I'm sorry, Emmy half-wailed, silently.Running my rabbit sounds even worse, though!
The rabbit, all innocence, said,Why? and Emmy thought she might die on the spot. She didn't want to try explaining human innuendo to her bunny. At least she wasn't a beaver shifter.
Fortunately, Karl said, "The keys?" in a careful voice, and Emmy jolted back to reality. The reality in which she had met her fated mate, who was a big gorgeous hiker who rescued bunnies, and she had to tell him she was the bunny.
Getting the keys sounded easier, so she did that instead. "Room four, upstairs."
Karl took the keys, smiling hopefully. "And dinner, after a shower? AfterIshower," he said hastily, clearly falling down the same mental rabbit hole Emmy already had.
She thought she'd be just fine if he wanted to fall down her rabbit hole.
Her rabbit stared at her. Again.Humans don't fit in dens.
It was like the rabbit had never once heard her use euphemisms. Emmy suddenly doubted herself. Maybe she never had. At least, maybe never rabbit-themed ones. Maybe it was the unexpected presence of her mate, the one guy she was definitely going to tell the truth to after never even considering it before.
Or maybe the rabbit was playing dumb on purpose. Maybe she was being gaslit by a bunny.
Meeting her fated mate had made Emmy much flightier than she had ever expected. She'd thought it would be a calming, centering experience. Instead she was in full dork mode.
Well, maybe notfulldork mode. She'd managed theLes Miserablesreference, and Karl had responded in kind. Maybe there was hope for her. "After you shower," she said, because Karl was still there, smiling hopefully at her, waiting for a response. "I'll be right here. I'm always right here."
What a boring thing to say to someone who just told her he'd walked all the way across the country.
Karl's bright eyes didn't look bored, though. In fact, he said, "That's so lucky for me," and went upstairs to his room, leaving Emmy to hug herself with excitement and anticipation.
Then, in a panic, she called her friend Donna and blurted, "I just met my fated mate," when the other woman answered. "What do I do?"
"Whoa." Donna, like Emmy, was at work, and kept her voice low. "I don't know. Ravish him?"
"The best I can do israbbithim," Emmy wailed quietly. "He's not a shifter, Donna. I don't know how to tell him I turn into a rabbit!"
Donna said, "Whoa," again, this time in a more awestruck voice. "He's not a shifter? Really? Is he hot?"
Emmy whimpered. "So hot.Sohot. He makes Thor look like the ugly duckling. He's been hiking across the country. I can barely hike across the town square!"
"Now that's not true," Donna said in a no-nonsense voice. "You're plushy, babe, but you're in at least as good condition as I am, and I'm a deputy, for heaven's sake. I actually have to run laps with fire gear, sometimes."
"Okay, okay, yes, you're right, but let me have my drama here, will you?"
Donna laughed. "Sorry. Go right ahead, Miss Dramatic Pants. Is he into you?"
Emmy admitted, "I think he forgot his own name for a minute," in a slightly gleeful whisper that made Donna cackle.
"Then I think you'll be okay with the whole shifter reveal. Speaking of which, are you ready for Easter? Virtue can't do without its very own giant Easter bunny, you know."
"Oh my God, it almost had to. I got stuck in a no-kill trap this afternoon. Karl saved me, actually. He was so gentle," Emmy said dreamily.
"So he'sseenyour bunny?" Donna's enthusiasm disappeared into an amused, "Why does that sound so wrong?"
"I don't know, but just a minute ago I was being glad I wasn't a beaver shifter, so it's not just you."
A cackle came over the phone line. "Well, if he's already seen your bunny and he likes you, somehow I feel like it'll all go well. You must keep me posted," Donna told her sternly.
"I will. We're going out to dinner as soon as he's done showering. Oh my God. Maybe I have time to change into something cuter than a t-shirt and jeans? I'm taking him to Kate's."
"Kate's is only open at lunch time," Donna reminded her. "That hasn't changed in the like fifteen years it's been here, Em."
"Oh no. You're right. I just got caught up on the idea of—"
