I smiled. “Sure. We’ll have time, right?”
“Yeah. The bank’s just at the next stop on the subway. Few minutes’ walk from the station.”
“Okay.” I hovered at the bottom of the stairs while he stood outside his bedroom door. “See you in a little while, then. Are you sure you don’t mind coming with me?”
“Of course not.” He tried to suppress another yawn as he said it.
I laughed and turned for the stairs. “Let’s hurry so we can get coffee as soon as possible.”
I didn’t feel as tired as I’d thought I would after trying shade for the first time. I really had slept well, curled up in that little nest with Greid. By the time I was freshened up and dressed in clean clothes, I felt wired and jumpy at the thought of speaking to a bank manager.
I met Greid in the front hallway, smiling when I saw him dressed in one of his sharp three-piece suits with his hair tied back in a somewhat tidy knot. I could hardly believe I’d left him down here just fifteen minutes ago all rumpled and mussed from sleep.
He looked so handsome. But still tired, his yellow eyes heavy. He held up my coat for me, so I slipped it on quickly, determined to get him some coffee as soon as possible. And—ugh—one of those blood tart things that he liked so much.
I left Abyss and hurried down the street, grinning when I saw Greid waiting for me at a little table outside Deep Brew.
I’d told him he could go straight home when we got back to the Cimmerian District from the bank, but he’d said he wanted another coffee, so he’d waited for me while I went into Abyss to speak to Mani.
He was hunched over his phone, two takeout cups on the table in front of him, but looked up as I crossed the street to reach him. Standing up in a rush, he pocketed his phone. “How did it go?”
“All good.” I grinned at him, excitement and nerves swirling in my belly. “My trial shift is tomorrow.”
“Oh wow. Awesome.” He handed me my coffee, then picked up his and edged out from the table. “What time?”
“Just four ’til seven. Mani said it will give me time to get the hang of things but also let her see how I handle the start of the evening rush.”
“You’ll handle it fine,” Greid said with utter confidence as we started heading home. “Do you have to wear all black or something? Seems like the kind of place to make you do that.”
I laughed. “Yes, actually. Luckily I have some black clothes that should be fine.”
“Do you, um…” Greid ducked his head. “Do you want me to come and meet you at the end of your shift? To walk back, I mean. It’ll be dark by then.”
“Yes, please,” I said quickly, then grinned up at him. “We could get dinner on the way home.”
He perked up. “Ooh, yeah. There’s a really good Japanese place down the street that doesn’t deliver. I’m always too lazy to come pick it up, so I don’t get it very often.”
I laughed. “Sounds good. Um… hey, if you’ve finished work by four, could you… Do you mind maybe walking me there as well? Just so I’m not silently panicking the whole way before I even get there.”
“Yeah, of course,” he rushed out. “No problem. But you’ll be great, Beryl. If anyone can handle drunk assholes, it’s you. Just look at them the way you looked at me that day at the compound.”
I burst out laughing, memories of last night rushing to the surface and making my chest grow warm. “Like I would tear your balls off if you came near me?”
Greid cleared his throat. “Yeah. Uh-huh. That way. It’s effective.”
Grinning, I sipped my coffee. “Better try and tame my hair so it looks somewhat presentable.”
He glanced over, yellow eyes running over my wild frizz as his ears fluttered. “Looks fine to me.” Lifting his cup, he mumbled, “Looks nice.”
Warmth flooded my cheeks as I remembered him saying last night that he liked my hair. I didn’t dislike my hair, but it wasn’t a beautiful red or auburn that magically fell into perfect curls. It was more like a pale, washed-out orange that tended to stick out in a frizzy mess unless I tamed it with a lot of time and product.
But Greid liked it.
He glanced down at me as we turned onto our street. “Excited?”
“Yeah, but nervous. I think I might work out today to try and burn off some of this anxious energy.”
He grunted, lip curling. “Have fun with that.”
I laughed. “I actually miss it. It’s been nice having a break over the last couple of weeks, but I can feel myself getting antsy. I’m not used to being so sedentary.”
“Being sedentary is the best,” Greid declared. “It’s my mission in life to be as sedentary as possible.”
I grinned up at him wryly. “The mission seems to be going swimmingly.”
“I try my best. I’ve put a lot of hours in.” He gestured for me to go first up the porch steps as we reached the house. “But I should probably start work.”
“Sorry for taking up your morning,” I said ruefully as I unlocked the door.
“Nah, it’s all good. Might lodge a complaint with my usual coffee delivery person though, seeing as I had to actually leave the house and go get it myself this morning.” He nudged the back of my head as he followed me inside. “Unacceptable.”
I snorted as I unbuttoned my coat. “Your complaint has been noted.”
Greid toed off his boots, revealing bright green socks. “Gonna go get changed then start work.”
“Okay.” I headed for the stairs. “See you later.”
He stopped outside his bedroom door, fiddling with his coffee cup. “If you get bored later, after your workout, you could—Um, you’re welcome to come and mess around on the computer upstairs. If you want.”
I grinned at him. “Sure. I might even bring you lunch.”
His eyes brightened. “I won’t let you in if you don’t. Are you gonna make eggs?”
I snorted, putting one foot on the bottom step. “I should probably learn to make something else.”
“I like your eggs.” He blinked. “That sounded weirder than I thought it would.”
Laughing, I started heading upstairs. “See you later, Greid.”
“Later, berry,” he said slyly, but I was too far up the stairs to poke my head down and shoot him a mock glare.
Once in my room, I quickly got changed into my workout clothes from the compound and tied my hair back in a high ponytail. Heading back downstairs, I went into the kitchen and began searching the cabinets for a bottle I could use. While I was in there, I heard Greid leave his bedroom and shuffle upstairs to start work.
The basement was cold, making my bare arms prickle as I descended the stairs. Stepping onto the treadmill, I turned on the TV after spotting the remote sticking out of the machine’s cupholder and replacing it with my water bottle.
As I stared up at the huge wall-mounted TV, I smiled to myself as I imagined Greid down here half-heartedly cycling on the bike, more interested in what he was watching than actually exercising. Probably eating something at the same time.
I felt a little sluggish as I started a slow jog to warm up. After a few ads for a fancy perfume, a sugar-laden cereal designed to look like dirt and gemstones for demiurgus kids, and a trailer for a sappy romantic comedy being released soon, the channel’s logo appeared on the screen.
A smooth, chirpy voice said, “Coming up later, the case of a human woman who risked it all to travel to Deep Earth, and claims she actually managed to get there, in our exclusive docuseries, What I Saw Beneath the Surface. But first, back to our all-day marathon of the cult classic drama series, Gloom Falls.”