Berries and Greed

“Being sedentary is the best,” Greid declared. “It’s my mission in life to be as sedentary as possible.”

I grinned up at him wryly. “The mission seems to be going swimmingly.”

“I try my best. I’ve put a lot of hours in.” He gestured for me to go first up the porch steps as we reached the house. “But I should probably start work.”

“Sorry for taking up your morning,” I said ruefully as I unlocked the door.

“Nah, it’s all good. Might lodge a complaint with my usual coffee delivery person though, seeing as I had to actually leave the house and go get it myself this morning.” He nudged the back of my head as he followed me inside. “Unacceptable.”

I snorted as I unbuttoned my coat. “Your complaint has been noted.”

Greid toed off his boots, revealing bright green socks. “Gonna go get changed then start work.”

“Okay.” I headed for the stairs. “See you later.”

He stopped outside his bedroom door, fiddling with his coffee cup. “If you get bored later, after your workout, you could—Um, you’re welcome to come and mess around on the computer upstairs. If you want.”

I grinned at him. “Sure. I might even bring you lunch.”

His eyes brightened. “I won’t let you in if you don’t. Are you gonna make eggs?”

I snorted, putting one foot on the bottom step. “I should probably learn to make something else.”

“I like your eggs.” He blinked. “That sounded weirder than I thought it would.”

Laughing, I started heading upstairs. “See you later, Greid.”

“Later, berry,” he said slyly, but I was too far up the stairs to poke my head down and shoot him a mock glare.

Once in my room, I quickly got changed into my workout clothes from the compound and tied my hair back in a high ponytail. Heading back downstairs, I went into the kitchen and began searching the cabinets for a bottle I could use. While I was in there, I heard Greid leave his bedroom and shuffle upstairs to start work.

The basement was cold, making my bare arms prickle as I descended the stairs. Stepping onto the treadmill, I turned on the TV after spotting the remote sticking out of the machine’s cupholder and replacing it with my water bottle.

As I stared up at the huge wall-mounted TV, I smiled to myself as I imagined Greid down here half-heartedly cycling on the bike, more interested in what he was watching than actually exercising. Probably eating something at the same time.

I felt a little sluggish as I started a slow jog to warm up. After a few ads for a fancy perfume, a sugar-laden cereal designed to look like dirt and gemstones for demiurgus kids, and a trailer for a sappy romantic comedy being released soon, the channel’s logo appeared on the screen.

A smooth, chirpy voice said, “Coming up later, the case of a human woman who risked it all to travel to Deep Earth, and claims she actually managed to get there, in our exclusive docuseries, What I Saw Beneath the Surface. But first, back to our all-day marathon of the cult classic drama series, Gloom Falls.”

The screen went black before shaky eighties footage of a sprawling demiurgus mansion appeared with the words Gloom Falls overlaid in big blocky letters. It cut to a demiurgus couple with puffed-up hair, dressed in jackets with big lapels and wide shoulder pads, gazing at each other adoringly. I blinked when it then showed the same demiurgus female throwing a glass at the male before collapsing dramatically onto a couch. Then a different demiurgus female peered worriedly out of a window, before a male came up behind her with a solemn expression and rested his hand on her shoulder.

I was already interested. I bet Greid has watched this, I thought as I cranked up the treadmill.

An hour later, I was dripping in sweat and fully invested in Gloom Falls. The glamorous demiurgus Ashi was having a sordid affair with her best friend’s lifemate—and neighbour—Golir, who owned a chain of successful “demiurgus gentlemen’s clubs” with his brother and was a bit of a bad boy. I could see why Ashi was attracted to him. Her own lifemate Huna was an asshole who drank too much and was having his own affair with the demiurgus across the street, a female called Loty whose lifemate Marish had recently died under mysterious circumstances.

I was desperate to ask Greid if he’d watched it and if Loty and Huna had conspired to kill Marish so they could collect his life insurance and be together. Hopping off the treadmill, I gulped down the rest of my water as the episode finished on a wicked cliffhanger—with Loty walking in on Ashi and Golir in a very friendly embrace and blackmailing them with the threat of telling their lifemates.

Reluctantly turning off the TV, I raced upstairs and burst into the kitchen to find Greid standing at the fridge, guzzling straight from a carton of juice. It was the kind I didn’t like, so I didn’t care.

When he saw me, he inhaled sharply then started coughing and spluttering, spraying juice everywhere.