“Every prick soothes the soul. Being pricked every now and then doesn’t soothe your soul? Or do you prefer to do the pricking?” I give him a wink, which results in him thumping my forehead.
“Don’t ask such foolish questions.”
I can’t stop smiling at him as his face turns red from anger. It really is such a good distraction. “Very delectable.”
“What the fuck is?”
“Your face.”
I get a shove for that.
“Get that rodent off my white couch.”
“She’s white, your couch is white. How’d you even see her? Camouflage at its finest.”
Ellison takes a pillow and tries scooting her off the couch with it. She latches on to it with her teeth, so when he picks up the pillow, she’s hanging from it. He glares at the scene before handing me the pillow.
“That thing is feral.”
“She reminds me of you,” I say.
I watch as he glowers at the ferret who is staring angrily back at him. “There is absolutely nothing about that ferret that is even remotely comparable to me.”
“The demons agree with me.”
He scoffs. “Are you wearing that?”
I look down at my jeans and t-shirt. “I’m sorry, is this not fancy enough for a dinner in a prison with a man who thinks cheese is his lord and savior? Are you wearing a suit? I suppose I do feel underdressed. You look like you’re heading to a wedding or a funeral… oh no… is this the end? Will my demons pull me down into their bosoms?”
Ellison tugs the edge of his suit jacket then heads off without me but returns with a button-up that he thrusts into my arms. I assume this means he wants me to put it on, so I change my shirt as he watches.
Once dressed, I stuff Pocket Lint the Third, Esquire into my sleeve and hurry after him. When I get into the car, I slide into the passenger seat and roll down the window just enough I can aim my gun through it while he drives.
“Who’s out there now?”
“No one, I was just thinking about how punchable the guy you just drove past looked. You ever do that? Like when you’re talking to someone, instead of listening, you think of all the ways you could defeat them.”
“No. I think that’s something a serial killer says.”
“HA. I wouldn’t kill them. Nah… just shut them up… eternally.”
“You’re really not proving your point.”
I run my finger along the top of the open window. “I was told that every person you meet, you should know the best way to end their life before you ever interact with them.”
Ellison is quiet for a moment. “So all of us? You’ve thought about how to kill all of us?”
“I have. Landon… I would toss his book off a cliff. He’d dive off after it in a second. August would dive off to save Landon. Two birds, one book.”
Ellison looks over at me. “I refuse to laugh.”
I smile at him. “You don’t need to. I know I’m hilarious.”
“What about me?”
“Simple. I burn all your suits and leave behind a Speedo. You’d perish on the spot.”
“I can live without my suits.”
