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I glance at him again. “Theo made me soup.”

Junie sighs. “That might be hotter than cheekbones.”

“Junie,” Scarlet warns.

“What? It is.”

Theo takes the spoon from my hand before I accidentally gesture soup onto the blanket.

I mouth thank you.

His eyes soften.

Honey’s voice gentles. “What do you need, sweetheart?”

The question makes the room blur for a second. I’m excited enough to burst, frightened enough to shake, and so full of wanting that I can feel it in my teeth. Beneath all of that, I’m loved by women who will show up with whatever I need because I ask.

“Soft clothes. Toothbrush. Phone charger. My blue blanket. Some salty snacks. Maybe the little cooler from the passenger floor.”

Junie laughs. “The cooler?”

“It has compartments.”

Honey says, cruelly affectionate, “Don’t worry, I won’t forget to bring Darwin.”

Ezra’s attention sharpens with dangerous interest. He turns his face toward me with reverence. “Darwin?”

“My cooler. I was fifteen when I named him.”

Theo’s mouth twitches.

Junie says, “Wait, is Ezra there too? Did he hear that?”

“He did, and I may never recover.”

Scarlet speaks again, steady and dear. “We’ll bring everything to the gate. We’re not coming inside unless you ask.”

“Thank you.”

“Do you need a doctor?”

I consider my body, the ache, the slick warmth, the scent filling the studio, Theo’s controlled purr, Ezra’s solidity, and the stone near my hip. “Not yet. I need to rest and eat. I’ll call if that changes.”

Honey says, “You can be happy about this.”

My throat tightens. “I am. I’m also scared.”

“That's okay. You can feel both.”

“I want to stay here,” I admit, voice smaller now. “And it’s not only because my heat is coming.”

Silence moves through the phone, but this time it feels held rather than empty.

Honey says, “Then stay.”

Junie adds, “But text regularly so I don’t have to climb the cemetery wall.”

Theo’s eyes open.