Dante Makes His Demand

I floated along on cloud nine for the rest of the week. Dante kept to himself, staying in the supply closet mostly but sometimes venturing out to look at the books. I restocked shelves with a little cart. On Thursday, I finished my book and started another.

I went to my D&D session as a new man, invigorated by getting one up on my bully, and together we slew the armies of Orcus. I returned to work on Monday surprised to see Dante already there, on time for once.

I sat down behind the desk and greeted him a little nervously, “How’s it going?”

“Good, Ashley can’t get enough of my cock.”

“Right, right.”

We didn’t exchange any more pleasantries, but Dante didn’t return to the supply closet either. He loitered, sometimes pretending to take inventory, other times playing games on his phone. When the post-lunch lull hit, he scooted his chair up next to mine.

“I had an idea,” he said, reaching into his pocket.

“Oh?” I regarded him coolly, prepared to shut down whatever he asked for.

He produced a bottle of X-Change with a flourish, the twelve hour kind. My eyes widened. I’d heard of X-Change, but everyone knew none of the pharmacies in our town carried it: he must’ve driven into the city over the weekend to pick it up.

“No,” I said instantly.

“Now hold on,” he said. “It’s nothing crazy.”

“This is way out of line. I’ll quit.”

“Can you listen to me for a second?” The old cruelty in his voice jumped out. I fell silent. “I’m dying out here, man. All the chicks that come through here are, like, forty. I just need a little eye candy, that’s all.”

“You’re delusional if you think I’m taking that.”

He lowered his voice, gave it the edge of a threat, “I can tell you like this job, Parker. It’s easy for you, even doing twice the work. You think you’ll find another job this cushy?”

I pursed my lips. Most of my buddies worked at restaurants and talked about how tired it made them. I was grateful for this job, even given the circumstances.

“Besides, do you really want to spend the next three weeks of your summer vacation applying for jobs?”

I groaned. He was right. I couldn’t lie around at home: my parents had **** me to get a job, and I’d started looking even before graduation. It had taken me a month to find this one.

My eyes darted back and forth between him and the bottle in his hand. He’d managed to regain equal footing at the bargaining table.

“Just once,” I said.

“Hell no, you’re taking one every day.”

“Pfft, like you can afford that.” X-Change wasn’t terribly expensive, but I figured it'd eat into his beer budget.

He grimaced, “Three times a week.”

“Twice a month.”

“Be serious.”

“I am serious.”

“I’ll hit you right now,” his eyes flashed.

“Once a week,” I acquiesced.

“Three times a week.”

“Twice a week.”

“Done,” he grinned triumphantly.

I groaned and fell back in my seat. What had I gotten myself into?

He tapped a single pill into his hand, then held it out to me.

“Now?”

“Yes, bitch. Now.”

“Don’t talk to me like that,” I took the pill from him.

Twice a week was as fair a deal as I was going to get. Half my shifts would be normal. I’d almost swallowed the pill when I asked, “What about Mrs. Delaney?”

He shrugged, “So you take X-Change sometimes. No rules against it, and she’s not much of a gossip.”

I considered it a little longer. My parents were usually asleep by the time I got home. I’d be asleep myself when I transformed back. No one would know. I could still quit if it went too far.

I swallowed the pill.