“No.”
“Yes,” he keeps insisting.
I snort. “We almost sound like a boring old couple arguing now. And no, absolutely not ‘tiny.’”
“Maybe I’d like to be a boring old couple,” he muses, pressing another kiss to my shoulder. “Beauty.”
The thought makes my heart flutter.
But could we have such a future together?
Suddenly, my stomach roars.
And he definitely noticed, judging from the frown on his face. “You’re hungry.”
“It’s fine,” I reply. I take a much-needed sip of my water and check our cupboards. There are only a few pieces of bread left and some jam in the fridge. Just one more day.
I sigh.
“What’s wrong?” Beast asks.
“We’re running out of food,” I reply.
“Well, we can get more,” he says.
I place my cup down. “How? We don’t have any money.”
He shrugs. “Steal it.”
I frown. “No. That’s wrong.”
He snorts and points at himself. “I’ve lived as a criminal.”
I make a face. “Well, it doesn’t have to be that way. We could try something else.”
“How?” he says, tilting his head. “Beg for food?”
I roll my eyes. “No, I mean like … shouldn’t we go find some jobs?”
His face grows tighter, darker, more intense. Like all the joy has been sucked out of him. “No.”
A pang hits my stomach. “Why not?”
What’s wrong with a regular job?
“Have you seen me?” he replies with a furrowed brow.
“Yes. Of course. That doesn’t have to mean anything.” It’s hard not to look at him, that’s for sure, especially when he wears so little that I can practically look underneath.
“No, no way,” he says, shaking his head.
I sigh out loud. “C’mon. We need to figure something out. We can’t stay here if we don’t do something to get money.”
“Stealing works too,” he says, grabbing a cup. “I won’t hurt anyone.”
“If you steal once, what are you going to do next? Steal again?” I fold my arms. “Forever and ever?”
“Whatever it takes,” he says like it’s the most normal thing in the world.