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I hadn’t washed my hair, so I gave it a quick brush before doing my skincare. Then, belly jumping with excited nerves, I left my bedroom and went downstairs. As I reached the bottom step, I heard a sound in the kitchen, so I headed that way to find a very, very tired and grumpy-looking Greid standing at the open fridge, wearing—
“Is that a tent?” I asked, staring at the huge fall of soft, dark fabric covering him all the way to his ankles. It had sleeves. And a hood, which was pulled up over his head.
Greid froze with a spoonful of yoghurt halfway to his mouth. He cleared his throat and narrowed his eyes at me. “It’s not a tent. It’s a… It’s just a blanket onesie thing.”
My mouth twitched as I took a step closer and cocked my head. “I thought onesies had legs as well. That’s just a tent. I could literally sleep comfortably under there, it’s so huge.”
Greid’s face spikes went crazy at that, and I suddenly wondered if—shit, maybe he didn’t have anything on under there. Thick white socks covered his feet, and I thought I could see a hint of grey sweat cuffs peeking out from under the tent, but…
Then I suddenly wondered, was he comfortable enough with me yet for any kind of teasing? Immediately feeling guilty, I said, “Sorry, I was just joking. It looks super comfortable. I kind of want one.”
Greid grunted and shovelled the yoghurt into his mouth, then closed the fridge and dumped the pot in the trash.
“How come you’re up?” I asked, sidling over to the butcher’s block and watching as he rummaged through a cabinet. “I thought you said you usually slept in late.”
“I didn’t want you to wake up and feel all weirded out.” He sounded so disgruntled that I couldn’t help but smile. Greid was not a morning person. “Fuck. I’ve run out of coffee.”
I perked up. “Hey, I noticed a coffee place nearby when we were driving yesterday. On the next street over. Have you been there?”
“You mean Deep Brew?” Greid shrugged, rubbing his eyes. “Yeah. It’s pretty good.”
“Maybe… Could we go there for coffee?” I picked at the edge of the butcher’s block. “Or if you have to start work, I could go and get us some.”
I had a little bit of cash from my last paycheque, and I wanted to treat Greid. The thought of going out there alone did make me kind of nervous, but I didn’t let Greid see it. He wasn’t my babysitter.
“I’m not working today, so sure. We can go.”
“How come you’re not working?”
“Finished up the last of my most recent orders the other day, and I don’t have to start the new ones yet.” He shrugged, but looked a little shy as he added, “Plus, I thought… I didn’t know if you’d want to go out and explore the city a bit today.”
God, he was so sweet. I smiled widely at him to show my appreciation. “That sounds great. Thank you. For taking the day off to keep me company. You didn’t have to.”
“Oh, it’s my problem.” He cringed. “I mean it’s my—That was, uh, a mix of it’s my pleasure and it’s no problem.”
I laughed. “Okay, well, I’m ready to go when you are.”
“Sure, just let me get dressed.” He shuffled past me in his big, soft tent and vanished.
Once I’d heard his bedroom door shut, I went back upstairs to grab some of the money tucked into the side pocket of my suitcase. After slipping it into my pants pocket, I used the bathroom and checked my hair in the mirror before opening my door.
Greid was just coming down from his workshop, and there were several parcels neatly packaged in brown paper and tied with black string cradled in his arms. But what caught my attention was the sharp three-piece suit he was wearing, just like the first day he’d appeared at the compound. My pulse fluttered.
“You look nice.” Nodding at the packages, I asked, “What’re those?”
“Some orders that need shipping. I normally get a courier to come here and collect them, but seeing as we’re going out anyway…”
I nodded. Then, against my will, my eyes drifted over to the closed door beside him. The mysterious closet door.
Greid followed my gaze and coughed awkwardly, then strode for the stairs. “Ready?”
“Yeah.” What was in that fucking closet? Was it weird? Embarrassing? Serial killer-adjacent?
Greid set down the parcels by the front door to pull on his boots while I slipped into my sandals. As he grabbed his keys and unlocked the door, I asked, “Do you always dress so nicely when you go out?”
He glanced down at his suit as he held the door open for me. “Um, yeah. I guess… it’s kind of like armour. So no one knows what a total mess I am.”
I frowned as I stepped outside into crisp autumn air and bright sunlight. “You’re not a mess at all. You have a beautiful house and a really good job. And great taste in TV,” I added with a grin, nudging his arm.
