re weird about ponds, aren’t you?”
Mateo felt his stomach twist uncomfortably.
This inevitably came up in conversation whenever he tried making friends.
People always judged him for it. When he wouldn’t willingly touch sticky bar tables or when he carried around wet wipes and wiped down tables at restaurants before he ate, he got weird looks and eventually people said he was too odd to hang out with.
He wasn’t that bad… He just liked things clean.
Like he could see the discomfort on Mateo’s face, Dax scooted closer, tipping his head to put himself in Mateo’s eyeline. “Hey. What’s wrong?”
He shook his head, but Dax wasn’t that easily deterred.
He took Mateo’s hands in his, patiently waiting for Mateo to speak up and tell him what was wrong.
He really wished he wasn’t about to scare this guy away.
He was a good person. He’d be a good friend.
Someone Mateo would want to spend time with if he wasn’t so odd that he chased people away.
“It’s not just ponds. I’m… I like things clean. It’s not a compulsion or anything. I just…”
He didn’t know what to say. How did he say he was fastidious without sounding insane?
Nodding slowly, Dax thought about what he was saying before a smile broke over his face. “You’d like my family home, then.”
The reply surprised Mateo so much, he could only blink at the man. “What?”
“I’m serious,” Dax insisted. “For one thing, the coral realm is mostly under water. With the right charm, you’d be able to enjoy being under the water, and having things stick to you or get dirty doesn’t really happen much under the water.
Think about it. If you dumped a bottle of honey in the water, what’s going to happen? ”
The man had a point.
“And living under water means there’s less mess in general.
Plus, my older brother basically raised us all to be cognizant of our living spaces.
Having so many people under one roof meant we either kept things clean or things got out of hand.
Rovan wouldn’t allow that. I’ll have to bring you sometime. I think you’d like it.”
It was the first time someone responded to Mateo’s odd habits with more than side-eye and judgment. Dax’s first thought wasn’t to judge. He just did what he always did, making Mateo feel better without putting too much stress on him.
Of course, the real test would be when Dax saw Mateo’s habits in action, but he chose not to think about that right now. For the moment, he wanted to bask in the acceptance and just be happy for once.
“For now, I think an experiment might help you feel better.”
Mateo frowned, confused. “What kind of experiment?”
“The kind where I get really messy, and you get to watch how my magic works.” He waved a tentacle at Mateo. “Watch.”
Then, before Mateo could protest, Dax started covering his tentacles in mud and dirt, even scooping a little algae from the bottom of the pond (he knew it wasn’t clean!) and rubbing it between two tentacles.
Mateo actually shuddered listening to the sounds and seeing the slimy coating on Dax’s tentacles.
It was when he scooted back a few inches that Dax finally noticed how uncomfortable he was.
“Okay, so you see how it’s super dirty, right? Watch what happens when I go into the water.”
He slid closer to the water, tentacles diving in and swishing around. When he pulled them out of the water again they looked clean, but how was Mateo supposed to know if they actually were? He couldn't see magic.
Dax offered him a tentacle, giving him a pointed look. “Touch it.”
Mateo reared back, shaking his head. “No, I’m good. It looks clean. I’m sure it’s fine–” His voice went up a few octaves as Dax grabbed him with another tentacle and dragged him closer. “Dax, really, I don’t think–”
The normally playful expression on Dax’s face turned into something more serious, his hand on his chest like he was making a vow.
“I promise, I’m not trying to mess with you.
I would never ignore your discomfort. I just want to show you how the magic works.
That way you know I can help if you’re ever uncomfortable.
Please? If I’m wrong, and it feels gross or something, I swear I’ll never bring it up again. ”
Mateo wanted to refuse, the algae had really freaked him out, but Dax was close to pouting, and Mateo felt bad for doubting him. The guy had gone above and beyond to help him. The least Mateo could do was give him a chance.
Reluctantly, he reached for the tentacle that had been slimy just moments before.
His body practically shook with unease at the idea of touching it, but he forced himself to run one finger along the top.
He let out a relieved breath when no sliminess came off on his finger.
He didn’t even feel damp anymore. That was fast.
“See? It’s magic.”
“Yeah,” Mateo murmured, letting Dax put the tentacle into the palm of his hand so he could take a closer look. There wasn’t even a speck of dirt or mud, not even around the suckers on the bottom. The tentacles were spotless.
“If you want, we can do an experiment with some petri dishes, see how much we can get off a swab before and after I touch water,” Dax offered, though there was a hint of a tease in his smile.
Mateo huffed a small laugh, shaking his head. “No. I’m okay. I believe you.”
When he looked up, he realized just how close Dax had dragged him to get Mateo not to squirm away.
There was only a few inches between them.
Mateo felt his belly quicken, his heart leaping in his chest as his gaze dropped to Dax’s lips.
Why was it whenever he got too close to the kraken, all he could think about was kissing him?
“Mateo…”
He swallowed hard, looking up at the man who held him so closely. “Y-Yeah?”
Was it just him or did Dax’s gaze look heated? Mateo felt a little breathless waiting for whatever Dax had to say.
“Can I kiss you?”