“Of course. Go tell your demiurgus your news.” I could hear the smile in her voice. “I love you, Beryl.”

“Love you too. Speak soon.”

After hanging up, I grabbed the food and thanked the guy before leaving the restaurant. By the time I was running up our porch steps, I was bursting with the need to tell Greid. The moment I stepped inside, I dumped the bag on the console table and wriggled out of my coat.

“Greid!” I shouted, yanking my boots off. “Greid!”

I heard a crash from way above. A few seconds later, Greid was stumbling down the stairs, almost slipping on the bottom step.

“What’s wrong? What happened?” he asked frantically, yellow eyes wide as he looked me over.

I laughed. “Nothing’s wrong. I… I might have a job.”

He stared at me for a second. And then, before I knew what was happening, he’d shot forward and lifted me into his arms. My legs dangled in the air as he squeezed me tight, and without really thinking about it, I wrapped them around his waist and hugged him back hard.

“I’m so happy for you, Beryl,” he said as I tightened my arms around his neck and buried my face in his hair, eyes squeezing shut so I could savour this. God, he smelled so good. He wasn’t even wearing his tent anymore, but he was still so warm and comfortable against me.

And I’d wanted to hug him for so long. And now… yeah, now we were definitely hugging. All my limbs were wrapped around him like a spider monkey, and after a few moments we both seemed to realise it.

I loosened my hold on him as Greid cleared his throat and gently set me down. My face warmed as I slid down his long body, and his ears wouldn’t stop fluttering against his hair.

“Um. Congratulations.” He swallowed and gave me a big grin, but he still looked a little… something. I didn’t really know what. “That’s amazing, Beryl. You didn’t tell me that was why you went out.”

I choked out a laugh. “It wasn’t, but I saw the sign in the window and just thought… fuck it. I’ll try.”

The nerves bled out of his face as he grinned wider and gently nudged my arm. “See? I told you. Brave.”

Only because you made me feel brave. I didn’t voice it, knowing it would expose too much. Instead, I grinned up at him and said, “And I bought you food. Big day for Beryl, huh?”

He waved a hand. “Fuck the food. Actually—no.” He grabbed the bag and turned for the living room. “Come and tell me about it while we eat. Where is it?”

“A bar called Abyss,” I said as I followed him. “Just down the road. Not far.”

“Abyss?” He glanced back with an impressed look. “Fancy place. Where all the yuppies go.”

I snorted. “I’ve heard. Have you been there?”

His shoulders hunched as he sat down on the couch and pulled open the bag. “A few times, yeah. Not for a while. Agma made me go.”

“Well, I can tell you about all the drunk yuppies I encounter after my trial shift.” I sat down beside him and grinned as he handed me a paper-wrapped taco.

“You’ll be great,” he said firmly, then stuffed an entire taco in his mouth, bits of shell falling onto his shirt. “You can handle them.”

I laughed, slowly unwrapping my taco. My hands were still trembling a bit, but now I wasn’t sure if it was because of the almost-job or the hug. “Can we do something tonight? I want to finally try shade. Celebrate in style.”

Greid’s eyes lit up. “Fuck yes. We’ll order a big dinner so you don’t steal all my food once you’re high and super hungry.”

“What?” I burst out laughing. “You don’t consider the amount we usually order big?”

“Not like big big. We’re gonna need a lot. But you won’t need to smoke much to feel it.” He grinned over at me slyly. “Tiny human.”

I punched him lightly on the arm, and he snickered as he unwrapped his quesadilla before tearing off a giant bite.

OceanofPDF.com

Chapter Nineteen

Greid

“Food’s here!” I yelled up the stairs, a lit joint already hanging out of my mouth.

After opening the door and accepting the two huge bags from the delivery guy, I kicked it shut and yanked the joint out of my mouth.

“Beryl!” I yelled, smoking curling out of my nostrils. “Food’s here! Food!”

“Coming!” I heard her faintly call back as I went into the living room.

Smoking the joint hands-free—a skill I’d mastered years ago when I was feeling too lazy to even lift my arms—I sat down on the couch and started pulling out the food. Beryl had chosen Thai, but I’d also ordered us a pizza and two giant subs for later.

If she actually did end up smoking tonight, she’d want the sub. I knew this for a fact.

I would also want the sub.

I only ate a single spring roll as I waited for her to come down, which was incredible self-restraint on my part. Getting comfortable back under my blankets, I got the next episode of Our Neighbours the Humans cued up on the TV. We were almost caught up with it now, ready for the next season to come out soon. I wondered what Beryl would want to watch after.

She appeared a few minutes later with damp hair, wearing her onesie and giant slippers. I’d sneakily ordered her a pair in her size, but they hadn’t turned up yet. I was pretty sure I’d ordered something else recently, but I couldn’t remember what.

Beryl froze at the sight of all the food laid out on the coffee table. “Greid. What the fuck.”

“You’ll get hungry!” I said defiantly, sneaking another spring roll now that she was here. “Trust me.”

She snorted, rounding the coffee table to sink down onto the couch beside me. I immediately handed over her pad Thai then grabbed mine. Beryl had decided to try shade after eating so she had a full stomach. It was probably a sensible idea, but it wasn’t like it was going to stop her wanting more food.

Sucking down the last of my joint, I stubbed it out and pressed play on the remote, then waved away the smoke in the air with a sheepish apology. We settled back to eat in comfortable silence, occasionally chuckling at whatever unfunny thing the Aktonars and Smiths were doing on screen.

The moment Beryl set down her empty container with a sigh, I shovelled in the rest of my noodles and reached for the thin joint I’d rolled earlier. Glancing at Beryl, I saw her staring at it before she lifted her eyes and gave me a tiny, nervous smile.

“Hey, you know what we could have instead?” I said lightly, because I didn’t want to make her feel silly if she’d changed her mind. Leaning over the side of the couch, I grabbed the bottle of champagne I’d hidden there and lifted it.

“I ran out and grabbed this while you were in the shower,” I told her sheepishly. “For, um. You know. To celebrate.”

Her green eyes softened, and she briefly touched my arm as her gaze darted between the joint and the bottle. They were both equally new to her, so I wasn’t sure which would seem more daunting.

“No,” she eventually said, tone stubborn. “I said I wanted to try shade tonight, and I do. You’ll make sure I don’t smoke too much, right?”

“Of course.” I put the bottle back on the floor. “We can have that another night, if you want.”

“Maybe if I actually get the job?” she asked with a grin, then squeezed my arm. “Thank you, Greid.”

“You’ll get the job.” I picked up the matches. “Okay, so it might burn a little at first. Hold it in your mouth while you take a drag and then inhale slowly. Then hold it in your lungs for a few seconds before you breathe out. It might make you cough, which, yeah, will definitely burn. Hold on.”

I got up and went into the kitchen to grab us some sodas from the fridge, passing one to her as I sat back down. “Shade works faster than weed, so only have a single toke at first to see how hard it hits you.” I grinned at her. “You might go a little loopy.”