Page 21 of A Merry Christmas for Art… and His Tentacles

After we clean up the dishes and the blanket, I take his hand, wordlessly guiding him down the hall. Initially, we step into the bedroom, but I don’t stop there. I lead him further to the adjoined bathroom.

Just like the living room, the windows here extend from the floor to the ceiling. They’re lined with huge water tanks where my aquatic plants live. The bathroom itself is dominated by the enormous tub in the corner.

Dean Miller’s eyes widen with wonder. “Wow. This is incredible, Art.”

“Thank you. One of the tanks has freshwater plants and the other is saltwater.”

He walks along the edge of the room, running his fingers along the glass like he ran them along the spines of my books. “I’ve never seen anything like it. And your tub is huge!”

“That’s my bed,” I tell him, hoping he won’t find it too strange. “This apartment dates back to when cephalopods were still in hiding. That’s why there’s a human bedroom attached. We often sleep in water, so we don’t need a traditional human bedroom with a bed.”

He looks back at me with that same expression of wonder. “Really? I had no idea. Then I’m glad I didn’t ask you to spend the night with me. I sort of wanted to, you know. But I only have a shower stall.”

I can’t help but smile. Dean Miller wanted me to spend the night with him. “I would not mind sleeping in a human bed with you, Dean Miller.”

Dean smiles, walking closer to me.

“Do you like taking baths?” I ask. That’s what humans call it when they get into their tubs. They only use water to clean themselves, which has always seemed strange to me. Some of them have pools, but even then, they use the water primarily as exercise equipment. The only exception seems to be hot tubs, which are woefully unsanitary when they’re publicly accessible.

“Are you offering to take a bath with me?” he asks.

“No. I would like to have sexual intercourse with you under water. But I figured a bath could serve as a mating ritual.”

He smiles at me. “I’d like that.”

I walk around to the side of the tub and turn on the water. The spout is larger than the ones in human tubs because the tub is much bigger. “This building has its own water filtration system. We recycle our bath water every twenty-four hours. Most water filtration systems were developed by aquatic cryptids, actually. Necessity is the mother of invention.”

“I read a study about that in my Intro to Cryptids class in college. They had a whole section on how the unique needs of cryptids have advanced human technology. Did you know that the Wright brothers were harpies? One of them broke a wing, and they developed the first airplane so he could fly with his kids.” Dean Miller tugs at the neck of his sweater and pulls it over his head. Last night, the light in his apartment was dim. I can’t help but stare at how beautiful his body is in the bright light of my bathroom. His chest is lightly sprinkled with hair and his arms are wired with muscle. Not too much muscle, like a bodybuilder, but the lean muscle of a man who spends a lot of his time studying. Along his back and arms are light pink rings of tender skin. Those are from my tentacles.

A wild thrill shoots through me.

He reaches for his belt next, unfastening it and the button of his jeans without hesitation. When I first met Dean, I wasn’t sure if I was envious of his confidence or attracted to it. I guess it was a bit of both. He pulls down his pants and underwear until he’s standing in my bathroom completely nude. His cock is already half-hard.

He glances at me with a mischievous smile. “Now I get to see you naked too, right?”

I didn’t exactly think that part through. Last night, taking my clothes off made me nervous, but I was in the heat of the moment, so I didn’t have time to dwell on my insecurities. Now I worry that the bright light accentuating all of Dean’s raw beauty will be unforgiving to my much less attractive body.

“Um, yes. That’s only fair,” I say. My voice trembles a bit.

Dean Miller’s eyes soften and his smile fades. “If you don’t want to take your clothes off, you don’t have to.”

“It’s fine,” I insist. “We’re getting in the water.”

He considers me for a moment. “You could use your metachrosis, if you want. I don’t mind. I want you to be comfortable.”

Just like that, I feel safe again. I don’t know how he does it. I’m always anxious around other humans. I have been for as long as I can remember.

He walks up the steps into the tub, showing off the curve of his ass. One of my tentacles stretches out, about to touch it, but I manage to reel it back in.

It is a good ass, though. A part of me wishes I didn’t show so much restraint.

I willfully make my body fade into the background. The process feels a little like holding my breath or trying not to blink. I strip out of my clothes in a rush, as if being naked all of the sudden will somehow be less embarrassing than letting Dean Miller watch me undress. He sits down in the corner of the tub, tactfully not looking in my direction. I approach the tub slowly. Staying invisible is always harder when I’m moving. I’m sure he could see some kind of movement if he was watching for me. When I step into the tub and sit down, the splash and displacement of the water is even more obvious.

Why is this so much harder than last night? I don’t think it’s just insecurity about my body. It’s something much deeper than that. I guess last night was only sex. But now that Dean Miller and I are temporary mates, it’s more complicated.

“I really like you, Art, and I have for a long time,” he says, still not looking in my direction.

“You have?”

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