Page 67 of Just A Little Fling

All eyes stared at me, and I felt my face heating, which annoyed me to no end. I wasn’t ashamed, but he was Owen’s friend, and certainly, the other two at least knew of him.

“We left together.” And then I just sat in silence while the choruses of “Oh my god” and “How could you not tell us” surrounded me.

“Uh, how did you keep a straight face when I asked if you wanted to rent this place?” Owen asked incredulously. He was literally falling off the edge of his chair. “Did I ask if you knew him?”

“Yeah, so I didn’t give him my name, and we’d been hooking up at hotel rooms because I couldn’t host and hotels are fun. So when you offered me the chance to maybe rent this place, I didn’t even realize Levi was the landlord. And I don’t remember you asking me.”

“I’m gonna need to know what happened when he figured out it was you,” Jakob said, using the spout on the box to put wine in his sippy cup.

“Oh my god, did you put wine in your sippy cup?”

Jakob shrugged and took another swig. He looked me straight in the eye and mouthedAnswer the question.It was intense.

“Yeah, so when he got back into town, he came over to introduce himself. That’s when it got weird.”

The boys and Anders looked at each other in confusion. Finally, Jakob asked what I knew was coming, “Did you keep hooking up?”

“This is the part where it gets more complicated.”

Rory rubbed his hands together like a cartoon villain and said, “Oh, this must be the good part.”

“Yeah, I got drunk, got obnoxious, and ended up at his house after I ruined his flowers.” I let them soak that in before I added the next part, “You know how I said in the group chat that I’m a middle?” They all nodded in agreement. “Yeah, about that, it turns out I’m much more of a little.”

My tidbit of information was enough to create pandemonium in my living room. Rory jumped to his feet, grabbed Jakob, then Owen, and did a little dance around the living room. Jakob began shaking his butt like he was a man possessed. Unfortunately, one of the snaps that held the back flat came loose, and we got an eye full of his diapered bottom. Anders was more helpful than the rest of us. We laughed, but he fixed it.

They were so at ease with each other and so comfortable and it made me so jealous that I didn’t feel that way with anyone. Except, right this minute, I really felt like I was a member of their silly Cuddle Crew, and I desperately wanted to stay one. Never before had I found a core group of friends for myself. Instead, I was always on the other side of the windows with my nose pressed against the pane, looking inside, wondering what it was about me that made it so nobody wanted to get close to me. Tonight, I was a full-fledged member of the group chat.

“Nico, I’m gonna be honest. I don’t think I understand what the problem is. Since you discovered that you were little, is Levi not interested?” Owen asked with an edge of anger in his voice. “Because if that’s the case, he and I will have some words.”

“What are you gonna do to him?” Jakob asked in anticipation. He seemed a little bloodthirsty.

“I don’t want you to think I’m tetched, but I think Elizabeth might be… I don’t know how to explain it… I think she might be special.”

“She’s a lovely cat,” Jakob said solemnly, and Rory nodded in agreement. Anders was still on the couch, looking puzzled, but he didn’t interject.

“Yeah, I’d ask her to not like him and then who knows what will happen.”

Jakob and Rory leaned in like they were attached to the same string. “Do you think she’s magic?”

“I dunno, but she knows things,” Owen answered conspiratorially. “And she can do things.”

“Boys, we are getting off-topic. Yes, Elizabeth is spooky sometimes, but that’s not going to help us help Nico with his problem. A problem I still don’t fully understand,” Anders said.

“Owen, don’t sic Elizabeth on Levi. He’s been great,” I added hastily. I didn’t want to accidentally trigger the wrath of the cat.

“Wait, wait, wait…we can’t discuss the problem until we’re properly cuddled,” Rory interrupted with a shout. “I’ve got blankets for everyone.” Rory looked like Santa handing out blankets to all of us and watching carefully to ensure we were properly cocooned. “And, Nico, do you have a stuffie? Do you need a stuffie?”

“Um, yeah, I’ve got one.” I scrambled out of the chair I’d settled in and grabbed my potted sunflower off my bed where she lived before returning to rewrap myself.

“Awww, she’s cute,” Jakob cooed. “What’s her name?”

“It’s Saffy,” I answered. “Because…um…because of the color.” It was silly, but I felt a flush creep up my neck and bloom across my cheeks. I didn’t understand why I felt so insecure anymore. Ugh, I wanted bombastic me back.

“Oh, that’s clever. I’m not sure my stuffies like their names, but they haven’t complained yet,” Jakob responded.

“I’m sure they love their names,” Anders interjected before ruffling Jakob’s white-blond curls. He ducked away and shoved off Ander’s hand, but I saw the grin he tried to hide behind his not-so-fierce growls. “Boys, we came here to help Nico, and I’m not sure we’ve done much for him.”

The boys fell into line with Anders’s instructions. He seemed very much like an indulgent older brother and not a little at all. Maybe he was a boy? It was difficult to tell. He was so confident and self-assured but also soft-spoken and kind. His long hair was in a loose bun with braids on the side and his dark-blue eyes were ringed by lighter blue. I’d never seen eyes that looked like his on anyone. He looked like what I’d imagine a real-life Viking would look like if they came back to life, including being tall and broad.

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