Page 146 of Luxuries of Lust

Glyma, who found Dex utterly adorable, clapped her enthusiasm. “Well done, Dex, and you were right. You could bench press that chair.”

“Hells to the yeah, I could.” Dex offered her his palm. “Youcan givemea high-five because I’m a feminist and respect the shit out of you as a woman.”

“Oh, okay,” Glyma giggled as she high-fived him daintily.

“How does that make you a feminist?” Jude asked, and Dex frowned at him like he was genuinely confused.

“Um, giving women the choice?” he scoffed, jabbing his thumb in Jude’s direction. “Dude knows nothing about thechykas.”

The irony of that statement wasn’t lost on any of them. Well, except Dex, of course.

“Could you just carry the chair down to the moving truck?” Rusty asked, fighting for patience.

It wasn’t that Dex was a bad guy. He was just young and enthusiastic and… Rusty didn’t want to use the wordstupid. It sounded harsh. But Dex had also introduced himself on his first day at the cafe by saying, “Hey, everybody. I’m Dex. Like sex but with aD.” And he genuinely hadn’t meant it as a gross innuendo. He’d literally been explaining how to spell and pronounce his name. As if Dex was a difficult name to comprehend.

So, no, Rusty wouldn’t use the wordstupid. He wouldn’t.

“Get ready for the gun show,” Dex said, flexing his furry arms with a growl before he hoisted the chair off the ground.

Cya, who’d been silently fuming since Dex had first opened his mouth, spun around with a rattle of their tail. “Must you always refer to your arms as guns?”

“Uh, yeah,” Dex said, bushy brows once again furrowing in confusion. “Or else it wouldn’t be the gun show. It’d be, like, the arm show, and that just sounds stupid.”

Their tail rattled again, and they hissed wordlessly, flashing their sharp fangs. Dex just laughed, like he and Cya were in on a running joke together. Whistling, he strutted out of the room, gym shorts swishing, tank top riding up his back. Even with the fur, Rusty didn’t understand how the Lupyn wasn’t cold, given the icy rain outside.

“Jesus, he’s a… character,” Jude said diplomatically.

“Isn’t he just lovely?” Glyma simpered as she picked up a box. “He does so well with customers. Return attendance has gone up since he started.”

And sure, she wasn’t wrong. Dex, for all his dopey idiosyncrasies, was very good with the customers. He remembered names and orders of people Rusty had served for six years and could never have picked out in a crowd. Even if he grated on Rusty’s nerves now and then, he understood why Glyma kept him around.

When the final items from the flat had been taken down to the moving truck, Gem spun in a slow circle, inspecting the empty space. Rusty waited, giving him time. He’d lived here nearly a decade, and if Rusty hadn’t moved in and Gem hadn’t taken the promotion in Greed, he probably would have stayed another decade more.

“I didn’t think I’d feel sad,” Gem said as he hugged himself, and Rusty stepped up beside him and rubbed his cheek against Gem’s arm. “Because I’m so happy with our new place, and I can’t wait to live with you officially, even though we’ve technically been living together this whole time.”

Since Rusty tended to stay the night at Gem’s at every opportunity, they had practically been living together almost from the start of their relationship, but he understood the sentiment. It was exciting to move into a place where they’d both be living, where both their names were on the lease.

“You sure? It’s too late to back out, but you should still be sure,” Rusty said, and Gem snorted, facing him and cupping his face in his top hands. He rubbed the knuckles of his middle hand down Rusty’s throat, scent-marking him, and Rusty purred.

“Yes, I am sure.” He bent down as Rusty popped onto his toes, and they both sighed into the kiss. “Are you?”

“Yeah, Gem, I’m sure.”

“I love you.”

“I love you too.” Rusty kissed him again, keeping it short. “Ready?”

“I guess so.” After one last walk-through, Gem waved and said, “Bye, house. Be good to Enfys.”

As they exited, Gem locking the door for the last time, they found Enfys in the hallway, still sucking on her lollipop as Belami stood on the thresholdof his flat, arms crossed over his chest. His wings flapped choppily, giving away his unrest as he shot Gem a glare.

“Officially leaving, are you?” the Spryte sneered, and Gem smiled sharply at him.

“I am. I’m sorry you can’t jerk off to my cum noises anymore.”

“I never did that,” he said, shooting Enfys a panicked look. “He’s lying.”

“Of course I am,” Gem said, shaking his head at Enfys.

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