Teddy Spenser Isn't Looking for Love - Kim Fielding Page 0,36
his hands on his hips and frowned. “I want to hear about your book.” Which he did. He liked the way Romeo’s expression turned all soft and his eyes lit up.
After a brief pause, maybe to see if Teddy was serious, Romeo continued. “It wasn’t a children’s book, but one meant for a general adult audience. So I had to look up a lot of the words. But it contained all these gorgeous photos and maps and essays on plants and animals and rocks. It was all so completely different from where I lived. And maybe a lot of people think the desert is empty, but it’s actually full of all kinds of life, each of them perfectly adapted for the challenging environment.”
“That’s really cool.”
“You don’t have to humor me, Teddy.”
Teddy didn’t know whether to be indignant at the accusation or just sad. He hadn’t treated Romeo nicely, but he’d never been outright mean. Had he?
“I’m not humoring you,” he said softly.
Romeo nodded with his lips pressed together. “Okay.” He seemed to relax a little. “I always wanted to go camping in the desert. Joshua Tree National Park, maybe. Technically, it contains two deserts: the Mojave and the Sonora.”
“You can, you know. Go camping wherever you want, I mean.”
“Work.”
Teddy waved a dismissive hand. “We’ll get our product launched, Lauren will pay us big fat bonuses, and you can take a nice long vacation.” That was a bit optimistic, maybe, but he wanted to keep a positive attitude. In fact, with that idea in mind, he resumed walking. There wouldn’t be a launch and bonuses if they never finished this hike.
With his longer legs, Romeo caught up right away. “Where will you vacation?”
Thinking of Gregory and his beachside selfies, Teddy tried to imagine himself somewhere with palm trees, but it didn’t appeal. Okay, what about New York to see some shows and do some shopping? Or Paris, maybe, where he could stun the locals with his two years of high school French. Or...the desert.
The truth was, he couldn’t see himself enjoying any of those places alone. Not that he had anything against solo travel; a lot of people surely appreciated that sort of freedom and independence. But he doubted he’d be one of those people. If he was going to travel, he wanted a companion to talk to, someone to share experiences with. Someone whose own delight would echo Teddy’s own. Someone to help him see things through different eyes.
“I’d stay home,” Teddy said.
“Yeah? How come?”
They came to a fallen tree, its bark badly eroded. But it was still a place of life, home to mosses and little plants and probably a zillion bugs. Teddy took care not to crush anything as he stepped over.
“Teddy?”
“I guess I’m just a homebody,” Teddy said with only a partial serving of truth.
“Nothing wrong with that. I bet your place is really nice.”
Surprised at the compliment, Teddy almost tripped over a rock. “It’s...petite.”
“But cozy, right? And perfectly decorated.”
“Well, not perfect. I don’t have a Googie smart vase.”
Romeo’s laughter echoed among the branches.
They paused at the next fork so Romeo could consult Joyce’s instructions. Teddy dug out an energy bar and his canteen, but before he could partake of either, he glanced down at his feet and leapt back with an undignified squawk. “What the fuck is that?”
The creature in question—which he’d very nearly stepped on—was a sickly yellow-green color with blackish spots, gleaming with slime, and seven or eight inches long. It moved very slowly along the trail, leaving a line of shiny goo. Teddy thought it looked like the type of alien that would crawl into your ear and take command of your brain, forcing you to reshape the Earth’s environment so its species could colonize.
Romeo bent to peer at it. “That’s a slug.”
“No. It’s Captain Zrgomaf from the planet Xyton Two, and it’s about to immobilize us with its paralytic-slime gun.”
“It’s a mollusk. It eats decaying stuff.”
“Thank you, Biology Man. It’s gross.”
“It probably thinks you’re gross, with your dry skin and fuzzy hair, all those appendages and white teeth.” Romeo was crouching, his finger almost touching the creature. The slug didn’t seem to care. “I think slugs are interesting. The slime keeps them from desiccating, and it’s really cool from a chemical and structural standpoint. Did you know slugs are hermaphrodites? Plus their penis-to-body ratio is bigger than almost any other animals—and they usually eat each other’s penises after they mate.”