Page 56 of Devil Bound
Mostly naked, I made my way to the small bathroom that lay behind a sliding door past my kitchen area.I didn’t have a hamper.I wasn’t even sure why.My old clothes always went into an old cardboard ramen box, and from there, I took them to the washer in the basement.This arrangement had felt safer given the fluids I encountered all too often, plus hamper shopping was something I’d never really considered for myself.
I tossed my underwear into the old ramen box as I turned on the water to let it warm up, then stepped under the stream to wash off the day—the smell of fire and human remains, the memory of Lily’s burned mouth talking.
I wasn’t sure whether I cried.I’d not known her well, hadn’t ever really tried to get to know her despite the fact that she was pretty much the only magic user I’d had regular contact with over the past few years.
“What a stupid fucking waste,” I mumbled, the water eating the sound of my voice.I leaned against the milky white tiles, just standing there while the steam fogged up the small room.Had it been like this for her, the smoke rising, biting her eyes and filling her nostrils?
Running from that thought, my frustrated mind went back to last night, Lucifer behind me, his Devil voice in my ear.I shivered, even under the hot stream.
With the memory of his hands all over me, a different kind of sensation rose within me, and I shook my head, leaning my forehead against the tiles.
“What about that amnesia?I should be working on forgetting him, not…whatever in the fuck this is.”
Blinking the water out of my eyes and looking at my own crotch, I knew perfectly well whatthiswas: a simple, physical reaction to undercaffeination and the sudden death of a colleague.Also stress.Stress was involved as sure as I knew how to kill zombies, and if this Lucy-boner wasn’t stress-related, I didn’t know what was.
Much like the Devil, I figured the best way forward was to ignore this physical reaction.Truth be told, cold water would’ve been good, but cold showers were a bit too extreme for me.I was really going to have to start focusing on ignoring anything and everything involving a certain immortal, and I imagined what I’d say to that smug ass of his—well, to his face, more like—if I ever happened to run into him again.
“Who are you?”I mumbled as I washed my hair, smirking at the frustration I imagined those words were going to cause him.
And Lucy deserved some fucking frustration.It wasn’t like he had it hard.It wasn’t like he’d had to talk to the burned remains of Dr.Lily at the beach.He was the Devil, wearing designer clothes and the most carefree attitude since the dawn of time, and like karma’s kick in the crotch, he deserved at least some fucking frustration.
I turned off the water and reached for my towel.The boner was still there, stubborn like the fucking Devil his own damn self, and at this point, there really wasn’t any other option.
I’d have to go out, get drunk, and get laid.It was going to be my amnesia fuck—as in, the sexual encounter that was going to give me amnesia if I had my way.Whether Mitch was going to be up for that I had no idea, but if nothing else, maybe I could carefully vent to him.Maybe he’d listen to me talk about Lily, and how I hated that I didn’t even know her.
As I towel-dried my hair, I realized this was exactly the right thing to do.I needed to let Mitch have his way with me in a bathroom stall, and then I never wanted to hear the name Lucifer again.
After that, Mitch and I could dance around each other or whatever was feasible, find some kind of casual or real relationship that worked for us.Something simple, something good.Maybe I’d find real happiness in there as well.
With my thoughts churning and my body aching for something it couldn’t have, I brushed my teeth and dried the shower stall, because mold was a real threat in this small space.I got dressed in my mismatched pajamas.I’d pick the outfit I was going to wear later on.
I made myself more coffee and found some leftover stir-fry in the fridge that was still good.I shoveled the food into my mouth at the multipurpose table before I dared pull out my phone to see if Mitch was still free and willing.Or if he was free.The willing part I’d navigate once I was face to face with him.Face to crotch?I was getting ahead of myself.
The earlier text from him, the one I hadn’t really had time to look at, I ignored.It was the polite kind ofHi, this is Mitch Lewis, should we meet for food and drinks tomorrow?text.At least he’d suggested drinks first, so no reason to feel awkward.
There was a new text from him, one he’d sent after I’d gone home on Christine’s orders.
Are you okay?
I pondered how to react to that for a good minute, licking the tines of my fork.
Dealing.I could go out for drinks later.Can you?Do you want to?
Meet me for drinks, I mean.
I re-read my texts, watching the three dots as he typed.Maybe I sounded like a big baby, but I couldn’t summon the energy to care.
But Mitch, it turned out, wasn’t bothered by my awkwardness.
The best tequila cocktails in the city are served at an Asian fusion restaurant, The Angry Dragon.Wanna meet there at 8?
Oh, how I wanted.Sexy Mitch had no idea how badly I wanted.He might just be the love of my amnesiac future, and if not that, then maybe at least a good friend and colleague with benefits.
I could handle that.I totally could.Casual was made for me.Cruelly, a ghost image flashed in front of my mind’s eye: Dr.Lily clicking her talisman pen and opening her mouth to ask, “Can you really?”
I was going to get drunk.I was going to get very drunk, and then I’d forget everything.
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