Page 30 of Not So Stranded
Hiaka handed over the breakfast plate and then leaned against Kit’s leg. “You can ask Larkin about the reef, too.”
“Oh, right! He’s the one doing the research there?”
“Larkin’s the one who brought the abalone to the reef here. It’s a rare kind?” They wrinkled their nose at him. “Or something?”
Kit chuckled. “Okay, I’ll ask him.”
He ate his breakfast while Hiaka leaned against him, the two of them surveying the lagoon. There were definitely a lot of kids playing all over the place, but it wasn’t as crowded as he’d thought it would be from Hiaka’s descriptions. It was easy to see Zenori near the gate talking with two other cecaelia…about the gate? Maybe. There was a lot of gesturing toward it, like the others were explaining how it worked.
“Zenori’s making friends,” Kit commented.
Hiaka groaned. “They want to know abouteverything. Like they woke me up asking about an umbrella.”
Kit smiled. “I mean, this is all new to them. Really new.”
“The sun wasn’t even up yet.” They rubbed their eyes. “Ty and Serion built a lot of the gate in the beginning, so I gave him to them. They can talk about that thing for days.”
Chuckling at them, Kit set his plate aside and reached under Hiaka’s arms, intending to bring them onto his lap. But that was the moment when he realized he wasn’t wearing his shorts. Hadn’t, in fact, ever put anything on after last night’s sex.
“Oh, my god,” Kit moaned as he hugged to conceal himself. “I’mnaked.”
Hiaka laughed and wiggled around, covering Kit with tentacles. “Did you just now notice?”
“Yes! Oh, no… I stood up during that whole thing with the baby.”
“And no one passed out or screamed, so you’re fine.” Hiaka patted him when Kit buried his face in their neck. “When you’re done hiding, you might want to look around at the humans. Some are wearing various clothing and others are really not. You do you.”
Kit snorted but lifted his head and looked around. He’d been so focused on Larkin and Dean—who wore swim shorts—that he really hadn’t seen what others were doing. And he’d been staring at the cecaelia, too. But now he could see that Angelica was still topless, another woman was entirely naked, Eric and Michael wore shorts, while Keoni’s dad and Kevin were naked.
“So if I stay naked, no one’s going to think that’s weird or quick or anything?”
Hiaka scoffed at him. “Literally no one’s going to care. I mean, they might tease you, and somebody might tell the story about how Jonah took off his shorts when he first got here and then jumped right into Primus’s arms a second later. But there’s no judgment about it. And some of them might be taking their cues from you as to whether to wear something or not.”
“Well, okay.” It still felt entirely taboo, but knowing that he wouldn’t be the only one did help some. “I’ll see how it goes.”
“Some people put something on if they’re going to sit on the dock or the grass. Most anyone who’s in the water is usuallynaked, though.” Hiaka gave him a peck on the lips. “And before you ask, sex is always after the kids are asleep or outside the gate.”
Kit felt himself blushing and went back to hiding his face in Hiaka’s neck as they giggled at him all over again.
After taking a snorkel tour of the lagoon with Hiaka and Zenori, Kit decided to go over and visit with Larkin, Dean, and Moa’ali’i—who everyone called Mo. He’d swum around naked on the tour and now swam over to them the same way, only slightly self-conscious about it.
Larkin waved at Kit from a small ledge of grass where he and Dean sat with only their lower legs in the water. Beside them was the octagonal playpen. When Kit was close enough, he could see five tiny faces peering up at him.
Kit went down to his knees in the water and asked, “Is Marius okay?”
“Oh, yeah, they’re fine,” Larkin said, his face turning pink. “I panicked a little.”
“It was justified.” Mo came around from behind Kit. “Keoni’s a menace.”
Kit couldn’t exactly disagree since what they’d done had been dangerous.
“But Keoni’s not allowed anywhere near the playpen,” Dean added patiently, “we’re all going to be more vigilant, and everyone’s healthy, so let’s take a deep breath and let it go.”
Kit watched Mo take a deep breath, but since they kept frowning afterward, he wasn’t sure they’d let anything go.
“Well, I’m glad Marius is okay. I’m also sorry if I was the cause of all this. Like impressing the new guy? Look what I can do?”
Dean waved that away. “No, no, it’s nothing to do with you. Keoni and a couple of others have been very interested in the hatchlings for their whole lives. It’s an ongoing problem.”
