Cotta the Copper Dragon

Sumac looked over the collection of bottles and small barrels that we had spent the better part of the week acquiring. He grinned at me. Excitement bloomed in my belly, spurred on by his toothy smile.

“The stars have aligned, and the gods have blessed us with bounty!”

I cackled at his priestly impression, and he joined me mere moments after trying to retain a pious aire.

“Ingot and Basil will be here in a few. Who else was it?” I asked.

“Just Bay, no Velvet?”

I moved to stack a few steins and glasses by the pile of loot.

“Basil said he has a project and can’t make it.”

“Ahh, that sucks. You think he’ll at least stop by for the after party?” he sighed.

I sat by the prepared fire pit. We’d purchased some logs from Silver Springs, as the floor stockpile hadn’t been replenished today.

“I hope so. He’s fun, especially with the other two.”

“Well, since stick, mud, and ass are all gone, we can drink with them as long as we like.”

I chortled. The three uppity dragons we shared a den with had all flown home for the weekend, leaving us a rare, star blessed opportunity to host a theater night after-party.

Looking at the stack of drinks, realization hit me. “Wait! Damnit, we forgot food!”

“Never fear, my friend. Bay has us covered there.”

A low “hello?” came from the hall.

“Come in!” Sumac and I said.

“Jinx, double jinx, most-est jinx, General Crimson, bring me the heads of those traitorous welps.”

I laughed. Sumac stumbled during the Tyrannicide quote. He exaggeratedly rolled his eyes and then spoke in a baby voice.

“I’m a pwetty, pwetty plant with red berries.”

I patted him on the head and said, “yes, yes you are.” as Ingot walked in, carrying Basil on his back.

Basil lazily slid to the floor, made a show of stretching out, pushing his chest to the ground, and running his tail tip along Ingot’s jaw. Finally, he looked down upon us singles. Sumac got off a jab before I could.

“Must be nice having a big strong boyfriend to carry you around.”

Basil grinned as Ingot made a show of rolling his eyes. Basil then took on a posh affect as he replied.

“Oh, yes. I suppose that is a benefit.”

He made a show of lifting a claw and glancing down his snout at it. Ingot then snatched him from the ground and held him in a cradle in his forelegs.

“Oh, so I’m just a fare for you?” Ingot teased.

“I suppose a warm bed is nice too.” Basil said. Ingot responded by going directly for his belly. Basil cried out in laughter, squirming in the larger dragon’s arms. Ingot finally relented and spoke in a mock scolding tone.

“Now, are we done being a brat?”

“Maybe.” Ingot tensed like he was going for it again, but Basil yelled, “Yes! Yes! Brattiness is defeated.”

Sumac and I had split a gut watching them, and stood winded as everyone finally calmed down.

Ingot sat down Basil and spoke “How long till the play.”

I sat so I could pull out my pocket watch. “An hour and five. So we should probably get going after Bay arrives.”

Basil spoke this time. “Bay is meeting us there.”

“Well, in that case, let’s go!”

***

For the last performance of a play, amateur theater always went all out. This was no exception.

The bronze dragon, playing Lord Gafol, disappeared into the role. His chemistry with the opal dragon playing Harmony was palatable. The way they touched and spoke to one another through the cheesy lines felt like natural conversation.

It stirred something in me I couldn’t exactly name. I wasn’t so daft as to not know love when I saw it, and my surface level feelings were obvious to me. I felt stirred by their relationship, and I enjoyed watching them play the tragic lovers, but…

No matter how I stared, nor what I imagined or fantasized, I never felt that draw these two clearly felt for one another. My parts still worked. That wasn’t the issue. I just… felt like I was missing a sense everyone else had.

Familiar anxiety rose in me, and the memory it caused made my stomach feel hollow.

Cerulean was beautiful, and she had been my best friend for years before I came to university. Our little Provencale school hosted social events, and we went to one as a date. It was wonderful. We danced, flew together, and finally, during a song we both loved - kissed.

What happened next still makes me want to take my scales off and fly into the sea.

We snuck off, dodging the chaperones who had been no-so-secretly passing around a few bottles of wine. We discovered a spot in the woods past school and laughed and played all the way. Our kisses grew in length every time we paused, and I loved the closeness of it. How close I felt to her.

Then we had sex.

I loved how good I had made her feel. This absence did not mute the physical sensations, and in me. Seeing her enjoying it brought me so much joy, but it was the conversation afterwards that still makes me cringe.

***

We lay in a meadow afterwards, facing one another, still panting.

“That was fun.” I said, twirling my talon in circles on her chest scales.

“Oh, just fun?” She teased. “Not life-changing? Elevating? Do I even get a ‘good job’?”

I grinned at her and patted her on the spot between her horns.

“Good job, Cer.”

She batted my foreleg away and jumped over me.

“You’ll have to do better than that.” She winked, and I pulled her down into a kiss. Our bellies pressed into one another, and my claws went to her sides as she held my face. I felt her heartbeat on my chest, and our tails wrapped in a close, wonderful helix.

We separated, and I spoke.

“This is my favorite part. I love you Cerulean.”

“I love you too, Cotta, but what do you mean?”

I cocked my head at her, and she stood to let me up. We sat facing one another, and she spoke again.

“What do you mean your favorite part?”

“Kissing you, being close to you.” I ran my thumb talon over her jaw, and she held my claw to her face with hers.

“Not rolling around together? Not everything else we just did?”

She looked me in the eye and still held my claw, but a serious look crossed her face. I replied just as somberly.

“Yeah, Cer. I like you more than sex with you.”

Her head separated from my claw, and she held it where it was as she spoke again.

“That really meant a lot to me, and you just like the cuddling afterwards?”

“Well, cuddling with you.” I said, and her expression finally showed hurt. “Did… did I do something wrong?”

“You really don’t care that we just had sex?”

“I enjoyed it, I… I just wanted you to know that sex isn’t the only thing I wanted from this.”

“I know you enjoyed it, I was there.” She put her claw down, letting go of mine. “I thought this was important to you.”

“I- I just wanted you to enjoy yourself.”

“Did you really only do this because I wanted to?”

I needed the situation to be less awkward, and I don’t know why I thought being honest at that precise moment would help, but I was.

“I don’t know.”

Her voice had anger in it now. “What do you mean you don’t know? This was supposed to be important for both of us!”

“Important?”

“Yes!” She sounded just as exasperated as angry now. “Why did you do this, then?”

Fear rose in me. It felt like this relationship was dying in its nest, and I just couldn’t understand what she was talking about.

“I followed you. I thought I was doing what you wanted. I just wanted you to be happy.”

“Well, I wanted this to be important for you too. I don’t want to just be obliged.”

I couldn’t hold the secret in any longer, and the frustration made it come out in just as angry of a tone as she spoke with.

“I don’t feel like that, Cer. I don’t care about sex, I want, I- I don’t know, touch? Closeness? I want this Cer, and I want you, but I just don’t feel what you want me to.”

She stood, turned, and glared at me.

“Then I don’t want this with you, Cotta. I want someone who I’m important to.”

“Cerulean! Wait, I do - “

But she was gone, and I sat alone in the clearing until the sun showed its face once more.

***

I should have lied or quoted some schlocky poetry. Even now, I put my claws on my face. Once I had finished cringing, I brought my attention back to the play.

“Lover!” Harmony called as he entered left.

“Yes, my beloved?” Gafol turned, standing on his hind legs to hold Harmony’s forelegs as he spoke.

“King Astera, my Lord. He has spoken sweetly of me, and sent his men to fetch me. I obliged him, as to not uncover our plot, and he spake of his desire for me. He sang songs to my youth, and recited poems about the shape of my horns, and the length of my tail!”

This clearly enraged the general, and the bronze dragon playing him expertly performed a fierce dragon controlling his anger.

“Well,” he spat. “The Tyrant is not blind.”

Lord Gafol turned and threw his spear into the wall, and it sank in with a loud thunk. The audience gasped, performatively for some, but earnestly for the first timers.

He turned and spoke tenderly to Harmony.

“Any blind old fool could see your beauty.” Gafol traced a finger up Harmony’s jaw. “Lo, even those who do not enjoy the pleasures of the flesh as we do can not help but to rest their eyes upon thee.”

Gafol retrieved his spear, and then returned, speaking tenderly to his lover.

“My beloved Harmony, you are why I have not taken a wife. I would not betray you to be but a consort, like that old fool.” He kissed the smaller dragon’s snout. “For without thine eye, I am parched, without thy voice I am famished.” He turned to face the audience with one arm raised in utmost pantomime. “I could not rise in the morning without seeing the wonderful curve of your back...”

Here I rolled my eyes. The first time I heard this scene, I chucked, which drew a confused look from Sumac. Apparently this was not some of the over-the-top dialogue this play was known for, and was actually romantic.

“Why so glum?” Sumac whispered beside me.

“Huh, oh. It’s nothing, just up in my head about some… uh, grades.” I lied.

The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

He squinted at me, then turned back to the play. I watched as well.

“No, my dearest Harmony, tonight we celebrate the revolution! If tomorrow we live, then we have earned our twain commemoration. If we die then we have our own garland to bestow. Our own feast to attend. Our own night to not rest.”

The brass dragon then tossed his spear to the side, tackled the other to the ground, and deeply kissed him. My heart skipped a beat, seeing the actual intimacy of the moment. The brass dragon held the other with actual tenderness, and the opal dragon clung to the brass dragon with apparent need and burning desire. This, even considering their talent as actors, was not fake. We were witnessing a genuine moment for them.

The audience was struck silent, and we all watched this earnest moment play out. The limelight eventually faded. The cacophony of cheering and whistles nearly deafened us. Even I stood clapping, cheering, and caught up with the rest of the crowd.

***

“That was incredible!” Basil said, raising a glass of wine. “The last performance is always the best.”

“No kidding,” said Sumac. “That scene just before the assassination… I really think those two are together now.”

“Moonstone and Sprocket?” Ingot asked.

“Is that the lead’s names?” I asked.

“Yeah, they’ve both been the lead before in other shows, but this is their first time as co-leads.”

“Interesting.” I took a sip from my stein. Sumac and I had opted for the strong Northern Ale, while the culinary students partook in wine. Bay spoke next.

Bay lounged back in a Dionysian pose with the stem of a wine glass between his talons. Ingot and Basil laid on their sides, with Basil lying under Ingot’s foreleg. They had adorably spiraled their tails. Sumac and I laid “like loafs”, with our legs folded under us.

“Hey, hand me that bottle there.” The dark blue-green leaf dragon gestured at the bottle next to me. There was a dram left at the bottom, so I drank it before I passed it along.

“How about a game of spin-the-bottle?” He asked, slyly.

Basil and Ingot’s eyes lit up, but Sumac and I looked at one another in concert.

“Uhhh…” we both said, then Sumac spoke for us. “I don’t know if we’re quite drunk enough to all be making out in our den?”

“Making out? What? Is that how you Northerners do dares?” He chided.

“Oh.” I said, realizing the fumble. “You all do truth or dare with the bottle.”

“Yeah, what do y’all do?” Bay asked.

“Up north, it’s a kissing game. Or at least whatever was agreed upon beforehand. So the theater kids for example would use it for improv.”

Basil made a shocked-looking face, and Ingot laughed out loud.

“Here I was just now convinced y’all weren’t a bunch of sexually repressed perverts, but again I’m proven wrong.” Bay said with a wink to me.

“Fair enough. I didn’t invent it.”

“Alright,” Bay moved to the middle of the group and placed the bottle on the ground in the center of us. He spun it, and it landed on Basil.

“Truth or dare.” Bay said.

“Hmmm… truth.”

“Alright… hmm… have you, Velvet, and Ingot all done it at once.”

“Oh, and we’re the perverts.” Sumac scoffed.

I chuckled and used to movement to get a little closer to Sumac.

“Inquiring minds want to know.” Bay chimed.

Ingot was looking at the wall, blushing furiously. Basil responded with an almost innocent happiness in his voice. “Only once, super recently, but we are definitely doing that again.”

Ingot, for his part, looked like he was trying to hide behind Basil. Basil took the bottle and spun it. It landed on Sumac.

“Truth or dare.”

“Hmmm… Dare.”

“I like ultimatums. Either lick Cotta’s face, or finish your drink.” He grinned deviously.

I looked at Sumac, who glanced between me and the stein in his claw. He shrugged, leaned over, ran his tongue from my jaw to the tip of my snout, then turned up his beer to finish it.

“Going to have to try harder than that to fluster me.” Sumac said, then belched loudly. We all laughed, but a little shiver went up my spine, and I shook to make it go away.

Sumac spun the bottle, and it landed on Ingot. The large silver dragon dramatically rolled his eyes.

“Truth or dare?”

“Truth.”

“I won’t be so crude as our friend here.” He gestured lazily at Bay, who then raised his middle talon in a borrowed human gesture. “What is your body count?”

“I thought you weren’t going to be as crude.”

“I’m not singling you out for being in a polycule. I’m just asking a general truth or dare question.”

“Ugh, fair enough. It’s just three actually. Just Velvet, Basil, and Sprocket.”

Bay’s eyes shot open, as did Basil’s.

“You slept with one of the performers? When?” Bay cried.

“Our first year we dated a little. Wait your turn Bay.”

Sumac’s eyes were wide as well. “I wasn’t asking for names or anything, man. You volunteered that all on your own.”

Ingot harrumphed and spun the bottle. It landed on me. I felt observed.

“Truth” I volunteered.

“An easy question. What were you most known for in your hometown?”

“Oh, that’s easy. I was a wrestler. That’s how Sumac and I first met, actually.” I said.

“I didn’t know that.” Basil said.

Sumac spoke up. “We’ll save that for another round. Spin it Cotta.”

I shrugged and compiled. The bottle landed on Sumac. “Truth or dare.”

“Truth.” Sumac said. The mischief must have been apparent on my face, because he answered quickly.

“Alright, tell the story then.” I said.

“Fine.” He sighed. “Cotta and I come from towns close together. We both wrestled competitively for our schools and were in the same weight class. So we competed a lot.”

“Oh, neat. I’ve only seen human wrestling. Is it like that?” Basil asked.

“Oh, gods no. Humans don’t have claws or wings to worry about. Their wrestling is a lot more like real fighting. Dragon wrestling involves getting your opponent into different, but specific holds. If you deviate, you are disqualified from the whole match. The number of limbs you have free at the end determines your score for the round.”

“Wait, so - “ Bay started, but Sumac spun the bottle, and we all stopped to watch it. The neck pointed at Bay.

“Truth or dare?”

“Dare. Do your worst.”

“Hmm… finish that glass of wine.” Sumac said.

“Aww, man. I just poured it.”

“This was your idea.” Sumac shrugged, but he couldn’t hide the smug grin playing across his features. My belly felt warm seeing him enjoying himself, and my eyes lingered as I heard Bay say,

“Well, here goes.”

I turned and looked at the leaf dragon as he blanched, with the empty glass still in his claw.

“Gods, that is so much drier than I thought it’d be.”

His tongue twitched about in his open mouth as he breathed in after chugging it, and laughter erupted around him. After comically shaking his head, he spun the bottle, and it landed on me.

“Truth or dare?” He asked. I had calculated my drinking to only have a swallow or two left at the bottom of my stein, so I confidently answered.

“Dare.”

“I dare you and Sumac to wrestle for a round.”

“Hey, you can’t involve other people.” Basil objected.

“You just made Sumac lick my face.” I said. Basil stuck his tongue out at me.

“I’m fine with it.” Sumac said. He was still smirking confidently.

“Alright. Let’s do it.”

We cleared a large enough space of blankets, pillows, and booze for Sumac and I to wrestle. He wore that same confident expression as we got on-line. I was wondering why as Bay called start. We met in the middle, claws to claws, before I recalled why Sumac looked so confident.

With a quick jerk of his shoulders, I was on my back, and Sumac was over me, wrapping my limbs in holds I only remembered from advanced practice sessions.

Sumac was so confident because he absolutely tanned my hide in competitions.

He grinned down at me, raising his free forearm. “That’s three for me.”

My face and ears burned, and my belly was filled with butterflies, no… that wasn’t right. It was more like bees. The soft caresses of wings couldn’t account for the buzzing urgency I suddenly felt. I knew I was trapped, and pulling on my friendly restraints only intensified the feeling.

“N- no fair. I- slipped. Re-match.”

“Okay, but I don’t think it’ll change the outcome.”

I knew it wouldn’t, but I wanted it. To earnestly lose to him. To try and fail against his might.

We squared up again, and this time I fainted over his claws, letting him grab my shoulders, as I grabbed the bases of his wings. Our audience cheered, but I was lost in the moment. I wanted him to handily defeat me, despite my actual best effort.

He didn’t disappoint, though I went for an especially insidious wing hold, he deftly dodged under, and lifted me with his shoulders from between my hind legs, I scrambled for a hold, but grasped only air as he dumped me to my side, leaped, and put me in the exact wing hold I meant to trap him in. With his foreclaws around my wings and forelegs, my waist was pressed into the ground, making my hind legs utterly useless. This hold left both of his legs free, planted squarely in a rock solid stance with both his wings free. His head was also right above mine, so he turned and whispered in my ear.

“That’s four.”

Then he licked my cheek, and I grumbled, performatively upset with my quick capture. The gesture set fire to the swarm and totally ruined my metaphor. I badly wanted him to keep me like this, totally at his mercy. He let me go and sauntered back to his seat, leaving me frustrated, flustered, and grumbling in a heap on the floor.

“Cotta, I think it’s your turn to spin.” Sumac’s voice chimed. I stood, walked to my seat, dusted off, and spun the bottle…

***

A few bottles later - and after a no-show from Velvet - Bay, Basil, and Ingot departed, with the first two leaning against the latter. A few moments later, we heard Ingot from the hall.

“Alright, damn this. Basil, get on my back. You two are trying to scale my claws like they’re fish.”

A few quiet moments passed, then I turned to Sumac, smiling to himself and clearly enjoying the buzz.

“Wanna keep wrestling?” I asked.

“Oh, Gods Cotta, you must really like getting your tail kicked. You’re on.”

We got into the proper starting stance, then paused. Neither of us moved as we held one another, just blinking at each other.

“Right, someone needs to call start.”

“Start!” I yelled, then moved immediately.

I pinned him by pulling his upper forearm from under him, and my back legs weaved over his and his tail. His wings were laid out ineffectually behind him, so that left my left upper foreleg and wings free. I won three points.

“I could be a real bastard right now… actually.”

I brought my free claw to his belly and tickled him. He howled my name, “Cotta!”, and I froze. It allowed him to slip away from me.

He dropped his shoulders down, pulled his head back like a viper, and grinned.

“I’m in danger, aren’t I?”

“Oh, yeah. You are.” he hissed.

He pounced, and before I could even react, I was hemmed up. We were sitting upright with his belly to my back, and he sat on my tail. He’d wrapped my legs with his and held both of my forelegs to my chest with one of his. I gasped. It was all I could do to not hiss a “yes”.

He chuckled as he brought his free claw past my face; moving slowly to build dread.

“All you gotta say is stop.”

“You doubt my willpower?”

He had reason to doubt my willpower. I squealed the moment he started tickling me. I squirmed in his grasp, but it was totally futile. The feeling was incredible, totally at his whims. I couldn’t free my legs, and he just tightened the hold as I tried. I enjoyed every second of being trapped by him, his grip on me as sure as the floor beneath us. I could kick and squirm all I liked.

I laughed so hard that my sides grew sore, and Sumac still refused to relent.

“Sumac!” I cried, but his talon tips still lightly danced, causing my core to roll under the delightful punishment of his claws.

After the first few seconds of struggle, I noticed another part of my body also enjoyed what was going on. Suddenly panicked, I tried to stop him, but the laughter held my voice just long enough that I couldn’t stop him before my cock came out of hiding.

“Stop!” I said, and Sumac let me go, but I still was in his lap. I felt something touching my lower back, and Sumac flinched back, sliding his hips further down my tail. “I’m - I’m sorry. I got carried away.”

“I’m fine, it’s just...”

I lamely put my claws over my member, doing little to block his view.

Sumac looked over my shoulder and down at my erection. His breaths on my shoulder caused a twitch, and I clenched my eyes in embarrassment.

“Can… can I touch you?” He asked, directly into my ear.

Oh, gods. Oh, gods. Oh, gods…

“Yes.” I squeaked.

He slid his hips back up, pressing into my lower back, and reached to hold me at the base of my member. His claw was warm, and his touch felt better than I imagined a simple touch ever could have.

“Sumac, we… we should“ he stroked me once, and I groaned. “go to one of our rooms.”

“We’re the only ones here.” He spoke into my neck. “Do you want to…”

“Gods, Yes. I’ve - “ another slow stroke, and another deep grunt. “ - not done this with another male.”

“Well, I’m happy to be your first.” He licked my neck and continued slowly stroked me as he spoke. A shudder ran through my whole body.

“Sumac, can you hold me like you were? Where I couldn’t move?”

He let go of my cock, and I whined. Then he wrapped me up as before and brought his claw back around my length. I tried to squirm away, but he held me fast. My mind filled with fantasies of all he could do to me. I gasped as he ran his nose up my neck and cried aloud as he bit my ear. Just hard enough to hurt, and make me try to pull away.

His claw slowly trailed up my length until he cupped the tip with his palm.

“Sumac!” I cried. “I’m…”

Words faltered as finishing overtook my voice, converting what I had to say into a gasp, then a long grunt. Before the orgasm even ended, I turned and kissed him, surprising him, but then he became receptive, and our tongues wrestled just as we had moments ago.

We continued kissing as I turned over and reached down, touching his length. It was incredibly warm and hard. Feeling someone else’s cock in my claws was… fun. I enjoyed knowing I could make someone feel so good like this. I stroked him, just as slowly as he handled me. He groaned into my mouth, and I separated for a moment, keeping our tongues intertwined.

“Oh, oh, yes.”

He must have been worked up by holding me down, because it only took four or five strokes before he grabbed my shoulders, pushed me the rest of the way to the ground, and pulled himself down onto me for another kiss. His breathing was heavy, and his hot breaths warmed my cheek. Now completely under him, I continued the slow, almost teasing stroking. He didn’t break the kiss as I felt him shudder over me, and warmth spray onto my belly. He moaned into the kiss before collapsing on me.

I brought my forelegs around his neck and held him to me. I really hoped I had done this right. I’d liked him for a while, but I knew he was someone… experienced. I doubted that my limited experience and ever further limited capabilities were something that he would hold against me.

“Gods Cotta, I wasn’t sure when you were going to make your move, but I’m sure glad you did.”

My heart soared, but still filled with dread. This is where I fucked up last time. This is the vulnerable moment where he can figure out that something’s wrong with me.

“I can’t believe how much I liked you holding me like that.”

“Oh, I could tell. I could even tell when the guys were still here.”

I flushed, and he grinned up at me, winking at me from where his chin rested on my chest. My heart was still hammering.

“Oh, heh. Sorry about that.”

“Clearly, I don’t mind.”

He closed his eyes and sighed comfortably.

I couldn’t take the building guilt and panic any longer. It all came out at once, like a child rushing to confess everything they’d ever done wrong.

“Sumac, I’m so sorry. I should have told you before we did this,” his eyes went wide, but I continued. I had to continue. “Humans have a word, I don’t know if it applies to dragons or not, but I - I think I’m asexual.”

In the wake of panic, I felt like crying, but Sumac had the audacity to look relieved.

“Oh, thank the gods. I thought you were going to tell me you had syphilis or something.”

“What?”

“Cotta, that is definitely a thing with dragons. I know other asexual people of all kinds. Dragons included.”

“You don’t care?”

“No, I mean, not really. If you want a relationship, I don’t care if you’re attracted to me or not. Obviously you feel there’s something between us. I… hmm… I guess what I’m saying is, I don’t care if that thing is sex.”

I held him tighter, pressing my face into his and doing my best to crush him.

“I only want to do sexual stuff with you if you’re into it. I didn’t… uh… impose on you, right?” he asked.

“Gods no, Sumac. I wanted that. It’s still fun. I just - I don’t feel that way about other dragons, or anyone for that matter. I didn’t think having a relationship would ever be possible. M-my first didn’t go so well.”

He brought his face up to look me in the eye.

“What happened?”

I let him go, and we cuddled side by side, facing one another. I told him the story of what happened with Cerulean. He held my claws as I recounted that shameful conversation.

“Damn.” He said, stroking between my horns. “I don’t know what it’s like, but I know there’s nothing wrong with you.”

“I do want to feel that, though.”

“Do you?” He asked, “or is that just something you feel you owe her, or me?”

I brought my head up and blinked at him. “Uh…”

“That was mostly rhetorical.” He let me go, and continued. “I want you for you Cotta, not who you feel you should be.”

***

Alcohol and exertion drove us to the nest earlier than either of us would have cared to admit. We slept together in my room, but though I was tired, my eyes remained glued to the stone ceiling. Sumac snored softly, his chest pressing into the side of mine with every inhale, but even its regularity failed to lull me away.

Does he genuinely grasp what I don’t have? Does it really not bother him? Was he right? I’ve been so worried about what I don’t feel, I never even considered if I even wanted to feel it. My thoughts returned to the play, to that private moment seen by so many. I frowned, then tucked my head in next to his and tried to quell the racing thoughts.