Eight Legs Too Many || ONC 2021 and 2022

Chapter 11: Shiori reminds herself that Devland is a womanizer

Mr. Tibbles did not like capybaras.

A few of the larger ones had taken up residence outside the large glass doors to their bedroom and were lounging about, staring through the glass through narrowed eyes. They looked perfectly content, but they were also making quite a racket with their singing, and Mr. Tibbles was going crazy because of it. He paced up and down the small hotel room, meowing ferociously, as though trying to drown out the noise of the capybaras with his yowls.

"Poor thing," said Shiori, trying to pet him. But he shot her a skeptical glare and ran under the bed. He didn't trust her either, which she supposed was fair—she had, after all, played an integral part in burritoing him earlier.

As she debated trying to coax Mr. Tibbles out with some cat treats, her cell phone buzzed. Shiori leapt forward, scattering bags and half-folded clothing in a frantic scrabble for her purse.

It was not, as she'd hoped, a message from Yoko.

Instead, it was an email from her boss, asking her why she'd missed lab meeting that afternoon.

The bathroom door swung open and Devland stepped out, trailed by a great cloud of steam that smelled of tea tree oil and mint and possibly sandalwood.

"Just who I needed," said Shiori. "Since you're such an expert at coming up with fake stories, which one do you think sounds more convincing: telling my boss I've fallen sick with COVID, or that I got my arm bit off by an angry mob of spide—"

Her voice trailed off in a squeak. This might have had something to do with the fact that Shiori had finally gotten a good look at what Devland was wearing. Or, more to the point, what he wasn't.

"Have you no shame?" Shiori hissed.

Devland looked down at the towel slung around his waist with a cheery sort of innocence, but he made no move to get a shirt. He was so close, she could practically see the water dripping off every single one of his abs. There were multiple of the aforementioned abs visible above the towel, and they were fairly well-defined, the top two sleeker than a freshly-polished Maserati, and the bottom ones... rather less so, although they seemed to be trying their best to keep up with their better-sculpted neighbors by flexing aggressively.

"Erm—I'm almost afraid to ask—but what exactly ought I be ashamed of?"

Shiori, whose blush had already sailed past the territory of a ripe tomato and was rapidly approaching the hue of a cardinal with apoplexy, glowered at him. It didn't help that he really did have a fine chest (aside from the lowermost abs, anyway). Nothing to be ashamed of, indeed! With some effort, she dragged her eyes back up to his face. "Just—just put some clothes on."

Devland shrugged and reached for the towel at his waist.

"Oh my god, what are you—"

"It's hard to put a shirt on when your top is still dripping wet," he said reasonably, although Shiori could have sworn she saw his lips twitch. Before she could protest, he whipped off the towel and slung it around his shoulders.

"We have a few hours to kill before bed," said Devland, ignoring the strangled noise that was choking its way out of Shiori's mouth. "So I thought I'd try out the pool. Luckily I remembered to bring my swimsuit along. I've never worn this particular one before, and I'm not too sure about the color. Do you think it looks all right?"

Shiori sucked in a breath. "Fine," she squeaked.

"The outdoor pool is rather full of capybaras right now, but there's an indoor pool. Want to come along?"