Page 44 of Semi-Rejected Life

“What kind of dinosaur is that?” Sam asked, looking thoroughly confused. He also looked very frazzled. “Can one of you help me please? Cory just went on delivery and the phone has been ringing nonstop for ten minutes.”

Then the phone rang again.

“I got it,” I said, grabbing the order pad. “You help Sam.”

“This is why I don’t take days off,” Vince said. But then he smiled, giving me a soft kiss. “But I’d do it again with you any day.”

“Me too–”

“Pizza now, kiss later!” Sam’s stressed voice said behind us.

I manned the phones and packed orders while Sam and Vince got to work. Things got so busy at one point that I split the deliveries with Cory and we both headed to opposite sides of town. By the time we both got back, things were finally starting to calm down. However, it wasn’t until nearly the end of the night that Cory and Sam finally got a chance to go home. Vince and I finished up the cleaning for the night, turned off the open sign, locked up, and practically collapsed on top of each other in the break room in the back.

“Holy shit,” Vince sighed, throwing his feet up over my lap. “I don’t think I’ve had a day that busy in years.”

“It was kinda crazy,” I laughed, pulling at his shoestrings. “Everyone’s gonna start thinking I work here soon.”

“I don’t think Sam has worked that hard in years. It was kinda nice to see him so frazzled.”

“He does a lot of reading at the hotel, so this was probably a big change of pace for him.”

“What are you doing?” Vince asked, watching me pull off his shoes.

“I was gonna rub your feet,” I replied, pulling at his sock.

“That’s… kinda gross don’t you think?”

I lifted an eyebrow in his direction. “I’ve had your butthole in my mouth.”

Vince burst out laughing. “I guess you’re right.”

“Besides, I like taking care of you.” I put his foot on top of the other, massaging the arch where tension liked to gather. “You’re my mate. I have to make sure you feel loved and doted on all the time, don’t I?”

“Is that what I have to look forward to?”

“If that’s what you want.”

He nodded, snuggling down into the pillows on his side of the couch. Pulling a blanket off the back, he draped it over his shoulders.

“Well, you can just do that until I fall asleep, okay? Then do the other foot after I pass out.”

I couldn’t help but smile. “As you wish.”

“But let’s not sleep here all night, okay? I just want to rest for a few minutes.”

I lifted his leg kissing his calf up to the knee. “Don’t worry. I’ll take care of it.”

“Love you, Carino.”

“Love you too, pup.”

Chapter Twenty-Two: River

I ended up taking Vincent home that night and putting him to bed. Of course, I couldn’t force myself to leave with him lying there looking so adorable, so I crawled in right next to him. However, I set myself an alarm so that I had enough time to go back to the hotel in the morning. After all, I’d only packed enough clothing to go on our little trip and all of it was dirty now and covered in flour from working. I desperately needed a change and then I’d meet Vince back at the cafe like I always did.

But I had one last thing to do before I went to the cafe. After my shower and change of clothes, I went down to the front desk to ask Sam for a pad of paper. That wasn’t something I usually carried with me when I went on trips. I had a journal, but tearing pages out of it seemed sacrilegious.

However, I didn’t find Sam at the front desk as usual. It seemed odd that he wasn’t manning it, but at the same time, he had been up late the night before helping at the pizza shop. I shrugged it over, figuring he was sleeping or helping another guest get checked in. So I just walked around the desk, found a small pad of paper and a pen, and wrote him a note letting him know I’d bring it back.

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