Page 83 of Full Body Hit, Part 1

Aunix made a ‘tsk’ noise and Chase could practically hear him rolling his eyes. “I just…I like the sound their feet make when they slap on the ground, like…flapflapflapflapflap.”

Could a person die from feeling too much affection? Because the feeling was glowing so brightly in Chase’s chest, it threatened to burn a hole right through. “You’re right. That’s super cute. I guess I have to call him something. Hmm…what about Joey?”

“Joey?” Aunix spluttered.

Chase squeezed the duck to his chest. “Yeah, what’s wrong with Joey?”

“That sounds like a grown-ass man. Why not Ducky or something.”

“Because I’m not five years old?”

Aunix sighed on the other end of the line. “I mean…I guess Joey works. You weirdo.”

That burst a laugh out of Chase. “Daddy! Did you just call me a weirdo? Oh, my God…”

“I mean, if the flipper fits…”

“You are so mean. I’m hanging up.”

Aunix chuckled. “I thought you were gonna show me how to build a nest. This stuff is cleaned to be heat-ready, no need to wash it again.”

Urgh, there Aunix went, being cute and thoughtful again. “Fine. But I won’t tolerate any slander against Joey.”

“Your duck is safe from me, although I’m gonna have a mini heart-attack when you tell me you’re in bed with Joey.”

The grin on Chase’s face was so big it strained his cheeks. “Don’t be jealous, Daddy. You know that Joey is only with me because you put him there. He’s a little piece of you.”

A few seconds ticked by. “You’re sweet, baby. I’ll remember that.”

“Good. Okay. Now, I have to find somewhere to put the nest…”

It turned out the box contained some tightly sealed cushions for the base of the nest. Chase dragged everything to the tiny room that was probably meant to be for storage or something.

Aunix chose a bed in a guest room, and they got to work.

“Ok, let’s make the structure out of these pillows. Oh my God, this one is so long. Okay, these can go at the head, bent like a C. Oh, and these little round ones can go on either side. And these big square ones—actually, let’s put one behind the long one and one on either side of the nest.”

Figuring out where everything went was hypnotic. Even when he rearranged things, Aunix didn’t get frustrated with him; he just asked clarifying questions and then followed instructions.

The end result was pretty good—due more to the abundance of materials than to Chase’s skill, but whatever. It still looked great.

The bottom cushions, which were still suffering the effects of being vacuum sealed, hadn’t fluffed up fully, but he still took a photo and sent it over. Aunix sent one of his own half a minute later.

“Damn,” Aunix said. “Yours is way neater. Take a video of it close up, I wanna see how you tucked the blankets like that.”

Chase beamed, lungs turning sticky and sweet like honey. He did as he was asked, showing Aunix how to roll the edges and tuck them in all neat.

“Got it,” Aunix said, sending another picture.

“Perfect,” Chase complimented.

Of course, what neither of them said was that it was missing something crucial—scenting. Chase was grateful Aunix didn’t bring it up—he didn’t know if he’d be able to lie about his condition.

By the time they were finished, Sammy had responded to Chase’s question about going out to buy stuff for his apartment with an enthusiastic Yes, followed by about a million exclamation marks.

“I’m going with a friend to buy some more stuff for the apartment…I think I’m gonna get some fairy lights for this room and, like, a little lantern. Oh, and maybe I can get a speaker or something to listen to music. And it’d be really cool to get a canopy or something to make it into a little cave.”

“Wait—I can get you that stuff,” Aunix protested.