I dunno. I’ve already lost interest. “With my luck, it’s probably equal to like ten cents.”
Tarq stares at me for a moment. He’s very… dapper today. Stylish. His polished horns are so ebony black, I can see myself in them. And his beard—well, it’s not scruffy like Pell’s. It’s all manscaped. His chest hairs too. The ones I can see, at least. He’s wearing a deep scarlet vest with one pocket over his heart made of royal purple velvet that matches the piping along the edges. The whole garment is embroidered in gold thread. His pants are a mahogany brown, made of a more rustic fabric, like canvas. And of course, they only go to the knee. His lower legs are smooth black hide and his hooves are as shiny as his horns.
He reminds me of a stallion. Even his black hair is like a mane.
He walks over to the table, takes a seat, and opens the book. “What were you doing last night?” When he starts this sentence, he’s looking down at my debt. But when he finishes it, his normally orange eyes are locked on mine. Only they are dark. Like empty pits.
I should take note of this. His eyes change color. It reminds me of Pell’s horns and Pell’s horns do magic, so it might be possible that Tarq’s eyes do magic too.
“Pie?”
“What?”
“What were you doing last night? That erased this debt? Magic?”
I snort. “No. I was not doing magic.”
“Then how did you erase the debt?”
“How should I know? I haven’t the first clue how any of this shit works, Tarq. I’m as surprised as—” But then I abruptly stop. Because I do know how the Book of Debt works.
“You’re as surprised as what?” Tarq prods.
I look at him and blush. “I… I think I know how the debt got erased.”
“I can’t wait to hear it.”
“It’s… well. Pell, Tarq. It’s all about Pell.”
“What is?”
“My debt.”
“No. Your debt was given to me.”
“Be that as it may, when I got stuck in this curse my job was to take care of Pell. And whenever I made him happy, debt was erased. Perhaps the two of you both own the debt? Because I made him very happy last night and”—I reach across the table and tap my finger on the book—“this just proves it.”
Tarq is frowning at me. “You made him happy how?”
I almost blush again, but you know what? No. I’m not a child. I’m not a little girl. And while I would never call myself slutty, and I prefer the men around me to be clothed instead of hanging out all over the place, I’m definitely not a prude. “How do women usually make men happy, Tarq?”
He just stares at me for a moment. Then his eyebrows crunch together. “You and Pell are—”
“Of course. We’re like… soulmates. And I’m not just tossing that word around, either. We have connection.”
Tarq lets out a long, tired breath. Like perhaps he’s been through some shit as well, and this is just yet another bump in his long and winding road of despair. “I’m not ready to talk about that.”
“Not ready to talk about… Pell and me?”
He closes the book and pushes it towards me. “Take it home, figure out the exchange rate, and bring it back tomorrow.”
“Speaking of tomorrow, what day of the week is it? Please don’t say Monday. Actually, what I’m really asking is… when’s the weekend?”
“The weekend? As in…” He appears confused.
“The end of the workweek? You know, Saturday and Sunday? Those days all people working professional jobs with the title ‘researcher’ get off?”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”