29 Reasonable Expectations

Lily

Sharkie sat at the kitchen table, thoughtfully chewing a chicken nugget. “You and Bel and Luci will be there?” she asked.

Lily looked up from her spot on the kitchen floor, Max sprawled across her lap. She’d convinced Sharkie to let her put her hair into a French braid in order to keep the messy blond strands from continually getting in her face, and it made Sharkie look both younger and like a very small Viking. Attending school and the field trip had been a huge step, but the slumber party would be a leap of faith. Lily had confidence in Sharkie’s ability to thrive.

Sharkie added color to days and moments that otherwise would have been mundane, and Lily couldn’t imagine what an existence without Sharkie would be like anymore. She woke up every morning excited to see what that day would bring, and one of her favorite parts of the day was sitting in the kitchen together while they had breakfast. One of her friends had once described parenthood as having a piece of her heart walking around outside of her chest. Lily understood that now.

“Yes, but we’ll all have our phones, so if you need us, we’re just a phone call away. Plus, the Underworld people are nice, and I trust them to keep you safe and treat you with respect. You saw the list of everyone who will be there, right?”

“Yep,” Sharkie said around a mouthful of chicken.

“Do you want me to ask about having a room set aside for you in case you need a safe space?”

Sharkie mulled it over long enough to eat two more nuggets. “No thank you. I’ll just call you. I’m really excited about all the games!”

“Yeah, those sound awesome,” Lily agreed. “One last thing: Just in case you need a break, you can go to a bathroom. They won’t bug you in there.”

“Oh, that’s a good idea.”

Lily winked. “I’ve been known to have one of those every now and then.”

Sharkie giggled and finished her food, holding the empty plate up with both hands like an offering until the house made it vanish into thin air.

“What about you?” Sharkie asked a moment later.

“Hm?”

“Are you going to have fun tonight?”

Lily ran her hand through Max’s fur, a buzz zipping through her body at the thought of the night to come. She’d already showered after her shift in Hell, reveling in the never-ending hot water and taking her time to scrub and polish everything that needed to be scrubbed and polished until she felt like a new, glamorous person with silky smooth skin and fluffy hair. She’d thrown on comfy shorts and a worn button-up shirt, and, because the house refused to let her clean anything, plopped down in the library to finish a particularly filthy book that only intensified the anticipation she couldn’t ignore.

She didn’t expect anything to happen. But she sure as shit wasn’t opposed to something happening.

She’d replayed that moment on the training fields over and over, often with a vibrator in hand, wishing that the silicone was Bel. She’d sat at her desk in between souls—and during a few souls, frankly—daydreaming about getting her hands and mouth on Bel’s cock. She fantasized about bringing him to the edge and then making him beg for release. The secret part of her brain that she’d kept hidden away had a very different fantasy, inspired by the careful way he held her throat sometimes when kissing her goodbye. What if he held it a little harder —

Max chirped, bringing her back to the present, where she had done the inexcusable: holding but not petting a cat that wanted to be petted.

She tapped him gently on the nose and made up for her lapse of affection.

“I’m excited to see everyone, and I love trivia night,” Lily said, finally replying to Sharkie. “So I think I’m going to have a blast.”

* * *

“If you need anything, call, but more than anything, have fun!” Lily said, giving Sharkie an extra squeeze before she let go.

Sharkie was practically bouncing, eyes gleaming with pure excitement as she gave Lily one last hug around the legs. “I wanna pet the big dog!” she announced, sprinting off towards the group of kids visible in a nearby courtyard.

Lily looked around for the dog in question.

Big dog. Underworld. Oh no…

“Don’t worry,” Persephone beamed, slipping outside with a giggle. “Cerberus is really good with kids.” She wore a gloriously soft-looking, oversized and masculine black bathrobe, her hair intricately woven with gold thread and studded with gems that sparkled like multicolored stars against the dark strands. Her makeup was only half done, but Lily still whistled.

“Damn. Hades is fucked.”

“I certainly hope so. It’s my turn.” Persephone winked. “Speaking of fucked, that’s what you’re going to be once Beleth gets an eyeful of you.”

Lily looked down at her casual outfit, gestured to her utter lack of makeup and styled hair and chuckled. “Are you sure ?”

“Oh please, even if you went as you are, you’d still end up getting dragged out of the bar. Hey, that rhymed! Anyway, once Aphrodite gets her hands on you?” She laughed wickedly. “Their team won’t be able to get a single point because they’ll will be otherwise preoccupied. Now shoo, or you’ll be late!”

Lily made a face, but admittedly, did want to make Bel choke on his tongue.

It was the little things.

She waved goodbye and headed back toward the Universal Hallway, where her jaw proceeded to drop.

Aphrodite was causing something of a traffic jam.

Her olive skin glowed, pearlescent white dress draped over her lush body, hem brushing demurely against her knees. Long, perfectly curled hair hung to her waist, half braided up so intricately that it almost looked like lace. Simple gold chain earrings brushed her neck, complemented by a delicate necklace with a single diamond hammer as a charm.

Aphrodite shot her a seductive smile. “They don’t call me the goddess of beauty for nothing, darling. Shall we? I don’t want their drool to ruin my shoes.”