I forced myself to stand in place and nod. “Could be.”
Haz grabbed his lost shoe and sat on the floor. With the sofa in the way, I couldn’t see him from where I was standing. I debated for two seconds and then unrooted, walking forward.
He was there, tugging on his shoes, my clothes swallowing him whole. Despite the brush and hair dryer I’d handed him, his hair still somehow looked uncombed. I detested disarray and wanted everything neat.
So please explain to me how such a chaotic mess claimed my heart completely.
Forgetting everything, I moved around the furniture and knelt in front of his hunched frame. Gently, I brushed his hands away to tie the laces myself. He needed new shoes. These weren’t good enough for his feet.
“Don’t worry about the cost, baby doll. I’ll take care of it,” I murmured, tugging the string of the shoe he’d already tied.
“Hey,” he protested, looking up.
“I tie better than you.” I lied. Truth was he tied just fine, but I was so possessive I couldn’t stand for him to tie his own shoe.
“I’m going to work, Kieran. For my entire shift. And then I’m delivering after that,” he said. “And this weekend, I’ll go to my cleaning job too.”
“You aren’t cleaning up after other people,” I growled. It shocked me that he even knew how! I’d just watched him wipe dirt on his pants, for criminy sakes.
“I’ve taken care of myself my whole life. When it was hard, when I thought it was unfair, and even when I didn’t want to. They might not be the fanciest jobs, but they’re mine, and I’m proud of it.”
I made a sound. “You’re too good for those places.” What I should have said was I was proud of him, but some habits were fucking hard to break.
“No. I’m not. No one is above hard work,” he admonished. “And I like the Neon Reef. It’s my chance to have some fish for a little while since I haven’t been able to have my own.”
I glanced up. “You want fish?”
Those innocent eyes skewered my heart as they lit with excitement. “Oh hell yeah! Someday I’m going to have a huge tank, big enough to fit two hypostomus plecostomus.”
“A what?” I asked, completely out of my depth but seeing he was clearly in his.
God, there was so much I had yet to learn about him, and this made me realize how badly I wanted to know it all.
“Plecos,” he said. “They’re tropical freshwater fish that are part of the armored catfish family. They have sucker mouths and are bottom feeders.”
They sounded dirty. And ugly.
I rocked back, sinking onto my ass right in front of him. “Tell me more.”
His eyes lit up all over again. “Really?”
“Mmm. Everything.”
“They eat algae and aquatic plants and help keep tanks clean. They have scutes that cover the upper head and body for protection, and there are all different types and colors. Most of them don’t get that big, but other fish don’t really harass them because of their armor and semi-aggressive nature. We finally just got some new ones in at the Neon Reef, and I set up their tank. I can’t wait to go in and see them. I hope Scop is still there.”
“What’s a Scop?”
Haz smiled. “Oh, it’s the name I gave one of the plecos. It’s an albino bristlenose. I think it’s a girl because it doesn’t have the bushy nose feelers the males do. But it could just be young,so I’m not sure.” He paused. “I know I shouldn’t have named it. Mr. Wasashi told me not to get attached because he was selling it the first chance he got.” He gave me a sheepish look. “It’s kind of hard, though.”
“Why not just get a tank and buy her for yourself?” Ghost asked.
I’d forgotten he was even there. Over my shoulder, I gave him a dirty look. He didn’t even look the slightest bit apologetic that he was listening in on our conversation.
“Tank supplies are super expensive,” Haz answered. “And my place is kinda small… and unsafe. Could you imagine if I’d had them there when those guys broke in? They probably would have shot the tank.”
Anger bubbled inside me at just the suggestion.
“But someday.” He went on, hopeful. “Until then, I’ll just see them at the Neon Reef.”
