She swallowed. “Now?” she asked, trying to hide the way her voice quavered.
“Of course not now. If I’m going to do this,” Gene said, “I’m going to do it right and give your sorry bitch ass the best chance I can. So I want to meet this girl of yours.” He pursed his lips, humming tunelessly. “The boyfriend, too, I guess. I want to see what he’s like. I might as well turn you into a guy she’ll find attractive.”
“Um. Who should I introduce you as?” she asked. “Won’t they think it’s weird if I show up with you? They both know I’m a lesbian, so I can hardly tell them you’re my date.”
“Oh, don’t worry about that. I’ll just give them a little mind-cloud. They’ll think I’m some guy who they’ve met before. Trust me, sweetie. They won’t suspect a thing.”
“All right,” she said, then yawned fit to crack her jaw. Outside, the sky was going gray, the first light of dawn reaching out into the eastern sky with tentative fingers. “I’m sorry. But I’ve been up all night. I need to get some sleep.”
“Mortals. I’ll never understand you.”
She paused in the act of turning off the light. “You don’t need to sleep?”
He bowed. “One of the many benefits of being who I am. Go ahead and crawl into bed, little dove. I promise you’re safe from me, and I’ll be here when you wake up.”
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