Page 3 of The Naga

It took me another five minutes to deal with the customer, and I ended up promising them a full refund when they refused a replacement in a larger size. I didn't understand people, honestly.

Since I worked from home, I used my lunch breaks to eat quickly, and then take a power nap/cuddle session with Scrappy.

Usually, I dreamed of things like getting stuck in a zombie apocalypse, or world domination. You know,funstuff.

But this time, I dreamed of a certain grumpy guy whose name actually meant happy (yes, I Googled) and all the fun things he did to me.

My luck in love was pretty much nonexistent, and there were a bunch of reasons why.

First of all, very few men were into femme trans men. I was not-enough-dude for some men, too femme for others, and then there were the straight transphobes who were convinced one night with them would 'remind me' why I should go back to acting like the woman I supposedly was.

Then there's the fact that I had a habit of latching on too fast. "One date and I was dreaming of our wedding day" kind of fast. Most people couldn't deal with that, and I didn't blame them. My friends said it was because I was unreasonably afraid they were going to leave once they got to know me better, but I was still single, so just how unreasonable was my fear?

I gave Khush my number after barely talking to him for more than two minutes. Now that I thought about it, the only time I even let him speak was when he told me his name. I bet he'd never call or text. He probably threw the cup in the trash the moment he finished his coffee.

Successfully bringing down my good mood after that sweet dream, I got back to work, and if I got a little snippy with a few customers, I hoped it went unnoticed.

It was nearing six o'clock, the end of my work day, when a ping on my phone drew my attention. My phone was synced up with my computer, so I pulled up my messages, and Scrappy jumped off my lap with a hiss when I squealed loudly.

Unknown: Hey, Dustin. It's Khush. From the coffee shop? You left your number on my cup.

Two

Khush

I stared at thetext I'd just sent, and scowled. What the fuck was I blabbering for? Of course Dustin would remember who I was. We met just this morning!

"Stop being so awkward, Khush," I muttered to myself, then almost fell off the branch I was lounging on when my phone buzzed.

Dustin: Hey, Khush! I wasn't sure you'd text me

Khush: Did you want me to call?

Dustin: lol, not at all. Did you have a good day after I left?

Khush: Oh yeah. It was my first time out and I really enjoyed it

I sent the text before I realized exactly what I'd said, and my eyes widened as I scrambled to correct my error.

Khush: First time in a while, I mean

Dustin: Oh? Do you not get out often?

Why did I have to open this can of worms so soon?

Khush: Um, yes. Because of the wheelchair and all.

Dustin: That sucks :/

Khush: It's not so bad. Anyway, enough about me. Tell me about you.

Dustin: Well, I work from home. I have a cat. Oh, and I'm trans.

Luckily, Touya—who, other than being my best friend's mate, was also the only other human who lived at the Sanctuary—had educated me and the others a lot over the past few months, and I knew what being trans meant. At least, I had a general idea. Touya had also said that every person's experience was different, and that there was no one way to be trans.

Dustin: Did I scare you off?

Somehow, I could sense the apprehension behind that text, and I quickly typed out a reply.

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