Freddie and I continued to meet up for dinner, or a movie, or binge-watch the latest holos. She loved telenovelas, and we’d often slip into discussing them in Spanish. Sometimes, my translation spell didn’t work as well as if I knew the language. When if fucked up, she would laugh and let me know why. 

One night after a rather vigorous fingering session, I broached the subject of what else she’d like to try. 

“Everything!” Her excitement was charming, and we laughed at her exuberance. 

“Everything is a long list. What would you like to try next?”

“Oh, that’s a good question. I do have a lot of ideas.” I didn’t prompt her and waited for what she might want next. My hand caressed her thigh to let her know she was in a safe place without speaking into the silence. 

“I guess if I was approaching this with some kind of scientific rigor, I would seek someone out with a penis and decide if I enjoyed that or not.”

I smiled, “What about an excellent facsimile?” 

“Oh? AH! Yes, I suppose that might be alright. Approaching someone to see if they wished to experiment with copulating could be daunting.”

There was a topic that I thought would be important to ask, but I had to admit that I enjoyed our time together too much to ruin it with questions. Now seemed a likely moment as any since Freddie brought up other genitalia. 

“Have you ever thought about whom you might be attracted to?”

“Not particularly. Dragons are sequential hermaphrodites, and mates can come in all sexes, shapes, and sizes. If it was another dragon, their bipedal form wouldn’t be important. So dragons are attracted to nearly everyone, or can be.”

“But not for you?”

She shook her head. “I never saw the need or the desire. If the knowledge I obtained from books and my experience were a mate, I’d long ago have declared my choice and ensconced myself in whatever place they resided.”

“Are you concerned about what we’re doing?” Lust and attraction usually went hand in hand. So it was interesting that one did not lead to the other for her. If Freddie only felt lust, I knew I needed to keep my own feelings in check. 

“No. I find that I enjoy our time together and the experimentation. It’s been an eye-opening experience for me.”

I tried to keep the concern off my face, but dragons had a keen sense of smell, especially for emotions. 

“You’re worried. Why?”

“I feel like I’m influencing you and your choices, even inadvertently, because of something about how I smell.”

“But you don’t smell that way now.”

“I don’t?” 

She shook her head. “Actually, you tend to lose whatever scent I’m drawn to after an initial coupling. I suppose it might be related to endorphins, but I’m not completely sure. I would need to take pre and post-colitis samples to know.”

“Freddie,” I said with a teasing tone. She grinned. The tangents were one of the things I adored about her. 

“Simply put, Lee, I haven’t continued dating you for that reason alone.” She reached up to brush some strands of hair out of my face. “You’re fun, understanding, and our sexual activities are extremely enjoyable.”

“Why do I sense a clause to that statement?” 

“I’m leaving in a month.” 

The soft drift into sleep was utterly destroyed by that information. I sat up, and Freddie came with me. I tried to say something, anything, but eventually landed on, “that’s good to know.”

“Lee,” she said with a sigh in her voice. She knew before I did that I was disappointed and maybe even a little crushed. Damn dragons anyway, practically empaths because of their noses. I extracted myself from bed, threw on a robe, and went to make tea. I couldn’t continue this conversation without something warm to soothe my nerves. 

As I made two cups of chamomile tea, I wondered how I’d become attached so quickly. There was no commitment between us. No promise. Only an agreement of sorts. I liked Freddie. She was fun, quick to try things, caring, and thoughtful. The sex was amazing, and that was saying something given my work and other opportunities I’d had in my long life. 

Freddie had thrown on a t-shirt and met me in the kitchen. She hopped on the counter and picked up the other cup I’d made. I watched as she took a deep breath and smiled. 

“When my Daddy would spend the whole day with his research, Da would make chamomile tea with honey and whiskey to try and have him take a break or rest.” She took a tentative sip. “It was like magic. Daddy would drink the tea, and within a few minutes, he would stop what he was doing and ask about everyone else’s day, then help put me to bed. I’d listen to them as they wandered to their bedroom, giving each other kisses.”

“Your parents sound wonderful.”

“I don’t think I could ask for better.” I watched as she took another sip. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner, Lee. I should have.”

I shrugged. “Most of the work here is seasonal. There are very few of us that stay on permanently. It shouldn’t have surprised me.” But it had, and what’s worse were the sprouts of feelings I had now. As much as I had wanted to keep them in check, they had grown like wildflowers where I least expected them. 

“What would you like to do?” Freddie put down her teacup, folded her hands, and leaned over enough to put her elbows on her knees and her chin in her hands. 

“How old are you, by the way?” I was avoiding the question. She knew it because she unfolded herself and gave me a pensive look.

“I’m eighty-nine. What about you?”

“Ninety-two! You look amazing for your age.”

She threw back her head and laughed. If it wasn’t for her bonnet, her hair would have adorably spilled around her head. “You are quite the fox yourself, Ms. Eilidh. I would not have guessed you were older than me.”

“Benefits of being a demi-goddess. We do have a shelf life, but it’s much longer than most humans.”

“Noted,” said Freddie with a grin. “The oldest dragon I know is Papa Ransford. He’s almost six hundred years old, I think. I only know that because I saw some of my Daddy’s documents on the family tree.”

I took a breath and thought about the oldest being I knew, and that was a tough call. “I think it’s Felven, the concierge. But that’s only based on some things they said one night, and the way they phrased it was something like, ‘In all the thousands of years this planet has turned, and my eyes have seen, there has been none more beautiful than you.’ But I could have been a line since they had me trussed up in their tentacles like a fly in a spiderweb.”

Freddie blinked. “Are you saying you’ve had intercourse with Felven?”

“They are extremely talented with their many appendages, and they feed off the magical energy around the resort most of the time. But, occasionally, they like to create some of their own.” I finished my tea and set the cup down. 

“Sounds like you made an impression on each other.”

“You’re wondering why we aren’t dating?” Freddie nodded. “They have no concept of it. We’ve shared each other a few times over the years that we’ve worked here, but they have no need for a companion, beyond occasional interactions, especially since they reproduce asexually.”

“Oh.” Freddie looked down. I could see her piece the puzzle together. When she looked at me, I expected her to ask the question almost everyone asked, ‘why was I single?’ but I cut her off instead.

“Listen, don’t feel bad, okay. We both knew this wasn’t long-term, and we were having so much fun with it that the end stuck up on us.” She gave me a soft smile and held out her arms. I went willingly. “If all we have left is a month, then we’ll make due,” I said.

Freddie wrapped me in her arms and kissed the top of my head as I wrapped my arms around her waist. “I think that’s a brilliant plan. You did ask me about my list. Maybe we can see how many we can check off before I leave.”

“Now you’re talking.” I snuggled my face into her breasts, and she laughed. When I picked her up off the counter, she gasped, which pleased me. “But tonight, I’d like to introduce another method of mutual gratification.”

“Oh?” she said with a squeal as I walked her back to my bedroom. “What’s that?”

“Simultaneous oral.” 

“Oh! Oh my!” She laughed as I dropped her to the bed and crawled up her body. 

Clothes were removed as I gave instructions. As always, Freddie was a fast learner.