Her Pretend Christmas Date: A Lesbian Christmas Romance

“Ain’t no problem.”

“Then for the orange I picked. I did pick one. In the orchard.”

Silas’ eyes lit up with amusement. “Well, that’s the most expensive orange I’ve ever sold.”

Morgun and Laney made a strangled noise at the same time. “I’m so sorry again,” Morgun said as she climbed into the car, but Silas just stood there and laughed even harder.

Chapter 24

Laney

The car reeked like skunk. Laney didn’t understand it, because they hadn’t gotten sprayed, but maybe the wind carried it, and they just stank by association. Neither of them said anything for a long time. Laney made plans in her head to take her car to get detailed the next morning. Maybe they could use some magic product and get the stench out.

Half an hour down the road, Laney just started laughing. She couldn’t help it. It burst from her as a little giggle, but then got louder and louder until she was laughing so hard that her eyes teared up. Morgun looked at her like she’d lost her mind, but then she smiled, and it wasn’t long after that she started laughing too. They laughed and laughed as they drove back towards the city.

“Well,” Laney gasped out when she’d caught her breath. “That was an adventure. I have to say, of all the sessions I’ve ever done, that’s a first.”

“Between that and Chester, you’re getting incredibly acquainted with the wildlife around here.”

“I hope to not get acquainted with anything else. I don’t know, at the rate I’m going, it would probably be a cougar or something.”

“You like cats?”

“Oh. Uh…”

“You were all excited when you thought that skunk was a cat.” Morgun started laughing again and Laney had to join in.

“I guess I do. I don’t know. Pets are always more fun at someone else’s house. You should get one. You were saying you wanted to adopt a senior cat. You should do it! I don’t think I’m home enough for me to get one and it wouldn’t be fair.”

“But you want me to get one. So you could visit it?”

“Yes!”

Morgun seemed to think about that. She got all silent and Laney had to turn to look at her. She was working her bottom lip between her teeth, staring out the passenger window. It was dark and there was nothing to see besides a blur of the occasional flashing light as they got closer and closer to the city.

“Would that be alright?” Laney pressed on. She realized what it was that she’d said and why Morgun had gone quiet. They hadn’t talked about this. Labels. Terms. Relationships. Dating. A couple. Those were words that they hadn’t used. They came with expectations and, often, with baggage, and it was just so nice to enjoy what they had and not worry about those heavy words weighing them down.

“Yes!” The car was dark, but Morgun’s movement was obvious. Laney knew she was watching her, and when she turned her face just a little to look at her, she had a huge smile.

It made Laney’s chest ache. Morgun was nice. Too nice. She accepted Laney. She accepted her schedule. She challenged her, made her grow, wouldn’t let her get away with any of the usual bullshit. She was kind, smart,

intuitive, inventive, artistic, beautiful… She was really good in bed, but Laney didn’t like to add that to the list even though it was a legitimate thing she liked about Morgun. Morgun was good with animals too. Opossums especially. And she’d told Laney to leave that “cat” alone today. If she would have just listened, her car, their clothes, their gear, them, they’d all be a lot less smelly than they were.

“Okay,” Laney said softly. “If you want to get one, that would be great. I’d love to be a cat auntie. Or if you don’t want to, that’s okay. I’m not trying to pressure you into getting one.”

“I want to. I’ve been meaning to do it. Maybe I’ll get two, so they can keep each other company. Sometimes bonded pairs come into rescues. Older bonded pairs. It’s even harder to find them homes.”

“That’s really sad.”

“I know. I hate thinking about how a lot of living beings are just disposable. I’m not judging their owners, it’s sad. I follow some rescues on social media and the stories on there could break your heart. It’s like Chester. Mrs. Johnson tried to save his siblings, but Chester was the only one who made it. She called so many rescues, but no one was willing to help. So she raised him. And then we still tried to get him to a rescue, since we thought he had the best chance there, or at a sanctuary, but still no one would help. I’m not judging them either. I know that they’re full and probably have a lot of requests and really limited resources. That’s when everyone in the building, including the landlord, made a decision to let Mrs. Johnson keep Chester and none of us would say anything. Not only would it break her heart if the city demanded he be surrendered somewhere, it would probably be to a vet’s office or some kind of animal shelter that has no capacity to deal with such an animal and would just put him down.”

“That’s super sad. And really frustrating. I feel bad for Mrs. Johnson.”

“We all do too. She needs the company. Since Chester came along, she’s been so much happier. There were some of us who were really worried about her.”

“It’s good that you have an understanding landlord. I can imagine some would freak out.”

“Well, Charlie is going on sixty and he likes Mrs. Johnson. She’s lived in the building for years. She always makes him tea and feeds him cookies and I think he’s lonely too. He’s a good guy. Even if he didn’t get the free tea and cookies, he still wouldn’t have made her give Chester up.”