Chapter 20

T he urge to shake Booger filled me as I gave the male opening after opening. I mean this shit was gold— I couldn't be any more plain about it. Work with me here, Boogster!

Not only was Rek suddenly up my butt this morning, like I didn't have early morning chores and shit to do on top of my mission to help Booger get his Pumpkin bride, but he kept insisting I needed to hurry the fuck up. For what?!!

I'd mumbled something in the vein of agreeing with him, just to get him to fuck off. I was so not in the mood for anymore of his bullshit right now. He was a lucky beast Booger was right there or I'd have spilled the beans on all the ways I was pissed at him, every which way I'd imagined strangling him myself.

At least Mal understood my not even remotely subtle hints that Boog was totally into her.

It was Booger's standoffishness that was gumming up the works.

Like a bad smell, Rek must've followed me or bugged enough beings into telling him Boog and I had made a stop at Khri's.

One moment I was taking charge and taking names, the next he was storming in, sounding like a jealous idiot, making a scene.

Like he had any right to, Rek came barging in, accusing me of taking too long when I don't recall agreeing to hurry and do anything for him. Bringing up my drunken get-right-with-me demands in front of God and everyone, he manhandled me from their hut.

Toting me off towards his place with a fresh bite mark on his palm, a boner popping like a kickstand, straining to shuck its foreskin, to look at the smirk on his face and hear him purring like that, you wouldn't think it was because he had the village dragon lady in his arms, cursing him from this Sunday to next.

"Quiet," he warned, as we drew near his hut.

Pursing my lips, my mouth still pressing to his palm, I settled for glaring at him.

He's lost those two half baked beans rattling around in his skull!

Instead of going in through his front door, he headed around back.

"Are you going to beat me out back by the woodshed until I promise to be daddy's good girl?" My eyebrows winged upward and my lips twitched.

Rek grunted. "Think funny. Not funny."

Setting me down on my feet and motioning for me to wait, he walked over to a fat stump and wiggled his fingers around beneath one of the thick roots. A pop sounded and the stump opened like a hatch. Lifting the false stump, Rek motioned me over.

"In," he ordered.

"Does it get something if it's a good little girl and puts the lotion on its skin?" I muttered, leaning forward to peek down into the dark abyss below. "You go in first," I muttered hesitantly.

"Rek close. Jojo in first," he insisted.

"Fuck it. I've followed your dumb ass into worse idiocy," I sassed, grinning when he snarled softly, trying to muffle it, as I made my way down the steps leading into who the fuck knew where.

"Didn't wanna spring for any light?" Standing at the bottom of the steps in the dark, I wrapped my arms around myself.

I released the breath I didn't realize I was holding as the hatch closed and Rek made his way down the steps.

Reaching out for him, I felt around for his shoulder, then, grabbing it, punched him as hard as I could.

"OW! What that for?!" Rek barked.

"You really wanna get into it, right here, right now? You know what you did, bitch." Glaring in his direction in the dark, the urge to hit him again hit me.

"Not ‘sposed to mate Odix!" Rek burst out.

"You practically threw me at him!" I shot back.

"Joanie not say she not want caught with Rek?! Not want Rek force my Jojo?! Rek no force! Rek leave!"

"By throwing me to the wolves!" I gave in an punched him again.

"No hit! Rek no say rub Odix penis all over Jo- OW! No pinches!" he snapped, grabbing my hand, then the other, until he'd wrestled my hands to my stomach, his arms wrapped around me, pinning me in place.

"You little bitch boy!" I snarled at him, growling when he anticipated my next attack and lifted me up so my legs were left pinwheeling in the air. "I'll pinch your nipples right off ya!" I threatened as he gave up trying to calm me down as he carried me, raging pissed and raring to fight, deeper into the darkness.

The second I heard water and felt warmth hitting my face, I knew.

"You made a new entrance." My heart stuttered in my chest.

"Wait. Rek leave lights off, ‘case someone finds."

As he lit small lanterns around the room, I gaped at the miles and piles of crap strewn about everywhere. Pool noodles, keychains, was that one of those donuts you sit on after hemorrhoid surgery?

"What is all this shit?" I breathed.

Tubes of plastic wrap and boxes of condoms crowded his side of our love nest's bed.

The space looked very lived in since I'd abandoned it.

Grabbing a piece of paper, he walked it over to me. It looked like that old receipt I'd found stuffed into my purse. The thing was as long as a blind shade for a sliding glass door.

"I made you an actual list?" I blurted, recognizing my scrawl, if rather sloppy.

"Say Rek want Joanie," he tapped the paper as he handed it over, "Rek get things."

Reading the long and rather insane list, I glanced from him to the paper. "It says rainbow pasta, six."

Rek motioned to the stack of fat pool noodles gathered. "Booger say these hued-man noo-dels. He watch in movie with Jojoknee." With a huffy puff, he muttered, "Rek no see noo-dels movies with Jojo."

"Because you refused to come with me to my place! I ended up taking Booger, if you'll recall," I burst out.

Prattling off items on the list, he pointed to each one. Prince Charming, he'd taken to mean a frog prince doll. I hoped some child somewhere wasn't looking for that.

Chocolate, he'd brought in every form from baking cocoa to actual candy bars.

Coffee, he had boxes of tea, instant coffee, coffee grounds, and a bag of potting soil. When asked why the soil, his response was, "All stink same. Blech. Dirt."

Whatever.

"I was drunk when I wrote this," I reminded him. It looked like someone suffering the same affliction had done the shopping for this list.

"Jojo swear with pinky," he argued.

"Okay, but I was out of my damned mind." Lifting the paper, I smacked it to his forehead and walked over to the chocolate to scope it out.

"That list was a mile long," I muttered as I nabbed a box of cookies and a can of soda, and made myself comfortable on the bed.

As I popped the top and took a sip, then began nibbling on a cookie, I had to wonder if this was the bottom of the barrel. I should still want to smack him, slap him around. He'd straight up set me up for an embarrassing moment… and my demented ass had liked it.

With a groan, I grabbed another cookie and stuffed my face.

Rek looked about ready to blast me when he paused, eyeing me as I lamented my pathetic existence. Tossing the receipt like he'd decided it didn't matter, he joined me on the bed.

With a sigh, I handed him a cookie.

Rek took it, scooting closer, and closer, until he was right up against me. As I started in on my third cookie, I mumbled around it, "I have no idea what the fuck I'm doing anymore, and right now I don't fucking care." Despite giving him a dirty look, he cuddled me into him and curled himself around me.

Nuzzling my shoulder, he purred into my back as he made himself right at home.

"If this is a setup, I'll throw you under the bus like you did me." My threat fell on deaf ears.

"Just want my Jojomine," he muttered against my skin, nuzzling his way up my nape to bury his face in my hair.

I was another cookie down and wondering if I should polish off the box when I heard it.

A soft, whistle of a snore sent warm breath coasting over my neck. His hold on me remained but Rek had checked out.

Setting the cookies and drink down on my nightstand, I turned to face him, studying that furry mug I wanted to strangle as much as I longed to kiss him.

Dark purple circles surrounded his eyes and he looked thinner than the last time I'd given him a real good once more.

"My Jojo," he growled softly in his sleep, reaching for me to mash his face into my breasts.

Throwing a leg over me, pinning me beneath him, his purr started up again, rattling me down to my psyche.

"Mine," he muttered sleepily, before going completely lax.

Biting at my lip, I gave in to temptation and lifted my hand to run my fingers through his hair. I'd missed this. This whole fucking thing. Us time, alone, just me and him and a big eff you to the world.

"Until you had to go and screw it all up," I muttered, giving his lustrous locks a sharp tug.

"Hmm? What? I here. Rek ‘wake," he mumbled, lifting his head to eye me owlishly.

"What did you do, turn nocturnal?" My eyes narrowed as I studied him. The freak was dead on his feet.

"We can do this whole…" my hand lifted to wave between us, "whatever it is, later. You look like you're about to drop."

"No! Rek wake! Rek no' sleepy!" he burst out, slapping at his face to fight his drooping eyelids, giving me pause.

Thinking of going back to my empty hut and sleeping alone didn't sound so great to me either.

"Alright. I'll stay," I relented softly, allowing him to snuggle back up against me.

With a grunt, he placed my hand back on his hair. I laughed, just like it was old times.

But it wasn't like old times. Things have shifted, changed. It wasn't at all like it used to be.

Would I have rather Odix caught us, I wondered, thinking it all over as I absently ran my fingers through his mane while he passed the fuck out in my tits.

I couldn't say how I'd have wanted that to all go down. I couldn't argue the fact I'd liked Rek tagging out to push Odix center ring.

Shaking my head at myself, I groaned. I'm such a mess it's not even funny.

The urge to talk to someone about this rode me. There was always Kooky, but I worried sometimes about him asking Celuk to supply some vigilante justice on my behalf. I didn't want that either. I wanted to handle my own shit.

Glancing down, snarkily chastising myself, I thought, yeah, and look how well handling my own shit is working out for me. I needed a damn mediator, a middle man, juggling all these crazy fools.

I had bits and pieces of matings going on, but not one full-fledged mate! What nonsense was this? Together, I could probably stitch all their bullshit up into a mating. How messed up was that?

Sleep eluded me, and no matter how hard I tried I couldn't stop thinking about Bum-bum and Cuddle Monster, or Odix, or Kooky, or even Rek or Gopher.

With a groan, I rolled to my side. A laugh escaped me as Rek, dumped off of me unceremoniously, immediately sleepily found his way right back to me, snuggling right up behind me, spooned me like no other. "Mine," he mumbled into my throat.

Was I, though? I didn't even feel like I was my own.