Killing Me Softly (Reaper Romance)

Chapter Sixteen: Back to Black

The doorbell blared briefly through the house while Briseis tested the new lock on the back door.  

"I'm coming!" Briseis yelled to the front door as she sprinted towards it past Micah, who stood in the kitchen watching her.  Her long ponytail swung like a pendulum until she abruptly stopped at the door, flinging it open. "Hi there!" she greeted with enthusiasm as she met the tired eyes of a middle-aged pizza delivery man. He did not reflect the same energy but nonetheless gave an attempt to politely smile.

"Hi ma'am, here's your order. One extra large pepperoni pizza with extra cheese and a side salad." The delivery man pulled the pizza box carefully out of his green thermal pouch and handed it to Briseis who pursed her lips at receiving the bounty of food.

"Ooooh yes. Come to mama!" She grinned and received it with open arms. "Thank you very much!"

The delivery man nodded and handed her a slip of paper. "You're welcome. Here's your receipt since you paid online and thanks for the tip." 

"You're welcome." Briseis lowered the pizza box so he could place the receipt on top. She looked at the delivery man's eyes and she sensed something very lonely in them. A kinda quiet solitude that could either be the result of a bad day or something else. She set the pizza down on the end table by the door. "Hey..."

The pizza delivery man turned around. "Ma'am?"

Briseis chortled. "Ugh, please don't call me 'ma'am' I know it's polite, but I'm not that old. I'll give you an extra $20 tip if you listen to my joke."

A befuddled look crossed over his face as he stared at her. 

"It's a good joke, I promise," Briseis reassured, waving a $20 bill in the air, tempting him.

After a moment he scratched his head and with a scoff replied. "Uh, sure."

Briseis smiled. "Okay. Wise choice, sir." She took a deep breath. "Soo, what's the difference between a tire and 365 used condoms?"

The delivery man's lips twitched up, threatening to smile. His cheeks started to flush and swallowing down his budding amusement, he looked at the steps then back up to Briseis. "Uh, I don't know."

"One's a Goodyear, the other's a great year." Her delivery so confident that the pizza delivery man bursted with laughter. "Pretty good, huh?" She extended her hand to pass him the $20 bill. "See? Told you it was a wise choice."

He nodded with a healthy smile across his face. "Yeah, that was pretty good punchline there. Thanks." He stared at the money in her grasp and pushed her hand away.  "I'm good, thanks."

Briseis frowned at his refusal. "Hey, we had a deal, sir." She reached back out with the bill, hoping she didn't somehow offend him.

The delivery man smiled and shook his head, zipping up his thermal pouch. There was a light to him now. Faint, but the shine was there, if only for a moment. "I know, but the joke was kinda worth more if I'm being honest. I think I'll use it."

She laughed and shoved the bill back into her pocket. "It's totally open source, so go for it!" She said as he began to leave. "Have a good day."

"You too!" He waved as he quickly made way to his car.

Briseis closed the door and turned to see Micah watching behind her. She jumped as she nearly ran into a wall of black-clad reaper observing the exchange like a guard dog. "Shit! Dude, you're going to have a wear a bell or something. We're you back there the whole time? What have we discussed about creeping?"

A disapproving frown grew on his face. He wasn't expecting his charge to chat up a random pizza guy and tell a dirty joke. It worried him how friendly she was. For a witch, it was a strange trait. Why did she care to make a conversation? "Were you flirting with the pizza delivery man?" As soon as he said it, the idea sent a strange pang of jealousy down his spine that he couldn't explain. Why should he care?