Page 103 of Two Who Live On

“You’re not losing to this know-it-all.” Kenzo snatched the fishing rod and challenged Katherine to the game, thoughts lost onall the things he wanted to say to Caleb but realized he was too weak to admit.

Static sparked, and Kenzo’s mind went silent.

Not sure I could call that progress, but it was something.

I spent the rest of the day moving around, helping students with games, and enjoying the simple happiness bubbling along their surface thoughts.

ChapterThirty-Seven

Chapter Thirty-Seven

After an exhausting day, I brought Milo home.

“I can’t believe you took the whole day off.”

“Yep,” he said, plopping onto the couch. “It’s been real light around the office.”

“That so?” I lifted Milo’s legs onto the couch and took off his dress shoes.

He rolled over onto his stomach, burying his face in a pillow. Milo could battle warlocks, fiends, demons, and even a devil without wavering, yet he was more exhausted from one day of teaching kids than any case he’d taken.

Granted, he didn’t do much teaching. He focused purely on eight hours of entertainment.Total rookie move.He’d turned my classroom into a buffet of pizza and sugary snacks, which in turn energized each and every student beyond even the great EnchanterEvergreen’s capabilities. He didn’t say it, but he couldn’t hide his fatigue after entertaining twelve kids for eight hours. That was why I preferred breaking the kids down with exhaustive work to drain their endless supply of energy that’d also better them in the long run and keep me from passing out the second I walked through the door. A win-win situation, if I dare say.

I straddled Milo, sitting on his butt, and gently ran my hands up his spine. Massaging the tension out of his shoulders, I worked my way around the muscles of his back.

“That’s nice.” Milo turned his head, eyes closed but smiling. “Feels so good.”

“You know what else might feel good?” I leaned close, letting my breath tickle his ear.

“How can you possibly be thinking of sex?” He huffed, so worn out his thoughts didn’t even twist to images of foreplay. “You’re insatiable.”

I chuckled, relishing this moment where I tended to my tuckered-out boyfriend, who carried the weight of the world on his shoulders. It was nice taking a bit of that pressure away from him and also teasing him.

“You know, I finally heard back about the Global Ranking’s Ceremony,” he thought, too tired to even speak.

I made a mental note of inviting him to “teach” my classes more in the future, especially when he railroaded me with his minxy energy.

“Wait, the Global Ranking’s Ceremony?” I continued rubbing Milo’s back. “Gotta be honest, I completely blanked on that.”

“You and me both,” he thought. “Now that all the demon drama is dealt with, Cerberus decided they wanted to host a few events over the summer before the induction ceremony this August.”

I beamed, truly at ease and so fucking proud of Milo for earning a place among the highest-ranked enchanters in the country. “Isuppose I can carve out a bit from my busy summer schedule to join my boyfriend at a few cocktail parties.”

Milo released a moaning sigh of satisfaction as I cracked loose the tension in his back. “You know, I actually got a whole week planned for a real vacation. It’s right around the corner if you, you know, maybe wanted to join.”

“Hmm. Traveling? I’ll have to check my schedule for that one.”

“It’ll be ten uninterrupted days of June. Mid-June.” Milo’s thoughts dimmed, but he resisted the lull of sleep, eager to continue the conversation about vacationing together.

“We’ll see.” I hated trips and all the traveling involved. Lots of teachers enjoyed the freedom to explore over the summer, whereas I preferred working on my house and quiet isolation. “Are you sure Chicago can survive ten whole days without the great Enchanter Evergreen?”

“Yep. Call it a hunch, but it looks like clear sailings.”

“We’ll see.” I rubbed the space between his shoulder blades, easing him into a comfortable nap.

Usually, ‘we’ll see’ was the friendliest ‘no’ I could muster, yet as Milo crashed, his thoughts blossomed to all the wondrous things he’d planned for these ten days off. It appeared truly unbearable, allowing him to drag me from place to place and sightsee and explore...however, my breathing hitched. My stomach fluttered. I really wanted to consider this experience and all it had to offer.

With Milo passed out, I carried him into the bedroom. Half through sheer physical strength and half through telekinetic assistance. He was far heavier than me, and there was absolutely no way I had the muscles to carry him independently.

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