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“No, I just love holding a book to look smart.”
“Funny,” I say and grab the remote.
I flick through the channels until I find a reality show that doesn’t require me to think.
Otis rolls his eyes. “Are you really going to watch that?”
“I am. If you don’t like it, you can go sit somewhere else.”
He shakes his head, but doesn’t get up. He keeps reading while the TV flickers between us.
After a few minutes, the people on the screen start arguing about who stole someone’s hair extensions, and Otis lets out an exaggerated groan.
“How can you watch this without feeling your brain cell count dropping?”
“It doesn’t kill my brain cells. It relaxes them. I paint all day. My brain is tired.”
“My brain is tired too, but I don’t subject myself to this kind of torture.”
“Again, nobody’s forcing you to sit here. If you’re so annoyed by this show, why not use this time to look for an apartment?”
“The internet’s reception is spotty in here. I’ll do it later,” he says and turns back to his book.
It’s clear he’s making up excuses, and I’m not sure I mind. I hate to admit it to myself, but I’m getting used to having him around. He’s infuriating, but at least he’s stopped treating me like an intruder in my own home. The cottage is less quiet and feels less lonely with him around.
I know he shouldn’t keep living here. I know he won’t.
But for now, I’m going to enjoy having a minotaur roommate. Not that I’d ever tell him I find his company enjoyable.
We spend the next half hour doing our own thing in silence. I shiver a few times before Otis finally sighs.
“What?” I ask.
He gets up. “You’re cold.”
“And that annoys you?”
He walks to the fireplace, arranges a few logs over the kindling, then strikes a match to light the fire. “Your shivering is distracting.”
He opens the cabinet under the TV and pulls out a fleece blanket that’s stuffed in there. Before I can react, he drapes it over me.
“Here. Now you can stop shivering.”
“Thank you.”
“It’s for selfish reasons,” he says before sitting down and picking up his book again.
I turn my attention back to the TV and snuggle under the blanket with a smile. I’m pretty sure he didn’t light the fire and give me a blanket just because my shivering annoyed him. Maybe he actually wants to take care of me.
I could definitely get used to it.
Chapter Five
Romy
On Saturday morning, I wake up feeling like it’s the first day of school. Nervous, but excited about meeting new people I’ll meet at the Fall Celebration the diner server told me about. I spend the first hours of the day painting, then make myself a healthy lunch before I start getting ready.
Getting ready takes twice as long as planned because Otis hogs the bathroom for an entire hour. God knows what he was doing in there. Washing his horns? I don’t even know how that works. All I know is that an hour in the bathroom should involve some serious grooming, yet Otis looked exactly the same when he came out.
