Socks for an Otter by Posy Roberts

Author:Posy Roberts [Roberts, Posy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Boho Press
Published: 2019-12-16T16:00:00+00:00

14

Fish Out of Water

Sebastian didn’t know what to do when the door buzzed. How did Louis let people in? There was no staff, security, and the delivery person wasn’t on the other side of Louis’s door. They were on the outside door, which was locked . . . with a key.

“Louis? They’re here, and I don’t know what to do.” Fucking idiot. If you grew up like a normal person rather than with a silver spoon in your mouth, you wouldn’t be having a panic attack over this.

Louis shouted from upstairs, “The panel by the light switch, right next to the door . . . Hit the button on the left. That’ll let ’em in.”

Sebastian tried it, unsure it worked. “Did you pay already?”

“Yeah, but I’ll be right down.”

“Do I tip them?” People who delivered expected a tip, right?

“Nah. I included the tip when I placed the order.”

He tried to get his heart to stop racing. A person with a gun wasn’t greeting him. No one was expecting him to have answers. He wasn’t onstage, expected to perform for a roomful of his parents’ friends or a roomful of strangers.

It was food. The person was delivering food, for fuck’s sake.

A knock sounded on the interior door two feet away, and he shrieked. Not his finest moment.

He let them in, a guy wearing a baseball cap and carrying bags of food. If the guy had heard his startled reaction, he didn’t give it away. Maybe Louis’s front door was really well insulated or soundproofed or whatever words people who built houses used.

Your privilege is showing.

I know. Shut up.

Oh great, the battling devil and angel were back on his shoulders. Doubt was what his social worker called the devil. He believed her because the more successes he’d had since living on the streets, the less often he heard from Doubt. The other voice was his self-confidence, and listening to her was what made him apply for jobs and take chances. Doubt could go fuck himself. Doubt had to go away.

Louis was dealing with the delivery guy as Sebastian dealt with his inner demons. Hopefully he’d have them under control in a sec.

Soon they were alone again, and Louis had all the food set out at his kitchen table, along with dishes, napkins, drinks, and silverware this time. He dished up and passed the food to Sebastian as if nothing awkward had just happened.

“Who the fuck doesn’t know how a door buzzer works?”

Louis asked, “Well, have you had much opportunity to use them?”

“Fuck. I said that out loud, didn’t I?”

Louis nodded around a bite.

“I don’t know how to do basic things most people take for granted.”

“Like?”

“Self-checkout. The first time I saw those lanes, I freaked out. Still haven’t used one.”

“And door buzzers? Letting people in?”

“I know how to let people up when there’s a front desk and security that calls me.”

“See?” Louis said, using his fork to point at him. “I’d be clueless in that situation. If I were the visitor, I’d think

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.