Chapter 2
Celeste’s apartment was at the very top of the Boudoir, right under the roof.
It had a great view of the city, slanting walls here and there, and photo prints of burlesque artists on the wall.
In what Theo had always thought of as an interesting choice, the back staircase brought them directly to Celeste’s large kitchen with the big island in the middle.
She motioned for them to sit on the chairs there.
“Oh, nice place,” Corvin said. “Sort of reminds me of my old apartment.”
“Thank you. Though I’m never sure about the wisdom of living so close to my work.”
Celeste moved a pretty pink glass plate with a matching glass cover over to the island. Theo saw the cookies piled neatly underneath and his mouth started watering. It had been a while since he’d had Celeste’s baking.
Corvin nodded. “That’s a fair point. By the way, is this a club or a bar? You don’t even have a sign on the door, so it must be pretty exclusive.”
Theo’s cheeks heated. Celeste directed a level gaze at him.
“Theo, did you not tell your friend we do sex work here?”
“Uh, well…”
Corvin’s eyes widened. “Oh! You do? Wow. I’ve never been—I mean, it’s too late for me now. Theo, is this why you told me to keep an open mind?”
Theo shrugged. “Kind of.”
“Well, I was worried you’d fallen victim to some cult, but this is cool. You run this place?”
Celeste set glass plates in front of them and beamed at Corvin. “I certainly do. Why would you say it’s too late for you though? It’s never too late for a good time.”
Corvin sighed. “Well, like I told your security person, I’m coconut cream about to make a perfect pina colada with my Pineapple Mike.”
Celeste put a hand on her hip. “Hmm?”
“He’s getting married,” Theo said.
“Hmm.” Celeste’s voice rose with interest. “That’s not as much of an issue as you might think. We absolutely cater to couples.”
Corvin shook his head. “It’s not for us.”
“Fair enough.” She lifted the glass cover off her cookies. “But you’ll not say no to my cherry and chocolate chip cookies, will you? I even have homemade almond milk.”
Corvin turned to Theo. “I like it here. Why’re you only bringing me now?”
Theo sighed.
“I’m taking this as a yes on the milk. Theo?” Celeste said.
“Yes, please. And sorry to barge in on you. I didn’t even think.”
She tsked as she moved around the kitchen, getting glasses out of a cabinet and a large pitcher of creamy milk out of the fridge.
She put dates in there sometimes to give it a hint of sweetness.
She’d told him that when he’d first come here, and he realized he’d missed that almond milk. He’d missed Celeste too.
“Don’t you worry about that. You’re always welcome here, especially if you need to talk about Peter. Can I ask, how do you two know each other?”
That was when Theo remembered the rules of the Boudoir, which was more than used to catering to the not-quite-human crowd. But you had to be careful who you told about vampires and such, and you definitely shouldn’t just bring someone along who didn’t know already.
“His fiancé works for Peter. He’s a siren.”
Corvin nodded. “Right, and a pretty good cook. I think I might have to tell him about how much I like cookies though, depending on how this goes.”
Celeste poured them their milk and pushed the cookies just a little closer to Corvin. “Go right ahead, then.” She looked at Theo. “You too. You know what I always say about sugar before bad news.”
“It’s not really bad news.” Theo took a cookie and bit into it.
It was fresh and perfectly balanced chewiness with crunch, and Theo realized he’d missed this as well. It’s not been that long. A few months? But then the semester started, and I just never really had the time. I should’ve stopped by though, after everything Celeste did for me.
“Oh my gods, these’re like…these’re so good,” Corvin said with his mouth full.
Celeste smiled. “Would you like me to write out the recipe for you to take home to your siren?”
He nodded. “I’ll tell him I gave up an afternoon of reading for these. He’ll get it.” He motioned at Theo. “I work at the university library, you know. We hang out and gossip there sometimes.”
Celeste chuckled, her eyes warming when she looked at Theo. “Glad you’re making friends.”
“Hmm.”
She cocked her head. “Is it truly that bad? What happened?”
Theo sighed. “Nothing really happened. I mean, it’s just…
Here, let me show you.” He pulled out his wallet, picked out the credit card Peter insisted he have on him at all times, and let it clatter to the table.
“This doesn’t have a limit. Or it has a ridiculously high limit, I don’t even know.
He’s just been telling me to use it for whatever I please.
He also keeps cash in the house—like, a lot—and he keeps asking me whether I have cash on me, and then he tells me to take some.
Then there was the thing with the chef that I told you about.
And when we watch a movie together in the basement, he makes popcorn and gets me whatever snack I want, and—I don’t get to do anything, you know?
Like, I feel like he would tie my laces if I asked for it.
And when I study, he checks in on me to make sure I hydrate.
He drives me to campus, and I think if I called him in the middle of the day, he’d drop everything and come to me.
Probably to tie my laces if I asked nicely. ”
Theo rubbed his eyes, feeling the relief of telling someone, of being able to talk about this.
Corvin nodded. “I don’t see where the problem is, but do you need a contract? Just something that makes living together easier? Mike can do that for you. I bet he’d be happy to.”
Theo looked at him. “We have a contract. The other day, he said we had to amend it. Because I moved in, pretty much, and it says that while I get my degree, in order to make sure I’m healthy and not stressed, Peter is going to cover all expenses and will provide me with a stipend.
” He picked up the credit card. “That’s how he got me to take this.
I didn’t see it coming. He tricked me into it. ”
Corvin nodded. “Right. Hmm. Maybe I need a contract. All I got when I moved in with Pineapple Mike was a library.”
“That’s pretty good,” Celeste said.
Corvin smiled that sappy sweet smile that Theo knew had to do with how much he loved Mike. “He surprised me with it and everything. And before, he kept saying how we’d have to put some of my books in the basement, you know? He completely fooled me.”
“Sounds like you chose well. Now, Theo, I think I see the problem. You’ve always earned your own money, right?”
Theo nodded. “Only—except for—you know. Right before I came here.”
“Yes, of course. Sorry. Is this about not wanting to behave like a gold-digger or about feeling like you’re not pulling your weight?”
Theo relaxed. How does she just get it without fail? “Both? A little bit of both.”
She nodded. “I’m assuming you don’t want to end things with Peter or put any distance between him and you?”
Theo looked up. “What? No, of course not. I lo—I mean, Peter’s nice. I like him. He’s really… He’s Peter.”
“Aww, look at you,” Corvin said.
Celeste nodded. “Yes, do look at you. I think this can be fixed.”
“How? Seriously, how? Whenever I tell him I’m fine or that I don’t need anything, he just…he gets nicer, and then I feel bad for even saying anything in the first place, you know?”
“He’s such a fluff ball.”
Corvin snorted. “Peter the Terrible a fluff ball. Hah!”
Celeste leaned on the kitchen island. “Tell him you want to take on a part-time job. Or better yet, tell him I asked you to.”
Theo blinked at her. “You…asked me to?”
She shrugged. “Sure. You can work behind the bar. I trained you. You know how to talk to people, and there’s usually a bartender there come evening.”
This could work. I’d get to go out of the house and—“But he can’t come here, right? When I work.”
Celeste chuckled. “I’ll take care of that. But someone is going to have to drive you home after each shift, I don’t think that’s negotiable. And, of course, while I’m sympathetic to your issues, I’d like to see you get your degree, yes?”
“Yeah, of course.” Theo nodded. “Yeah. This…this could work.”
She put her hand on her hip. “What I can’t do is keep him from trying to offer you something at his firm though. He’d probably rather pay me to hire someone else and employ you himself.”
Corvin nodded. “Yeah, Peter’s intense like that.” He eyed the credit card Theo was moving from one hand to the other absentmindedly. “I’d buy so many books with that.”
“You want it?” Theo said.
Corvin eyed the card more closely. “I do, but also no. Books have to be earned. You have to really want them, and you have to have the time to read them and give them a good home on your shelf.”
Celeste put another cookie on each of their plates. “You two finish these, and I’ll pack you the leftovers. Theodore?”
“Hmm?”
“What did you two talk about when he hired that chef for you?”
Theo shrugged. “Oh, just…about school, about his job. I told him to google the Dutch angle, and it made him laugh.”
Corvin swallowed a mouthful of cookie. “What’s that?”
Theo shrugged. “Google it.”
He watched Corvin pull out his phone and do just that while Celeste rounded the kitchen island to look over his shoulder.
Corvin chuckled. “Oh, I get it. This is funny.”
Celeste huffed. “I was right about Peter and you. You’re perfect for each other.”
Theo waved the sleeve of his sweater at her. “He made me wear this in case it gets too cold.”
It was difficult to read her expression with her beard sometimes, so Theo wasn’t sure what exactly she was thinking.
“Just my point,” she said.