Page 37 of For the Night

That sounded like retail. “What do you do?”

“I work at a reptile center in Arlington,” she responded. “Tiny place—it’s just the owner, me, and another part-time employee.”

All…righty…then. Reptiles. Snakes and stuff. Lizards. Maybe I shouldn’t have been surprised, given how close she and Lane were. Lane and Ty, with a side of Noa, were our reptile wizards.

“You like snakes and lizards,” I deduced.

She snickered, possibly because of my expression. I didn’t hate creepy-crawlies; I wasn’t afraid of snakes or anything, but I wasn’t fond of them either. I’d grown up in rattlesnake territory outside LA, so I could identify which ones got to stay on the property, which ones had to be removed, and which ones made me scream for Dad to take over.

“I love them, but I’ll never own one myself,” she answered. “The species I’m into are time-consuming and pretty expensive, so I’ll stick to working with reptiles and cuddling Lane’s babies.”

Lane’s babies.

“Have you heard of cats and dogs?” I had to ask.

She laughed and gave my arm an “oh, you” shove. “I love them too! But I live in a two-bedroom with three roommates, so that’s not happening anytime soon either.”

Oh, I remembered those days. When I’d moved out east for college, I’d shared a studio off campus with two other girls.

“But, so to, uh, circle back to what you asked earlier,” she went on. “I don’t have anywhere to be until ten tomorrow morning. Just so we’re clear.”

I smiled. I liked the sound of that.

CHAPTER FOUR

Nora Lilja

A few days later

“Someone’s got a date. You never rush out of here,” Cal noted.

I smirked and shouldered my messenger bag. “I have more than a date. I have a sleepover.” And the woman I’d be spending the night with was currently outside waiting to pick me up.

I was in heaven.

Well, cuddle heaven—so far. We’d spent the night on Saturday too, but nothing had happened besides kissing and cuddling. Which, to be honest, had been all kinds of perfect, because the Mistress in Penelope had come out to play. She hadn’t allowed me to derail her for a second. And she was clearly on a mission to get to know me.

“So that’s why you asked Ted to cover for you tomorrow?”

“Guilty,” I sang. “And on Sunday. See you next week!”

He chuckled. “Have a good one, kid.”

I blew kisses to my favorite lizards on the way out of the shop—particularly Daycrawler, who was being picked up by her new owner this weekend. They’d probably name her something ridiculous. To me, she’d always be Daycrawler.

I stepped out of one humid place and into another, though it wasn’t that bad yet. Come June, I’d hate Virginia just a little bit. It was why I tried to live in a swimming pool during the summer.

Just like she’d said in her text, Penelope was parked right outside in her old truck, and I beamed and opened the door.

“Hi!”

“Hey, sweet girl.” She patted the spot next to her, and I was quick to jump in. “You looking forward to a few days off?”

“So much.” I leaned over and kissed her cheek, because I wanted to. We didn’t have boundaries; otherwise, I would’ve gone straight for her kissable lips. But I had hope. The questions she asked me, the interest she had in my life—it wasn’t what one subjected a future buddy to so eagerly.

Last weekend, after the party, we’d spent a couple hours with the others by the pool, grilling burgers and talking and cozying it up in a lounger. And then she’d invited me to her cabin, where we’d lost track of time swapping childhood stories and how we’d eventually found kink. She’d once been invited to a party, whereas I’d found BDSM reading romance novels.

We’d friended each other online too, and we’d talked about friends’ activity in albums, discussion groups, and journals.

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