Chapter 269

I had slipped off, and out, of Zenya after a couple of minutes and had used a look with Becca to have her leave us alone. My blonde ... whatever she was at the moment, took the hint graciously and nodded, going to the edge of the porch and slipping back into the water gracefully. I, in the meantime, encouraged Zenya to turn over and she ended up laying partially on top of me, resting her head on my chest as we kept our arms around each other.

“OK,” she sighed. “You win.”

“I win?” I asked with a smile.

“Best hookup ever,” she grinned, then flushed a little. “Not that I’m exactly a hookup queen or anything. Despite how I’ve been acting this week, and all of this out here, I’m not actually ... I’m not a slut.”

“I wouldn’t have ever thought you were,” I said, rubbing her back. “You are a sweet, sexual woman. But not a slut. I’m just really happy that you wanted to do this with me.”

“Well, I did wait for all the reviews to come out first,” she smirked at me, making me chuckle. “But seriously. Great flirting. Really great sex. And you even snuggle afterwards. Five stars, would fuck again. And again.”

“Pfft, not snuggling isn’t even an option,” I grinned. Then I hugged her a little tighter. “Five stars for you too, by the way.”

“Can I be honest?”

“Zenya, I think we’re a little past asking.”

“True,” she said. “I’m just - all the stuff going on. With everyone. I don’t know ... I feel like I might have missed out on something.”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“Becca’s been keeping me ‘up to date’ so to speak,” Zenya said. “And Leia, too. They are both falling for you, and are pretty sure you’re falling for them too. And when I’m being honest with myself, I know that you’re ... a catch is putting it mildly, I think. Even with the wild polyamory thing going on. I just feel some FOMO, like I’m getting a consolation prize here.”

“I’m sorry,” I sighed, leaning over to kiss her forehead softly.

“It’s not something to be sorry for, I guess,” she sighed.

“No, it is,” I said. “I would never want you to feel like you’re not worth everything.”

“But...” Zenya prompted.

“But?” I asked.

“I hear a but coming on,” she said.

“Nope,” I said. “You are worth everything, Zenya. Not but. I keep trying to tell you this, and so was Becca. You are an amazing woman. Becca adores you. Leia and Ami, too. And I know you aren’t as close with the others, but you know what? They like you a lot, and they respect you a ton.”

“Why?” Zenya asked. “I didn’t do anything ‘respect’ worthy.”

“Are you kidding me?” I asked. “Zenya, babe, you have been taking care of things all week. You’re helping at every meal, and you encourage the girls. You don’t think I hear you being their hype-woman? You are an absolute queen.”

Zenya was quiet for a long moment, then shifted up my body a bit and kissed me, soft and sweet. “Thank you,” she whispered out in a sigh, resting back down again to cuddle against me.

“You are more than welcome,” I said. “Look, I can’t tell you that what’s happening with me and some of the girls is something that could happen with us. That’s not ... I don’t know, it’s not like a switch flipped. We had to choose to go further with things. Magnetic attraction, sexual or otherwise, only goes so far. If you want to explore more than just sex with me, I’m very open to it with you, but the reality of the situation is what it is. We don’t have much time left on this trip, and my time is pretty split.”

“You’re really open to it?” she asked. “To me?”

“I can’t even comprehend how you could think I wouldn’t be,” I sighed.