He reaches away from me where the living room camera is hooked up and unplugs it to show me, before wrapping up the wire neatly. Then, he sets the camera in a nearby drawer.
“I don’t have any hidden cameras or anything like that, just in case you’re worried. Trust me. I’m not that unhinged.”
“If you say so,” I tell him.
“I do,” Lincoln replies.
“Yeah. But you are a liar, though,” I snip.
From the corner of his face, I see him roll his eyes. Son of a bitch. What is he rolling his eyes for? It’s not like I’m lying.
“Let me show you his food,” Lincoln says as he walks ahead. “I separated it via containers for the days. I don’t wanna overfeed him.”
“You realize I’m probably gonna break every rule that you write for him. Right?” I warn.
Lincoln turns around and smiles at me. “You know that’s why Walnut got so fat. Right? After you left him with me, he lost a bunch of weight.”
“Probably why he died,” I mutter.
“That’s fucked up, Gabby,” he says, serious now.
“I’m sorry. You’re right,” I answer quickly.
“So you can tell those horrible cringey jokes, but I can’t?” he asks, half-joking, though I can tell what I said hurt him.
“How were you when Walnut died?” I ask.
“I was destroyed. He’s the last thing that I—” He trails off. Then he turns fully to face me, putting his phone in his pocket and slipping both hands into his pockets. “He was the last… he was the last thing that I had left over from you. That was a, like, a symbol of us. Every time I looked at him, I… I don’t know. It was sad. Not just because I lost him,” he says, his eyes wary.
“Anyway, I gotta get to work,” he says after licking his lips and breathing in, collecting himself.
“When will you be home? Or… never mind,” I say.
“I should be home by ten o’clock tonight unless things get later,” Lincoln answers.
I want to ask him so badly if he’s going to see Sarah later, but I probably know the answer. It’s fucked up that I’m here watching his pussycat while he’s out there fucking the other. Weird. But whatever. I'm getting paid for it. He can fuck every woman in town if he wants to.
“Does Sarah know about this little arrangement?” I ask.
“No,” he replies.
“You don’t think she should? I mean, you do like hiding things from people. But considering the source of the person that you’re gonna be spending time with, under the circumstancesin which you now spend time with her outside of work, I would think you would tell her.”
Lincoln goes still for a minute, then starts taking off his pants, leaving himself in his boxers. Then he peels off his overshirt, revealing his naked abs. He’s put some weight back on; muscle weight. He’s so much more buff than he was when he was with me. Holy shit.
Why is he just undressing in front of me?
My eyes trail downward against my will. I can see the meat hanging there, half hard already.
Why is he half hard?
I want to laugh so bad.
You know what?
I feel like being evil.
Why should I be the only one losing my mind?
