Kassie:Dear Morning Wood. What is your schedule like today?
I hit send and stared at the screen, willing those little dots to appear. Nothing. I huffed, tossing the phone onto the counter. He was probably off chopping at a tree. Maybe I should bring him lunch.
I blinked. Either I had a severe case of déjà vu or… I had done that before.
The kettle whistled, and I poured the steaming water into a mug, dunking a tea bag in absentmindedly. I blew on the hot liquid, taking a tentative sip. It scalded my tongue, but I barely noticed. My mind was a million miles away, stuck on a certain someone who didn't know his emojis from his elbow.
Images flashed through my head. Seeing Atlas in the breakroom, the other Mothmen staring at me; then, dark, in my room, and gentle rubbing.
Fuck, I had forgotten how I ended up in my room. Did Atlas do that?
I wandered over to the living room, flopping down on the couch. The TV remote was buried somewhere in the cushions, and I dug it out, turning on some mindless morning show. I couldn't focus, though. All I could think about was Atlas. His hands, his mouth, his utterly befuddled expressions when faced with modern technology.
I should try to figure out how I got to my room, but nothing made sense. Do Mothmen have the power to knock me out? Was it something else?
No offense to Atlas, but… he doesn’t seem the type to use magic, and if he did,… he might mess up a couple times.
A buzz from the kitchen made me jump. I rushed back in, grabbing my phone like a lifeline. A new message.
As much as I loved Harlow, I was not as excited to see her message light up the screen.
Harlow:Are you guys done? Can I come back into the house?
I lifted a brow and parted my lips. Excuse me?
Kassie:What do you mean, are we done?
I heard the front door unlock, and Harlow walked in with her night robe on. She had a silk cap on and a blanket wrapped around her shoulders. “Ugh, still smells in here. I’m going to have to light a candle.”
“What?” I let out a high-pitched squeal. “What do you mean, it smells?”
Harlow cocked a hip and put her hand on it. “You really can’t smell that? It smells like sex, mixed with a moldy forest and fungus. Not to mention the grunting last night. We’re going to have to soundproof the rooms, or I’ll need to get some noise-canceling headphones. Oh… and some nose plugs.”
Harlow walked past and began scrubbing the dishes, which was a bad sign. If she were scrubbing instead of loading the dishwasher, something was definitely bothering her.
“Harlow, no, please let me.”
Harlow paused and placed the dishes back. “I’m sorry, I’m not mad at you. It's something else that I can’t talk about. I am really happy for you, Kassie. The first male you are interested in. You have a princely moth charming after you.”
I frowned and stepped forward. “That isn’t what I am worried about right now. What about you?”
Harlow shook her head. “I really can’t say. Lips are locked almost literally. Tell me how your night was?”
I frowned. She was avoiding the question again. She ignored my begging and told me to share my story about yesterday andlast night. I omitted the explicit details, but Harlow was very happy for me.
“Atlas has a dominant side, then, when he gets all super horny…” Harlow giggled.
I nodded. “Can’t wait until he really lets loose, you know? I don’t think he let it all go in the dream; doesn’t seem like his style.”
“I agree. Atlas seems like a male who likes consent,” Harlow agreed.
I helped Harlow clean the kitchen and continued to glance at my phone. Atlas still had not replied. He usually replied.
Was he regretting last night? He knows it was a dream sequence, to him at least, so why would he regret it?
Does he feel guilty?
I certainly didn’t. My mind was filled with what he’d done last night—how he touched me, how he wanted me. The way he said my name, like I was the one he wanted to eat, to devour, to taste. I wanted more of it, and I felt like I needed it now.
