Sure, it was going to fail, that was obvious to anyone, but she didn’t have to act as though she knew it.
“This is everything I have,” she pressed, her brows inching toward each other as though she didn’t like the conversation.“I don’t have much.”
“Why not?”
“Why have more than I need?”
I frowned as I took in the one bag, which couldn’t possibly have enough clothes or goods for a person, right?It was good that we didn’t live in the cold, because a proper jacket sure as fuck wouldn’t fit in there.
Well, we got paid more than enough to get her anything she was missing.She’d have to accompany us on missions, after all, which meant if we got called away to Alaska or where-ever-the-fuck the Guild sent us, she’d need proper goods.
“I’m surprised you didn’t complain about staying here,” I pointed out instead of harping on her belongings—or lack thereof—anymore.“I figured you’d start talking about boundaries or something like that.”
“Believe it or not, I’m actually a competent guide.I know that staying close means I can offer better guiding, and not having to go far afterward is better for me.”
Because you’re going to be exhausted.That was the part she didn’t mention, but she didn’t have to.The reality was that if she refused any sort of physical guiding, then taking care of our squad was going to push her to her breaking point.
The reason for staying close often was that as guides and espers got more intimate, the odds that they’d end up having sex were almost hundred percent sort of thing.Living together made that all easier.
In her case, it was because she planned to run herself into the ground and didn’t want to drag her ass far to sleep when finished.
Which didn’t sit real well with me.
It was part of the whole esper thing, part of knowing that my life and sanity depended on guides, that I didn’t like to see one hurting.
Not my problem.
“Well, let me show you your room and do proper introductions.”I pushed away the thoughts, the questions, the unease.She just needed to do her job, and nothing else mattered.
The Guild would get off our asses and we could go back to our quiet little lives so long as this worked out.If we all knew where the others were coming from, if we accepted that this was strictly business, all the better for everyone.
I headed up the stairs, the soft strike of her sneakers against the steps telling me she followed.
I pointed at each door as we passed.“This is the bathroom, but each room has its own, too.This is Ingram’s room, here is Kenyon’s, mine, Shear’s, and yours is here.”
“Shear?”
“Right.He wasn’t there yesterday.Look, you’ll meet him at lunch today.”I figured that was the most that anyone needed to know at the moment.It was best not to push things too much by making her think about that nut job.
Instead, I went to open the door to her room, only to have it pulled out before I could get there.On the inside stood Kenyon, a huge, goofy grin on his face.
I was about to ask what he’d done—that smile said it was probably something that was going to annoy me—when I spotted a wad of towels on her bed.
What the fuck?
“It’s a swan,” Kenyon explained, gesturing with both his hands like he was some woman on a game show, his expression full of unearned pride.
And again, I was reminded that I was surrounded by idiots, even though by this point I should have grown used to it.
“It looks like a very sad blobfish,” Yun said before I could come up with anything.
Kenyon frowned, looking back at the atrocity.“Look, this is the body, this is the neck.”He set his hands on his hips, shoulders drooping.“It’s harder than the video made it seem.”
“Why would you even do this?”I asked.
“You said to get her room ready.I thought it would be welcoming, like at a hotel.”
“Is there candy on the pillow?”I rubbed my eyes as though that would take away the headache.
