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“Alright,” I said. “I’ll do it.”

Relief washed over his face. “Good.”

I squinted at him. “First things first, I’m going to need the right clothes. I only have two outfits like this.” I gestured at my yoga pants and T-shirt. “These won’t hide my—” Heat rose to my face as I gestured to my chest. “Let’s just say, no one’s going to mistake me for a guy in this outfit. You don’t happen to have any old clothing you’ve outgrown, do you?” I almost laughed at the thought. He’d have to have held onto clothing he’d worn when he was ten if they were going to fit me.

He frowned, his gaze flicking to my shirt before snapping away, his ears turning deep green again. “You’re a little—uh—little. But I can get some things for you in town. Tourist stuff, but it will work. Can you…” His ears darkened again. “Deflate those?”

I blinked for a moment. “Deflate what?”

“Your mam mounds.”

My snort rang out. “Mam mounds, huh?”

“Orc females don’t have them. When our younglingsare born, tubes extend from their chests to feed our infants.”

“No tubes here.” I didn't think my face could get any hotter, butmammounds? “They're called breasts.”

“Breasts,” he echoed, still frowning. “Canbreastsbe deflated?”

“No. They stay the way they are. In fact, they get bigger when a woman delivers a child. They fill with milk and…” Yeah, time to stop talking or he’d turn so dark green, he’d blend in with the grass.

“This is troublesome.”

“Some males would not agree.”

“I'm not sure why. If you didn't have them, you could better disguise yourself as a young male.”

“I'm sure I could,” I said dryly. “I'm not binding them. That would not only be uncomfortable, but I’d also sweat in the heat and rub. And it would be hard to breathe.”

He nodded slowly. “I'll buy loose things for you then. Can you contain them in some way?”

“They’re already contained by my bra.” That I wasn’t going to show him. I was still trying to process “mam mounds”.

“They shift with your movements.”

“Because they’re part of my body.”

“A softer part than, say, your legs.”

“I’ll try not to let them jiggle.”

He still hadn’t stopped frowning. Or staring at my chest. “I appreciate that.”

This was going to be quite interesting. I assumed hehadn't seen breasts before, so it would be an eye-opener if he ever did. Not that I'd be showing him mine.

Now my face was really getting hot.

“I'll keep my bra on during daylight hours. That'll keep them from getting too rambunctious.”

His scowl deepened. “Good.”

“Anything will be better than that wedding dress.” My snort rang out before my smile faded. When I was a little girl, I'd had big dreams of one day marrying, of leaving my father's control. True freedom seemed farther away now than it had back then. But a kid didn't understand the realities of life. An adult sure did.

Ruugar stood and picked up his plate. “You’ll have to wait here while I get what you need in town. We leave at noon.”

I didn't have a watch. Not even a phone. I'd had one, of course, but I'd known better than to bring it with me. They would've tracked me here within minutes. “I’ll be ready.”

He grunted, his version of acknowledgment. “Don't leave the building.”