“Maybe after the event, me, you and Birdie can plan on coming back to my place.”
“I’d like that,” he agrees, and we both portal back to our homes.
The instant the silence of my lonely home hits my ears, I regret not bringing him home with me.
Spending the day with a bunch of busy body cupids to prepare for this event tomorrow isn’t how I’d normally like to spend my day. However, the likelihood that I’ll get to boss people around and be around Gloom and Cupio while I do it is a positive.
I’m just about to leave my apartment when there’s a knock on my door.
No one ever knocks on my door.
It better not be some cupid soliciting some bullshit or else I’ll have to work on some sort of legislation with Cupio to ensure that solicitation is banned.
I swing open the door, fully prepared to ruin the person’s life on the other side. But when I open the door, there’s no one there. Just a large black box with a satin ribbon wrapped around it.
I glance down each side of the hallway and there’s no one there either.Peculiar.
If there’s something malicious in the box, I’m going to go nuclear. But curiosity gets the best of me, and I bring the box inside, setting it on the kitchen counter. There’s a black card with my name in silver script. I free it from the box and open the letter.
Ladybird,
The perfect dress for a goddess.
Yours,
Gloom
I smile and read the short card a few more times. But nothing prepares me for when I tug on the ribbon and take off the lid of the box. Inside is the most beautiful sparkly black dress. It reminds me of the night sky on Earth and I have to push a rogue tear away from my eye.
I feel seen.
Pink is a great color, and I really don’t mind it. But if I had a choice? It wouldn’t be my first one, but everything sold in Cupidale is pink.
The fabric feels luxurious against my fingers and as much as I’d like to try it on right now and never take it off; I hang it up on the back of my closet, admiring it for a few more moments before I have to spend the rest of the day outdoors.
There’s a pep in my step as I leave my building and head to the park. The swans are in full force. There are pink LED lights in the lake that make it look like we’re setting up for some psychedelic rave. But none of it matters.
To be frank, the party doesn’t even matter to me. I couldn’t care less about how it goes. All I care about is Cupio being happy with the event and not making a terrible impression on Gloom’s reaper friends who come.
Shit.
What if they think I’m not good enough for him?
“There she is,” Gloom’s voice startles me, and I turn around to face him.
It’s odd, this feeling I’m working through right now. If I had to describe it, I suppose I would use giddy, which is just as revolting as my earlier thoughts.
“Thank you for my dress,” I tell him, and his perfectly sculpted cheeks heat.
“You like it?” he asks, and I wonder if he feels just as insecure as me.
Maybe the three of us have just been alone for so long that none of us know how to act like normal people.
“I love it. You did an amazing job picking it out. I can’t wait to wear it tomorrow.”
He smiles and bites his lip. “I can’t wait to see you in it.”
“I’m in trouble with you,” I joke, and he comes to stand next to me, interlacing our fingers.
