I’m not sure what to expect from Cupio. Will he be jealous? Irritated? But I should have known better. Instead, a wide smile takes over his face, and he leans against the DJ booth.
“A swim, huh?” he asks.
“A naked swim,” Gloom says, nearly showing off. I like it more than I should.
“That hardly seems fair,” Cupio complains.
“You said slow,” I remind him.
He sighs, resting his chin on his hand and watching as I attempt to tie yet another balloon and fail with my nails.
“Birdie, I had a cupid asking about a job replacement and I don’t feel like it. Would you mind?”
I perk up immediately and I can see Gloom laughing and shaking his head out of the corner of my eye.
“Where are they?” I ask.
“Over by the big willow tree,” he replies.
I graciously get up from my despicable manual labor job and when I’m passing Cupio, he grabs my wrist and tugs me against his chest. My breath hitches as he leans down to whisper in my ear.
“I’m done taking it slow. Tomorrow night, you’re mine.” Cupio’s eyes meet mine, then he looks over to Gloom. “You’re both mine.”
I’m blinking at him wildly when he grins and lightly taps my ass. “Now go handle the annoying cupid. I’ll see you later,” Cupio says.
I leave feeling completely dumbfounded and like this might be the best day of my life. Well… except for tomorrow.
Iuse the pocket watch to travel directly to Cupio’s home, already wearing my outfit for the night. A simple black dress shirt, black belt, and slacks.
Candy is in the kitchen fussing about the way his pantry is disorganized, while wearing a sparkling pink ballgown.
“Candy, don’t you need to head to the party?” I ask, startling her as she moves around some soup cans.
“Goodness, you scared me Gloom. Oh, yes. I’ll go shortly,” she says and I can see right through her pink exterior.
“Are you nervous?” I ask her, and she puts the soup can down and sits down in her poofy, pink dress. I shut the door behind me and join her on the floor in solidarity.
“Am I that obvious? It’s just, there’s going to be a lot of new people there, far more beautiful cupids to choose from. Ones who aren’t neurotic, clean for fun, or accidentally made a man fall in love with a pool toy.”
“Do you know how many reapers would find that absolutely charming?” I tell her.
Her big pink eyes are welling with tears. This cupid is too soft for me, but I can list off five reapers who I might introduce her to at the event.
“Are all reapers as sweet as you?” she asks.
“Definitely not.”
She smiles at that and shakes her head. “Alright, I guess I ought to get off the floor and stop using the FIFO method for all the Head Cupid’s non-perishables. Any advice on how to get a reaper’s attention?”
“Honestly? Just be yourself and don’t be afraid to go up to one of them and talk. Most of them are probably just as nervous as you.”
“Thanks, Gloom,” she says as the pantry door opens and Cupio looks between the both of us. It probably looks like I made the poor cupid that cleans his house cry, but Cupio clearly knows her better than I do.
“Candy, go to the party. I promise it’s not as scary as it seems,” he says to her and I fall a little harder for the giant softy.
“I’ll see you both there,” she says, standing up and popping out of existence.
I get off the pantry floor and inspect Cupio. He’s wearing an all pink suit I might find ridiculous on any other man, but it suits him perfectly. I feel nervous as I pull the sleek black tie from my back pocket and hand it to him.
