Page 62 of Luxuries of Lust

“It’s not that bad,” Liel said primly, even as he wiped sweat off his brow, his thick, brown locks of hair sticking to his shiny cheeks.

At the others’ appearance, Rusty retreated back into himself, the walls that came down when it was just the two of them returning in full force. Usually, Gem preferred hanging out with Rusty one-on-one precisely to break down those barriers, but given his recent crush-issue and the way his body had utterly betrayed him, Gem really needed a buffer or two. Eight was going to be even better.

As Toni, Oliver, and Liel stripped down to their swimsuits, Gem poked Rusty’s hip with his toebean. “We’re going in the water. You coming?”

Cracking one eye open, Rusty peered up at him, shielding his face from the sunlight with a paw. “Nah, I’ll stay and watch our stuff.”

“Oh.” Gem nibbled on his bottom lip as he backed toward the others, hoping his earlier, irrational outburst wasn’t the reason for Rusty’s refusal. “That’s boring.”

Liel released an undignified noise as Oliver scooped him up and threw him over his shoulder. “Oliver Barnes, you put me down right now!”

The human simply laughed, then slapped Liel’s ass. “You’re coming with me, Mr. Karakis.”

With a whoop, Oliver ran toward the dark water, carrying Liel with him, and they both shrieked as they crashed down into the lazy waves. Toni was right on their heels, though he dove into the sea with much more grace, not surfacing for a while.

Gem wanted to join them, but he knelt down beside Rusty first and poked his arm. “Don’t be cranky. Come swim.”

“I’m not cranky,” Rusty said without removing his arm from over his eyes. “I just don’t want to swim.”

“Please?” Gem poked him again, then again. “Please, please, pretty please?”

Rusty’s tail thumped against the sand, his ears twitching as he muttered, almost bitterly, “I can’t, Gem.”

“Why not? I brought a blow dryer to help dry out our fur before we have to take the tram back. And no one steals other people’s shit at the beach,” Gem said, poking Rusty’s hip this time. “It’s like an unspoken agreement amongst beach-goers.”

“That’s not—” Rusty’s jaw worked, then he shifted his arm above his head, pale eyes guarded. “I don’t know how. I grew up at The Point, remember? And we didn’t travel much, so Inever learned.”

He spoke with so much embarrassment it made Gem’s hearts hurt. “Well, that’s nothing to be ashamed of. We can stay in the shallows. Or I could teach you how to swim, if you want.”

Sitting up, Rusty studied Gem, then Oliver, Liel, and Toni out in the water. “What if they… laugh?”

Slowly, giving Rusty time to stop him, he took Rusty’s paw in two of his hands. “Well, I don’t think they will because they’re not assholes. If anything, they’ll probably offer to help. But if they were to laugh at you, I’ll punch them in the scrotum.

“Okay, not Liel, because he doesn’t have a scrotum, so I’ll have to punch him in the slit. But that doesn’t even matter, because they won’t laugh.” He gave Rusty’s hand a squeeze. “I’m not the only one you can trust, you know. You just have to give them a chance.”

Several minutes passed as Rusty thought, and Gem remained quiet beside him, giving him the time. At long last, he gave a jerky nod.

“We can stay in the shallows at first, right?” he clarified, the first tremble of fear leaking through his voice, and Gem’s chest squeezed painfully.

“Of course. We won’t go any deeper than what you’re comfortable with. And if you want me to teach you how to float or tread water, I totally will.”

With a fortifying breath, Rusty nodded again. “O-okay.”

Together, they climbed to their feet, and Rusty trudged after Gem like a man heading to a funeral. Knowing he’d take it the wrong way, Gem swallowed his snickers as he took several steps into the chilly water.

Behind him, Rusty came to a halt, claws digging into the wet sand where the sea lapped lazily. His tail whipped erratically behind him and his ears flattened against his head in fear. He fisted his board shorts, fingers fidgeting.

Gem didn’t speak. He simply stretched out his lowest arm and offered Rusty his hand. Frightened pale eyes lifted to Gem’s, and Rusty’s throat clicked. But then determination furrowed his bushy brows, and he cautiously slipped his paw into Gem’s waiting palm.

The twin hearts in his chest tripped over themselves as Gem beamed at the Pyclon, squishing his fingers. Then he tugged gently and stepped back, leading Rusty into the sea.

Chapter fourteen

Want

Rusty

Learning to swim onthe hottest day on record while his coworkers watched had not been on Rusty’s birthday wish list. He would have been perfectly happy to sit on the shore and keep an eye on everyone’s belongings while they swam and laughed. That would have been enough because it was already turning out to be a better birthday than he’d had in a long time.

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