IncuBUST

Tam-Tam and Kenz

It was nearing one in the afternoon and I was retrieving my phone from my locker so I could scroll through funny cat memes during my break when it began buzzing in my hand. It was a video call from Sissy.

I glanced around the break room and decided to take the call in the back hall. Sissy was notoriously loud when it came to facetiming. I answered the phone and was greeted by three different faces smushed into view. Sissy and her friends Thomasina and Mackenzie. They were all blindingly gorgeous. Thomasina was tall, with natural platinum blonde hair, clear blue eyes and cheekbones that could cut glass.

Mackenzie was petite. Lines of green and magenta streaked her dyed black hair which was cut in a heavy fringe straight across her forehead. Her eyes were rimmed with dark makeup making the crystal blue irises pop.

"Heeey, baaabe!" Mackenzie exclaimed throwing back the dregs of her Bellini. Thomasina raised her glass of scotch and added, "'Sup, four-eyes. How's it hanging?" I grinned and retorted, "A little to the left, Tam-Tam. What about you?"

She took a swig from her glass and said, "Dead straight as always, sweet cheeks. We're not bothering you at work, are we?" I shook my head and replied, "My break just started."

"See, told you," Sissy said sipping daintily at a glass of red wine.

"Sis tells us you're working at a vet's office now," Mackenzie trilled, "Are you rolling in puppies?" I laughed quietly and thought back to my last appointment. An English bulldog, pit bull mix with a bad case of mange and an even worse attitude.

"Uhh..." I replied and Thomasina shoved Mackenzie out of the way saying, "Enough small talk. I hear you're going out with Barapha Srstikarta."

"God, Sis, did you tell everyone?" I snapped glaring at her through the screen. She set her glass down and shook her head emphatically saying, "I didn't tell her."

"Relax, four-eyes," Thomasina said, "I ran into him at that Mythic bar downtown. You know the one run by that family of satyrs. He might've let it slip."

"Let it slip?" Mackenzie exclaimed, "He was practically gushing." She turned to look at me through the camera and said, "Tammy asked him if he wanted to hook up. She's got this adorable little lycanthrope called Dakota positively panting after her and you know they run hot so she figured..." Thomasina gave her a look and she trailed off smiling apologetically.

"Anyway, he turned them down. Said he had all the heat he needed. So, of course we had to ask what that meant and he said he was dating an Incubus. Since you are the only registered Incubus in the entire Eastern United States..." Mackenzie shrugged and grinned mischievously.

"I wouldn't exactly call that gushing," I said though I could feel heat concentrating in my face. Had Barapha really said that we were dating? Did he really turn someone down because of me? I felt my heart beating erratically in my chest.

"Oh no, the gushing came later. After several rounds of shots," Thomasina said.

"Twenty-three rounds to be exact," Mackenzie added.

"Of the good stuff. Oak aged, Maenad brewed..." Thomasina shook her head and muttered, "Shit would put hair on a frog's chest." She downed the last of her scotch.

"'Oh he's so cute. I have pics! Here he is. Look at him! We're going out again on Tuesday. I'm teaching him to ice skate. I kinda hope he falls. It'd be so cute if he fell!'" Mackenzie babbled before laughing hysterically and falling all over Thomasina.

My face was flaming. There was no way he said all that. He would never. I should my head and said, "You're messing with me, aren't you?" I saw Thomasina tapping on her phone and then she positioned the screen in front of the camera of Sissy's phone. It was a video of Barapha, a wide smile stretched across his face, a deep purple flush dusting his cheeks and creeping down the sides of his neck. I could hear his voice, loud and garbled as it traveled from Thomasina's phone, through Sissy's and out mine.

"His name is Chase. He's Sissy McManus' brother. You know Sissy, right? Of course, you do. Look at him. Look how cute he is," he exclaimed all but shoving his phone into Mackenzie's face. I could hear Thomasina laughing quietly behind the camera.

 "Oh my Gods, Chase you're red as a tomato," Sissy exclaimed pushing Thomasina's phone away from hers and beaming at me through the screen. I looked down at my feet and asked, "H-how long does that video go on?"

"Oh, at least a minute and a half," Thomasina replied and I felt my ears burn with pleasure.

"You'll...you'll send it to me?" I mumbled and I could hear Sissy and Mackenzie giggling raucously.

"Done and done, four-eyes. Anything I can do to humiliate that living popsicle," she muttered and I could see her tapping on her phone. After a second my own phone buzzed showing a text from an unknown number. I clicked on it and saw the video of Barapha in dazzling 4K.

"Thanks very much," I whispered my whole body vibrating with delight. Thomasina smirked and replied, "No problem." A man's voice suddenly sounded in the background, "Excuse me, ladies, free drinks courtesy of table two, five and six." Sissy's phone shifted and I caught a glimpse of a waiter holding a tray full of multi-colored cocktails.

"Sweeet!" Mackenzie trilled as the waiter placed the drinks on the table. Sissy peered into the camera with a smile on her face and said, "Looks like this outing might be even more exciting than I originally anticipated." She blew me a kiss through the screen and exclaimed, "Bye, baby bro. Love you."

"Lurve you, Chaaase!" Mackenzie said waving through the phone.

"See ya, four-eyes," Thomasina added and the screen went blank as Sissy hung up.