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Seeing as a piece of lettuce had been the catalyst for Beryl kissing me for the first time. Thank you, lettuce. Pretty sure I’d never thought that before in my life.
She perked up. “That’s good, because I really want to try making ratatouille.”
I paused. “Isn’t that just vegetables, though?”
“Yeah.”
That sounded… less good than a stew that also had meat and gravy. But I cleared my throat and mumbled, “Sounds nice.”
Beryl chuckled, as if she knew I wasn’t so keen on that, then leaned forward to set her empty bowl down on the coffee table. “That was really good. I never knew how satisfying it was to eat a meal that you’ve made yourself.”
“Yeah. I mean, I wouldn’t know. The last time I attempted to cook was…” I cocked my head. “Trying to make shade brownies a few years ago. They were fucking awful. I don’t know what happened, but they did not get me high.”
“Well, my one attempt at baking didn’t go so well,” Beryl said thoughtfully. I stayed silent, trying not to remember the taste of those breakfast muffins. “But maybe I could try making shade brownies for you.”
“You don’t have to.” I scraped up the last bit of stew and leaned forward with a groan to put my bowl down, grabbing my smoking tin before sitting back. “Um, is it okay if I smoke?”
“What?” Beryl’s brows twitched. “Of course it is. You don’t have to ask for permission, Greid.”
I fiddled with the tin. “No, I know, but…”
Were we going to have more sex tonight? I wouldn’t say no to more sex. I’d forgo getting high for more sex.
As if she could tell what I was wondering, Beryl chuckled and leaned in to kiss my cheek. “Smoke and relax, Greid. You need a good night’s sleep.”
Okay, so no more sex tonight. Not that I felt like I needed it after how hard I’d come earlier, but… you know. That didn’t mean I’d turn it down if she made the offer.
I rolled a few joints for the rest of the evening, then lit one and waved the smoke away from Beryl as I let out a contented sigh. As we watched the movie, I shifted around at her insistence until I was stretched out along the couch and she was tucked up into my side, her head on my chest. I felt her ruck up my onesie until she could slip her hand underneath and rest it on my belly. She hooked a leg over my thigh, the press of it a pleasant weight against my balls, making my cock twitch lazily with interest. But I was happy just to lie there with her, warm and comfortable under the blankets.
God, I was so freaking happy.
When the movie ended, I felt around in the folds of the blankets for the remote. “What time are you working tomorrow?” I asked as I started scrolling through DemiTV.
“Late shift. Seven ’til one.”
“I’ll make sure I’m there by one to meet you.”
She lifted her head to smile at me. “You don’t have to. I know you’ll be working hard to get that headpiece finished tomorrow, so you might be tired. Ron and Kayr always offer to walk me home when they’re working, and I think one of them is tomorrow.”
“It’s okay. I’ll be up.” Of course I was going to meet her.
“Thanks, Greid.” She kissed my chest before settling her head back down. “You know, you don’t have to wait outside when you come to meet me. You could come in for a drink. I’m sure Mani would give you one on the house, given how much I talk about you.”
My belly warmed with pleasure at hearing that, but I winced at the thought of sitting by myself in a rowdy bar while Beryl finished up her shift. “I don’t mind waiting outside.”
“Okay,” she said easily, smoothing her palm up and down my stomach under my onesie.
“Unless you want me to go in,” I blurted, a stab of anxiety tightening my insides.
Beryl shook her head without lifting it. “Whatever you prefer, Greid.”
And just like that, the anxiety melted away. Agma had hated it when I’d waited outside somewhere to meet her when she’d been out with friends or work associates. More than once, she’d come out to hiss that I was being antisocial and embarrassing her, telling me to just go and be friendly for once.
I knew I shouldn’t keep comparing them, but it was hard not to. Beryl was just so different from Agma. She didn’t try and push me to do things I didn’t want to. She just accepted me as I was—an introverted goblin who preferred staying in because I got tongue-tied and anxious and mentally exhausted when I was out in public for too long.
Beryl was a lot more sociable than me, and I’d already worried that I wasn’t offering to take her out into the city enough. Or doing more than just spending our evenings chilling out together and watching TV. Maybe she wished we went out to bars or restaurants for dinner. Or to see shows or something. Maybe she just didn’t bring it up because she knew I wouldn’t want to.
“Do you want to maybe go out somewhere soon?” I said, unable to stop myself from threading my fingers through her curly hair. “Like, out to dinner or just for a drink. We could go to a different bar than the one you work at.”
