Page 22 of Heaven on Earth

Hearing the excitement in my dad’s voice made me instantly regret balking at calling him. “Fine, I guess.”

“Is something wrong?”

“No, not exactly.” I sighed. “I’m just still looking for a job. So, how about you and mom? Are you guys doing okay?”

“We’re fine, but we miss seeing you every weekend. So, did I hear you right that you still haven’t found a job there?”

“That’s right. I was actually thinking I might take you up on that offer to loan me some money — just for a couple of months, of course. I don’t want to dig myself into a hole that I can’t climb out of, you know?”

“Oh, your mom will be thrilled to hear that. She wanted me to send some money to you anyway, even though you said no last time. You know, Ryan, you can always come back home, too. Your room is just the way you left it back when you left for college, and it wouldn’t cost you a thing in rent.”

I smiled. “Yeah, I know, Dad. I’d like to stay here, though. I, um, I met someone about a week ago.”

“Really? What’s her name?”

My heart sank. Of course he assumed it was a woman, and I couldn’t tell him the truth over the phone separated by hundreds of miles. “Ciel.”

“That’s a pretty name. Is she nice?”

I laughed nervously. “Yeah. You know I wouldn’t date anyone who wouldn’t live up to the meet-the-parents test.”

“Well, let’s put her to it, then.”

I could tell that my dad was thrilled. Why wouldn’t he be? I couldn’t tell him who Cielreallywas, though. “I’ve only known Ciel for a week, so maybe we should wait on that,” I said quickly.

“Nonsense. We want to take a trip over to see you anyway. You can show us around town, we can meet…Ciel, was it? And we can give you the money in person then. It’ll work out great. Just wait until I tell your mom!”

I took a deep breath. It was too late to walk things back, so I simply agreed and told Dad I had to go. My coffee was done, but I couldn’t even stand the sight of it anymore; my stomach was tied in so many knots.

The next task was to call Ciel and explain to him what I’d gotten us both into. I still had no idea how I was going to introduce him to my parents or, better yet, not introduce him, but I would come up with something.

He looked feminine enough at first glance to pass as my girlfriend, but his voice gave it away. Then there was the whole angel aspect that was impossible to hide, though I doubted that would bother my parents much. They would be too hung up on the fact that, despite being straight as an arrow, I was dating a guy for some reason — more than dating him, actually, but that was a bridge I could cross later.

I dialed Ciel’s number and waited impatiently, pacing around the kitchen while it rang.

“Come on, pick up,” I said under my breath. “Ciel, you goddamned liar–"

“Hello, Ryan.” Ciel’s soothing, bell-clear voice rang through the other end.

“Oh, uh, hi, Ciel. I’m glad you answered.”

“Yes, I gathered as much.”

“Listen, I need to talk to you about something.”

“Oh, excellent. I was going to ask you to come over today anyway. If you’re feeling better, we have some unfulfilled tasks that need to be taken care of.”

His voice was so smooth, so beguiling, it was hard to resist his charms even over the phone. I needed to tell him about my parents’ misunderstanding about our relationship, but even though that was my entire purpose for calling him, it suddenly didn’t seem to matter as much.

“All right,” I said, surprising even myself by how quickly I agreed to Ciel’s plans. “I was going to tell you what’s up right now, but it can wait.”

“Mm, yes, I’m sure it can. Now, hurry up and get dressed. I expect you to be at my house before lunchtime. Do you understand?”

“What? How did you know I was–"

“Never mind that. Get to work; the clock is ticking.”

I hung up, standing in the kitchen staring out the tiny window above the sink for a few minutes before springing into action. I heeded Ciel’s words carefully, and I was out of the apartment well before noon, though the walk to his house would eat up most of that time.