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Milo picks me up with surprising agility (his tub has the non-skid mats that I will be investing in). “Summer?”
“Well, yeah, when it’s warm. We can—”
“Summer is four months away.”
I blush. “Oh. Right.”
He crushes me to his chest, nuzzling the top of my head. “Go on. Tell me some more.”
Chapter Fifty-Two: Milo
On Monday morning, it feels like I'm in heaven and hell at the same time. I wake up and Libby is still beside me, curled up under one arm with her head on my chest. Felix and Freddy are sleeping on my other arm, purring like baby buzzsaws. I offered to take Libby home last night so she could be ready for work and leave straight from her apartment, but then we started talking about Pine Ridge.
I’ve never had a human friend who had no supernatural knowledge before Libby—how could I? Online pals don’t really count in this case. The guys on my Flames ‘n’ Forge or MegaMetalhead Discord don’t count. They don’t live in my town. Libby does, and now that she’s peeled back the first couple layers of Pine Ridge, she wants to know more. We ended up sitting on my couch, with Libby in my lap, the kittens in Libby’s lap, and the laptop balanced precariously on my other knee. We did a mile-by-mile Google Street View tour of Pine Ridge. I answered all of her questions and explained where humans and various supernatural citizens lived to the best of my ability. Of course, I also pointed out that I don’t know everyone and everything in this town. There’s a branch campus and dorm here, and that means every year the “crop” of college kids rotates. The Lumberjacks’ stadium is here and most of the players live in the big high-rise by the campus. Every season, players rotate, too.
By the time we had exhausted my knowledge—we were just plain exhausted. Libby decided to spend the night. We didn’t even make love, we just slept, curled up with our kittens.
That’s how we woke up. That’s why I thought I was in heaven—and hell came crashing down. We didn’t even make love one last time and now she’s leaving. What if this is it? What if this is the last night we spend together? Did I waste it, snoring beside her?
Oh damn. Do I snore?
“Milo. Gotta get home and shower before work. I hope I have a clean set of scrubs.” Libby smiles up at me, kisses me on the muzzle, and rolls out of bed.
Someone said hell is a Monday. Well, it's Monday morning, and I have no choice but to get up and drop her back at her apartment. The real world wins.
BUT MY PURGATORY HAS some sweet spots. Since Libby is panicking about the lack of clean scrubs and icy roads, we’re out the door super early.
“Time to stop for coffee?” I ask. Anything to keep her a moment longer.
“Yes, please.” Libby yawns wide enough to crack her jaws.
She’s not afraid to stretch that pretty mouth.
With a screech, I park in front of The Pine Loft.
We go in together and order the same thing we ordered yesterday, a smoothie for me and coffee for her. Georgia’s at the counter. “Hi. Is this going to be the usual?”
I can’t blame her. Same beautiful human girl, same order, two mornings in a row? The cat is out of the bag.
That's another nice spot. Libby says that since she'll be at work all day, I might as well take care of the kittens while I'm working from home. I'll drop them off this evening before I go to work.
Isn't that great? It's like parents making arrangements about who will pick up the babies from daycare!
It also feels a lot like divorced people figuring out who has custody of the kids.
I know it's too soon, but I would feel so much better if my ring were on Libby’s finger instead of just letting her have my dagger in her waistband.
I drive slowly for the last few seconds of our journey. I’ve always loved how convenient Pine Ridge is, how most of the shops are close to one another, how tightly packed and neatly gridded our little Main Street of Smalltown America is.
Today, I hate it.
“Here we are.”
Outside of her apartment, Libby puts her hand on my chest. “It's probably better if you don't come up,” she says with a regretful smile. “I know how it goes once we're together near a bed.”
“Can’t argue with that.” I caress her blonde hair and lean my big head to her dainty little one.
She kisses me goodbye and hops down to the cold pavement, taking my heart with her.
