Page 6 of Not So Stranded
Kit accepted that, though he did wonder if he might be asked to scoot on back to the beach at some point for privacy’s sake. If he could remove himself from gawking at the leatherback turtles as they laid their eggs on the beach so as not to stress them out, then he could leave his neighbors alone just the same.
“Well, thank you. And, hey, if there’s anything I can do to help once the babies are here, please let me know. I can, um… Oh, I have fishing gear! I need to figure out where the best place to do that might be, but I could fish for us, if that would help.”
“Why not leave the fishing to us,” Hiaka said, “and you figure out what to do about those.” They pointed behind Kit.
Spinning around, Kit just managed to see a very large rat scurry into the underbrush. “Right. Yeah, I think I can make a snare. And a lot of noise to scare them away. Oh, a fire, too! That’ll help at night.” He got up and peered into the wide mouth of the cave that he’d been sitting in front of. “This could be a good place for a fire, if it has ventilation. Seems dry in there. Could use it for storage. Er, well, not that you have things to store.”
“Do you need a place? You could move in there.”
That was sweet of Hiaka to offer, but Kit could tell from the slightly scandalized look on Zenori’s face that the two of them were not on the same page when it came to Kit sticking around.
“Thank you. Really. But I’m okay on the beach. My tent survived the night perfectly. If I’d moved more things onto the beach from the boat, I’d actually be just fine. But I’ll happily stop in and visit my neighbors as often as I can without being really annoying,” he said with a grin to soften his rejection of Hiaka’s offer.
Kit could see that Hiaka was disappointed, but he definitely didn’t want to cause a problem for the couple by letting his curiosity get the better of him. Hiaka was right that this was a unique opportunity for Kit and he was absolutely going to cherish every moment he got to spend with the two of them. He’d just have to make sure he didn’t become a nuisance.
Chapter 3
Ididn’t want Kit to go back to his tent on the beach but couldn’t think of a reason for him to stay fast enough to stop him. If only humans could sense their mates! Then none of this coercion and manipulation would be necessary.
Yikes, that made it sound bad.
Persuasion and guidance. There, that was much friendlier.
As I turned away from Kit’s retreating form, I caught sight of Zenori staring at me. The sunlight through the trees surrounding them added to the dappled blue pattern on their shoulders, making them seem even broader than they were. But they were also frowning.
“Did you untie Kit’s boat?”
I gasped and pressed a hand to my chest. “No! Of course not. I want him to stay, but I’m not going toforcehim to.”
“You were up on the beach with him for some time last night.”
Shrugging, I slowly swam closer to Zenori, feeling like I needed to apologize. I didn’t, but therewassome guilt weighing me down. Zenori had expected to find one mate, breed, and go back to their life. I’d changed everything about that plan just by talking to them, and now I was making them accept a human.Zenori hadn’t protested last night when I’d discovered Kit, but now that Kit was aware…
“I was checking the tie-downs on his tent and, you know,” I said, flushing in embarrassment, “watching him for a little while.”
“What was he doing?”
Zenori crossed their arms, so I stopped approaching and sighed. “Just sleeping.”
“You watched him sleep?”
“Yes, I did.” Straightening up, I owned it while also pointing at them. “I watchyousleep sometimes, too.”
Zenori cocked their head at me. “Why?”
“I don’t know! It’s…comforting or something.” I hugged myself, not at all liking that I had to justify my concerns for my other mate.
“Oh,” Zenori said and uncrossed their arms. “I worry about you less when you are unconscious.”
I blinked at them for a moment before smiling, the guilty feeling fading away. “Okay, well, same.”
Zenori’s brow ridges hopped up, their surprise clear. “You worry about me?”
“I mean, not as much as Kit.Youknow how to take care of yourself.” I waved a hand toward the cave. “Which is why I want him in there instead of on the beach.”
“So you can watch over him.”
“Yeah.”
