Un2talented (Book 3 of the Un2 Series)

Dorian awoke refreshed, but with an annoying little catch in his throat. He swung his legs off the side of the bed and let the momentum pull him upright.

“Ahemm, hem…” Dorian croaked. He grabbed the skin just beneath his Adam’s apple between his thumb and forefinger and jiggled it back and forth.

“Ahemm.”

He walked over to the kitchen sink and rinsed out his favorite mug, running his hand around the soap-less rim. He filled it with water, then took a mouthful and dumped the rest. He gargled, changing the intensity a couple of times, and then spit into the sink. He still felt the catch, but it didn’t interfere with his breathing or make him gag, so he shrugged it off and continued preparing for his shift.

After a quick shower and deciding not to shave, Dorian pulled on a pair of cargo shorts and his favorite obscure band t-shirt, and a long sleeve flannel shirt. He shoved his feet into a pair of slippers that looked like moccasins, and then checked his hair in the dresser mirror. In the reflection, he noticed the odd dust and shards of pebble.

“Aw, that’s too bad,” he said as he brushed the debris off the edge of the dresser and into a wastepaper basket. He checked to see if anything had happened to his other gift. The feather still looked fine. He stuck the quill into a crevice between the mirror and its frame and ran his hand along its length after releasing it. He gathered his laptop and earbuds and looked forward to a long, quiet night of working on his music.

“Hey, sleepy head, have a nice nap?” Cadence greeted him as he sidled up next to her at the front desk.

“Yeah, pretty good,” he started,” Hey, you know that pebble thing you gave me? When I woke up, I saw that it had popped, or something.”

“What do you mean?”

“After I took my shower, I was checking my doo...”

“Nice, as always,” Cadence interjected.

“Thanks, I was checking my doo in the dresser mirror and noticed a pile of pebble bits and dust where I had set the pebble,” Dorian explained.

“Aw, that’s too bad!”

“That’s exactly what I said! The good news is that the feather is just fine. I shall treasure it, always.”

Dorian looked at Cadence and scrunched up his face with a goofy smile.

“Well, I should hope that you will. Now I’m tired. I guess it’s my turn for a snooze.”

Cadence stretched, twisting from side to side, extending her arms above her head. She bent down and grabbed her purse from beneath the counter then started to leave.

“Hey, before you go. Could you check something for me?” Dorian asked.

“Whattaya need?”

“I have this weird feeling in my throat, kind of like when the skin from a popcorn kernel sticks back in there and you try to hack it up, but it just won’t move.” Dorian mimed a hacking motion.

“Ew! What would you like me to do?” Cadence frowned.

“Could you look, or maybe check for a fever?”

Cadence placed her hand on Dorian’s forehead and then held the back of the hand against his cheek.

“You don’t feel warm. Open your mouth.”

Cadence peered into the pie hole at several different angles but couldn’t see anything abnormal. She placed her index finger beneath Dorian’s chin and pushed his mouth shut.

“I don’t see anything. Any other orifices you need me to look in?” she laughed.

“Nope, I’m a single orifice kind of guy.”

They looked at each other and winced. There was a two-second period of absolute stillness and silence, and then they both burst out laughing.

“I guess that would be my cue to leave. Fire up your laptop and get busy!” Cadence ordered.

Dorian stared and grinned.

Cadence stared back and warned, “Don’t even! “

“What? I didn’t say anything!”

“Let’s keep it that way!”

Cadence cuffed him on the back of the head as she left. Dorian snickered and got down to business.