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“That’s good to hear.”

Bren burrowed into me and I wrapped my arms around her, breathing in her scent. It was rich and dark and made my mouth water and want to lick her skin to get a taste of it.

I needed to go before I did something like that.

“Okay, I’m going,” I said, stretching out my legs and pushing to my feet. Bren followed me, as well as Arson, who’d woken up and seemed upset about it.

“Oh, sweet kitty. It’s okay. I’ll be back.” I scratched Arson’s head as she purred against me.

Bren just walked into my arms and I embraced her as she held me.

“Thank you,” she said.

“For what?” I asked, one hand brushing her hair. I couldn’t stop touching it.

“For giving me time and space and just…for beingyou.”

“You’re welcome. And thank you for moving past your fear and letting me in.” I meant to her apartment, but I also meant her life.

“I’m going to walk you out.”

She locked her door grabbed my still-damp umbrella, followed me down the stairs, and out to the sidewalk. I wanted to hold her hand, but that seemed like it might be too much for tonight.

We reached my truck and I unlocked the driver side before turning and facing Bren.

She melted into me and I held her close.

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” I said. I couldn’t wait.

“See you tomorrow.” Bren let me go and then smiled slowly.

“Good mice, Honey.”

Letting out a laugh, I had to lean forward and give her a kiss before I said, “good mice, Bren.”

Chapter Twenty-Four

Bren

“What thefuck?”I said to Arson when I got back upstairs from watching Honey drive away in her truck.

The past few hours had been completely wild. Honey and I had kissed, repeatedly, and we’d mutually agreed to have some kind of relationship with each other.

The person I was when I’d woken up this morning wasn’t the same person when I was getting ready for bed.

I stared at my face in the mirror, searching for visible changes without finding any. Maybe my cheeks were a little more flushed, but that was it.

As wonderful as everything with Honey had been, I was still scared of everything else. We needed to talk about being physical and I needed to figure out how I was going to be the person she needed.

While I brushed my teeth, I searched the internet for tips on being a good girlfriend. Not that I wanted that label (even thinking about it made me start to sweat), but I wanted to be a decent partner to her. I’d never really dated anyone seriously and hadn’t paid much attention to other people who’d gotten into serious relationships. What were the rules? What were the expectations? I was in the dark.

When I got in bed with Arson, I received a message from Melliferal.

It feels wrong to end this chat, so I’m just going to keep it going if that’s okay with you. Just wanted to let you know that I got home safe and that I had a really good time with you tonight. I’m excited to see where this goes. Hopefully that doesn’t freak you out, but I wanted you to know where my head was at. If you want to do something after the marketplace closes tomorrow, just let me know. Okay. Good mice, Bren.

I put my hand on my chest, feeling the thump of my heart as I tried to decide how to answer. Feeling at a loss, I decided to send a voice note.

“Hey. Thanks for letting me know you got home safe. I should have asked about that. Sorry. You’re going to find out that I’m not good at this. I’m sorry in advance for when I fuck things up, because I’m going to fuck things up. Just know that I’m going to try. I’m going to try so hard for you, Honey. You’re so good and I want to be good for you too. I like the version of myself that I am when I’m with you. That’s probably telling you way too much, but I guess I’m just going to keep talking. Anyway. I need to get to bed, but I can’t stop thinking about you. Good mice, Honey Bea.”