Page 18
Story: Petty AF
“Believe it or not, I like it when you tease me mercilessly,” he admitted, tone playful but threaded with sincerity.
I softened my grip and traced my thumb across the soft skin of his inner wrist in slow, deliberate circles. “You can stop me anytime you want.”
The corners of his mouth twitched, and for a moment, he looked torn between a grin and a scowl. “You and I both know that’s not going to happen.”
The heat in his gaze burned bright, sending a jolt of lust straight to my cock.
Before either of us could say more, our server arrived with the pizza. The spell broken, River blinked and pulled his hand away, sinking back into his seat with a flustered laugh.
I smirked, letting the silence settle between us for now, allowing him this small reprieve. But I hadn’t finished with him yet.
In fact, if I had my way, we were just getting started.
seven
~ River ~
Againstmybetterjudgment,I returned to work the following week.
Did I think it was a good idea? Absolutely not. I had bills to pay, though, and even loyal, long-time clients wouldn’t wait around forever for me to get my life together.
I had also been slowly coming to the realization that I had no idea how long I’d be stuck with this…condition. Maybe it would wear off in a few weeks. Maybe it would be something I had to deal with forever.
Either way, I couldn’t outrun it, so I might as well start figuring out how to live with it.
Spending the day with my best friend at the studio, despite not having any clients on the books for the day, seemed like a good way to start. Otto and I rarely disagreed, and he didn’t need a curse to be openly sarcastic.
More importantly, he didn’t offend easily. So, even if I said something out of line, he’d probably just laugh and clap back twice as hard.
I found Otto in his office, leaned back in his chair, feet propped up on his desk with his laptop perched on his thighs. It looked uncomfortable as hell.
“Someone should invent a sturdy surface for a computer. It would be really convenient, don’t you think?”
“Well, well,” he sang, popping his head up and grinning as I entered the room. “Look who finally decided to be productive.”
“Don’t get used to it,” I quipped back, dropping my messenger bag to the floor beside the door. “I’m just here for moral support and to remind you that you’re still a disaster.”
Closing his laptop, he dropped it onto his desk with about as much care as one might show a crumpled tissue and bounced up from his seat. “I’ll have you know that this disaster finally got his application to the Spellbound Expo accepted.”
“Shut the fuck up!” I shouted, my excitement bubbling over. “Are you serious?”
Otto rounded the desk, his smile beaming from ear to ear. “I just got the email.”
“Oh, my god!” Looping my arm around his neck, I dragged him into a crushing embrace. “I’m so proud of you!”
Asthebiggest convention in the magical beauty world, the Spellbound Expo drew both humans and shadelings from all over the world. According to Otto, it was also highly exclusive, with fierce competition for even the smallest table in a shadowed corner.
He had spent the past six years trying to get noticed, to get his foot in the door. He’d worked his ass off, and now, the right people had finally taken notice. While I didn’t understand anything about the different types of foundation or why it mattered, I recognized the importance.
“I’m really happy for you.”
Otto pulled back from the hug, his cheeks flushed and his hair slightly mussed. “Thanks, but now I have to figure out how the hell I’m going to pull this off.”
I leaned against the desk with a raised eyebrow. “What’s the problem? You’ve got the talent, the products, and most importantly, you have me. What else is there?”
“Time. Money. Enough caffeine to keep me alive for the next three months.”
Otto began to pace, gesturing wildly with his hands as his earlier excitement gave way to a sort of frantic nervousness. As someone who had lived it, I knew exactly how he felt.
I softened my grip and traced my thumb across the soft skin of his inner wrist in slow, deliberate circles. “You can stop me anytime you want.”
The corners of his mouth twitched, and for a moment, he looked torn between a grin and a scowl. “You and I both know that’s not going to happen.”
The heat in his gaze burned bright, sending a jolt of lust straight to my cock.
Before either of us could say more, our server arrived with the pizza. The spell broken, River blinked and pulled his hand away, sinking back into his seat with a flustered laugh.
I smirked, letting the silence settle between us for now, allowing him this small reprieve. But I hadn’t finished with him yet.
In fact, if I had my way, we were just getting started.
seven
~ River ~
Againstmybetterjudgment,I returned to work the following week.
Did I think it was a good idea? Absolutely not. I had bills to pay, though, and even loyal, long-time clients wouldn’t wait around forever for me to get my life together.
I had also been slowly coming to the realization that I had no idea how long I’d be stuck with this…condition. Maybe it would wear off in a few weeks. Maybe it would be something I had to deal with forever.
Either way, I couldn’t outrun it, so I might as well start figuring out how to live with it.
Spending the day with my best friend at the studio, despite not having any clients on the books for the day, seemed like a good way to start. Otto and I rarely disagreed, and he didn’t need a curse to be openly sarcastic.
More importantly, he didn’t offend easily. So, even if I said something out of line, he’d probably just laugh and clap back twice as hard.
I found Otto in his office, leaned back in his chair, feet propped up on his desk with his laptop perched on his thighs. It looked uncomfortable as hell.
“Someone should invent a sturdy surface for a computer. It would be really convenient, don’t you think?”
“Well, well,” he sang, popping his head up and grinning as I entered the room. “Look who finally decided to be productive.”
“Don’t get used to it,” I quipped back, dropping my messenger bag to the floor beside the door. “I’m just here for moral support and to remind you that you’re still a disaster.”
Closing his laptop, he dropped it onto his desk with about as much care as one might show a crumpled tissue and bounced up from his seat. “I’ll have you know that this disaster finally got his application to the Spellbound Expo accepted.”
“Shut the fuck up!” I shouted, my excitement bubbling over. “Are you serious?”
Otto rounded the desk, his smile beaming from ear to ear. “I just got the email.”
“Oh, my god!” Looping my arm around his neck, I dragged him into a crushing embrace. “I’m so proud of you!”
Asthebiggest convention in the magical beauty world, the Spellbound Expo drew both humans and shadelings from all over the world. According to Otto, it was also highly exclusive, with fierce competition for even the smallest table in a shadowed corner.
He had spent the past six years trying to get noticed, to get his foot in the door. He’d worked his ass off, and now, the right people had finally taken notice. While I didn’t understand anything about the different types of foundation or why it mattered, I recognized the importance.
“I’m really happy for you.”
Otto pulled back from the hug, his cheeks flushed and his hair slightly mussed. “Thanks, but now I have to figure out how the hell I’m going to pull this off.”
I leaned against the desk with a raised eyebrow. “What’s the problem? You’ve got the talent, the products, and most importantly, you have me. What else is there?”
“Time. Money. Enough caffeine to keep me alive for the next three months.”
Otto began to pace, gesturing wildly with his hands as his earlier excitement gave way to a sort of frantic nervousness. As someone who had lived it, I knew exactly how he felt.