Page 26 of Gratification in Gluttony

Tugging the blanket up to drape over Gem’s exposed shoulder, he pressed a chaste peck to the nape of Gem’s neck, where his cinnamon and coffee scent was strong and comforting. Gem hummed but didn’t wake.

Toni turned his attention back to his phone when it buzzed against his palm.

You’re something alright.

I’m choosing to take that as a compliment.

Of course you are. It’s notnota compliment.

Not not? English is weird.

You don’t have double negatives in your language? What is your native language actually?

Grew up speaking Hellia, the universal language of the Pentagram. But at home, we spoke Elani. It’s a dialect specific to Elas people.

And that’s what you are? An Elas? Or is that offensive to ask?

Toni chuckled.

Nah, it ain’t offensive. And yeah, I’m an Elas. What about you? I mean, I know you’re human, but you have sub-genres of human, right?

It took Jude almost a full minute to answer.

Oh my god! Sub-genre of human is now my new favorite way to say ethnicity. I’m American, born and raised. But my great-great grandparents moved here from Jordan. So, I’m also Jordanian.

Don’t know where either of those places are but very cool. Why did your great-great grandparents move?

Religious persecution. They were Jewish.

People get persecuted for their religion? That’s stupid.

Agreed. I’m not religious, but I still think people should have the right to believe what they want.

Well, yeah. It’s no one else’s business, right?

Toni could almost hear Jude’s scoff in his responding text, “You’d be surprised.”

Unsure what to say to that, Toni responded with, “Well, in my opinion, people as a whole are stupid.”

Jude replied with a laughing emoji but nothing else, and Toni’s fingers hovered over his screen without typing anything. The conversation was technically complete, but since he didn’twant to stop talking to Jude, he wracked his brain for something else to say.

What did you do the rest of the day?

Laid on the couch with Oliver drinking Pepto-Bismol. I will neither confirm nor deny that I threw up again.

I don’t know what Pepto-Bismol is, but it sounds gross. No wonder you puked again.

Yeah, it’s supposed to help you not feel nauseous, but it tastes so bad that it makes you puke anyway. I’m not sure why humans thought it was a successful medicine.

What about you?

How did I spend today? On Gem’s floor for several hours.

Toni hesitated, not wanting to bring the vibes down by mentioning his family. But he also wasn’t one to beat around the bush about anything.

Then I got a call from my sister about my mom, and Gem and I had to rush to the hospital in Envy. Not the best activity when you’re hungover.

The checkmark next to the message turned blue, signifying Jude had read it, but instead of a text response, Jude’s contact name filled Toni’s screen as his ringtone trilled shrilly through the quiet night.

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