Page 9 of One Hell of a Deal

“Because my nose works,” she mumbles, shaking her head. “Something doesn’t smell right at all.”

I can’t hold back my laugh, but thankfully, she joins in. “It does smell pretty bad.”

It’s a pleasant and light-hearted moment, but my stomach interrupts us, growling loudly, and snapping me back into the reality of our arrangement. “I’ll order us some Chinese. Then I will help you clean up this mess.”

“I’ll take care of it,” she says, shooing me toward the living room. “You go and rest. You must be tired. After we eat, we can talk about plans?”

I nod. “We can make a shopping list too. Clearly, we are going to need some more food.” I glance at her up and down. “And some clothes for you.”

She looks down at her outfit. “I hope you don’t mind. I got milk all over my clothes, and I couldn’t remember how that machine thing works. I thought it would be strange if you walked in and I was naked.”

“No, it's fine,” I say, moving toward the couch. “We will have it all sorted soon.”

Only it’s not fine. Because I am supposed to be focused on ordering dinner, but all I can manage to think about is how thrilling it would have been to find her naked. The last thing I need is the inconvenience of being attracted to her. I shake my head and scroll through my phone, looking for the restaurant's number, but my mind keeps flashing to the curve of her hips in my boxers. I start to picture sliding them off and…

Stop it, Max.

Find some damn perspective. She was a demon. She’s not for you, and she needs to go.

Kung Pow Chicken...

Kung Pow Chicken…

Kung Pow Chicken.

Chapter Nine: Daphne

What a week it’s been. On the positive side, I’ve gotten better at making some basic food, thanks to Max’s quick evening lessons. So far, I’ve successfully cooked eggs, burgers, and pasta. Max also ordered some pre-made boxed meals that I cook in this funny box thing he calls a microwave. It’s nice that they are ready to eat so quickly, but they don’t taste too good, and tend to make my stomach churn a bit. Of course, I don’t tell him that. I don’t want to come across as ungrateful.

Another first that was not as scary as I thought it would be was that I have been successfully pushing out my food waste every day. The first time it happened, I announced my success proudly, and Max outright laughed at me and then asked if it smelled like flowers. This confused me because it actually had a very unappealing smell. When I told him, he only laughed at me more and told me it was normal for “shit to stink.” Needless to say, I kept my daily evacuations to myself now.

He showed me how to use his computer box, and although I am getting the hang of it, I’m not quite there yet. I find it fascinating nonetheless. He navigated to the button called the internet, and on this one page, there was everything for sale you could want, and he ordered me a bunch of clothes. If that wasn’t impressive enough, the items actually arrived at the front doorthe next day. It was like magic. I never knew the human world was filled with so many wonders.

In the evenings, we spent countless hours on the internet pages, trying to find the ancient texts to search for demon contract loopholes. He ordered several books on demonology, but he says they will take several days to arrive. I don’t think those books will help us much anyway.

The Book of Arcainia, is the only book I trust to be accurate, but so far, we have had no luck in our pursuit of finding a copy. The only thing we’ve found is a couple of articles that reference the book. So, I am trying to hold out hope.

I also still don’t know what my future holds. I don’t know how Max expects me to figure out my path in life as a human if I am stuck in the apartment all the time. I told him as much, but he shrugged it off, saying we will find a solution soon enough. He’s always so worn out when he gets home, so I never push, but I'm starting to feel trapped.

I’ve been craving a real life for so long that finally having one, and not being able to explore my options, is frustrating.

At least it’s finally Friday, and he should be here any minute now. I’m looking forward to his company. Loneliness is another emotion I am not fond of. He’s promised to take me out tomorrow. I don’t know what he’s planning, but I’ll take it.

I wish he would hurry and get here. I’m looking forward to the pizza he’s promised to bring home. He brought me a slice a couple of nights ago, and I’ve never tasted anything so amazing. He said that this city is the only one that makes it so perfectly, but I imagine some other places do it well too. I want to try it all.

But maybe his stopping to pick up the pizza is why he isn’t back yet. It’s starting to get dark, and he’s been home every night before the sun is fully set.

I head into the kitchen and pour us both a glass of red wine, another new thing that I love. We each have a glass or two with our evening food, and it relaxes me and warms me up from the inside. After he has a drink or two, he tends to pay closer attention to me, too, which I crave. Last night, he even put a hand on my arm when he said goodnight, but his face quickly turned red, which I found endearing. But something about wine makes us, at least physically, more comfortable around each other.

I hear the door as I take a long pull from my glass and smile. He is home.

“Hey, sorry I’m so late, but I have wonderful news,” he says, balancing a pizza box in one hand and holding a brown, fairly large paper bundle in the other.

“I didn’t notice the time,” I lie and take the pizza box, dramatically sniffing it before setting it on the counter. “I poured us some wine. What’s in the package?”

He sets it, with a loud thump, on the island. “This is the wonderful news I mentioned. Do you remember I said I had a friend in the history department over at Blake University?”

My pulse quickens, and I stare at the bundle in awe. “Is that what I think it is?”

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