Page 18 of Bride of Choice

“Go’ finds Jo!” Gogo boots boomed out, making my ears ring.

“What the hell on this Yetified rock are you caterwauling about?!” I barked at him.

Like a bad smell that had to follow, Rek came barreling around the corner then. Rek got one look at me and made to charge at me. He mighta looked fierce if he didn’t have my purse clutched in his hands, kneading it like a stress squishy.

“Hey, where’d you find that I-” I’d lost it? I couldn’t recall how or when, until last night came blaring back. “Well, shit,” I muttered.

“Where you go?!” Rek demanded to know, spittle flying as he got right in my face and waved my purse around wildly.

“Give me that!” I shouted right back, hopping around to get my purse back from him as he waved it over his fat, fluffy head. It was the most annoying game of keep away I’d ever entered into unwillingly in my life.

Rek continued to try and chew my ass three ways to Sunday, while I gave as good as I got, and Gopher kept up his announcement that I was alive and well.

“Juhjo backs?” Bum-bum called out from somewhere in the distance.

“Jo never left!” I shot back as I hopped around, between snarls and growls of frustration. “Jo was in her hut! I was too tired and must have dropped my purse in my mad dash to crash for a minute in the closest hut! I was dead on my feet!” It wasn’t a lie.

Rek’s purse waving keep away slowed. “Jojoanie sleepies in empty hut?”

“Yesss.” Snatching my purse up to clutch my pretty to my stomach, death in my eyes, the word tapered off into a hiss.

Gopher took that opportunity to hug me, drawing my attention to the growing crowd of beings gathering around for my grand return.

“I wasn’t missing! So sorry for the confusion! A lost purse and a misunderstanding, nothing more!” I called out, trying to ignore the flush of embarrassment of being an unintended spectacle washing over me. It was just fine and dandy when I made an absolute public nuisance of myself, but the sudden unintended spotlight? Hell to the naw.

It occurred to me as Bum-bum and Rek started to argue quietly in Lo denaii that my Mystery Yeti might actually be a part of this crowd. Frowning, trying to catch a hint of that voice, I had a sinking feeling my mystery male was probably better off just that to me, a total mystery. Less heartache and headache for all of us.

As Gopher, clinging to me, joined the brewing argument between Bum-bum and Rek in their native tongue, I had to wonder if Mr. Mystery was getting a good gander of this and maybe decided I came with too much baggage, far too many headaches for me to be worth it.

With that thought circling, I hugged Gopher back, reaching up to cup his cheek with one hand, yank him to me with the other, and peck a quick kiss to his cheek. “Thanks for looking out for me, Gogo boots. You’re the best.”

Stunned stupid, Gopher’s words sputtered out.

Rek growled, the sound long and low, then louder when he snapped his teeth at us, but Bum-bum clapped his hand to Rek’s shoulder and jerked him hard enough backwards he went flying.

“You too, Heg,” I told Bum-bum, rushing him to give him a hug that had him choking on his next breath. Knowing I didn’t stand a chance of getting close enough to his furry ol’ chubby cheek to smack something good to it, I lifted his hand and smacked a kiss to the flat of it, like I was some kind of old timey gentleman in a historical or some shit.

“You all have fun beating up Rektal! I’m going to go catch forty winks! Later haters!” With that, I slammed my door and locked it. Leaning against the heavy wood as chaos reigned outside, I let out a deep breath.

“No hides, Jojo-knee!” Rek bellowed not two seconds later, and then the pounding on my door commenced.

“Oi! You break it, you bought it, you spineless snow bunny!” I bellowed right back.

“Rek no spine grass! You spine grass show dummy!” Rek garbled out back, he was so incensed.

Gopher burst out laughing, to Rek’s increased snarling and snapping.

“What so funny, skinnied bones?!” Rek taunted. “That what Jojo calls Goboobs! Skinnied bonesed! Too skinnied!”

My hands flew to my face in horror. I’d only said that to the furred idiot to assuage his fears I wasn’t head over high heels for my tall, sweet and tangy best bud ever. What the fuck, Rek?! Loyalty lost much?! That was in confidence and he knew it!

The series of choked noises Gopher let out had my heart seizing. My god, don’t believe it, sweet cheeks! Gah. I’m such a big mouthed idiot.

“Rek brain tiny!” Gopher finally shot back. “Jo say Rek brain so tiny, match hims-”

Whatever Gopher said after that, he’d switched to his native tongue. His voice sounded taunting. It was enough to send Rek roaring and my hut shaking as something slammed against it.

Oh my god, Rek’s going to kill him!

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