Page 39 of His Human to Learn

"Marron?" I call out a bit louder now that I know everyone's awake.

"In here," Marron calls back, his head popping up at the end of the hall. "Thro has finished going through the changing. You should see him now. He is bigger than me."

Marron says it with so much pride, like it's the best thing in the world that his brother is bigger than him. Technically speaking, Marron is considered a smaller male. Is he still almost two feet taller than me? Yes. So, why it matters how big he is has never bothered me, but it's a point of pride in the males. Apparently, it's a feature between males that extends beyond species.

"Yes, I am fully grown," Thro shouts, and when I enter the living space, I realize Marron was downplaying it when he said Thro is bigger than him. He is much bigger than him. By a lot. Not just in height but in muscles. If I didn't know for surethey share a shitty father, I wouldn't know they're related at all. "Marron told me I am not allowed to tell you that I now find females arousing."

Marron hisses, which grabs both of our children's attention. Their eyes go wide when they see that their father's gaze is red. He frowns at Thro, who throws his head back and laughs. It's still hard to make Marron angry, even when he's working on very little sleep and dealing with an annoying younger brother.

"I should kick you out now," Marron snaps.

A knock at the door drags my attention away from the brothers arguing in my living room. They continue to bicker behind me, and Marron threatens to seal his brother if he talks like that to me again. Thro laughs and says that his brother would never be so cruel.

"What are you doing here?" I ask Jen, who's standing on my porch with a platter of food in a top that is way too low-cut to be anything other than her I'm-about-to-seduce-a-fully-grown-male outfit.

"You know what I'm doing here," Jen leans in and whispers. Her hair is curled around her shoulders, and she smells like she's rubbed some of the fragrance Olivia uses in our soaps on her skin. "Is he awake yet?"

"Yeah, and he's feeling much better." I lean against the door, blocking her way into the house. She narrows her eyes at me, but I give her a soft smile. "You look gorgeous, Jen. If he doesn't want you, he's an idiot."

"No, if he doesn't want me, I'm the idiot. I've had a crush on him for like eight years." She's holding the food platter so hard that her knuckles have turned white.

"Who is at the door?" Marron calls out.

"Are you ready?"

I give Jen a second to decide if she wants to do this or if she'd rather come back another time. She closes her eyes for a long moment, and when they open back up, I see her determination.

"I swear I better not have wasted eight years of my life," she mutters as she steps past me and heads into the house.

"Jen's here," I call out.

There's no point in introducing her since she's already in the living room when I say it. But I'm not entirely sure what the protocol is in this situation, and it's making me feel more than a little anxious.

I grab the platter of food from her and set it on the coffee table. I don't miss how there's no sound other than soft toddler babbling from Wren and Lark as Marron attempts to keep them entertained.

Thro's sitting on the couch, his elbows on his knees, his head resting on his hands. His eyes are wide, focused solely on Jen and where she's standing a few feet away. He blinks a few times. Then, a few more. And the silence is getting awkward.

"Can I sit?" Jen asks her attention fully on Thro. Her cheeks are bright pink, but I can't figure out what Thro is thinking for the life of me. He looks at where she's pointing to the couch next to him. "Or is that your couch right now?"

Thro stares up at her, shifting so there's more space beside him. As soon as Jen sits down, though, he moves onto the coffee table so he's straight across from her. He leans more on his knees, his face close to hers as he narrows his eyes on her.

"What's up?" Jen asks, her hands fidgeting in her lap.

She and Thro have been inseparable since they were teenagers. On Thro's end, it's always been friendship. On Jen's, it's been unrequited love. I don't know who I'll feel worse for if this doesn't go well.

"Thro, either speak to her or get out of her face." Marron nudges his brother's thigh with his foot.

Thro shoos Marron away with a flick of his wrist and returns to staring at Jen. His gaze looks like he's judging her or examining her. I don't know. Thro always has something to say. Right now, he's just being silent and staring at Jen. I'm not even at a good angle to look at his groin. Not that I want to, but at least then I'd know if my cousin aroused him. That would be a good sign, right?

Thro lifts a hand to Jen's face and waits for her to nod before placing it against her cheek. His eyes widen as he strokes her before he grabs a strand of her hair, pushing it behind her ear. His fingers trace down her neck, over her shoulder, down to her—

Marron clears his throat, alerting them that the house's owners are still right here. Thro frowns at his brother and jerks his head to the side as if telling him to leave.

I choke on a laugh at the idea of Thro telling Marron and me to hide in the back of the house so he can try to seduce my cousin. When Marron shimmies so he's even comfier on the couch, Thro scowls at him. The scowl is replaced with a signature Thro smile when he turns back to Jen.

"I do not know if I am more startled at the realization that you have always been beautiful or that I have called you my blood for so long," Thro says, returning his hand to Jen's face. He rubs away a tear that's fallen down her cheek. "Maybe it is because you have been my best friend for so many years. You are stronger than I am, because I will not wait years, Jen. I am not waiting seasons. We will be lucky if I wait days."

Jen sniffles and gives him a bright smile. "The mating ceremony starts tonight. I asked Nia to pull some strings to get us a spot."

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