Page 6 of Bride of Choice

The idea of Rek stalling as he plucked up the courage to ask me all nice and proper to be his had me hugging him a little tighter.

“Just tell me,” I entreated as I nuzzled the side of his head, just the way he liked it.

“No,” Rek insisted, but something in his tone gave me pause.

That wasn’t a nervous no, that was a stubborn, gotta do this, yadda-yadda that no.

Gripping his chin hairs, giving them a none too gentle yank, I hissed out quietly, “What on this unearthly planet have you cooked up now?”

With several pained grunts, he slowly muttered with a very guilty look on his face, “No thing…”

“My god, Rek, what- I don’t- How bad is- is whatever you did? Are you buttering me up? I mean-” I’d started to say, to freeze, eyes widening, as I heard the first Yetified call out.

“Jojoanie?! Jojoanie outs heres?!”

“Jobansly?”

And on and on, one after the other, I heard what sounded like a Joanie hunting party.

HOW?! I- My god, more importantly— most importantly, I should say— WHY?!! What the hell was he thinking?!

“Do you know what they might do to you if they find out you’ve been fooling around with me while refusing to put a Yetified ring on my lil ol’ finger?” I softly snarled at him, yanking at his furry beard until a small clump came away with my clenched hand.

Eh. What was one more hunk of hair lost amongst a field of tiny bald patches?

Of course he knew what would happen to him! Who didn’t that’s been hanging around here for more than two seconds?! Lo denaii only choose one. Meaning, they only had one mate and stuck with them, til’ death did they part. The end. No refunds. No returns. That was it. There were no considerations like, what if it just didn’t work out? Or what if they ended up hating each other’s guts? Like that’s never happened?!

Alright, so it hasn’t, yet, according to Boogster and Gophy pants, but still! What if I was the asshole that broke the mold on that bitch? Huh?!

And Rektal just thought he’d “fix” our dysfunctionally functional impasse by getting us caught, forcing me to decide whether to out him as a chronic fadoodle n run, or play it off like we’d just suddenly decided we totally liked each other and wanted to make it official? He was putting this ALL on me?! That manipulative bag of hair!!

“Who say Rek say hims reedfuse puts rings on Jojoanie’s fingers?” he belligerently argued, to my gaping, shocked chagrin.

“You lying, rotten-” I started to snarl out at him, careful even then of how loud I was talking.

“Jojo-knee say,” he’d started to grumble, then thought better of it and shut the frick up at the death in my eyes.

Not THIS tired old song and dance again!

My eyes narrowed as I studied that horribly guilty look on his face.

“You know I won’t out you…” I said slowly, “because I care and bad things might happen to you if they knew you were playing fast and loose with me, despite my willingness in this bish…” This was his way of forcing his hand without either of us having to concede. This was, to his way of thinking, his genius plan to “win” and get his damned way.

“You wanted us to get caught. You planned this… This whole god damn thing! You fucking asshole,” I burst out as moisture filled my eyes. How dare he!

The depth of his betrayal hit me.

What did he think, I’d just accept all this and, what, suddenly agree to be his “good female” for the sake of it all?

“Jojoanie mine,” he mumblingly responded, going from pleased but nervous, eager sounding even, to anxious and worried in a hot second.

Oh, he better be worried.

“I can’t fucking believe you,” I burst out as quietly as possible as I scrambled to heft my generous buns from the water and flop out onto the ice pricked ground.

It had started snowing at some point and the temperature had dropped considerably. My clothes were like ice, hard in places, snow coated and covered in little freaking ice crystals and everything. How the hell was I supposed to put this shit back on?!

With a muffled noise of frustration, I gathered up my petrified clothes. With one last angry look at Rek, who was shaking his head at me and clawing his way up and out of the muddy side of his hidden little hot water hideaway spot to rush after me, snarling at me that it was not safe to take off without him, I took off, taking full advantage of my head start.

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