Page 55 of Fangs with Benefits

‘How are you liking Drummond?’ Matt asks, not immediately taking his leave like I hoped he would. ‘What’s it like over there?’

I can infer that he’s asking out of interest more about the place Molly works than about how I feel about it, but I answer anyway in the hope that it will move this conversation to its natural conclusion. ‘It’s been a wonderful change for me. Everyone has been incredibly warm and welcoming. The work is interesting and my colleagues are a delight.’

There. Should be enough, right?

‘And you and Molly are on the same team?’ he asks.

Dammit.

‘Same department,’ I say.

‘She had the task of training Eli here,’ Dylan offers. He’s sitting back in his chair, arms crossed over his chest, looking at Matt with an expression colder and more smug than I’m used to seeing on him. If Dylan is annoyed by the general presence of Luke, he’s made it clear that it’s nothing compared to how he loathes Matt. ‘They’ve become pretty good friends.’

Luke’s eyes are bright with amusement and his mouth is pinched like he’s trying to withhold a smile.

‘That so?’ Matt asks, a new tightness in his voice.

‘She’s the best.’ I nod, then put the bag of food on Dylan’s desk.

‘In fact–’ Dylan pulls a face and tilts his head ‘–if you don’t hurry, you’re going to be late meeting up with her, right?’

The jab has its intended effect. Matt’s shoulders tense slightly. I really would like to stay while Dylan eats, but he’s right; tonight I am going out with Molly. A winter market of some kind that she swore all humans needed to experience. If ours wasn’t strictly a friends-with-benefits situation, I might even call it a date.

It’s my turn to clap Matt on the shoulder, an honest smile on my face, before I bid the three men goodbye, leaving a tense Matt Lemming in my wake.

To: Molly Mason

From: Knuckle Butter Journal

Date: 5 November 2026

Subject: KB Short Fiction Contest: FINALIST

Dear Molly,

Thank you for submitting your story ‘NOCTURNAL AFFAIRS’ to the 2026 Knuckle Butter Short Fiction Contest. Our judges absolutely loved your story and have put it through to the final round of judging. Our fiction editor especially loved your prose and the way the story felt so grounded, even from the point of view of a hedgehog.

Final winners will be announced in two weeks.

Congratulations, and thank you again for submitting!

Yours,

The Knuckle Butter editors

Chapter 20

Molly

The winter market at Bryant Park started the week before Halloween, and it smells like coffee and sugary waffles and other confections that I want to eat approximately fifteen of. I’ve walked past it every day after work and this afternoon, when I found myself trying to invent reasons to keep Elijah around, I thought first of the market.

Now, I can’t help the smile on my face while I tow Elijah through the little huts where sellers have set up for the next two months.

We stop at a coffee stand and, as we stand in line, I rub my hands together to try to keep them warm. My cheeks and nose are probably red from the cold too, but it’s not unbearable.

‘Here.’ Elijah unwinds his knit scarf from around his neck and puts it around mine. I lift my hair over the material while he ties it in a knot over my chest. I am instantly warmer and find myself fighting the urge to press my nose into the fabric, but I refrain because I’m not a weird ass. ‘All right?’

‘Yeah, better, thank you.’