"You were right. This is worth the trip out here," Molly murmured as they came through the trees and stood looking down a slight incline at the pond he had brought her to.

"Told you, come on, I wanna try something cool," Trent said, leading her down.

He had taken her out of Possum Springs in his Jeep and to the same pond that he'd hung out with Ann at awhile back. They got down there and walked along the pond's edge for a time, with him occasionally picking up any rocks he saw.

"What are we doing with rocks?" she asked.

"This," Trent replied, and skipped one.

It flicked across the surface three times before sinking. Ann had been right, it was all in the wrist, and he was better at finding proper rocks now.

"Oh wow, skipping rocks," Molly said, laughing as she accepted several pebbles from him. "I haven't done this in forever."

She tossed one and skipped it five times.

"Wow, you're great at that," he murmured, giving her another.

"I don't know why, but I'm good with little stuff like this, like coordinating with my hands?" She tossed another and got it over halfway across the pond. "This is fun."

"Yep," he agreed, and tossed another.

For a time, they kept going, gathering pebbles and skipping them until they ran out and then finding more and doing it all over again. After about ten minutes, Molly had a much more serious expression on her face. Trent waited for her to bring up whatever it was she was thinking of, if she wanted to talk about it.

"I trust you more than anyone else in my entire life," she said suddenly.

"...really? More than Mae?" he asked. "Your parents?"

"Oh, easily more than my parents. But the thing is, I'd say I trust you and Mae the same, which means I trust you more. That sounds weird, but this is how I see it: I don't trust men. I'm seriously not trying to be misandrist, it's just that I've had so many bad experiences with men specifically. So many have treated me like shit. A woman has never threatened to kill me. Several men have. So the fact that you're a guy means it's harder for me to trust you."

"Oh, I get it," he replied. "So it's like you trust me and Mae at, say, one hundred points, even though I've got negative five points applied to me but Mae doesn't."

"Yes! Exactly! And I guess I was just thinking about that, because I realized all at once that I had let myself be driven out into the middle of nowhere, in total isolation, with a man, and no one else. And I have no way to defend myself right now, because I left my purse in your car. You are definitely stronger than me by a lot. If you wanted to make me do something, there's almost nothing I could do about it. But I didn't hesitate to come out here. And I know I'm all fucked up or whatever from the apartment fire but I'm not that fucked up. I trust you, like, an insane amount. If you aren't the real deal, I'm fucked."

"Those...are all basically true points," Trent replied, a little awkwardly.

"Shit. I'm being really weird and making you crazy uncomfortable, aren't I?"

"I mean, not super and crazy, but this is a really weird conversation. I mean, I'll have it, I might just be a little weird about it."

"Thanks, I appreciate it. I feel so weird, but I also feel a lot clearer. I feel...a little like waking up the morning after an insane party. It's sort of like...blasting a radio at full volume for like an hour and then stepping outside and having nothing but silence. It's peaceful. Calm." She turned and skipped another rock, then laughed in surprise as it actually reached the other side. "Holy shit! Did you see that!?"

"I fucking did. Neither me nor Ann have done that," he replied.

"What about Mae?"

"She hasn't been out here."

"Bea?"

"Nope." She looked at him, suddenly worried. "What?"

"Is this, like...your and Ann's special place? I don't want to intrude…"

"Don't worry, Molly, I wouldn't have brought you here if that was the case. Ann brought me here once because her ex-husband used to bring her here when they first started dating and she wanted to make it, you know, a happy place instead of a sad one. Like overwrite bad old memories with good new ones."

"That's really cool," she murmured. "That doesn't, like, bother you?"

"What?"

"She brought her freaking ex-husband here. I mean, they could've fucked like right here," she replied, looking down and nudging a rock with her foot. She looked back up. "That doesn't bug you?"

"No. I mean, well, it bugs me that he was so shitty to her. I hate thinking about it. But no. I think maybe I don't see him as competition? I mean it's obvious Ann fucking hates him."

"I'm not saying you should be jealous, it's just that most people usually are. Or shit, I dunno, maybe I hang out only with shitty people. Ever since I hung out with you and Mae and everyone, I'm beginning to realize that. Like all the people I hung out with were shitty. And that...says something about me. Nothing good."

"I think maybe…" he hesitated.

"You can't even counter me. It's okay to agree, dude. I'm not getting down on myself...I mean, okay, I am a little bit, but I do mean it, too. I'm not fishing for compliments or whatever."

"The thing is, I don't know for sure, because I don't know most the people you do or all the things they did, but my impression is...yeah. You kind of hang out with shitty people."

She laughed, then shook her head and sat down suddenly, folding her legs and staring at the pond. He sat beside her. "You run into an asshole in the morning and you probably ran into an asshole. You run into assholes all day, and you're the asshole. Maybe all my friends are shitty because I was shitty to them, or maybe I just attract shitty people."

"I mean, you attracted Mae," Trent replied.

She snorted. "Yeah, that's true...what do you think? I mean for real, what do you think about this?"

"I think you attract everyone, Molly. And I think that you are blindingly attractive. And I think you don't quite realize just how stupid people get over sex with a hot person. I think that you think you understand, but you don't really, or you don't fully grasp it. People are willing to do bad things if it gets them a shot at you. So you kind of create, like, volatile environments? Not necessarily on purpose, although you did say you take advantage of your hotness…"

She sighed. "Yeah, I do. And this all makes a lot of sense. You're probably right, you're definitely smarter than me, like, across the board. Mentally, emotionally, socially...goddamn, I was really sure I was a social genius, but I always suspected I was just putting in a cheat code with my hotness."

"You are more than your body," he said after a moment.

Molly looked at him suddenly, startled, for several seconds. "This is exactly what I mean. Like, that was both a complete surprise, not what I was expecting you to say, and also the exact perfect thing I wanted or even needed to hear right now. Like how the fuck?"

"I don't know," Trent replied. "It just...occurred to me to say." He shrugged a little helplessly.

"Well, however you do it, thank you. That's...I mean I know it's true, but I also feel like it just isn't true. Everyone just wants something from me, and it's always the same thing. Like, fuck man, I know I'm horny, but I don't actually think about sex twenty four seven. And I wish I could wear that on a fucking shirt or something...fuck, I'm sorry, it sounds like I'm yelling at you when you are like the person who has treated me the best without trying to get into my pussy."

Trent hesitated further. For once, he did actually feel kind of lost. Even with him apparently saying just the right thing at just the right time, he still felt like he was struggling to keep his head above the waterline with her.

Molly seemed to pick up on this. "I'm sorry, I know this is a lot. And I'm kinda all over the place. I'm not trying to be, I just feel so fucking scatterbrained."

"You've been through a lot, Molly," he replied, "and you don't have to apologize."

"Thanks. You're way too patient...what exactly is this thing you have to do tomorrow?" she asked.

"Um...it's kind of sensitive information," he replied.

"I can keep a secret."

Trent thought about it, looking at her closely. It wasn't exactly that he didn't trust her, because at this point he did trust her not to have nefarious intentions, but he was concerned about her ability to keep something under her hat. On the other hand, maybe he shouldn't be. She did seem like she was pretty good at being social.

"Okay," he said, making a decision, "I can let you in on some of it. But even the bit I'm going to tell you is seriously, genuinely top secret. You can't tell anyone. I mean my inner circle knows about it-"

"You mean your harem?" she asked, smirking suddenly.

"Uh...is that what you think?" he replied.

"Am I wrong? Is a harem not a man who has at least three girlfriends, who all know about each other, and live with him, and fuck him?"

"I mean...I guess so? Although when I think of that word I think about anime, and the kind that doesn't have a lot of sex in it."

"Oh no, dear, that's eastern harem. What they call western harem is basically like that, only they all fuck and there's little in the way of bullshit drama. You're basically a harem protagonist, but in all the best ways."

"Huh. Wait, what's western harem? You're talking like it's a whole thing, but I've never heard about that."

"It only really exists online, in book form. People write books about this stuff. Like basically imagine, I dunno, Lord of the Rings, but instead of nine dudes making the fellowship, it's one dude and eight badass women, and none of them die. And they have awesome sex and side quests the whole way to Mount Doom."

"...okay, we need to discuss this more in the future, because now I'm really fucking curious what in the hell you are talking about, but let's talk about this information you want."

"Yes, please," she replied. She leaned in suddenly, giving him a rather winning smile.

Trent opened his mouth, then hesitated, looking down her shirt. She'd selected one of Ann's low-cut shirts and consequently her huge tits were about to fall out. "Are you trying to...seduce me?" he asked.

She sighed heavily and straightened back up. "You know, most guys don't actually say that. Or realize it's happening."

"You don't think it's a little cruel?"

"I think, due to all the absolute horseshit that men have put me through, I'm afforded some teasing."

"I mean...on the one hand, I'm reluctant to say you're wrong, but on the other, it seems cruel to take out your anger on an innocent bystander."

"I wasn't taking out my anger on you!"

"I figured, I meant in a broader sense, like you've probably strung along some lonely and basically decent guy at least a few times. Boobs are nice to look at and being flirted with feels nice, but, I dunno, it just seems kind of mean to do it when you know for a fact that you aren't going to close the deal, no matter what he says."

She heaved a sigh. "Yeah, okay, that's fair. Anyway, I only really did it because I know you like looking down my shirt."

"That's the only reason?" he asked.

"Yeah!" She paused. "Okay, fine, I did want to see what you'd do. But enough about me, go!"

"Okay." Trent opened his mouth, then hesitated and looked around. Then he stood up suddenly and took a real, serious look around. They were alone out here. He got settled. "Okay, this is it."

"Man, are you fucking with me right now? Like are you actually that concerned about being overheard out here?"

"I am," he replied. "This is kind of a big deal." Trent lowered his voice and leaned in. "I'm meeting with Possum Spring's sole remaining councilperson to pitch them my own personal choices for new councilors in the upcoming election."

Molly lost her smile slowly, staring at him with a newfound uncertainty. She opened her mouth, beginning to say something, but it died in her throat and she slowly closed her mouth. A long moment passed and he waited for her to process.

"So...you aren't fucking with me, I can tell that much," she muttered finally. "What the hell, man? I thought it was gonna be, like, I dunno, Bea had a pregnancy scare? Or maybe one of the chicks you're fucking railing on the side. Or something about your books...why in the hell are you-when you say 'councilperson' you mean, like, the government, right? Like City Hall? Like the actual government?"

"Yep," he replied.

"Why?! How!? How did you get them to listen to you? Why would they even ask? I mean, I'm not trying to be a bitch, but you're a fucking twenty two year old dude who writes books and fucks women apparently very well. What does that have to do with government?"

"Well, the short answer is that scandals wiped out most of the council, there were four, now there's one, and that one remaining person is really desperate, and wanted my help after she saw what a massive crowd I could draw. We didn't really tell you, but, like, five hundred people showed up for my book signing, and about that many showed up for Bea's concert. And we didn't even try that hard. She asked me to help put Possum Springs on the map, I told her the price of my help was that she seriously consider two of my choices for the upcoming election and that she and the mayor throw their weight behind them."

"But isn't that, like...uh...I don't know what to call it, but illegal? Like bribing or extortion or something?" she asked.

"I don't think it is," he replied. "And I guess I misspoke describing the situation. I didn't say she had to go with my picks, I said she had to at least seriously consider them. And so she's going to meet with them tomorrow and I have to be there since they're my picks." She stared at him in silence. "What?"

"...dude. Like...what the fuck? I knew you were, like, known around town, but you're a fucking local celebrity at this point? And you moved here like six fucking months ago? What?"

"I'm not a local celebrity," Trent replied.

"You are helping choose the fucking local government, and you brought in like a thousand people to your fucking book signing event and concert? And I know something happened with you and Mae and I think some of the others, like something big and dangerous, even though no one will tell me what it is, but just...this is so weird. I guess it's also not really a surprise, though? I remember when I first saw you from a distance, when I was walking over with Jackie at that party. The moment I saw you, just...I could tell. There was something about you. You stood out."

"I don't really know how to respond to that," he murmured.

"It's fine, I'm just kinda saying it."

They both looked up as thunder rumbled distantly, and then he realized abruptly that it had gotten noticeably dimmer as clouds darkened the horizon.

"Gonna rain," he murmured, "maybe we should head back."

"No," Molly replied, and he looked at her. "I like it here. I wanna stay. And be in the rain...if you're willing, that is."

"I'm willing," he said, and settled back down.

"Thank you," she replied quietly.

They sat there side by side, looking out over the pond, the forest beyond, the huge abandoned building in the background. Trent tried to remember if Lori had shot any of Gasmask there and ultimately surmised that he didn't think she had. He remembered to mention it to her, it looked pretty ominous.

At some point, it began to rain, lightly at first, then it got heavier. It continued until it was tolerably heavy, what he almost thought of as 'romantic movie rain', as it was the kind of rain that fell when the leads of a romance or drama ran towards each other and kissed passionately. He wondered suddenly if Molly was thinking anything similar and he looked back over at her, as his eyes had wandered. He frowned as she saw that she was staring at him intensely.

"Uh...everything okay?" he asked.

She had a specific kind of look on her face, and it was similar to the night she'd come onto him while drunk.

"Will you kiss me?" she replied, her voice dead serious.

"I don't think that's a good idea right now."

"Please? I know I'm all fucked up right now about my stuff and my apartment, but I feel pretty normal right now, and this just feels...right? I don't know, it just suddenly feels so right. I've been wanting to try a more, like, romantic kiss with you for awhile now. I talked to Mae and Bea and Ann about it at some point or another, I mean we covered it during the first night we met, so I know they won't have any problems with it, and it's just a kiss. I just...I want to see what it's like. Please?"

Trent hesitated for a bit longer, uncertain. On the one hand, he wanted to stick to the policy they'd set of not doing anything even remotely sexual for at least a few more days. But on the other hand, he really wanted to kiss her, and, more than that, he thought she was right. This did kind of feel right.

"Okay," he said, and he saw relief in her eyes, "but nothing more. I mean it. Nothing more. Just one romantic kiss."

"Agreed," she replied.

He scooted a little closer to her, then leaned in and tilted his head a small bit as he pressed his lips against hers. Something happened this time, though he wasn't quite sure what. Something passed between them as they locked lips, and from the way her eyes opened back up in surprise, he knew she had felt it too. Felt it strongly.

They parted.

"Um, so, that was…" she murmured.

"Yeah…" he replied, chuckling.

"I mean so that was...good, right?"

"Obviously it was for me. Kissing hot women is hard to go wrong with," he replied.

She laughed. "That's really true. But, like...can we go again? And maybe a little tongue? Just a little."

"If you're sure," he replied.

"I'm sure. Believe me, I'll stop you if it gets weird and I know you'll listen, we're about as safe as can be. It's not like guys actually trip and fall down and accidentally stick their dick in women, you know."

He laughed. "I know that, Molly. I'm just being cautious."

"I know. And I appreciate it."

They both paused, staring at each other, then they leaned in again.

They kissed and this time it went even smoother. There was still some awkwardness there, mostly on her part, but it was the smoothest kiss they'd ever had. With the rain falling around them, getting them wetter with each passing second, they kissed. She tilted her head and parted his lips with her own, then she pushed her tongue into his mouth. He tasted her, and she tasted a little like the Dew Blue she'd been drinking since they got it for her, but she tasted...different. It was that wonderful girl-taste that he had never adequately described, that taste when a woman got her tongue into your mouth, or yours into hers. It wasn't her spit, really. It was more like her...essence.

He pushed his tongue cautiously into her mouth as her own tongue retreated, as though inviting him in. He felt her stiffen a little bit and paused in his probing, then pulled back and parted ways.

"I'm sorry," she said, her eyes still closed. "It freaked me out a little, but I didn't dislike it."

"We should probably stop here," he replied.

She looked like she wanted to argue with him, snapping her eyes open, then she pressed her lips together and nodded, a little morosely. She looked out over the pond, bringing her knees up and hugging them to her chest.

"How was it?" he asked after a moment had passed.

"Better than I thought...it was good. And...confusing. I'm confused. I kissed a boy."

"And you liked it?" he asked.

She laughed loudly, that kind of laugh that you didn't so much allow to come out as fail utterly to contain. A laugh that surprises you. "Yes," she said, giggling. "Yes, I kissed a boy and I liked it. You taste...weird. But again not bad. Just really different. Boys taste different than girls."

"Seems to be that way, but I can't confirm."

"No boys in your life?" she asked, looking at him with mild curiosity. "You said you were straight, I believe."

"There are boys in my life, just none of them I like in that way, because yes, I am straight. Sometimes I wonder how everything would've changed if I was bi, but mostly I think it's better this way."

"Why?" she asked, and there was a cautious, wary note in her voice.

"Not because of any kind of homophobic thing," he replied, "but because Gregg would've been real tempted to fuck around with me, and I probably would have been tempted with him, and I know Mae would've been pushing hard for that...but I don't think Angus would be cool with it. So basically because it avoided a lot of potential social misery. I don't want anything to ever come between Mae and Gregg and Angus, or any of us, really, but especially Mae and Gregg, they're like best friends."

She lost her wariness and smiled serenely. "That's so sweet. I've met too many guys who just flat out won't date a girl if she's got a serious guy friend. Even if he's gay. Too many guys who just immediately start trying to separate them. It's always...ugly."

"It is. It also wouldn't have worked. Mae probably would've told me to fuck off and walked away from me if I tried to get her to stop seeing Gregg." He paused. "If I tried to get her to stop seeing anyone, really. It's interesting, honestly. Mae would totally listen to me if I told her to do something, but that's a path you don't want to go down. I try really hard not to try to make her, any of them really, do anything."

"Why?" she asked. "I mean, I think I know, but I want to hear what you have to say."

"Because it's kind of a nuclear option, or it can be, anyway. It's one of those things where once you start down that road, it can cause immediate problems. Trying to make your partner do something should be handled like radioactive waste: extremely carefully and only if you have to. It has the possibility to cause problems, but also, it's just a habit you don't want to get into." He shivered suddenly and looked up as another boom of thunder cracked right overhead. "Okay, as much as I'm enjoying this romance movie moment, we should probably get back."

"Yeah, I am getting cold," Molly agreed.

They got up and began heading back to the Jeep.