New couples only last an average of 4 months.
Aimee Herald releases a total of 86 photos and 13 videos of her and her ex-husband Pandi Yaruban.
Pandi had not slept so well since his divorce. The weight of Zay in his arms and the soft scent of perfume in the air made him feel…peaceful. Peaceful. He could get used to that. With his eyes still closed, he pressed a kiss to Zay's forehead.
Zay made a sleepy noise and burrowed deeper into Pandi's embrace. He was so precious. He muttered something into Pandi's neck that made Pandi think he might be awake.
"Hm?" he asked softly. "What was that?"
Zay lifted his head, stared into Pandi's face, and then quickly turned his head away, shielding his face with his hand. "Where's the bathroom? I need to wash up."
Pandi realized that Zay thought his makeup was a mess (it was still perfect) and replied, "Straight across the hall."
Zay rolled out of the bed and walked out, apparently not even concerned about being naked. They were the only ones here, after all, so it was not like they had to worry about other people seeing them.
Pandi lay in bed on his back, staring up at the ceiling, until Zay came back, hair still damp from a shower. Pandi propped himself up on an elbow. "That was the fastest shower ever."
Zay shrugged as he bent to pick up his clothes from last night. "I'm efficient. Also, I hope you don't mind that I used your shampoo."
Pandi shook his head. "I don't mind at all." He got up, a bit more hesitantly than Zay had and walked to the bathroom, trying to act as nonchalant as Zay had. He also took a quick shower, and he was thankful when he came back to the room and Zay was not there. After getting dressed, he slid his feet into his slippers and headed out into the kitchen.
Zay was there, fingers playing with the braid draped over his shoulder while he considered the options in Pandi's fridge. He looked up at Pandi's entrance. "Are you vegan or something?"
Pandi gave a slight smile. "No. I'm vegetarian. There's a difference."
Zay shrugged and turned back to the fridge. "What do you usually eat for breakfast?"
"Eggs or yogurt with granola." Out of nowhere, Pandi was struck with the realization of how domestic this was. He wanted, desperately, for it to last as long as possible. Though with someone as entrancing as Zay, he knew it was only a matter of time before someone else yanked Zay out of his life.
Zay seemed to pick up on his unease, because he suddenly shut the fridge and hugged Pandi tightly. "I like you a lot, you know."
Pandi smiled and hugged Zay back. "I like you a lot, too."
"I know." Zay smiled up at him, his lips perfect except for that one place Pandi had nipped him last night. He had drawn blood?
Pandi ran his thumb lightly over Zay's lips. "Did I hurt you?"
Zay shook his head. "No. Not damagingly, anyways. Can I tell you a secret?" He grabbed Pandi's neck and pulled his head down so they were nose-to-nose. "I kinda like the pain."
Pandi felt himself slowly turn red. Why did he have to be so shy? "Is that why your tone got freaky when you mentioned punishment?"
Zay grinned. "Freaky is not a word I thought I would ever hear come out of your mouth."
"I'm cultured," Pandi retorted. "I'm not a stuck up doctor."
Zay laughed, and the sound was almost magical. "No, of course not. I know you're not stuck up. You're so down to earth. You're amazing." And he kissed Pandi firmly as if to punctuate his point. Then he was gone, turning back to the task of making breakfast. "How about we go the yogurt and granola route. Camille always complains I make too much of a mess when I cook."
"You could let me cook," Pandi offered.
Zay shook his head as he set the tub of yogurt on the counter. "Nope. I know Noah cooks for Camille and that's super sweet, but I want a place to be a good omega." He turned, eyes pleading in a way Pandi would never say no to. "Please?"
Pandi chuckled and went to go sit down at the table. "Fine. But you should learn how to cook without making a mess if that's what you really want."
Zay nodded hurriedly. "I'll watch videos and stuff. I make no promises that it'll be good the first time, but I'll definitely try. You know," he continued as he began scooping the yogurt into two bowls, "being a barrier-breaking omega all the time is exhausting. I'd like to just be normal."
Pandi pretended to pout. "And here I thought you were going to get freaky."
Zay looked over his shoulder, eyes smoldering like wet embers. "Oh, don't worry, darling. I'll still get freaky. Just say the word and I'll turn it on." Then he went in search of the granola like he had not just made Pandi incredibly horny. "How much you want?"
Pandi swallowed hard to make sure his voice would not crack. "Just cover the top."
Zay made a sound of acknowledgment and sprinkled the granola into both bowls. He brought the bowls to the table and sat down opposite Pandi like he had last night. "So," he said, sliding Pandi's spoon to him across the table, "what're your plans for today?"
Pandi shrugged. "I usually go play tennis with my friend at 10."
Zay nodded. "I need to go in for practice at that time, so it works for me if you want to go together. Or," he added hurriedly, like he was scared he had said something wrong, "if you don't want to be seen with me, we can go separately."
Pandi realized where Zay's thoughts had landed. "I'm not comparing you to Aimee, Zay."
Zay's shoulders slumped a little. "I know. But I don't want to turn into Aimee 2.0. I really don't. I know you don't like the pressure of the spotlight. Even my practices always garner an audience. I get it if you don't want to be associated with me, especially since we just got together."
Pandi shoved his spoon deep into the yogurt and reached across the table to grab Zay's hand. "Zay, no. I'm not ashamed to be attached to you, and I don't want you to think you need to hide me from the world." He threaded his fingers through Zay's and held on. "I'd be happy to go with you."
Zay tipped his—no, her—head, a small smile coming to her face. "I wanna play against you. Just one match. Is that okay?"
Pandi nodded, giving her hand another squeeze. "I think I can handle one match. As long as you promise not to beat me too badly."
Zay laughed. "No promises. I'll do whatever my coach tells me to. If she tells me to beat the crap out of you, that's what I'll do."
Pandi could feel how soft his own gaze was. "I promise to be a gracious loser."
Zay laughed again, and they finished up breakfast. After Pandi changed into his tennis clothes, they drove over to a different tennis club.
Zay had grabbed her bag from the back of her car, so she went to go change once they arrived at the club.
Pandi warmed up with Bradley, who had fortunately read his texts this morning and had come to the right place. Pandi could tell that Zay's coach was keeping a close, shrewd eye on him and Bradley, probably because she thought they might be creeps. He could not blame her, not after what had happened last time Zay had been at a club to practice. When she kept staring, he let the ball bounce by him and headed over to say hi. He held out his hand as he approached her. "I'm Pandi Yaruban." After the slightest hesitation, he added, "Zay invited me to come."
The coach raised a suspicious eyebrow. She had probably heard that ten million times from people Zay did not know at all.
"She really did say she wanted me to come here with her."
The coach's expression softened somewhat. "Okay, so you actually do know Zay." She took Pandi's hand and shook it. "Most creeps don't know about that."
Pandi realized she meant Zay's genderfluidity and nodded. "I don't get the sense that it's something she tells a lot of people."
The coach shook her head. "No, especially not when she's in a feminine mood. Sometimes I wonder if she just likes to mess with people."
"She definitely does," Zay said from behind them. She had changed into white shorts and a dark red tanktop, and she had redone her hair, pulling it back into a tighter braid than the one she had done this morning. She was so beautiful.
Pandi smiled at her. "I never would've guessed," he replied teasingly.
Zay rolled her eyes. "Ready to get your ass handed to you?" She grinned. "You'll be my warmup."
Pandi leveled a fake scowl at her. "Now that's just insulting." But he walked around to the other side of the net anyway.
Zay bent her head and talked with her coach for a couple minutes before stepping away and doing a few quick stretches. Then she grabbed her racket and one of the neon balls from the plastic tube sitting on the ground. Without any warning, she tossed the ball up and smacked it over to Pandi's side of the net.
He was barely able to send it back. He moved back toward the center of the court, already sweating. Yeah, there was no way he would be able to hold his own against a pro like Zay. As the ball flew back toward him and he dashed to meet it, he could see Bradley grimacing in sympathy out of the corner of his eye. Pandi was one hundred percent going to get his ass handed to him.
Sure enough, after profuse sweating on Pandi's part and far less profuse sweating on Zay's part, Zay sent the ball into the opposite corner and won the match. She swiped the back of her hand across her forehead as she approached the net to shake hands. She was grinning as their overheated palms collided. "You put up quite a fight. You're better than at least three pros I could name off the top of my head."
"Zay…" the coach warned.
She held up her hands. "I'm not going to name them, Sarai. I listened to all the professional behavior lessons, okay?"
The coach, Sarai, sighed. "We're doing conditioning now."
Zay's shoulders slumped slightly, and it was obvious she hated conditioning even before she let out a performative whine.
Pandi got out of the way to let Sarai do her job and went back to his leisurely match with Bradley a couple courts away.
Bradley whistled as he bounced the ball off the ground and caught it. "And you're telling me that's your new partner?" He shook his head. "God's playing favorites again."
Pandi leaned on one of the posts holding the net up. "Did you forget that my first relationship was quite literally a war zone where I had no voice and got no respect?"
Bradley's expression changed instantly. "No, that's not what I meant, Pandi. You know I didn't mean it like that. Aimee was awful. I would never wish a relationship with her on anyone, especially you. You didn't deserve that. You didn't. I meant that you're lucky to have someone so hot and talented in your life."
Pandi had to smile at that. He would never not smile when someone sang Zay's praises. "Yeah." He looked over at Zay as he said, "I'm the luckiest guy in the world."