Laiken isn’t wrong. When I was in school, I wasn’t made to feel like I needed to have a job over the summer or during breaks. But once I quit, Mom started pushing me to work.
I get it. No one wants a mooch. I didn’t want to live off my parents forever, either.
Why does being an adult have to be so hard?
“You know what’s great about working from home?” Laiken asks. I shake my head. “It opens you up to the possibility of finding jobs online from anywhere in the world. Or you can go to work for yourself if you can think of something you want to do. You could focus on getting involved in the community or volunteering. Anything you want, Lie.”
“I love you,” I whisper, tightening my arms around him. “So, so much.”
“I love you,” he answers. He huffs quietly. “Finally have the kind of love I’ve waited a lifetime for,” he muses. “I’ve waited so long for you, Lie.”
“I’m glad I didn’t have to wait as long as you did. You’re so old. I’m glad I still have a few years left before you stop being able to get it up.”
Laiken slaps my ass, and I jump, laughing. “Go quit your job and come home. I have a surprise for you.”
“Shouldn’t I be a good employee and give them two weeks’ notice or something?”
“I would normally say yes, but you don’t need them as a reference, nor will they find someone in two weeks because there’s no one to find. However, I hear the words out of my mouth and that I’m actively encouraging you to not show them some respect with a two-week notice, so… Yes, I thinkyou should. That’s the right thing to do. I’m proud of you for knowing that and not listening to me.”
“I can stick it out for two weeks,” I grumble, sagging against his chest again.
Laiken kisses the top of my head. “Finish your breakfast before it gets cold. I’ll walk you to the library.”
“Does that mean I’ll get my surprise early?”
“Nope. It’ll be worth the wait, though. I promise.”
“Did you get your cock pierced?”
Laiken looks at me with his eyebrow raised. “When would I have done that? You literally sucked my cock four hours ago, Lie.”
I grin. I totally did. Woke up horny and decided I wanted to choke on a fat summer sausage. I wiggle a little in my stool, still smiling, as I eat my now-cool omelet.
I can’t stall much longer, though, so I finish eating and Laiken walks me to the library. The trailer with the equipment I need for each job is always left at the site by the time I get there in the morning. I always wonder how early someone gets up to deliver these trailers around the island, so they’re there when the worker bees show up at the jobsite.
Maybe they do it the night before? No. They’re busy picking them up from that day. It sounds exhausting and all they’re doing is hauling trailers around.
I’m not cut out for manual labor. Or dirt. Or six hours of sun.
Laiken kisses me and heads home. He’s spending the day in meetings, which I feel is most of his days now. He still calls himself a bartender, but let’s be real. It’s been a while since he’s been able to get behind a bar, and I know he’s frustrated because of it.
I begin my shift by calling my boss and telling him I’m giving my two-week notice. He chuckles and tells me I’ve lasted far longer than he thought I would. I have a reputation, obviously.He’s a nice man who tells me I don’t need to give notice if I don’t want to. We agreed to meet in the middle, and I have just a week’s notice to work out.
There’s a misconception that I don’t feel guilty for leaving a job after a short period with no notice. I know that I’m letting people down. Not just the people who hired me, but the people who rely on whatever services I’m supposed to be doing.
Laiken is waiting for me by the trailer when I finally head back with my weed whacker. I’m too tired to even make an immature boy joke about whacking my weed. I dump it on the trailer and fall against his bare chest.
“One week,” I tell him. “He told me I could quit today, but I think I can stick it out for one week. I offered two weeks many times, but he thinks one will be fine. I appreciate him. He’s my new third favorite person.”
“Behind me and Cash,” Laiken says.
I nod. “Yep.”
“Let’s go home.”
“You have a surprise for me,” I say, grinning.
“Yes, but first I’m going to help you wash all the grass off you, though I kind of like the freshly mown and sunbaked smell on your sweet, supple skin. Then I’m going to show you my surprise.”
