Arcanum (Tales from the Tarot)

21. Chris

Chapter twenty-one

Chris

P umpkin Fest was always a fun time in Mapleton—except when you had to work the whole weekend. Just like Homecoming, I had the parade in the morning, but then I had the entire night to get through on next to no sleep. It was ok, though. Greyson had taken to making my coffee and packing a lunch for me on work days, so at least I knew I’d be happily fed and caffeinated enough to make it through.

But first… the parade.

After whining dramatically about being “bitten” again during the demonstration and how Nitro had bruised his arm the month before, Luke got his way and didn’t have to wear the bite sleeve. Without another volunteer, Nitro and I opted for some of his other crowd-pleasing tricks, like jumping. Luke wasn’t happy about being turned into a human springboard, but the people were. Plus Nitro seemed to enjoy it.

At specific intervals, Luke knelt and flattened his back and I gave the command. Nitro ran full speed ahead and jumped on Luke, launching himself a sizable distance through the air. He landed safely in the back of the Mapleton Farm Bureau’s float where Ed Endicott patted him gently and snuck him pieces of a cookie he just so happened to have squirreled away in his pocket. After his cookie, Nitro would jump out of the float and race back to me. Rinse, and repeat.

As soon as the parade was done, I let Nitro rest in the truck while I took the opportunity to duck into Arcanum.

“No protestors?” I said as I came through the door. Greyson looked up, smiling brightly when he saw it was me. If I wasn’t already hot from walking the entire parade route in the sun, I’m sure I would have been blushing like a dope.

“No. They haven’t been here since Jackson’s trip to the pond. Coincidence?” He arched an eyebrow at me, a little smirk tugging the corners of his mouth.

“It wasn’t me,” I said, raising my hands, palms out. “I’d bet money Ed Endicott had something to do with it, though.”

“The former sheriff?” His brows furrowed, dropping his teasing tone. “Why?”

“He obviously took a liking to you—and your muffins. Or this is your reward for your public service since you adamantly refused the Citizen’s Award. A first in Mapleton’s history, I believe.”

“I would have refused it even if I wasn’t worried about my name in the paper. Being a decent human being shouldn’t be rewarded, it should be expected.”

Snorting, I leaned over the counter, lowering my voice. “Now who’s being an idealist?” I glanced around quickly. The coast was clear, so I stole a kiss. It was way too short for my liking, but it was better than nothing at all.

“Still haven’t told anyone?” Greyson asked softly, not like he was accusing me of anything, more like he was confirming that we were still on the same page.

“It’s not that,” I said quickly, gesturing to my uniform. “It’s this. PDA is frowned upon.” Well, it was mostly that and only a tiny part of me being a chicken shit.

“It’s just as well.” A line formed between Greyson’s brows and his mouth hardened into a look of resignation. He nodded to the door a moment before the bell chimed.

“Chris?” Monica’s voice split the silence and I knew right then why Greyson’s entire demeanor had changed in a heartbeat.

I inhaled slowly and pivoted, confirming it was my ex in the flesh. “Monica.”

“What are you doing here?” she asked, closing the distance slowly, each step like a clap of thunder across the hardwood floors.

“Working. As usual,” I added snippily before she could.

“What about Tuesday? Are you free then?”

I barked out a laugh before I could even help it. “Jesus Christ. I’m not doing this with you.” Looking at Greyson, I gave him an apologetic smile. “I’ll catch up with you later.”

Greyson nodded stiffly and I strode toward the door, grinding my teeth as Monica’s heels clacked after me. It was one of those things that I initially found appealing but grew on my nerves as time wore on. Pretty much like everything else about her.

“Please! I just want to talk to you!” She grabbed my forearm before I could reach for the doorknob. As soon as I spun to face her, eyes narrowed, she let go and held her hands up, a silent promise not to touch me again. “How can I make it up to you?”

“Maybe this will get through to you. This isn’t one of your fucking books, ok? An apology isn’t going to cut it. I don’t love you. I don’t want you back. I am done . I’ve moved on. It’s time you did, too.” I was keenly aware that Greyson was listening to every single word we said, even if he was doing his best to pretend like he wasn’t. Yelling at my ex in the middle of his store wasn’t the romantic moment I’d been going for when I waltzed in, but it was the truth. And after his concerns the other week about Monica, I’d rather he know that I shut her down in no uncertain terms even if I looked like an asshole while doing it.

“Are you seeing someone?” Monica asked, her dark eyes wide.

I didn’t even hesitate. “Yes, I am. And I’m really fucking happy, so I don’t appreciate you blowing up my phone every other day, trying to rehash everything that went wrong.”

“Who is she?”

“That’s none of your business. We’re done. There is nothing left for us to say to one another. Got it?”

“Got it…”

Nodding tersely, I walked out.

So much for going home and going to sleep for a few hours.

I was way too pissed to sleep, even if that’s what I tried to do the second I got home. A half-hour later, my cell phone rang, Greyson’s name flashing across the caller ID. I’d kind of expected him to call sooner, but then I figured he had to talk Monica down from her freakout which I’m sure was awkward as hell for him.

“Hey,” I said, answering the phone.

“Are you ok?” he asked softly.

Sighing, I took a moment to assess how I was feeling. Relieved? Happy it was over? Hopeful she wouldn’t bug me anymore? “Yeah. Sorry you had to witness that. And I’m sorry you probably dealt with the fallout. But not sorry at the same time, because now you know she’s not an issue.”

“I knew she wasn’t an issue when you said she wasn’t. I trust you. And besides, we never really established any rules on dating or exclusivity…”

“What does that have to do with anything?” I did not like the odd tone of his voice, or the fact he was bringing up something as serious as “rules” right after a run-in with Monica. “We should have. And it’s my fault for skipping over it. I know better.”

“We’re both adults. No one is at fault for anything. But, we can discuss it now if you want.”

There was a pause, an unusual hesitation on his end, that made my nerves spike. “I’m not pushing for anything, Chris. This is all new for you and I don’t want to ruin it by going too fast or expecting you to jump into another committed relationship right off the bat.”

“But we already had sex,” I blurted out. “Isn’t that the ‘fast’ part?”

He made a quiet noise, like he stifled a laugh. “Usually, yes. But having sex with a guy and publicly declaring you’re dating a guy are two different things.”

“Well, I wasn’t going to tell Monica that we’re together! You know she’s a hairstylist, right? It’d be all over town by noon. It’d be like telling Karen Carlisle! Or Mrs. Perkins across the street!”

“You don’t have to tell anyone if you don’t want to. That’s what I called to say. You know I like my privacy. I’m ok keeping our relationship between us—if you even want to call it that. Or, it can stay casual, if you prefer.”

“Casual?” I blinked, trying to get the wheels in my brain to spin faster. “I don’t want casual. I want you.”

There was another pause. I strained to hear, listening for anything that might give me a clue as to what he was doing on the other end of the phone. When he finally spoke, I exhaled. “It felt like Monica almost pushed you into answering earlier… and I wanted you to know that you can take your time telling people. I would never force you to out yourself just to prove something to me.”

“She didn’t push anything except my last nerve. I wanted her to know so she’ll leave me alone. And leave you alone! Besides, I meant what I said—I am happy with you. And committed. Happily committed. To you and only you.”

“I’m happily committed too, for as long as you want me.” At last, I could hear his smile through the phone and my heart skipped a beat, the tension finally loosening in my stomach.

“We’re good, right? Just you and me? No one else? And if something’s not working, we talk about it?”

“I’ll have to consult my lawyer first, but I think I can agree to those terms.”

“Ok. Good,” I chuckled, beyond pleased that we were officially back on the same page. He’d had me worried for a little bit, but all was right in the world.

“You should try to get some rest.”

“I will. Hope the rest of your day is good.”

“I’m sure it will be.”

Biting my lip, I disconnected and let the phone drop onto my chest. Staring at the ceiling, I let myself grin like an idiot until I flopped over onto my side and buried my face into the pillow. It smelled like Greyson. I burrowed deeper.

I was happy. And I was committed. I was even more committed because of how considerate Greyson had been with my whole situation, from the Monica drama to the fact I was like Bambi on ice, trying to find my way in terms of my sexuality. And yes, mature adults should have had “the talk,” like he said, but everything had been progressing so naturally that I didn’t even question it.

Who knew what the future held for us, but with Greyson, it seemed like anything was possible. And I couldn’t wait to find out what was in store.