Page 68 of Luxuries of Lust

“Yeah, okay, whatever you say. She was practically slobbering all over y—” Gem faltered, then pointed at Oliver. “Ollie. And seeing as he is covered in Liel’s pheromones—which she can definitely sense—it’s offensive. I was protecting Ollie’s honor.”

“I don’t think she was flirting with me,” Oliver said.

“I didn’t think Rusty had any friends,” Toni said.

Ignoring the jab, Rusty said, “I think you were just being rude.”

The fur on Gem’s arms puffed up instantly, his eyes flashing dangerously as he spat, “Oh, I’m sorry. The next time one of your bone-buddies comes in and sexually harasses y—Oliver—I’ll be sure to be extra nice.”

“Bone-buddies?” Oliver whined.

“Oh, gross,” Toni said, hands flailing. “I don’t wanna know that.”

“What? I barely know her,” Rusty growled.

“Well, I’m sure you’re gonna have a long and happy life together. Best wishes and warmest regards.” Pushing through Toni and Rusty hard enough he sent Rusty stumbling, Gem charged through the kitchen doors, and a moment later, Rusty heard the back door slam.

“What the hell was that?” Oliver asked.

“What did you do?” Toni accused Rusty.

“Nothing!” Rusty snarled defensively.

“I really don’t think she was flirting with me,” Oliver said. “If anything, she was flirting with Rusty.”

“She wasn’t flirting,” Rusty said defensively. “At least, not seriously.”

“Are you sure? ’Cause Gem is very protective, even over people he ain’t dating himself,” Toni said, crossing his arms over his chest. “This one time, in secondary, Connor started flirting with our friend Bikki.But Tyn had a huge crush on Bikki, and Tyn and Gem were childhood friends. Oh, Gem ripped Connor a new asshole in front of the whole lunchroom. It was awesome.”

Toni’s grin glitched. “Never knew if he was defending Tyn’s territory or if it was ’cause he and Bikki had a little thing the year before and he was still trying to get over it. Sometimes, it’s hard to tell. Gem don’t get jealous often, but when he does, you wanna duck your head and take cover.

“Not that he’s jealous of you, Ollie.” Toni was quick to clarify. “He’s just protecting you and Liel because he’s your biggest fan.”

“Aw, really?” Oliver flushed, his freckles standing out starkly against his light skin. “That’s actually kind of sweet.”

Oliver and Toni’s conversation continued, but a strange buzzing had taken up residence inside Rusty’s brain, and their words turned to white noise. His mind balanced on the precipice of an epiphany, but he wasn’t sure if he was ready to realize it yet.

“I’ll be right back,” Rusty said quietly, uncaring if they actually heard him, as he drifted dazedly through the kitchen and out the back door.

Behind the cafe, he blinked in the harsh daylight, and it took him an extra second to spot Gem. He was curled into a ball near the end of the building, back to the brick, hugging his knees to his chest. As Rusty approached, Gem turned his face away, fur vibrating threateningly.

“Gem?” Rusty said, and Gem half-turned his torso to face the opposite direction. He huffed out a half-amused, half-exasperated, “Gem!”

Shuffling until his back was to Rusty completely, Gem released another dangerous hum. Rusty ignored it, slowly coming to a stop behind the ridiculous Araknis. Back against the warm brick, he slid down until his ass met the sand.

They sat in silence for several long minutes as Rusty rolled a cigarette. He lit it and breathed in the spicy smoke. When he dangled it over Gem’s shoulder in a peace offering, Gem hissed at him and smacked his hand away. The cigarette flew several feet before it disappeared in the sand and smoldered out.

“Well, that’s a waste of perfectly good tobacco,” Rusty griped.

Gem didn’t respond.

“I barely know her,” Rusty said again, brushing sand out of his tail fur.

“Well, you have her number now, so I wish you all the best.”

Rusty bit back a laugh, not wanting to piss him off more. “Still, I’ll probably never see her again.”

“I mean, it’s not like it’s any of my business anyway. I just hated the way she touched… Ollie,” Gem said, and Rusty ducked his head with a smile, his chest swelling for reasons he wasn’t ready to face just yet.

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