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“Breathe, love,” Annie tells me. “I can feel you becoming emotional. I do not want her to feel it too. Please.” She puts her hand on my chest and I take a few deep breaths.

I focus on the warmth and softness of her touch, willing the rising tide back down, tucking it away, but keeping my eyes on Ben.

His shoulders are hunched and Niko has his arms crossed, but even from this distance, I can tell Ben is being genuine, not trying to charm or joke his way out of it.

Finally, Niko appears to relax slightly and uncrosses his arms, then motions to the parking lot. Ben smiles, rubs the back of his neck, and laughs. Niko smiles too, they shake hands, then he goes back inside and Ben starts walking toward us.

“See, I told you,” Annie says to me. Ben appears lighter when he gets back in the car, but I can tell he had a few drinks at the event, so I insist on driving us home.

He sits in the back next to the new cat, who does not enjoy the ride at all.

By the time we get back to my apartment, he’s making a weird scream-squealing sound, so I quickly get him set up in the laundry room and shut the door to give him some time to decompress.

“So,” Ben says, grabbing me around the waist as soon as I enter the kitchen, “a new job? That’s exciting, even if it is just scooping animal shit all day.”

“What will you be doing exactly?” Annie asks. “Or I suppose…what will we be doing? Since I will be accompanying you.”

I pause before opening the fridge. I hadn’t even thought about the fact that Annie and I still can’t be very far away from each other.

She’ll have to stay ‘inside’ me while I’m at work, and Ben will be alone all day.

Right now, everything feels good and safe, and I want to enjoy it, so I decide that it’s an issue for tomorrow-Theo.

I open a can of Dr. Pepper and lean against Ben, who puts his arms around me and kisses the side of my neck.

“It’s just cleaning kennels and cat cages, taking the dogs outside, feeding them, and then doing some stuff on the computer when they need me to.”

“I hope the animals do not…dislike you, because of my presence,” Annie says, biting her lip.

“The new cat seems alright with you,” Ben points out. “What are we naming him anyway?”

“I was hoping you two might help me,” I laugh. “I’m terrible with naming animals. When I was a kid, we got a dog and I named him Bill.”

Ben grimaces. “Ugh, that poor dog.”

“In my defense, it was after the pony from Lord of the Rings ,” I laugh, but Ben just shakes his head.

“Nope, we’re naming the cat.”

Annie glances anxiously down the hall toward the laundry room.

“Give him some time to settle in, sweetheart, and then I’m sure he’ll warm up to you,” I tell her, going over to kiss the side of her head.

Ben starts pulling a few things out of the fridge to make dinner, but before I can wash my hands to help out, my phone dings.

I have a few missed texts from Molly and my mom, and one from Mak asking for pictures of the cat, but the new texts coming in. ..

“Ben…” I say quietly. “Ros is texting me.”

He sets his knife down and asks, “Do you want me to read it first?”

I nod, unlock the phone, and pass it over without looking. His reaction is not what I expected. He actually laughs out loud, then covers his mouth and passes the phone back to me.

“What?!” I demand. “What did she say?” I snatch the phone back as Ben continues to laugh, and Annie reads the messages over my shoulder.

Hey Teddy

I need to ask you something, and it might be weird, so I’m sorry, but…did you meet someone new?

Yesterday I got a text from Mrs. Reynolds, the lady downstairs, asking if I could please ‘keep it down while engaging in premarital relations’, and then this morning she sent me another one

I don’t think she realizes I moved out

I know it’s none of my business

I shouldn’t have asked

I’m so sorry, please don’t answer

“Oh my God! This is terrible!” I drop my phone onto the counter, caught somewhere between laughing and crying, then bury my face in my hands, but I can still hear Annie and Ben giggling. “She’s gonna tell her sister, who’s gonna tell my sister, who’s gonna fucking grill me!”

“Who the hell says ‘premarital relations’ anyway?” Ben asks, his shoulders still shaking as he takes a knife from the block. I look up and can’t help but smile at the pure glee on his face.

“I’ll have to apologize to Mrs. Reynolds next time I see her,” I snort. “Should I…should I reply to Ros?”

Ben shrugs and grins. “Nah. Let her sweat it out.”

“Or perhaps next time, Ben should be the loud one,” says Annie with a mischievous look. “That will really give Mrs. Reynolds something to report.”

Ben and I both laugh, and I can’t help but notice the way he looks at her.

It’s hopeful, like her newfound sense of humor is a sign that maybe we can keep her here and all be together.

Especially after today, introducing them both to my friends, and Ben getting the thing with Niko off his shoulders, I want to feel optimistic.

I want this to be my life. I want to do this with both of them every single day, but the logical part of my brain knows how out of reach that is.

I glance back at the half-repaired wall and the remnants of my coffee table, which we pushed to the side of the room for now.

Everything with Annie seemed fine today, no hint of the demon attempting to take over, but I can’t help thinking it’s only a matter of time.

Besides, being this close to her and not be able t o do much of anything beyond holding hands is absolute torture, and I don’t know how much longer I can stand it.

As if she can sense what I’m thinking, she reaches over and puts her fingers on my leg. “Are you alright?” she asks softly.

I clear my throat and start washing my hands so I can help with dinner. “Yeah, just tired and thinking about what I need to do for the cat.”

“Did you guys finish Clone Wars while I was gone?” Ben asks, and I can hear a hint of disappointment in his voice. He likes Star Wars more than he thought he would, and that makes me extremely happy.

“We actually didn’t. We got up to the last few episodes though. We could probably finish it tonight. I can give you the recap of what you missed.”

“Let’s do it.” Ben begins to work faster, making grilled cheese and tomato soup, and Annie takes over as sous chef when I go to check on the cat.

He’s curled on a blanket in the corner of the laundry room, and he chirps at me when I open the door.

It’s a funny little noise for a funny little cat.

I’m happy I picked him. When I sit down cross-legged on the floor, he chirps again, then stretches and wanders over to bump his head on my knee.

Keeping my voice down, I tell him, “Look, bud, I know you can probably sense that she’s not really human, but…I need you to be nice to Annie, alright? She’s having a tough time lately, and I think it would make her really happy if you wanted to be her friend. Deal?”

He peers up at me with his big, green eyes, and I scratch him behind the ears. When I leave the room, I also leave the door open, and he follows me cautiously into the hall. Annie and Ben are still in the kitchen, so I linger by the bathroom door for a moment to watch them.

They’re at the stove together, Ben with his arms around her waist wh ile she holds the frying pan and a spatula.

What clearly started as a cooking tutorial is turning into an excuse for Ben to kiss her neck as many times as he can and run his hands over her curves, but she’s giggling and blushing.

The soft part of me melts as I watch them, silently thanking whatever weird forces of the universe caused us all to crash into each other.

I’d like to think that I’m not naive about relationships.

Ros and I had our share of ups and downs, but we worked through those things.

I want to do that with Ben and Annie now.

The cynical part of me whispers that it won’t work, that it won’t last, that it’s too much and too quick and too fraught, but I don’t care anymore.

That soft part of me, the part that loves them, is finally starting to win out.

In this moment, I’m all too willing to lay everything I am at their feet–and it doesn’t scare me anymore.