The day before her planned date with Dopheld seemed to fly by so quickly. Rey tried to busy herself with mindless tasks.

She went on a run before her shift started. Running always helped her focus her thoughts. Running was an outlet , where she could think freely without the constraints of stress, anxiety and pressure that typically overwhelmed her. When she ran, she was free of those internal and external stressors that plagued her, at least temporarily.

Rey was apprehensive about her appointment with Kylo. She had two major obstacles that she had to battle.

The first being that she only had enough money in savings to afford his services for another week. She was dreading having to tell him. Even though she had only known him a short time , she felt a connection that she couldn't deny whenever he was around. A connection that she rarely felt with anyone else.

She felt comforted and protected when she was with Kylo. She dreaded waking up in the morning because she knew that her bed would be empty and those feelings would be once again gone; just like he was.

She had debated on selling a ring that she had inherited, that was rumored to be her grandmother's ring. Her parents had abandoned her when she was young. She had gone to school one day in second grade and waited for her father to pick her up in front f her elementary school. After an hour of her waiting , one of the school administrators noticed that she was still sitting in front of the school, staring off into space.

After calling her parents numbers that were on record and receiving no response, one of her teachers was asked to drive her home.

Rey had used her key to get into the house, only to find that the house had been cleaned out. There were no traces of furniture or any belongings left. Her parents had up and left, leaving Rey behind.

Rey had been placed in the foster system. There were several short term placements before being placed in Unkar Plutt's care. Unkar operated a scrap yard that had junk cars. Her would allow Rey to tinker on vehicles and then he would sell any vehicles that she was able to get started. Rey was able to keep half the profits from the sales. This was the only kind gesture that Unkar offered her. Most days he left her to fend by herself with little to no support for school.

Despite not having her foster father's support, Rey excelled in school. She had earned a full scholarship to go to Jakku State University, She wasn't upset when she finally was able to leave Unkar's home.

She was contacted by a lawyer at 18, just after she settled into her dorm room. She found out that her Grandfather had passed away and she had inherited his house and all of its contents. Since her Mother couldn't be located, even though they were listed on the will, her parents lost out on the inheritance.

Her Grandfather at one time had been a wealthy and powerful man, known to be a tightwad with his money. He was also known for making poor investments. After paying off her debts, Rey was left only with a small amount leftover.

She had inherited a large house that she would have loved to be able to live in. She was sad when the lawyer's informed her that she would have to sell the house in order to pay off the final debts. She had kept several pieces of valuable jewelry, one being a diamond ring that she coveted. It was too large for her to wear without getting it resized but Rey didn't want to sell the last piece of inheritance that tied her to her family history.

The other important issue with continuing to see Kylo was that she wanted to see an improvement in her life. She wanted to know that investing in Kylo's services also meant seeing changes in her feelings and behavior. She had gone to traditional therapists in the past and had quit after the first couple sessions as she didn't feel better seeing them then she did by pouring out her feelings to a friend such as Rose or Finn. Her friend's didn't charge her by the hour either for lending a shoulder to cry on.

She wasn't sure if there was any differences between when she first met him and then after yet. She thought that after two weeks, she'll be able to get a better feeling. She realized that he wasn't a professional therapist, he was a lawyer who offered the Cuddle services on the side.

His whole shtick for his services was that after the cuddle sessions, the person would develop a more healthy emotional balance and wellness. Her promised to listen, comfort and provide guidance when sought by the customer. Paige had raved to Rose about how he delivered on all of these promises and more. Rey wasn't sure if her gushing review wasn't more about how attractive and charismatic Kylo was more so then how she found emotional balance.

She wasn't so sure the previous night had provided her with emotional comfort. She had felt refreshed and comforted in the morning. Her heart melted when she saw the rose that he had left for her on the pillow. She had almost completely forgiven him for being grouchy and snapping at her when she had asked him about his day. he had only wanted to find out what was bothering him.

She had almost forgiven him. Not completely. Armie had brought her pink roses after any tumultuous argument as a sign that he wanted to earn her forgiveness.

Sometimes he would have a dozen long stem pink roses delivered to her office. Those were typically after the days that he's disappear off the radar on business trips. She's try contacting him but she wasn't able to get ahold of him. All of her messages were left on read. She would be there to meet him at the airport and didn't say anything about how frantic she had been just to hear his voice while he was away and how she just wanted to know that he was alright.

She kept all of the resentment and anger bottled up inside of her. He would just mumble something about how his boss was a stick in the mud and didn't allow them to make personal calls while away on business as an excuse. Armie seemed to sense that she was upset and the roses would be delivered to her or appear in a vase on the kitchen table shortly after they would argue about him not contacting her while away from home.

She thought that it must be a sheer coincidence that Kylo had also selected a pink rose to leave for her. She knew that Armie and Kylo were roommates during their freshman year of college and kept in touch for at least a few years but Armie hadn't mentioned Kylo's name t Rey so she wasn't sure if he knew more about her and her relationship with Armie then he let on. She had a nagging sense in the back of her mind that told her that he did. She just couldn't prove it yet.

Kylo hadn't given her any indication that he knew anything about her every time that she spoke to her. She had found it strange that he had put up his guard with her the previous night when he seemed so calm and collected around her the previous nights.

Rey checked her phone when she got back to her place after her shift had ended.

There was a text from Rose that indicated that she had given Dopheld her number after he complained that he didn't have the correct number for Rey. Rose also wanted Rey to stop by her place
during Saturday afternoon so that she could loan Rey the dress that she had told Rey about; the black , sparkly low cut number that she had promised would leave him in shock after seeing Rey in that dress.

Rey giggled after reading Rose's message. Rose was her biggest cheerleader when it came to encouraging Rey to date again. If it hadn't been for her, Rey would have stayed home, watching a cheesy romantic comedy on Netflix and chilled out with a tub of Breyer's cookies and cream ice cream with a big spoon on her lap.

The next message was a voicemail from Kylo.
'Hey Rey, I want to try a different setting with you during out session tonight. Can you meet me at 33rd Flight street across from the Cantina at 9 pm. I have a surprise for you that I guarantee that you'll like. Make sure you save some room for dessert.
Rey sucked in a sharp breath. She was exhausted from being on her feet all day. She was looking forward to Kylo just coming to her place, talking with her and holding her tight as sleep over took her. Plus 9 pm was an hour before he usually met her.

She was confused after she googled the address and saw that it was a yogurt shop that was only open until 10 pm. She hadn't been there before but she had driven past it with Armie a few months before he passed away and had mentioned to him that she really wanted to try it out. She rarely asked to go to places like that as she rarely splurged on herself. If the frozen yogurt didn't come from a grocery store she wouldn't buy it for herself.

Rey grabbed a microwave meal from the freezer. She scarfed down the bland tasting meat loaf and green beans but she ignored the blueberry cobbler on the side. She thought it off that he wanted to meet her for dessert. She barely would meet rent with her tips and almost never splurged on such places as restaurants or yogurt shops.

Part of her wondered if he expected Rey to pay for this excursion outside of their initial contract. Another part of her laughed off the thought because if he paid then it would be considered a date. She knew that him asking her out on a date was outside of the realm of possibility.

Besides, she had been asked out on an actual date by Dopheld, not a last minute surprise by the man that had snapped at her the previous night.

Rey changed into a comfortable paid of ripped dark denim jeans and a soft cotton black V neck T shirt. Plus her well broken in black converse sneakers. She wasn't going to put as much effort into her appearance as she planned to make for her date with Dopheld the next night.

After all she wasn't trying to impress Kylo, he had already seen her with no makeup on, her hair up in a bun and wearing comfy clothing to bed. He had made his intentions very clear with her from the beginng and Rey didn't see the need to put on the razzle dazzle effect of makeup and form fitting clothing for him.

After taking a bus to the yogurt shop she stood in front of the storefront, looking in through the clear glass. She noticed Kylo sitting down at a table near the register, his head was down staring at his phone.

He was still wearing a suit. His tie was loosened slightly and his collar was unbuttoned. She hadn't seen him in a suit before, he dressed more casually when he would meet with her. He would be wearing a polo and jeans typically. His brows were knitted together and he was furiously typing out a message, while biting on his bottom lip.

Rey took a deep breath, concerned that she didn't know what to expect from the interaction. He looked up at her and smiled sheepishly. He got up to greet her and placed his phone in his back pocket.

He leaned in to give her a side hug, one arm went briefly around her waist and his face was buried in her neck. Rey thought that he smelled fantastic, like a mixture of aftershave and musk. She inhaled sharply as her cheek bumped against his chest. He squeezed her gently before releasing her.

"Thanks for meeting me here. The yogurt really is the best in the area and you get your choice of over 50 toppings. Feel free to load up on as many toppings that you want", he said as his hand swept towards the yogurt machine.

Rey smiled shyly, thinking that she couldn't afford a $13 cup of yogurt with a pound of sweet toppings. Kylo headed to the other side and started to get his yogurt. Rey was careful about the amount of yogurt and toppings she choose, going for two swirls of birthday cake flavored yogurt and a two spoonful's of chocolate sprinkles.

She started heading towards the register when she heard Kylo's voice boom from behind her, "What are you doing This is my treat, I'll get it.", he said as he grabbed the cup from Rey's and placed it with his on the scale.

After he paid and they sat back down at the table he had been at, Rey took a large spoonful on the cold, delicious treat. "You really didn't have to pay for mine, I could have covered it", she protested. She knew fully well she couldn't have covered it because even though she hadn't gotten much, it still cost more then the five dollar bill that was in her wallet.

Kylo looked down at Rey's cup, "You could have gotten more then that. I wanted to take you somewhere that you'd enjoy as an apology for the way I acted last night. I was out of line in my behavior and I am sorry", he stated.

Rey frowned slightly but then tried to cover it up by forcing herself to smile. She felt a tinge of disappointment. Although she knew that he didn't text her to go out on a date, in the back of her mind she hoped that his gesture of inviting her to grab dessert with him off the clock was his way of asking her out. She shamed herself internally for even getting her hopes up.

She looked up at him after she had licked her spoon clean, "Well I appreciate the thought. Ive wanted to try out this place for awhile but haven't been before".

Kylo's eyebrows shot up, "Really, I would have thought Hux would have taken you here for sure or another person that asked you out?", he questioned.

Rey laughed at his implication that she went out on other dates. Dopheld was the first man that she had agreed to go out with since Armie's passing. Not that she hadn't been asked out by other men and a few women that came into the café but she hadn't been interested in dating anyone else at the time.

Rey and Kylo started talking about how Rey's day had gone, he asked her about her job as a paralegal.

"Have you thought about going back as a paralegal at another firm?, ", he asked. "My job has an opening, you should send me your resume or at least check out the posting. I'll send you the link. "

Rey smiled up at him, "That's so nice of you to think of me regarding the position. I would like you to send the link, maybe I'll consider it. I can't guarantee I'm up to work in an office setting again but I would definitely keep the job in consideration", she replied.

Possibly seeing Kylo outside of her paying him for his services was a pleasant thought to Rey. It renewed some hope in her again.

Kylo looked down at his watch, "We should go back to your place now", he suggested.

They started walking outside and Rey went in the direction of the bus stop.

Kylo's voice rumbled behind her. "No, Rey, my car is parked across the street. He pointed towards a gleaming blue mustang.

The ride back to Rey's place was pretty mundane. Rey stared out the window of the car while Kylo drove. Neither of them said anything except for some questions that Kylo seemed to ask out of politeness like is there too much air blowing on her?

When they were walking back into her building, Kylo's hand brushed over her waist and Rey felt like his touch had burned her. She wasn't sure how to react so she jumped slightly to the side.

"Are you alright?", he asked.

Rey cleared her throat, "Yes, I'm fine".

When they got back inside, Kylo gave her another brief side hug.

She went into her bathroom to change her clothes. She put on a pair of white cotton shorts with a black tank top. She had her phone in her hand when it buzzed with a message indication.

Rose had sent her a picture of the black sparkly dress that she was holding up next to a short , red tennis style dress which was more sporty looking compared to the black dress. Rey started to grin.

Kylo looked up at her from his phone, that was also in his hand. "What's got you smiling?, he questioned.
Rey smiled again, quickly texted. 'Oh the red one is more casual, that might give him less come hither vibes then the black one' and closed her phone , giggling to herself.

"Oh, my friend is showing me pictures of a dress that she says I can borrow for my date tomorrow. It's the first date I've been on…in ages", she noted. She was going to add 'since Armie passed away' but she didn't want to make herself cry again thinking about Armie's death.

Kylo looked up from the couch. Rey couldn't quite read his expression. A darkness seemed to pass over his eyes, like a stormy cloud but the darkness seemed to fade from his eyes after a few seconds.

"I see, who is the lucky guy?", he questioned.

"This guy from my job. He come in to the café typically only during my morning shifts and always strikes up a conversation with me. My friend Rose encouraged me to accept his request for a date. I really was hesitant at first. He seems like a nice guy though. He seems safe.", she told him.

He looked at her with his head cocked to the side, "How do you define a guy that's 'safe'?"

Rey smiled as she moved over to the couch to pull it out, getting ready to sleep.

Kylo stood up and helped her to make the bed up. He went into the bathroom and changed into his boxer shorts and a black V neck T shirt.

"A safe guy would be one who seems to not have another side to him, a darker side.", she responded.

Kylo sat down on the bed and patted the mattress next to where he sat "Come get into bed so I can hold you. You know, sometimes you have to take risks in life and not always play it safe".

Rey sank down into his arms, "I'm not sure if I'm willing to take risks"

Kylo scooped her up into his arms and held her close to his body; which felt warm like a furnace. Her own personal furnace.

He placed his face into her hair and inhaled. "Your hair smells like strawberries", he exclaimed. Rey had just washed her hair with a bottle of Suave strawberry shampoo.

He whispered in her ear as she closed her eyes, "Sometimes taking risks pays off in the end".