“You think that because it’s new and you’ve never done it before. And the longer you put it off, the wilder your imagination gets. You just need to go in and get it over with. I promise. It will be…” I pause here. Because I want to tell her it’s gonna be great, but ‘great’ feels like a strong word.
“It will be what?” Pie asks.
“It’s going to be… interesting.”
She actually laughs, one eyebrow raised. “Interesting?”
“No. Fascinating.”
She sighs. “I guess it could be. Both interesting and fascinating.”
“It will be, Pie. How could it not? It’s a whole other world. And you won’t feel out of place. You have to be tired of being cooped up here at the sanctuary all day. In Tarq’s world, you can go out. And I can’t wait to hear all about it. Take lots of pics on your pocket phone.”
“Hmm. Do you think my phone will work there? Will I get roaming charges? Holy shit.” She pauses to stare at me. “I didn’t pay my bill this month. I need to pay my phone bill. And my car insurance. Holy shit. I’m late for everything. My credit score—”
I kiss her. Mostly to make her stop, but also just because she’s so damn cute.
Her bills. That’s adorable.
When we break apart, she sighs a little.
“Good news.”
“What good news? There’s no good news!”
“There’s always good news, Pie. You just have to look for it. And in this case, it wasn’t that hard to find. You don’t need money to pay your phone bill.”
She screws up her face. “I go into debt when I use the money.”
“Yeah, but that’s ‘this world’ debt. Which means you erase that debt by making me happy.”
She doesn’t want to grin, but she grins. “You’ve got a one-track mind this morning.”
“I do. And I’m not going to apologize for it.”
“We had sex last night.”
“We did. But I want it in the mornings too.”
She giggles, then reiterates her threat. “No sex on work days.”
“How about this? How about… if you go to work every day I’ll be here waiting for you when you get home. And every evening I will pamper you like a goddess. That also pleases me, Pie. So you get to be spoiled and erase debt at the same time.”
She sighs again. But this time she also smiles. “OK. Fine. I will go in to work today.”
“You will?”
She nods. “I mean…” Now she blushes. “I’m not gonna turn down being spoiled. Do you take requests?”
I nod, grinning wildly.
She points at me. “I will have demands, mister.”
“I can’t wait.”
But her plump mouth makes a little frown again. “Tell me I’m being dumb again.”
“What?”