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“But you’re… still an active member of the gym, right?”

I chuckled, glancing around once before dryly saying, “You don’t need to ask me about Nuni in code, Hustin.”

“Well, I wasn’t sure!” he shot back defensively. “Do you remember how worked up you were about Corva finding out after the desk incident?”

A weak stab of fear made my stomach clench at the thought of Corva finding out, but I calmly said, “Well, if she finds out, she finds out.”

Hustin stopped dead in the street, turning to face me. Reflexively, I stopped too, looking up at him as he stared at me in disbelief.

Then his expression morphed. Understanding dawned. A hint of smugness crept in. His sharp teeth peeked out, gleaming white in the evening sun as he grinned.

“Thought you weren’t going to fall in love with him, Chaudhary.”

Heat rushed to my cheeks, but I forced a glare onto my face. “I haven’t said I’m in love with him.”

Hustin snorted, setting off again with a careless flick of his fingers. “You’re in love with him.”

“I’m just—I like him a lot,” I said stiffly as I trailed after him. “We’ve just… been spending a lot of time together.”

“Mhmm.”

“If you’re going to be so smug about it, I’m not going to tell you anything.”

Hustin chuckled, slinging his arm over my shoulders. “Sorry, hon. So it’s going well?”

I smiled, thinking about the last time I’d seen Nuni, just a couple of days ago on Monday morning. He’d found me as I was leaving the gym to head to work and snuck a quick kiss, even though he’d already kissed the hell out of me when we’d woken up that morning.

“Yes,” I told Hustin. “It’s going well.”

“And it’s not just fucking?” he asked, voice gentle.

I let out a slow breath. “No. It’s not just fucking. Not for me, anyway.”

We reached Bismuth’s, and Hustin held the door open for me to head inside. It was already packed with the after-work crowd, so it took us a while to reach the bar and order our drinks, but we managed to find a spot by the front windows, tucked into a corner where we could talk in private.

“Have you two talked about anything, or is it just kind of an unspoken understanding that you’re together now?” Hustin asked the moment we were settled, sipping his vodka, lime and soda.

My belly clenched with nerves. “We haven’t talked about it. But I… I don’t really know if he’d consider us ‘together’.”

“So ask him.”

I gave Hustin a dry look. “Because it’s that simple.”

“It is. You’re two grown adults. I swear, Anita”—he shook his head—“usually you’re the most mature and well-adjusted person I know, but sometimes you’re shockingly insecure about things.”

I laughed uncomfortably. “I can’t be that well-adjusted then, can I?”

Hustin waved a hand. “As much as anyone can be, I guess. We’re all a little fucked up in some way.”

“And anyway, I do want to talk to him about it. I want to know what he’s… feeling.” I took a big gulp of my gin and tonic. “And I think I want to tell Corva. Just so I don’t have to worry.”

Hustin’s yellow eyes flared with surprise. “Oh yeah?”

“Yes.” I licked my lips nervously. “What do you think she’ll say?”

He made a face. “She probably won’t be all that pleased, but really, what can she say?”

“She could fire me for professional misconduct.”