Chapter 24
Chapter Twenty-Four
Bren
“What the fuck ?” I said to Arson when I got back upstairs from watching Honey drive away in her truck.
The past few hours had been completely wild. Honey and I had kissed, repeatedly, and we’d mutually agreed to have some kind of relationship with each other.
The person I was when I’d woken up this morning wasn’t the same person when I was getting ready for bed.
I stared at my face in the mirror, searching for visible changes without finding any. Maybe my cheeks were a little more flushed, but that was it.
As wonderful as everything with Honey had been, I was still scared of everything else. We needed to talk about being physical and I needed to figure out how I was going to be the person she needed.
While I brushed my teeth, I searched the internet for tips on being a good girlfriend. Not that I wanted that label (even thinking about it made me start to sweat), but I wanted to be a decent partner to her. I’d never really dated anyone seriously and hadn’t paid much attention to other people who’d gotten into serious relationships. What were the rules? What were the expectations? I was in the dark.
When I got in bed with Arson, I received a message from Melliferal.
It feels wrong to end this chat, so I’m just going to keep it going if that’s okay with you. Just wanted to let you know that I got home safe and that I had a really good time with you tonight. I’m excited to see where this goes. Hopefully that doesn’t freak you out, but I wanted you to know where my head was at. If you want to do something after the marketplace closes tomorrow, just let me know. Okay. Good mice, Bren.
I put my hand on my chest, feeling the thump of my heart as I tried to decide how to answer. Feeling at a loss, I decided to send a voice note.
“Hey. Thanks for letting me know you got home safe. I should have asked about that. Sorry. You’re going to find out that I’m not good at this. I’m sorry in advance for when I fuck things up, because I’m going to fuck things up. Just know that I’m going to try. I’m going to try so hard for you, Honey. You’re so good and I want to be good for you too. I like the version of myself that I am when I’m with you. That’s probably telling you way too much, but I guess I’m just going to keep talking. Anyway. I need to get to bed, but I can’t stop thinking about you. Good mice, Honey Bea.”
My finger hovered above the delete option before I just went ahead and sent it.
Honey responded with a voice message of her own.
“You’re so cute, Bren. I can’t get over it. All I ask is that you’re open with me and you talk to me. You don’t have to try so hard. Just be yourself. That’s all I want. Just be Bren and I’ll be Honey. Okay, I’m cutting myself off before I ramble too long. Good mice, Bren.”
I played the message three times before I turned my lights off and let Arson curl up on my chest.
“I’m scared of how I feel about her,” I told the cat. She just yawned and settled herself on me again.
“What am I going to do?”
The blare of my alarm came far too early even though I’d gone to bed at a fairly reasonable hour. Everything with Honey last night had exhausted me, but as soon as I thought about seeing her face today, I found the energy to get out of bed and get ready.
Did I put on more makeup than I normally would have? Yes. Was I ashamed of wanting to look good for Honey? Only a tiny bit.
At the last minute, I decided I wanted to bring her something, but I only had a short time to decide what that was.
I looked through my stickers and found one of the bee ones I’d printed recently. It was totally adorable, and I knew she’d like it, so I put it into my bag along with a few bookmarks. There. That was something.
I almost wanted to bring her breakfast, but she probably already ate, and I didn’t know what she’d like anyway.
Matcha. She was always getting matcha from the marketplace. I’d get her one of those when I arrived.
Perfect.
Honey
Bren approached me with a smile on her face and an iced matcha in her hand.
“Good morning,” she said, holding the matcha out to me. She had an iced coffee in her other hand.
“Oh my god, yes, it is a good morning now. Hi.” I stepped around the matcha and leaned close to her.
Her eyes went wide.
Crap. Public kissing was probably pushing her too far.
“Sorry,” I said, stepping back and taking the matcha.
I could feel multiple sets of eyes watching us.
“They’re staring, aren’t they?” I asked. My family hadn’t stopped singing, but they were doing it with a little less enthusiasm than usual.
“Oh yeah,” Bren said, having a perfect view of them. “Did you tell them?”
I shook my head. “No. Because they’d have all kinds of opinions and right now, I only want to listen to my own when it comes to you.”
If I didn’t hold them back, they’d overwhelm me, and I might let someone else’s ideas influence me and I didn’t want that.
“I’m not used to people being so interested in me like this. It’s a lot.”
She was trying not to make eye contact with anyone, but I could tell they were absolutely watching her. There was no privacy for us right now.
“How about we keep things on a business level today and then tonight we can maybe do something?”
Bren nodded. “Yeah, that sounds like a better idea than trying to talk while standing in a fishbowl. Christ, everyone is probably talking about us right now. I bet even the Johnsons have stopped fighting to talk about us.” She muttered the last part and I stifled a laugh.
“Maybe. They do love fighting with each other though. Thank you for the matcha. This was really sweet.”
“Oh,” she said, her eyes going wide. “I brought you something else.”
She found her bag and pulled a few things out.
“I made this sticker a while ago. I guess I had bees on the brain.” She handed me a sticker and three bookmarks from her shop. They were all gorgeous. I loved her products so much.
“Thank you,” I said. She’d gotten me matcha and this? “I think you like me a little bit, Bren.”
She cursed under her breath. “Is it that obvious?”
Bren was hopeless, but so cute.
“You like me,” I sang softly.
“Can you sing?” she asked. “I mean, I’ve heard you with your family but never just you.”
“Yeah, I can. Do you want me to sing for you, Bren?”
“Maybe,” she said.
Silence fell between us, but it was a silence that was full of things unsaid.
“I really wish I could kiss you right now,” I whispered.
“Me too.”
The problem was, if I kissed her, I might not be able to stop and then we’d get kicked out of the marketplace for public indecency.
“Definitely gonna kiss you later though,” I said. “Let me know if you want to go out and maybe eat somewhere, or if you wanted to stay in. You could always come to the farm and have family dinner with the Holloways.”
I saw her suppress a shudder.
“Don’t worry. I know you’re not ready to tackle all of us at once. It’s a lot. We’re an acquired taste.” Hopefully Bren would be able to handle all of us someday. I wanted her to get along with my family. I needed her to get along with my family.
“If they just weren’t singing all the time,” she said and she was so disgruntled that I laughed out loud, making a few people around us stare.
“Okay, I need to step away from you or else I’ll want to spend the entire day with you,” I said.
“Go sell lots of honey,” she told me.
“You mean the kind in the jars, I’m assuming?” I asked.
Her face went a brilliant red that made her look so cute. “Yes. Don’t sell yourself. Unless you want to.”
This was a strange conversation, but it was also hilarious.
I leaned close so only she could hear me. “I’m not selling myself because I can’t. I’m already yours.”
Her eyes went wide, but before she could say anything else, I turned around and walked to my table. Let her think about that all day.
Normally I didn’t check my phone that much at the marketplace, because it was a distraction from work, but I couldn’t help but keep looking for messages from Bren. That was in addition to glancing over at her constantly. She was laser focused on her work, but I also caught her glancing at me and more than once I’d caught her staring at my ass. Guess she liked it. I put that in my back pocket for later.
Bren was an ass woman. She’d also made comments about my tits too, so she was into that as well. I hope I’d have a chance to go home and change out of my Holloway Apiary shirt and into someone a little more flattering.
The teasing from my family was constant, but I did my best to ignore all of it. Ellie was totally excited and wouldn’t stop coming up with date ideas and gift ideas and even wedding ideas.
“You should have horses at your wedding,” Ellie announced about an hour before the marketplace was due to close.
“Should we? Why?”
“Because.” That was a good enough reason for me. Hopefully Bren wasn’t allergic or opposed to horses.
What would you say about coming over to my place and ordering food? That sounded perfect to me. It would mean that my family would be on their own for dinner, though.
I told Mom that I might not be around for dinner and she waved her hand. “We will survive without you for an evening, my darling Honey. You take on too much responsibility.” I’d taken it on because someone had to. Someone had to make sure the farm bills got paid and the jars got ordered and that all the other little things that had to happen to keep things running happened. But I guess I could take off for the night. Aunt Eileen was going to be happy. I’d have to tell her about Bren soon. She’d want to know all the details.
I’d love to. Is it okay if I go home first and then meet you at your place?
I looked up from my phone and found Bren watching me.
She nodded.
Thanks. I’ll be sure to wear something cute.
I saw her read the message with a smile playing on her face.
You always look cute, Honey Bea.
It took forever for me to get dressed when I got home because everyone wanted to give their opinions on my outfit. Even Archer shared his opinion.
“I’ve dressed myself before without your help!” I finally yelled when there were a bunch of outfits that my family had pulled out of my closet and thrown on my bed.
I’d decided to keep things casual with my favorite jeans that made my ass look great, tank, and a cropped yellow sweater with bee buttons down the front.
Not all of my clothes were bee-related, but I knew it would make Bren smile and that was all that mattered. Plus, it was soft and cute and easy to get out of.
I’d also worn the bra and underwear set that I’d been saving for something special. Bren didn’t need to know that I’d been saving it, but the light blue lace was gorgeous and made me feel sexy as hell. My family also didn’t know about that part either and they never needed to.
Finally I pushed them all out of my room and made sure I looked good, fluffing my hair and checking my outfit. At the last minute, I threw a change of clothes, my vitamins, and my toothbrush into my bag. Just in case. I wasn’t planning on staying the night, but I wanted to be prepared.
“Okay, I’m going,” I said, opening the door to the main house and calling out. A chorus of voices answered me.
“Good luck!”
“Don’t get pregnant!”
“Tell her she’s pretty!”
I rolled my eyes and slammed the door, laughing as I got in my truck to go see Bren.