Chapter 6
Borja
Somewhere deep in the back of my mind, I know I should be scared or at least worried about this job after seeing what happened in the professor’s office, but that’s not what I’m feeling at all. I’m weirdly excited and pumped about hunting this thing down.
All the time I spent researching and trying to prove the existence of a spirit world, and I came up empty, but just one afternoon with Farnsworth and my world view is shattered.
We climb the steps to my apartment, but I stop when I see my door. “What are you doing here, Scotty?”
Scotty, my ex, looks up from his phone, a big smile spreading across his face until he sees Farnsworth behind me. He gets to his feet, his eyes flicking back and forth between us.
“Good to see you too, Borja.”
“Did you need something?”
“I did, yeah. Got a second alone?”
Farnsworth doesn’t budge from my side, and I’m not sure what to do. Do I want Scotty to think Farnsworth and I are dating? Yep. But I don’t necessarily want to drag him into my messy dating life.
Farnsworth’s hand lands in the center of my back as he leans in. “I’ll stay or go as you wish.”
I turn my head to look at him, locking on his gray eyes for a moment before blinking out of it. “Go inside. I just need a few minutes.”
He smiles softly and slips past us, taking the key from my hand and unlocking the door before going inside. I’m left standing awkwardly in the hallway with one of my least favorite people.
“What’s going on? Why are you here unannounced?”
“I seem to recall a time when you liked me showing up without warning.”
I huff in frustration. “That was three years ago, before you cheated on me by fucking half of Boston. Now what do you want?”
“So testy.” Scotty, with his dark hair and blue eyes, his pouty lips and sexy smirk, all lean muscles and tight ass, has the audacity to bat his eyelashes as he moves closer. “A little loan, that’s all.”
“A loan?” Scoffing, I shake my head. “I don’t have extra.”
“It’s just until next Friday. Then I get paid.” He plants his hand on my chest. “I wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t an emergency.”
“What happened to your sugar daddy? Oh, and that finance guy you shoved in my face? Remember how you had to ‘keep your options open’ because I was going nowhere in life?”
Scotty twists his lips, looking as coy as possible. “Oh come on, Borj, that’s ancient history. You’re not still mad, are you?”
“No, I’m not still mad, but that doesn’t mean I’m gonna let you take advantage of me. I can’t help and you should go.”
His eyes narrow as his expression turns icy. “Who is that man you’re with? A new lover?”
“None of your business, Scotty.”
“I bet he can’t ride you like I did. I bet you’ve never found anyone who can.”
I pinch the bridge of my nose. “You know what I have found since you left? Peace. Fidelity. Happiness. Yeah, the sex was great between us, but in the end, that’s all it was.
We aren’t stay in touch, loan money, occasionally hook up kind of exes.
We’re not talk to each other anymore exes.
So, if you could just go, that’d be great. ”
Scotty has the nerve to look offended, and as he opens his mouth to no doubt cuss me out, my front door opens and Farnsworth pops his head out, a weirdly excited look on his face.
“Sorry to interrupt, but I need you.”
“Gotta go, Scotty.” I pat his shoulder. “Hope everything works out.”
Scotty, with a scowl on his pretty face, turns on his heel and stomps off down the hall to the stairs. I watch him go and then step inside my apartment with Farnsworth.
“Did you find something?”
“No.” Farnsworth smiles. “I sensed things weren’t going well so I interrupted.”
“Thanks. That was great.”
“A clingy ex?”
I walk over and plop down on my beat-up couch. “Not really. He shows up every now and then wanting something, but it’s usually just a booty call.”
Farnsworth raises an eyebrow. “Booty call?”
Chuckling, I nod. “Sex.”
“Oh.” He seems flustered as he sits on the other end of the couch. “I’ve heard stories of people engaging in things outside of formal relationships, but I’ve never spoken to someone who has.”
Now I’m really curious. “What do you do in the underworld? Are there, like, nightclubs or apps or something?”
“What do you mean?”
“For dating. How do you scratch the itch?”
Farnsworth visibly swallows as he wrings his hands together. “The underworld is a large place. There are clubs and restaurants, almost like the cities of Above, but they’re filled with demons, spirits, guides, and the like.”
“Hmm. So, you can meet people?”
“I’m somewhat sequestered in the Revival House. Besides, I’m almost certainly too busy for such follies.”
“Follies? You think that’s what love and companionship is?”
“Usually, yes.”
“I didn’t take you for a cynic.”
“I’m not. I’m practical. Relationships are messy. Case in point.” He gestures to my front door. “I don’t have time for clingy exes looking for booty calls.”
Hearing that term come out of his mouth makes me cackle. A slight smile tugs at his lips.
“Fair enough. Don’t you need to…” I stop myself from continuing. It’s none of my business how Farnsworth gets himself off, though I have to admit, I’m more than a little curious.
“Need to what?” he prompts.
“None of my business.”
He studies my face for a moment. “You’re wondering what I do for companionship, yes?”
“Uh, well, don’t you have needs? Or do those go away too?”
“I’ve learned to keep them at bay.”
“That’s good. You don’t miss it?”
Farnsworth averts his eyes, gazing down at his hands. “I don’t let myself think about it. If I don’t think about it, it doesn’t bother me. Mind over matter.”
Licking my bottom lip, I imagine for a second what Farnsworth would look like in the heat of passion. What sounds would he make? What does his face do when he comes? What does he taste like?
“You can though, right?”
“Can what?” he asks.
“Uh, I guess what I’m asking is does your body work the same as a regular man’s?”
He nods subtly. “Yes.”
“Only asking because of the food thing.”
“I can eat. I just don’t feel hungry or compelled to do it.”
“Got it.”
Farnsworth folds his hands in his lap. “Are you going to?”
“Going to what?”
“Have a booty call with your ex?”
“No. I gave that up years ago once I realized he was just using me. I thought maybe he missed me and felt bad for cheating on me, but no, he just liked my dick.” I scoff.
“He came here asking for money. He spent so much time flaunting his rich boyfriends in my face after we broke up that it must be bad if he came to me for help.”
“Did you help him?”
“Can’t. Money is tight for me right now.”
“Oh, not anymore. You should check your account. I’m sure by now a healthy deposit has been made in order to fund your transition to Soul Chaser.”
“What?” I pull my phone from my back pocket and unlock the screen to open the bank app. After logging in, my jaw drops as I stare at the screen. I’m shook. “How…? Shit.”
“I don’t know how the calculation works,” Farnsworth says. “It’s all done in the finance department, but in my experience most Chasers end up independently wealthy after a few years.”
Still staring at my balance, I swallow past my dry throat. “This is my money?”
“It’s your account, yes?”
“Yeah, but I’ve never seen this much money in my life.”
“Given the responsibilities, it’s close to impossible to keep a regular job as a Chaser, so our program provides a salary and living costs to make sure you can focus on your tasks.”
“Whoa.”
“So, you can certainly loan money to your ex if you wish to.”
I chuckle. “Yeah, still no, but this is fucking awesome. I’ve been struggling so long I don’t know what it feels like not to.”
Farnsworth’s expression softens. “We take good care of our Chasers because we demand a lot from them. We encourage Chasers to take full advantage of any downtime for traveling or self-care, whatever suits you.”
“Amazing. I could even get a nicer place.”
“Up to you.”
“Thank you. Really.”
He nods. “I did nothing. You changed your Fate by saying yes.”
I don’t know what to say, so I just look at my account balance once more before closing the app. “I guess we should refocus now and get back to work?”
“Yes, see if you can find chapters twelve to seventeen online. Those are the missing pages. Maybe there’s a reason.”
“I’ll start there.”
As we shift into work mode, my mind replays everything that’s happened in the last twenty-four hours. I guess it’s been that long. Kind of hard to tell.
Farnsworth interests me. Is he a virgin or just seriously out of practice?
Would he be up for some fun if it was offered to him or does he expect to have a relationship first?
What would he do if a hot guy approached him?
What if I was the hot guy? It might be fun to unravel him and see what’s beyond his buttoned-up exterior.
That’s an idea I should definitely not pursue. Just because it’s been way too long since I’ve blown a load with a cute guy, doesn’t mean Farnsworth would be at all into me. And hooking up would probably complicate matters a whole lot.
Looks like it’ll be me and my hand again tonight. Or maybe I’ll get real scandalous and get the toys out. Fucking myself with Farnsworth in the next room is a fantasy I can get on board with.