Page 6 of His Forever

Marleigh rolled her eyes at Gray and stuck her tongue out at her cousin before she said, “Thanks for offering to help, Zeus. These two likely won’t let me do much of anything.”

“You’re right again, chica. You get to tell us where it goes.”

As the group went down to the truck and got the back opened, the first thing Marleigh saw was a queen-size bed. “Uh, Paulie? What’s this?”

“No arguments. None. You can’t sleep on a twin-size bed, chica, so we got you a new one. Once we’ve eaten, we’ll run to that Walmart I saw so you can get some new sheets and stuff. On us.”

“What? No. Nuh-uh. That’s too much, Paulie,” she argued.

“Nope,” both Paulie and Gray said.

“Fine. Thank you for your generosity. It wasn’t necessary, but I appreciate it.”

Multiple trips up and down the stairs soon had the truck unloaded, with the men moving the furniture where she wanted it while she unpacked boxes and made a list of everything she was going to need. Hearing a burst of laughter, she looked out into the living room to see Zeus walking in with a cat tree. “Um, I don’t remember owning one of those you two!”

“Well, we had a message from Harry and he asked if they could please have one.”

“He did, did he? Hmmm, I’m kind of suspicious about him messaging you Paulie. He’s a cat!”

“Oh hush now, you know we love your cats.”

She shook her head and went back to her list. Hearing steps behind her, she turned and saw Zeus. “Hey, mi siempre hermosa, would you and your cousin and his partner like to go down to the barbeque place for some dinner?” he asked as he smiled down at her.

“Are…are you sure? I mean, you worked this morning and are probably tired?”

“You worked too and I’m sure you’re just as tired but we have to eat, right?”

Paulie, observing the interaction, filed the way Zeus was looking at her away thinkingthere’s something there, she just doesn’t realize it yet.“Yo, chica! We’re down with some barbeque before we head back.”

“You’re going back tonight?”

“Yeah, we have a prior engagement tomorrow but we wanted you to have your stuff,” he told her.

“Well, then let’s go get something to eat so y’all aren’t on the road all night long!”

“Will you ride with me, Marleigh?” Zeus asked. “I know you’ve got to stop at Walmart and I do as well, so it’s not a problem.”

“Um, sure, let me grab my purse,” she replied.Why am I feeling this attraction? It’s not right! It’s too soon!

***

Dinner was a somewhat boisterous affair. It seemed like everyone knew Zeus and made a point to stop by their table. He introduced her to each newcomer, making sure they knew she was the new massage therapist at the salon. She ended up scheduling several appointments, grateful she had updated her calendar. They finally left with Paulie and Gray promising a visit soon after forcing her to take money for the bedding she would need for her new bed.

“Zeus, thank you for dinner,” she told him as they walked to his truck, where he helped her into the passenger side.

“My pleasure, Marleigh,” he replied.

As they rode to Walmart, they talked about their day and she told him how she had ended up with a good day because of what the clients had done. “They know a good thing, mi siempre hermosa,” he said. “In fact, I need to book one myself.”

“Really?”

“Si, I find it helps me after a long week of working on cars.”

“Well, um, do you have any particular preference for a day or time? I’m presuming you want later in the day?”

He glanced over at her and saw she had her calendar out looking at it. “Do you have anything late Friday afternoon?” he finally asked.

She looked at her calendar and saw she had a four o’clock and turned to him saying, “How would Friday at four work?”

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