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I could hardly believe my eyes once I checked. On my phone’s screen, in all caps, was the worst message I could have ever imagined receiving.
COVID-19 ALERT!
SPECIAL SECURITY MEASURES ARE NOW IN EFFECT. STARTING AT 8:00 PM THIS EVENING, ALL CITIZENS ARE TO GO INTO SELF-QUARANTINE UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE.
I could feel my heart break a bit. There was no way to continue with the internship. Not unless I worked from home, and it just wouldn’t be the same. Too much of the work was hands-on.
I also just liked being around Seth. That would have to come to an end, at least until this lockdown was over.
“Oh, dear,” Seth said, in his nonchalant way.
“I guess we’re done, huh?” I said, with only a slight crack in my voice.
“We don’t need to be.”
“Really?” I asked, unable to keep a squeaky tone out of my voice.
“We could both work from home,” he suggested. “The same home, I mean, if you agree to go into lockdown with me.”
“Is that, like, legal?”
“We could get a test if you want to be sure.”
“We can do that before tonight?”
“We can do it right now; I have medical staff on sight. There was an embarrassing amount of pretty grievous injuries back in the day,” he added, by way of explanation, because I was looking at him with an eyebrow raised. “No one died, thank God, especially since none of us had insurance, but I always promised myself that if I could, I’d have a medical department, just to make sure it never happened again.”
“Has it?” I asked him, my eyes too wide now for him to notice any raised eyebrow, I hoped. “Happened again?”
“Not like it used to, though there are still some instances here and there. Still, better safe than sorry.”
“That’s not what I thought you’d say,” I confessed.
“Oh, why is that?”
I could feel the heat rising on my cheeks. The last thing I wanted to do was insult or embarrass him, but I couldn’t really think of any way around it.
“I just figured things would be a bit more, you know.”
“Anarchic?”
“You took the word right out of my mouth.”
“They were at the beginning,” he admitted. “But more by circumstance than design. Sometimes I think I was born to be the responsible one. A sort of counter-balance to keep the others in one piece.”
“You seem to be doing a good job.”
“Thanks. I do what I can. So, what do you say, can you stand the sight of me for at least two weeks? And I could continue training you at my house.”
I loved the way he said that.
Training me.
At his house.
“Absolutely!” I said, a bit too enthusiastically. “I would just need to run home and get myself some clothes and stuff.”
“Tell you what. You do that, and I’ll call Harrison and get the tests set up,” Seth instructed me.
I nodded, and hastily made the round trip home, stuffing what I hoped was at least two weeks’ worth of everything I’d need into a duffel bag. I could barely think straight. I was really going to be locked down… alone… with Seth Black.
I probably overpacked, but I figured it would be better to err on the side of caution, and I even stuffed some of my favorite albums into a backpack, just to have them close.
Content with what I’d gathered, I rushed back to the office, and Seth whisked me downstairs to get tested.
Harrison, it turned out— much to my surprise, which I tried my best not to let show— was an awesome Punk babe about my age, who also happened to have a nursing degree. It must have been nice to work somewhere where no one would care if she wore her gear.
It wasn’t too extreme. No rubber skirts or leather lab coats, but her tribe alignment was very much on display in other ways. Particularly in her hair and make-up.
“You're all clear,” Harrison said, when the results came through. “Each of you.”
“Can I get that in writing?” Seth asked.
“Sure, I’ll have you both letters by the end of the day.”
“Thanks, Hari, you're the best.”
“You’re welcome, but remember— don’t call me Hari.”
She glared at him, clearly not afraid to piss off her boss. I admired her bravery. And her efficiency.
That was it. We’d both been tested and cleared, the clouds of doom rolling in over my mentorship clearing as soon as they’d gathered.
“Do you want the address, or will you ride with me?” Seth asked.
“With you,” I blurted out.
Despite my dirty mind that being around Seth seemed to have brought out in me, I didn’t even think about the double entendre of the word ‘ride.’ I just wanted to be close to him, and my car was safe in the staff parking garage, and it wasn’t like it was going to be checked anyway. Lucky thing, too, because I was about to get closer to him than I’d ever imagined.
