Page 209 of Paradox
My face lights up, and I stand on my tiptoes in front of Eden.
"On second thoughts. I'm not really sure if I can handle being around you—"
"Thank you, Carey." I turn away from Eden and walk to the door. "You've been sooooo much help, I don't know how we could have done any of this without you. Now go and annoy somebody else, okay?" I guide him out the door, and give him a wink before closing it.
"Shit, Jin. I'm so sorry."
"Shut up!" I say in a tone that has Eden wiping his head around to me, and the second his eyes meet mine, he's stalking towards the door. Picking me up, he slams my back against it and I wrap my legs around him. "Are we getting a hotel tonight?"
"You better fucking believe it."
"And room service?"
"You forgot about the cabin pretty quickly," he says right before latching onto my neck.
"I'll never forget about it. But opportunities like this don't present themselves all the time, either."
"That's where you're wrong, Little One. Now that you're with me, this kind of shit will happen all the fucking time." Eden bites my ear lobe and I turn to mush. I barely have enough cognizance to say;
"The impromptu hotel stays part, or the coming home to empty apartments part?"
"The, I'm going to make you come whenever I feel like it, part."
"But that's nothing new," I giggle as he carries me to the kitchen bench. "All our stuff is still in the hall."
"This is more important."
My earlobe is back between his teeth in seconds, and my reasoning never stood a chance.
Not that I wanted it to.
Not that Ieverwant it to.
Saturday November 18th
"Yep. See ya." I wave to my customer as they walk towards the door, and as soon as it's closed behind them, I launch myself in my chair towards the reception desk—the wheels clacking across the tiles. "Move it," I say, bumping Carey out from in front of the computer before standing up. Taking the mouse, I mark myself unavailable for the rest of the day.
"The hell are you doing?"
"Clocking off early."
"It's only two."
"And you're still not my boss… Maww." I tap him sarcastically on the cheek. "I'll see you again soon. In the meantime, you get to hang out with this pair." I gesture towards Tek and Reeze, still working at their stations.
Reeze flips me the bird, and I blow him a kiss.
Bringing him back and making him a partner was one of the best ideas I ever had.
Well, it was my idea to bring him back, it was Tek that insisted on making him partner. Though a lot of his buy-in was comped on account of his destroyed equipment and bike, but it was a small price for me to pay. He fucked up, but I handled it like a child.
It was surprisingly easy for us to settle back into the same routine we always had, except with Carey at the desk. And I take full responsibility for the amazing shop manager he turned out to be. Because Tek was right, I don't know what the fuck we had been paying Shawn to do for all those years.
We've got a merch line. An online store. And Carey's got half the shop set up like a damn art gallery, but, fuck me, the shit sells. It doesn't matter what it is, the kid will frame anything. I'll throw a sketch in the trash and the next day it's in some rusty frame he found at a thrift store.
Riding my chair back to my station, I take my phone, wallet, and keys out of the top drawer.
"Six forty-five for the shuttle, yeah?" I ask Tek as I stand, then take my jacket off the back of my chair and put it on.
