She hugs my shoulders. “Why would that make me feel better? Now, tell Auntie Flor everything.”
I want to laugh at her “auntie” comment, because she’s not that much older than me. But I don’t have any laughter in me. I crumple against her, sobbing, as I tell her how O’jek decided last night that he didn’t want me.
Flor rubs my back, letting me weep against her, and makes soothing noises in her throat to comfort me. “Something is weird about that. I don’t understand why he would dump you. Everyone knows he’s in love with you and has been since you arrived. It was like the moment you showed up, every other woman on this beach didn’t exist.”
That just makes me cry harder. He’s been right there in front of me this entire time and I didn’t realize what a good thing I had. I could have kissed him at any time. I could have had him as a pleasure mate…and now it’s too late.
“Okay, okay, enough with the tears,” Flor tells me. “Did you eat from the same plate as him? Did you give him shoes recently?”
I blink up at her, confused. “W-what?”
She shakes her head. “Just superstitions. But if he offers you shoes, don’t take them. It’s bad luck for a relationship.” She gives me one more pat. “Wait here. I’m going to find out what’s going on.”
I clutch the throat of my sleep tunic, not sure if I’m delighted at the prospect of this or terrified. “You’re going to go talk to O’jek?”
“What?” She makes a dismissive noise in her throat. “Not likely. Boy stormed out of this camp at dawn looking like he wanted to murder something. No, I’m going to go talk to I’rec. He’ll know what’s going on.”
“Oh.” That’s less exciting, but a perverse part of me is glad that O’jek is miserable. Maybe if he’s miserable enough he’ll change his mind and come back to me. I pull the blankets over my head and huddle in misery as Flor leaves. Even if I wanted to talk to O’jek, he’s out hunting. For all I know, he might not come back for days. Weeks. Sometimes the hunters range far and wide, looking for meat. What if he’s decided he won’t come back anytime soon?
It makes me want to weep all over again.
I hug one of the furs close, and it smells like O’jek. My heart hurts.
There’s another rustle at the door a short time later. Flor ducks back in a moment later, and to my surprise, I’rec is behind her. The big, stern leader of Shadow Cat sits down across from the dead fire pit and eyes me with a hint of disdain. “Is this all you have done all day, D’see? Laid in the furs and wept like a kit with a skinned knee?”
“Yes,” I say, lifting my chin. I don’t care if I’rec disapproves of my coping mechanisms. “My heart is broken. O’jek doesn’t want me. What’s the point of anything?”
I’rec shoots Flor an irritated look before focusing back on me. “Maybe now you wait for resonance like the rest of us?”
“I don’t care about resonance anymore,” I say. “I’ve decided I want O’jek. I love him and I want him to love me back like he did before and I was too distracted to realize it.”
Flor hands me a bit of soft leather when I start crying again. “Love isn’t a switch you can turn on and off, Daisy. I’m sure he still loves you. He’s probably got some massively blue balls at the moment, too.”
I’rec frowns over at Flor, arms crossed. “Why would his balls change color? Of course they are blue.”
“And filled to exploding, no doubt,” Flor teases, making a crude gesture between her legs. When I’rec’s expression gets even sterner, she rolls her eyes at him. “Oh, come on. If they’ve been having sex he’s going to be horny and moody. It’s like an itch. Once you scratch it, you have to keep scratching it. Trust me, I know.” She sighs dramatically, leaning back and crossing her legs. “Ain’t had my itches scratched in years and I’m feeling it.”
“Why are we discussing his balls?” I’rec snaps.
“Because I’m horny and jealous,” Flor says with a sigh, looking over at me. “And that’s my point. Your boy is not going to be thinking clearly. He’s been hitting that for the last few days, right? You guys were mating?” When I nod, she continues. “He’s gonna be thinking about Daisy and he’s gonna miss that good pussy. She can win him back. We need you to tell us how, I’rec.”
“How to get good poo-see?” The look he gives Flor is challenging. “You think I know this answer?”
She throws her head back and cackles with laughter. “You know what I meant!”
Their banter is…weird. I frown at the two of them, because when did they get so friendly? I know they both love to discuss tribal gossip, but I’rec is very alpha and Flor has always made me think that she found that sort of thing annoying. She’s needled I’rec in the past, especially about his devotion to Tia. They seem chummy now, though. “Can we focus on O’jek, please? I want to know how to get him to love me again.”