Page 40 of Forbidden! Exorcist Roommate
“Hey, Sagitta. Doesn’t this potato kinda look like a dick?”
In the produce section of the Asian supermarket, I glanced over to see Chase holding an admittedly phallic-looking tuber. My lips curled in amusement before I could stop myself. Then I cleared my throat, trying to maintain a professional vibe.
“Sort of,” I agreed. “Put it in the basket if you want it for dinner.”
He smirked as he plopped the potato in with the other vegetables. “Is that a joke about me being gay?”
“No.” I pushed the little cart into the instant coffee aisle. “Why do you keep asking me that? Do you think I’m some kind of homophobe?”
“Nah. If you were, you wouldn’t move in with me.”
The insinuation that we lived together sent a weird curl of heat up my spine. “I didn’tmove inwith you,” I stated firmly. “I’m just visiting.”
“For a week.”
“It’s not a vacation,” I grumbled. “It’s to ensure I finish my job.”
Chase nodded offhandedly. He scanned the shelves full of foreign-to-him coffees and teas. I thought the topic was over until he said, “Plus, you did kiss me that one time.”
My body jerked, and I accidentally swerved the shopping cart into the shelf. A shower of instant milk teas rained down. Half of them landed in the cart while the other half crashed on my head. They were light, so it didn’t hurt, but my face burned with embarrassment.
“Oh shit,” Chase said, grabbing a couple boxes from the floor and returning them to the shelf. Then he hissed under his breath, “Stop laughing, asshole.”
My blood boiled. He was talking to the damned demon again. That pissed me off more than his clueless kiss comment.
“Cut that out,” I warned, lowering my voice. A few people had poked their heads into the aisle after the boxes fell. My skin prickled hotly at the fact that we were being watched.
“Huh? Cut what out? Oh, you mean the...?” Chase touched the tips of his index fingers together in the loose miming of a kiss.
“No,” I snapped. “I mean, yes, that too. But I mean talking to the—”
A supermarket employee dashed into the aisle and efficiently tidied up all the remaining boxes. “Sorry, stand aside, please! Are you all right, sir?”
“Yes, I’m fine,” I said, disregarding the humiliation that crawled up my back. “I apologize for the mess.”
Before we could make further fools of ourselves, I grabbed Chase’s arm and dragged him out of the aisle. I did my best to ignore the pointed stares of other shoppers, but I couldn’t dull the burning heat in my face. Once we were safely in the personal hygiene aisle, I stopped to catch my breath and calm down.
Chase picked up one of the boxes that fell into our cart and examined it curiously.
“Brown sugar flavour... Hey, this looks pretty good!” he said, putting it back.
My grip on the shopping cart handle tightened. The sooner I finished my task and got away from this meathead, the better.
“Sorry, dude, what were you saying before about stopping something?” Chase asked.
I exhaled a hot breath through my nostrils. I needed him to listen, to actually hear me. First I scanned the aisle exits tomake sure we were alone, then in a swift motion, I grabbed the drawstrings of his hoodie and yanked him closer.
“Stop talking to the demon. I’m serious,” I warned. “The more you communicate with it, the more you risk forming a bond. And when that happens, an exorcism becomes nearly impossible.”
Anxiety flickered across Chase’s expression. “Uh... what happens if I’ve been talking to him the whole time?”
“Just ignore it from now on.”
His mouth twisted into a grimace. “Easier said than done. He’s very insistent.”
“You have free will,” I ground out. “Use it.”
Chase pouted like a puppy. I withheld a growl of frustration. How could I get through to him?
