Page 138 of Gratification in Gluttony

“No, that’s the game,” Gem said in a rush. “So, you said you don’t have an eleven, and because we know you’re lying, Rusty called bullshit. It means, as a penalty for not lying well, you have to take the cards from the middle.”

With a smug smirk, Cya reached a thin fingered hand and flipped over the card, revealing an eleven. Toni laughed, pointing a finger at Rusty.

“Damn it,” the Pyclon grumbled as he raked in the cards.

“Wow, well done. That was really good,” Gem said.

“I know,” Cya said, with a flip of their long hair.

“Oh, they are gonna be insufferable,” Toni mumbled in Jude’s ear, and his human laughed, pressing a kiss to his biceps right above his upper fin.

“They’re a kid. Don’t pick fights with kids,” Jude said sternly.

And because Toni was a smart man, he said, “Yes, dear.”

When Zef won—unsurprisingly—everyone stood and rearranged the tables and chairs back to the original placements. They offered to clean the floors, but Glyma shook her head.

“You’ve all done enough. Head on home,” she said, and they all gathered their belongings.

“Oh no,” Gem lamented as he shoved his hands into the pockets of his shorts and patted down the material. “My card’s gone.”

“What card?” Toni asked absently as he helped Jude shrug into his jacket.

“The card from the trick. The Rusty-touched-my-ass card.” Gem spun in a circle, then ducked under the tables, looking genuinely upset. “I think it fell out of my pocket, and then Bob probably stole it, that thieving little monster.”

“Honestly, that sounds like something to celebrate,” Toni said,oomphingwhen Jude smacked him in the stomach. “Ow.”

“I’m sure it’ll turn up,” Jude said, and Gem nodded miserably.

“I guess.”

“The train to Lust leaves in three minutes,” Rusty said, scrolling through the travel app on his phone.

Gem ducked his head into his hoodie, finagling all six arms through the sleeves before tucking his lowest hands into the front pocket, smoothing down his hair with his upper hands, and grabbing Rusty by the wrist with a middle hand. “Well, let’s go! I’m not waiting for the next one.”

With a yelp of surprise, Rusty stumbled after the Araknis, pulling his wrist free with an indiscernible grumble that madeGem laugh. Standing in the open doorway, Toni watched their silhouettes fade until they disappeared into the train station.

Zef and Oliver were hunched over their phones, exchanging Bryce’s information so Zef could arrange a walk-through of their place. Tad was telling Cya about the time she dropped acid and woke up three days later with her picture on the human’s FBI Most Wanted list. Willow, tucked under Krul’s thick arm, bid them all farewell and headed across the teal sand to the station.

Taking Toni’s hand, Jude twined their fingers and squeezed. “Ready to go home?”

Toni’s chest was full to bursting as he nodded. “Yeah, bitesize, let’s go home.”

Chapter thirty-one

Dildo Nunchucks

The weekend before Gem’stwenty-ninth birthday found Toni, Jude, and the rest of the cafe crew staring at the large Town Car Toni had managed to borrow from a friend of a friend of a friend’s cousin. He’d tried to find a van, but to be honest, he may have forgotten about the whole renting-a-car thing until the last minute, and this was the best he could do on such short notice.

“I thought you were gonna get a van?” Oliver said.

“I don’t think we’re going to fit in that,” Glyma said.

“Iknowwe’re not going to fit in that,” Quin said.

“Perhaps we can call for a taxi?” Zef suggested.

“Then we’ll be too late,” Rusty said.

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