Page 83 of Rent: Paid in Full

I stomp on the clutch, gears grating loudly until I find reverse, and then I step on the gas. There’s no caution now. No exaggeration. No fear of carnage. No fear at all. The vehicle screams into motion, hurtling back at Miller only knows how many miles per hour.

Gravel flies as a huge cloud of dust is kicked up around me. Miller grows bigger and bigger in the mirror until he’s life-sized, and the second he is, I slam on the brakes and throw myself from the vehicle. I leave the door open, engine still running, as I fly into his arms.

I beat at his chest, tearing at his T-shirt. “Stop that!” I yell, wiping his face angrily. “Stop it! You’re Miller fucking MacAvoy. No one makes you look like that.”

There’s a painful swallow and the start of a slow, uncertain smile. “Not even you?”

I wind my arms around his neck, crushing him to me, feeling his heart beat against mine. Both hearts racing. Beating in time.The dust settles around us, slowing things down. I pull away just enough to face him, to look into his beautiful eyes.

“Especially not me.”

His smile changes. Sun cracks through the clouds. Steel glints and starts glowing. In the distance, I hear angels weep. “Especially not you, huh? How come?”

The fucker. He’s going to make me say it. He’s Miller, so of course he’s going to make me say it. I roll my eyes and shake and nod my head at the same time. He tightens the arm he has around my waist and slides his other hand up my chest, and like that, I breathe easy.

“‘Cause I love you, you dick.”

25

Ryan

6 Years Later

Eloise watches me fromher spot on my desk, making no attempt to hide her contempt. If anyone has mastered the act of judging Judily, it’s Eloise. Green eyes narrow to slits as she dispenses a series of no-nonsense swats every time I attempt to touch my keyboard.

“Are you hungry?” I ask, despite knowing she won’t answer.

She doesn’t. Just turns at her leisure, arches her back, and flicks a downy tail left and right across my face, bestowing an entirely nonconsensual view of her asshole upon me. A close one at that.

I scoop her up and hold her to my chest, breathing her in. She hisses halfheartedly and then goes completely limp in my arms.

It’s almost her dinner time, so I head to the kitchen to get her food ready.

“Are you hungry, Ellie-cat? Are you hungry, my teeny tiny kitty-cat?” I hear someone at the front door, so I put her downand quickly step away from her. “Don’t you dare tell him I’m like this,” I warn.

She sits back and blinks at me slowly, the feline equivalent of an eye roll if ever I’ve seen one. She gives me a look that leaves me in no doubt whatsoever that ratting me out to Miller will be the very first thing she does if she ever takes it upon herself to learn English.

“Did you forget your key?” I ask as I open the door, expecting to see Miller. “Oh.” I take a step back. “Sorry, I thought you were someone else.”

The stranger on my doorstep is dressed in business attire that gives intense, made-to-measure vibes. He has neat, symmetrical features and the most upright posture I’ve seen on anyone outside the military. His hair is impeccably styled, but unlike someone I know, his is held in place courtesy of a shit-ton of product. He has a nice face. Kind eyes, ruddy cheeks, and a nervous smile that makes him look mildly constipated.

I can’t tell if I like him for sure, but I might.

I definitely don’t hate him on sight. Let’s put it like that.

Miller thinks it’s huge progress that my first instinct is no longer to think the absolute worst about people. And as much as it’s truly terrible having to admit when he’s right, in this case, I think he might be.

“May I help you?” I ask.

“Um, yes, thank you. I’m Wyn, Mr. MacAvoy’s assistant, and I ha—”

Hmm, might have spoken too soon about liking him.

“Excuse me, bud, butI’mthe closest thing Mr. MacAvoy has to an assistant. I think I’d know if he’d hired someone else.”

“Oh no. No, no. I mean Mr. MacAvoySenior. I-I’m Derek MacAvoy’s assistant.”

Lots of things fall into place at once.