Page 29 of Avery

"No, you're right." Jia waves her hand in front of her, and I scoot out of the way of the door. "I should just not tell you my real feelings in case it damages our relationship, right? Weshould keep it a nice big secret until our friendship is on the brink of collapse."

Jia doesn't wait for me to respond. It's not like I have much to say about that, anyway. I can argue with her about how she doesn't know what she's talking about, but that would be a lie. My relationship with Phial is strained, and even when it's starting to get better, I somehow manage to mess it all up.

I plop onto the loveseat, ignoring the tightening in my chest as best as I can when the door opens again. Jia frowns at me and the small pity party I'm throwing for myself. She tosses me a comm tablet with a video feed of the alcove playing on it.

"Watch this for the next few minutes at least," she says, not giving me a chance to ask why before she closes the door again and leaves me alone.

It's not like I have anything better to do, so I curl up on the loveseat, rest the comm tablet against my legs, and watch the screen. Nothing's happening out there, so I'm not exactly sure what I'm supposed to be looking for.

Some of the nearby trees sway in the wind, but that's the only movement. The alcove is empty except for the few doors against the walls that lead to different hallways and the small bench against one wall, where people can wait.

A sliver of light falls into the alcove from one of the doors opening, and then Jia is out there. She stands with her hands on her hips, staring at a corner. Or, at least, I think she is since she has her back to me.

"Phial," she whispers his name like he's somewhere nearby when it's just her standing out there. "Show yourself, or I'm going to throw water on you."

I squint harder at the screen, unsure if Jia's pulling my leg right now or if Phial is out there. If he is, he'd have to be outside the camera's range because I don't see him anywhere.

"I can smell you." Jia throws her hands up like she's exasperated. When no one shows up still, she keeps going. "We've all smelled you every time you've been here. We don't say anything because you'll get all embarrassed and won't be here for her at all, but the time for that has come and gone, so I don't care if you're embarrassed now. Show yourself because Avery's in there with her broken heart, crying because you still haven't told her you care about her."

Something moves and flickers in the corner of the alcove. A figure lying on the ground, their scales shimmer and shine different colors before settling on the dark navy I'm used to seeing. Phial's face is contorted between a scowl and a look of admonishment as he lifts himself off the ground to stand.

I swallow the lump in my throat, forcing my emotions to figure out what they're doing. On one hand, my heart still feels broken because he didn't say anything to me when I told him I wanted to be more than friends. On the other hand, he's out there, waiting for me, watching over me in his own strange way.

"She's crying?" Phial asks, rubbing the back of his neck.

His feathers are going every which way, but for the first time, he isn't preoccupied with smoothing them down. He stands in front of Jia, completely naked, which is weird, especially when I can't help but let my eyes track down his body. He's smooth, like a child's doll between his legs, which doesn't make much sense considering he also told me he has cocks, as in multiple. I don't know where they're hiding, but they're not between his legs.

"She was until I called you stupid, then she was mad," Jia says, shrugging her shoulder like it's no big deal.

Phial snaps his teeth at her, his displeasure clear to all of us. "I'm not a stupid male. Whatever issue you have with me, tell me and stop calling me names."

"My issue with you is that you have a female who's asked for your help in her heat, and you've rejected her. She's asked foryour help in getting her comfortable with physical touch, and you made her feel like a dirty secret. That's my issue with you," She continues, even as Phial tries to interrupt her. "I call you stupid because you're too dense to realize that you both care for one another, and you're only hurting each other by not doing anything about it."

Phial takes a deep breath and closes his eyes. When he lets his breath out, he gives himself a single nod. "Fine. Will you please show me to her, and I will attempt to make things right?"

Jia looks him up and down, maybe just now realizing that he's naked for all intents and purposes. Phial's lips are in a tight line as he inhales loud enough for me to hear over the camera.

"Unless you have pants small enough for me, I'll have to return to the ship." He shrugs his shoulders and then gestures down to his groin. "Everything is tucked away. I'm decent as far as any cultural norms dictate."

Jia turns away from him and disappears down one of the hallways. "Give me a second. I have something for you because we both know there's a good chance they show up when you go to talk with Avery."

Phial's ruffled by the statement enough that he turns away from the camera and paces the small alcove. It's hard to stifle the little squeal in my throat when he turns around, and I see his firm, scaled backside peeking out from either side of where his tail is hiding it. He might be culturally decent from the front, but damn, that ass needs to be covered as far as I'm concerned. Covered and only visible when he's with me.

Jia comes out a moment later with some furs. She tosses them to Phial who looks at them before holding them up and snapping his teeth at her.

"These are female furs," he hisses the last syllable and it lengthens the word into a nasty sound that makes Jia and I acutely aware of how unhappy he is.

"Just tie them around yourself and don't think about it." I can hear the eye roll without needing to see her face. "You were willing to go in there bare, so I don't know why this is any worse."

Phial huffs and puffs some more, his feathers sticking straight up as he narrows his eyes on Jia. He finally relents and ties the skirt around his waist. It's one of the same kind that only covers the front and back, with the thighs and hips left uncovered. I bite my lip to keep from laughing because I'm sure it's embarrassing enough for Phial as it is.

When he ties the skirt in place, he flops his hands down by his sides and gives Jia an expectant look.

"Come on," Jia says, turning back the way she came when she first left me.

Her eyes track up to the ceiling, finding the camera easy enough and giving me a wink. I hate that she's somehow managed to make all of this better and worse all at the same time. I'm grateful because I know, or at least I think, Phial cares for me in a way that's probably a bit more than a friend. It's so much worse because now we have to have that conversation in this room. The room where I made out with Phial for like two whole hours.

The memories are what fuel all of my alone time, and so I'm not exactly looking forward to having him in here for a serious conversation when it's going to be in the back of my mind that we were making out here not that long ago. That we could be making out with one another again.

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