Page 18 of You Otter Know
Look at me, I’m pregnant.He could hear the laughter in Bodhi’s mental voice.
It was true even in this form, or maybe even more so in this form, Bodhi’s baby bump was starting to really show.
I love it. Do you want to go swimming?
Bohdi chittered excitedly, his tail flopping all over the place.I do. I want to go swimming so bad. But I don’t have opposable thumbs to open the door to the pool room.
We have close enough to opposable thumbs, and I happen to be tall enough to work the handle.
He jumped down off the bed and took off on a dead run, daring Bodhi to follow him.
He could hear those claws scrabbling on tiles. Bodhi followed him and they scampered to the pool room where he rose up to push down the door handle. He’d made sure to install a lever-type instead of a round one, so he could do exactly that and get in the pool even if he was a little too eager to go in while in human form.
He splashed into the water, and Bodhi went shooting past him in a sleek dive that took him halfway across the pool with one swish of his tail. He was a stunning swimmer.
They made laps around the pool, chasing each other’s tails. Both of them dived deep, then rocking their way back up, slipping out of the pool and then diving back in again, exhibiting all sorts of otter behavior. And River was so happy for Bodhi because River could feel his joy.
Finally though, Bodhi pulled himself out of the pool, his tail helping to push off on the edge of the coping. He flopped over on his back, all four feet in the air, his little toes sort of stretching and grasping. He was panting, and River got the feeling he was exhausted.
Did you wear yourself out, love?
Bodhi turned his head and looked at him. Those brown eyes so bright, his little pink tongue sticking out.I think I did, yeah, but it was so much fun.
River shifted easily into his human form and then scooped Bodhi up into his arms to take him to the main part of the house.They would take a rinse off in the shower, and then he would put Bodhi back to bed and let him have the rest of his nap.
By the time he got the water running after setting Bodhi down on the toilet, his mate was back to being human and blinking at him, his wet hair sticking up in all directions.
“Did you see that, River? I shifted. I didn’t think I could shift. I didn’t think I knew how.”
“Whatever the blockage was, it seems like it’s broken now.” He turned around to stroke Bodhi’s hair back off his face. “I’m so happy for you, baby.”
He wouldn’t have cared if Bodhi had never shifted, but he knew it really bothered his mate, and he knew Bodhi worried about his kids not being able to do it.
“Me too.” Bodhi yawned and let him easily pull him up to take him to the shower and wash him clean. He lifted his mate off his feet once the shower was over, drying him off with a big towel and taking him out to bed. Bodhi was asleep on his feet, and River just let him have his little nap.
Clearly pregnancy agreed with his mate because things were really looking up.
Even if Bodhi was kind of a weenie when it came to hardcore exercise.
Chapter
Eleven
Bohdi moaned, rolling over onto his back and trying to find a comfortable position on the couch. The problem was, the way his belly was getting so big, it was impossible to find a comfortable position no matter where he was unless he was floating in the pool.
Even then, it was simpler if he went down there in his human form, because while he had learned to shift back and forth with relative ease, in his little otter body, being pregnant felt even worse. It made him feel enormous.
So right now, he was floating on the couch instead, wearing a pair of very loose drawstring pants and a nice big sweatshirt, all comfortable stuff that didn’t actually cling to his body.
“Hey, baby.” River came wandering in. “Want me to rub your feet?”
“Ohhhhh.” He was so swollen. “Please.”
“Poor baby. Mom says you should soak your feet in cool water for twenty minutes a day.”
“Aw, I’ll have to call her.” He’d been so worried about meeting River’s folks, but now he got along great with them. They were sweet and supportive.
His folks really liked River too. They’d spent the Fourth of July together and had a ball.
