Page 73 of Moon Tamed

Every species had a playroom, and while the bunny room was smaller than most of the others, it saw the highest rate of usage.

“Every day for an hour,” she confirmed. “Marshmallow likes to chase balls, so I throw them for her. I’ve permanently booked one of the rooms for an hour daily so they can get some exercise. All the bunny owners bring theirs in at the same time so they can play together. We have harnesses for them so they can be easily caught and leashed if needed. But they are learning to be friends with all the other bunnies. It’s a fun way for them to socialize.”

“And to have a bazillion extra baby bunnies if you’re not careful.”

She flashed me a grin. “As a matter of fact, yes.”

“Where are you going to put them all?”

“Honestly, we’re prepared to use them as meat animals if we can’t place them all. We have a lot of extra mouths to feed right now, and we can’t afford to kill off the entire wild rabbit population. The meat is perfectly fine. We will keep as many of them as we can, but it’s an emergency backup for feeding everyone until our food supply can handle the extra bodies.”

I regarded her with wide eyes. “That’s both distressing and sensible.”

“I know. It’s our last-ditch resort, and only if we can’t handle the burden. If everything works out, we’re going to send a lot of them to other planets as exports. Earth-bred bunnies will be fashionable, and they’ll be marked by generation thereafter. Assuming we don’t have any supply issues, we’ll be able to use the exports to refill the city-state’s coffers and set up an emergency fund in case another Earth happens.”

“Without having to put Mr. Stephans up on the singles market?”

Sarai snickered. “Exactly.”

“Was there something you wanted to talk to me about beyond showing me your bunnies?”

“Actually, yes. I wanted to talk to you about Calden.”

I foresaw the conversation either ending with us being friends or mortal enemies, and I couldn’t begin to guess which way it would go. “What about him?”

“Are you sleeping with him?”

I choked on my own spit, coughed, and waved my hand in my face in a futile effort to recover. “If you mean did we get drunk and pass out on the same couch, yes. If you mean in the same bed, no. I’m not sure what you’ve heard about me, but I don’t kiss on the first date. It’s a hard rule. I take it our misadventure with a bottle of Champagne has made the circuits?”

“It has.”

“Calden was trying to process Earth’s destruction, and he wanted someone to talk to. We’re friends.” I could handle Calden being a friend. Nobody needed to know the other details, including my general inclination to break my own rules if he were to take his shirt off and strut for me.

When I escaped from Sarai, I would go confess to Calden. That way, when news spread along the grapevine again, he would be prepared.

“You don’t kiss on the first date?” Sarai giggled. “Your dates must be rough.”

“You have no idea. It’s a test. Most of the men who come barking up my tree are just out for sex, and I’m not in the market for a sex hookup. I want relationships, and if they can’t wait for a second date, they’re not worth dating to me.”

“Good. Calden’s the meticulous kind, so if you want to have a date, you have to be methodical and patient. Or just present. That matters to him. Your clothing is perfect. Professional, attractive, and sensible. I’ve heard rumor you hunt?”

I blinked. “Are you trying to hook me up with Calden?”

“Desperately. Please. Until he’s dating again, people are going to keep thinking we’re going to reconcile, and I am not doing that. No way. He’s a great guy, but he views bunnies as dinner.”

“No, bunnies are not dinner, and he will hunt anyone who hurts his bunnies. He goes home and plays with his bunnies every night. Rabbits are for eating, bunnies are for cuddling. Those are the rules in his house. I would not tell him about the food chain issue involving bunnies. I would also make sure the newly converted bunny lover is not served anything other than meat rabbits. He has a very firm line in the sand on this one. Bunnies are not food.”

Sarai dissolved into giggles. “You have to be kidding me.”

“I’m not. He just had no idea bunnies are nice cuddle bugs. He’s only been around the meat rabbits, and those things are nasty bastards. He had no idea why you wanted a meat rabbit, but it is what it is.”

Her giggles bloomed into full laughter. “That explains so much, though. We were never good for each other, but he showed up.”

I understood that. Someone who bothered to show up for a relationship made the struggles worth the while. “He doesn’t seem like the kind to do anything in half measures.”

“He’s really not, especially with what happened to his mother. I was available, and I was a safe option.” She reined in her laughter and stared at me with a raised brow.

“I’m negative for the faulty gene,” I replied, as I expected the test results were what she was after.

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