Starfish

Thirty-Two

"...and my mother turns to him with this look like, 'did you really just say that out loud?' and I thought Ardus was going to walk down to the beach and drown himself!" Athe clutched at his side, his pores flashing green and blue, his other hand supporting his weight beside him as he laughed at his story. 

Ardus's face, arms and chest glowed pink, remembering the time he'd opened his mouth when he would have been better off keeping it shut, and how Timam had melted him with her silent reproach. In his lap Nina quaked with laughter, leaning back comfortably against his chest. They sat on the floor in Athe and Boda's apartment, empty plates and cups pushed to a pile in the center of the mat.

"Sounds like someone's mouth got away from them a lot back then," Nina said finally, craning her neck back to look up at him. The way her little face scrunched up when she laughed, her cheeks dimpling and her eyes squeezing shut, made him want to snatch her up and carry her back to his apartment where they could be alone. His pink faded to lavender, and his arms did tighten around her as she sat in the space between his crossed legs. While she still reminded him of Timam, there were so many other things Ardus treasured – how she tucked her hair behind her ears, the softness of it, her warm smell and the way she grinned when she had mischief on her mind. 

Ardus knew how much Nina enjoyed being held and squeezed, how she found his size and strength exciting and comforting, and he too enjoyed the difference in their sizes. Being so small compared to a Dreen Nina had ways of taunting him and fanning the embers of his attraction that, had he not learned them, would go unnoticed by anyone not familiar with her. She shifted in her seat, rubbing her round little rump against his groin and thighs as though by accident – though when she stole glances behind her and ground a little more insistently against his belly he knew she was doing it on purpose. His Collar of Aku flashed purple in acknowledgment. Later, Starfish.

"Right, who wants dessert?" Boda asked, using Athe's shoulder to stand. Nina wriggled again, this time with genuine excitement. "Ooh, what is it?"

"Are you a bottomless pit?" Ardus asked her, "or are you going to start growing like Athe did when he was fourteen?"

"I wish," the little woman sighed. "If I were your size you'd be in a lot of trouble!"

Ardus waited for Boda to leave the room before he leaned down and whispered into her ear, "If you were my size I would have no need to be so gentle with you." He was rewarded with a squeeze of her hand to his arm, as if in challenge. For such a little thing her sturdiness continued to surprise and impress him, "bring it on, big guy" being one of her favorite quips in the bedroom. And the living room, the kitchen, his home office, the balcony, the shower... The little woman was ravenous!

"There's another story," Athe poured himself another drink, re-crossing his legs, "about the time Ardus and my mother took one of their trips up the coast – the same place you two just went to – and didn't come back for almost a month. I was staying with a friend's family at the time because the last time I went with them, I kept hearing these strange noises at night." He leveled his gaze at his stepfather. "My mother tried to tell me it was just the wind and that if I went to sleep early enough, it wouldn't bother me. But sure enough, I woke up in the middle of the night to find a snack and instead found this one," he pointed at Ardus, "doing something with a blanket behind those big driftwood logs. What was it you told me you were doing, Apa, 'shaking the sand out'? Seemed to me you were trying to cover something up."

"Your mother," Ardus shot back, and Nina collapsed in his lap with a fresh fit of giggles. Ardus felt her wrap her hands around his wrist where it lay on her stomach. 

Athe, after giving Ardus a halfhearted glare, took a long drink and set his cup down. "So anyway, Ardus and my mother were gone so long my friend's parents started looking into adopting me, just in case."