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Gwen had completely forgotten to box dye it the night before. She picked up the box, turning it over to read the instructions. Halfway through, Gwen suddenly stopped with a realization. She liked her pink hair—no, loved it. And the more she saw it, the happier it made her. Why bother dying it back to its ordinary shade?
Her boss would probably complain, granted Mary would do it as politely and as passive aggressively as possible. She’d likely reference something from the employee handbook.
I think I still have that thing…
Gwen found it twenty minutes later, stuffed beneath her laundry detergent above the washer. It was more a printout stapled together than anything resembling a book. She flipped to the section regarding the dress code and read it carefully. Then she read it again, and a third time just to make sure her eyes weren’t playing tricks on her. But to her surprise, there was no mention of dyed hair, only tattoos and piercings. That almost made her want to go get some. If Mary had an issue with her hair, Gwen would figure it out later.
She stuffed the employee handbook in her purse and frowned when she looked at the kitchen table again. Gwenbit her lip, squirming at the memory it invoked. Shereallydidn’t want to get rid of her kitchen table because of a one time mistake. A very pleasurable, but very bad, not good mistake.
That isn’t happening again,Gwen swore to herself.
Having sex with someone who was essentially her boss—Gwen flinched at even calling him that—was not a habit she wanted to get into. Even if Gwen brushed aside that one-sided dynamic from the equation, having sex with a literaldemonwasn’t on that list either. And while she had never entertained the idea of fucking someone she hated before, Gwen knew that was another layer to the mess they had made together.
The last thing she wanted to do wastalkabout it, but Gwen knew she needed to clear the air with him. Whenever he popped back up—something Gwen highly suspected would happen soon, whether she liked it or not—she would talk to him. Straight to the point, no nonsense.
Besides, whatever that was is just a distraction,Gwen thought.You gotta figure out what you want to do with that doll.
Ambrosius had told her to be good and finish the doll. Gwen wasn’t entirely certain why, now that she thought about it. He had said he needed a warlock—a monster to work for him. After last night, Gwen had no doubt that she was a monster now—or maybe she had always been one. It would explain why she could never manage relationships with people for very long.
Focus, Gwen,she thought as she pulled her work uniform out of the dryer.
The terms of their deal were mysterious to Gwen. She was fairly certain there was more there than what Ambrosius had said, more than the corporate jargon in the scroll. If his goal had been to simply make her a warlock, well, he had succeeded in that. So why did he want her tofinish the doll? Was it something like a final signature on a contract that Gwen needed to sign? Would it bind her to him for the rest of her life?
Thoughts swirled in her head as Gwen got dressed for work. Her hand instinctively reached for the heavy cardigan, but Gwen paused. It was supposed to be in the high eighties, and while Gwen was going to be inside, the bus had so-so AC.
Fuck it,Gwen thought.
Gwen shrugged on the ugly company polo, leaving the front unbuttoned. Instead of the usual pants, she swapped them for a pair of canvas shorts, tucking her shirt in. She checked her appearance with her phone.
Oh, good, I look like a summer camp counselor at best, and the start of a pinup story at worst.Gwen shook her head.
“Fuck it, they’re just tits. People can get over them,” Gwen said as she collected the rest of her things and exited her apartment.
When she locked the door, she spared a glance down the hall. The neighbor across from her had two packages waiting, and would finally be able to open them.
Good for them.
Dr. Crawford had been Gwen’s dentist off and on for the last five years now.
His practice was clean—though not overly fancy. It was part of what made him so affordable, considering her day job didn’t offer dental. Ordinarily, Gwen would bedisassociating as the dental assistant tied the pink bib around her neck, but Gwen was busy with something else.
The moment she had come into close contact with humans, Gwen had noticed those same strange sensations. It took her a moment on the bus ride to realize she was feeling the sensation of lust from a man across the aisle from her. The taste of acidic tomatoes and allspice had exploded on her tongue, and she felt her stomach turn. Gwen had turned her head toward the man and stared until that flavor shifted to shame and he averted his gaze.
It was strange to feel emotions that weren’t her own. If they didn’t taste like food, she imagined she would have a harder time realizing they weren’t hers. The man on the bus hadn’t been the first to direct lust her way, but Gwen was surprised to find that it tasted different with another human.
Peanut buttercups,Gwen realized even as the dental hygienist scraped against her teeth.
If emotions were just as different and varied in flavor as humans were, that meant not every person would be suitable to eat. Or at the very least, not taste good. Gwen had practically gagged at the flavor of fresh tomatoes. And how complicated would this become when Gwen had a craving? What if she ate someone’s happiness and it tasted like candy and she could never have it again?
What if I want—
Gwen didn’t finish the thought as the smell of fresh caramel apples hit her nose.
“Hey, how are you doing today?”
Gwen blinked. The dental hygienist that had been cleaning her teeth had gotten up, patting her on the shoulder. Had Gwen really been that out of it? She recognized the dental assistant perched to the side in front of a computer—she had been the one to fetch her from the waiting room. But when had this new stranger shown up?
Standing tall above her prone body was a white man, light skin, green eyes, and a friendly smile. He had dark blond hair that was swept away from his face in a stylish manner. Despite the dental garb, Gwen was pretty sure this man could have been a model.