eleven
.
October 12th
“We’ll just let it continue to soak the hinge for the next day and then we’ll try to pull the pin out,” Becky announces, frowning at the metal box whose rust encrusted hinge has confounded them since they unwrapped it weeks ago.
Christen takes a deep breath, “Yeah, okay,” she nods, “Beck,” she says, squaring herself to look at her, “when we attempt to open this, we’ll need to record it and maybe have the others with us.”
Becky nods, “Because?” she lifts an eyebrow.
“Because I have it on good authority that the contents, if they have survived, will confirm my soulbond with Tobin as Sitre In and me as Hatshepsut,” she states, speaking as calmly as she can.
Becky nods, “We can do that,” she smiles at her, “are you two prepared for this, if it happens, I mean?”
Christen nods, “Yeah,” she says, “we’ve talked about it. I’ve spoken with Ari and I just need to let him know it’s confirmed and I’ve already spoken with Dr. Johnson and let her know my status as well,”
“Okay,” Becky smiles, “why wouldn’t I think you didn’t have all your ducks in a row,”
“Right?” Christen chuckles, her nerves calming, “The game plan is to keep it quiet for a week, we’ve got someone we’re going to give the story to. Not have the media come to us,”
“Smart,” Becky comments as she wipes down one of the picks she had been using to remove the semi-solid crude from around the hinge pin on the box. She looks up at Christen,
“You guys going to Ali’s for Halloween?”
Christen nods, “Yeah, I hear it’s a real blast,”
“Cool,” Becky nods with a small smile, “Zola said he’d go so we’re trying to figure out costumes. Do you guys have yours?”
Christen nods, “We do,” she shakes her head, “and apparently there are other props involved with it and Tobin has been working on it a few nights each week,”
“You don’t know what she’s doing?”
Christen shrugs, “I’m sure it’ll be fine,” she says, “I’m not nervous about it at all,” she states, “which I know is highly unusual for me,” she laughs.
“Guess that’s what happens when you find your soulmate,” Becky grins, “Isn’t it awesome?”
“Yeah,” Christen happily agrees and pushes up her sleeve, “look what her mark says today,” she twists her arm to show her.
Make Christen feel loved today
“Aw,” Becky beams at it, “she’s so sweet,”
“She really is,” Christen agrees and unrolls her sleeve.
A knock on the glass of the lab makes them turn their heads.
“Oh Christen!” Alyssa’s voice calls out, she holds up what has to be flowers wrapped in paper and a brown paper bag, “Delivery!”
Christen straightens up, “Delivery?” she murmurs, moving from her seat and taking off her gloves, tossing them on the table as Becky watches her go through the double sealed doors out to the office area.
“Who is this from?” Christen questions Alyssa and the woman hands her over the flowers.
Alyssa gives her a look, “Really?”
Christen thinks for a moment, “Oh,” she says, walking the mass of paper into her office, Alyssa following still holding the bag. She rips into the paper to reveal a colorful bouquet of flowers, irises, lilacs and gerber daisies and others she doesn’t recognize.
“Here,” Alyssa sets the bag down on her desk and then leans against the door, looking expectantly at her.
“What?” Christen asks.
“Uh, how about you read the card?” Alyssa points to the envelop taped to the paper.
“Oh, yeah,” Christen shakes her head, feeling a little frazzled, her fingers slightly shaking as she opens it.
”Hey babe, I’m sorry I missed out seeing you the last couple of nights. I have just a few more things to finish up for Halloween and I promise we’ll take First Place! I thought you might like something to brighten up your office and I had a feeling you had a taste for this for lunch. Hope you enjoy and I’ll see you tonight. I’ve got a treat for the pups! Love, Tobin”
“Aw,” Christen nearly squeals, holding the card to her chest, her lower lip protruding, thinking of her soulmate. Silently she hands the card to Alyssa and opens the bag, actually squealing when she sees the contents.
“Let me guess,” Alyssa grins at her, “sushi,”
Christen smiles brightly at her over her shoulder, “Yes!”
Alyssa smiles, “You’ve got a good one there,” she says happily, knowing her time is coming soon. Her own soul mark has changed each day for the last week.
“Yeah,” Christen happily sighs, “wanna have lunch now?”
----
“Thank you again for the flowers and lunch, sweetheart,” Christen murmurs against the side of Tobin’s head. They’re in her backyard, standing in the yard while the dogs run around. Tobin had just arrived straight from work.
“You’re welcome, babe,” Tobin sighs happily, “I like doing that for you,”
“You make me feel loved,” Christen sighs dreamily, “I hope you know how much I love you,” she says as she presses Tobin closer to her.
“I do, babe,” Tobin assures her, “you make me so happy,” she turns to press a kiss against Christen’s cheek.
“We’re going to attempt opening one of the boxes tomorrow,” Christen states, pulling back a little so she can look at her.
Tobin nods, looking unaffected, “Cool,” she says and gives her a grin, “hope it’s in good shape for you,”
“I was thinking of calling Megan tonight,” Christen continues, a little curious as to how calm Tobin appears.
“Yeah, that would probably be a good idea,” Tobin nods again, taking one of Christen’s hands and leading across the patio to the table and chairs and she sits down in one, gently pulling Christen on her lap. “I would imagine we have to think about putting it out there,” she says softly, giving her a small smile and reaching to pull a stray hair from Christen’s face. “How do you feel about it?”
Christen looks at her for moment, “I feel good,” she replies honestly, “I think I’m a little nervous about people coming up to us, but I like that we’ll control the initial announcement. I think that is the best thing we can do,”
Tobin nods at her and smiles, “Same,” she says, “a friend of mine plays pro soccer,” she quirks her mouth, twisting it from side to side as she thinks, “I was wondering if maybe I should reach out to her and ask her about a PR person,” she says, “you know, someone who could guide us through the mayhem a little,”
Christen’s eyes widen for a moment, surprised by Tobin’s suggestion. Tobin has been so laid back about the whole thing Christen didn’t really consider that she had been seriously thinking about the consequences. “I like that idea,” she admits, “I don’t know much about how to handle reporters,”
Tobin chuckles, “Me either,”
“How about we go in and make those calls,” Christen suggests, turning in her arms, “and then,” she gives her a lingering kiss, “maybe we can find something else to do,”
XXXX
October 13th
“Okay,” Becky grins, “this is it!” she announces as she lightly taps the hammer on a rubber covered chisel against the hinge pin of the ancient medium sized metal box. On the fourth hit, the pin starts to move. The entire hinge had been sprayed repeatedly with WD-40 and few other products in an effort to break through the rust and allow the pin to slide out. Becky had been working on it for a few weeks, carefully spraying and using a fine bristle brush to remove the rusty debris and cleaning up the rest of the box. For opening this box, she had fashioned a deep wood base padded with soft cheesecloth to keep it from moving when she hits the pin with the rubber tipped chisel.
“It’s moving!” Alyssa calls out, watching closely, her hands on the frame of the wood base. Five more soft taps and Becky sets down the hammer and chisel, wiping her hands on her apron before gripping the box and slowly pulling the pin out of the hinge. She stops halfway through, looking up, “Chris? Could you spray some WD-40 into the hinge?” she asks.
Christen steps up and sprays the fluid into the open channel. Becky pulls again and the entire pin comes out. Becky sets the pin down and looks at Alyssa, Christen and Ali, who is filming the operation. They have multiple cameras set up to capture this event, in fact they’re live streaming it with Ari and the students from the expedition to share the excitement of this find.
Alyssa and Becky step in armed with rubber tipped small pry bars and slowly work the lid off. Christen steps back to allow Ali to get in closer as they silently watch the lid come off and the two place it on the table. Christen is content to supervise this although she’s tingling with excitement and anticipation of what the contents could be and if they’ve survived the test of time.
Becky sends Christen a look, questioning her if she wants to pull out the contents. Christen shakes her head and gives her a big smile, “The honor is all yours,” she says. She just relieved it’s open and there isn’t any evidence of water damage from the quick look she had gotten. She’s happy Becky and Alyssa to get the thrill of discovery. They haven’t been out in the field for over a year.
“Sarah, Michael, Tory,” Christen calls, “come on over and check this out,” she encourages the students, “this will be the first time anyone has seen these items in nearly four thousand years,”
The students gather around, watching silently.
Even though the lab is well lit, Alyssa is shining a flashlight into the box, her forehead crinkled as she looks around. “It looks like a bunch of wood slats,” she murmurs, moving to allow Becky to gently lift out a dusty piece of one inch thick wood. It’s roughly the size of a piece of computer paper and Becky sets it down in a cheesecloth lined tray. “Let’s get them all out and look for anything else in the box before we really look at them,” Becky suggests and the others quickly agree. Christen provides a second tray for Becky to put the next piece in and together the three soon get six pieces into the trays. Alyssa carefully inspects the rest of the box and finds a slender wood box the size of a pencil case. They put it in it’s own tray and then move to inspect the wood pieces.
Again, Christen takes a backseat and operates the camera while Ali, Becky and Alyssa each carefully brush dust from the wood slat in front of them. “What are seeing?” she questions with the camera on Becky.
“It appears to be a painting,” she observes without looking up and she slides her magnifying screen in front of her, “I can see the faint outline of something at the bottom,” she
states.
“I’ve got writing at the bottom as well,” Ali adds, “I think I’m going to just concentrate on that,” she states, “maybe it’s the title of whatever has been painted.” She moves her sable brush skillfully over the area, cleaning off the debris with a shot of air.
Ari asks if they can tell what the writing is yet and Christen replies they are unsure, it’s too soon to tell. He explains he must leave for a meeting and Christen promises to email him the findings. Christen changes the angle of the camera, making sure to capture the three while they work. Forty minutes later, Alyssa lets out a small gasp.
“This says it’s a portrait of Hatshepsut.”
----
“Hooray!” Sydney cheers as she clinks glasses with Alyssa, Becky, Ali, Christen and Dr. Johnson, “Too bad I was in class,” she snickers, “but what a helluva find!”
They’re drinking sparkling apple juice along with the students in the lunchroom. While the tablets will need further preservation, after the initial cleaning, it is apparent they have discovered portraits of Hatshepsut, Thutmose the Second, Sitre In, Thutmose the First, his wife Ahmose and a Thutmose the Third.
It’s an unheard of find, one that hasn’t been this exciting since the expedition that found the dozen painted sarcophagi a few years ago. But this is different, these are portraits of the royal family while they were alive. The tablets are dated and signed with the name Tobin and when Becky uncovered her name on the first piece of painted wood, she had to restrain from shouting with excitement of having the confirmation needed that Tobin was Sitre In and Christen was Hatshepsut so many lifetimes ago. None of the group has spoken of her connection to this because the students are present. They don’t want the importance of this find to leak out about Christen and Tobin being soulmates and soul bonded. Christen had taken photos of each panel to show Tobin tonight.
She can’t wait to see her.
----
“Congratulations!” Tobin exclaims, rising from Christen’s front porch to greet her.
“Thank you!” Christen calls from her car, grabbing her briefcase and shutting the door. “What are you doing here?” she questions with surprise as she walks up, “I thought I was going to come to you,” she says as she embraces her and gives her a kiss.
“I got out early,” Tobin explains, still holding her, “and I had time to shop to make you a special dinner tonight,” she grins at her, “since it’s such an important find.”
“Aw,” Christen smiles, puckering her lips for Tobin to kiss her again, which she does, “you’re so sweet.”
“Well, this is a big day!” Tobin smiles at her, stepping back to pick up two grocery bags on the porch, waiting as Christen gets her keys out, the dogs barking from behind the door. “We have to celebrate!”
It’s in this moment when something passes through Christen, maybe it’s from how Tobin is looking at her with such love and happiness for her that it makes her heart speed up. She knows, this is it. Tobin is hers and has been hers for a very long time. Yes, there’s been the mess up with their soulbond, but they are here now and should be here forever as it should be.
She turns to look at her, the key is in the door and she hasn’t turned it open yet, “I love you,” she says heartfully, “I really love you,” She’s brimming with joy that is overflowing, making tears of happiness fall from her eyes.
Tobin places a soothing hand on her shoulder, “I love you with my everything,” she says seriously, giving her shoulder a squeeze, “now let’s go say hi to the puppies,”
----
“Tobin,” Christen says with a slight slur, “dinner was amazing,” she grins at her, clumsily running her hand along Tobin’s thigh, “I think it’s so sexy when you cook for me,”
Tobin smiles and wraps an arm around her, “I think it’s sexy when you are a little tipsy,” she chuckles, “did you get enough to eat? Should I bring out dessert?” Christen may have had three glasses of wine to Tobin’s one and finished the bottle. She walked a fine line of wanting to open another bottle but decided not to just because it was a Thursday.
Christen tightens her fingers on Tobin’s thigh, “I want you for dessert,” she insists, pressing her body up against her and doing her best to look and sound sultry which Tobin finds hilarious.
She struggles to keep a straight face, “Maybe later,” she demurs, “I brought a chocolate cream pie,”
Christen frowns, “But I want your pie,” she sighs, “I love hearing you moan when I make love to you,” she says loosely, feeling a bit more than tipsy now. She takes another drink of her wine anyway.
Tobin leans over and kisses her softly on her cheek, “And I love how you make me moan and feel so good, but I want to do the dishes and we said we’d walk the pups after dinner,” she reminds her, “so let’s table that until later, okay?”
“I hate that you're so responsible,” Christen pouts, feeling all kinds of horny right now. She glances at the clock and realizes it’s only seven, the night is young.
Tobin laughs from the kitchen. “Baby, what time is your first class tomorrow?”
“Eleven,” she replies, deciding she should do something to help her partner. She stands up and sways a little, the wine is really hitting her now. “Maybe I should cancel,” she murmurs, suddenly thinking she might be hungover tomorrow. She drains her glass and decides she’s done drinking for the night. She leans against the counter as she half-heartedly dries one saucepan before just watching Tobin efficiently square away the kitchen.
The dogs end up with a very short walk once Tobin discovered how drunk Christen really was. Wrangling two dogs and a happy, distracted Christen proved to be almost more than she could handle. Tobin was thankful the pups walk so well on the leash and listened to her. Christen on the other hand, insisted on stopping to smell flowers, had an impromptu dance party on the sidewalk when she heard a song she liked blaring from a passing car and then announced she was exhausted and fell silent. Tobin guided her back to the house, watching her while she unclipped the leashed from the dogs, how Christen heavily flopped face first onto the couch with an arm and a leg hanging off the side.
“Baby, do you want a slice of chocolate pie now?” Tobin asks, wondering if she has passed out. She wonders if Christen doesn’t drink much if she’s this drunk on three glasses of wine. Then she considers that the emotions and stress of today and if everything is just catching up with her.
“No,” is the muffled reply. Tobin kneels by the side of the couch, “Can I get you anything?” she asks softly, stroking her hand through Christen’s curls.
“Get me sober,” Christen slurs, “I can’t have sex with you like this,” she whines, rolling on her side to look at her. “I shouldn’t have drank all that wine,” she frowns.
Tobin frowns and nods, “You were celebrating,” she says kindly, offering her a warm smile, “and you deserve to. We can have sex later, it’s okay,”
Christen yawns, “Okay,” she agrees easily, thinking that chocolate pie sounds amazing right now, “can we have some pie?”
Tobin smiles and nods, enjoying this tipsy version of her girlfriend that she’s never seen it before. “We sure can,” she says and stands up, “I’ll bring you a piece,” she promises, “but maybe you could drink a bottle of water for me first?”
“Okay,” Christen says and slowly rises to sit up, stretching her arms over her head and yawning loudly. She moves to accept the plate of pie with a grin, wiggling her eyebrows at Tobin, but Tobin pulls it back and hands her a glass of water. She frowns but drinks it down. Tobin laughs again and gives her the pie and then retrieves her own plate and sits next to her, flicking on the TV.
----
“Sweetheart, will you stay?” Christen asks tiredly, snuggling deeper into Tobin’s side.
“I will,” Tobin agrees immediately, not wanting to leave her ever. She’s never spent the night during the week and she internally calculates how much time she should allow to get home before going in to work. Thankfully, her first appointment is at nine and she’s not on schedule to open the building.
“Wash your shirt here and borrow some of my pants,” Christen sighs, knowing what she’s thinking.
“Sounds good,” Tobin agrees and slowly disentangles herself to rise form the couch. “I’m going to get a shirt, okay”
“My stuff is your stuff, honey,” Christen replies, “help yourself to anything.”
Tobin smiles and practically skips to Christen’s bedroom.
“Here,” Christen holds out her fists, when Tobin returns, “pick one,”
Amused, Tobin looks down and can’t tell if either one is holding anything, “This one,” she taps her left one.
Christen frowns, “Pick again,” she insists.
“This one,” Tobin chuckles, tapping her right hand.
“Yay!” Christen cheers and twists her hand and opens her palm. “This is for you,” she informs Tobin. It’s a key.
“Is this to your heart?” Tobin asks playfully.
“No, silly,” Christen laughs, “it’s for my house. My stuff is your stuff. You shouldn’t have to sit outside, ever.”
“Thank you, babe,” Tobin says tenderly, leaning in to kiss her softly, holding both of Christen’s hands. “Thank you for this,” she says heartfully, taking the key from her hand and closing her fist around it. She brings her hand to chest, “This means everything,” she says seriously, leaning to give her a sift kiss “and I’ve got something for you,” she says and leaves the couch.
“Another piece of pie?” Christen asks and Tobin laughs as she opens a zippered compartment of her backpack.
“Here,” Tobin shows her an orange key, “I was totally going to give you this tonight,” she says, “but then you demolished the bottle of wine and I thought I’d do it later.” She holds up Christen’s keyring and attaches the key to it, opting to play it safe and not let Chris possibly lose it somewhere in the house tonight. “Anytime you want to come over,” she says seriously, even though she questions how much Christen will remember tomorrow, not because she’s drunk, mostly because the woman is so tired, “brings the pups, hang out at the beach, whatever. Please come,”
Christen lunges forward and kisses her hard, making Tobin moan into her mouth and question just how drunk she is and then dismiss it. “Can we go bed?” Christen yawns in her face, “I’m so sleepy,”
“I’ll meet you there,” Tobin promises, “how about you drink some more water and take the Tylenol I left on the counter and I need to wait for my shirt to be dine in the wash and then I'll let the dogs out and lock up the house, okay?”
Christen nods sleepily, “Okay,” she yawns.
Thirty minutes later, after she threw her freshly washed shirt into the dryer, Tobin grabs her phone, making sure to set her alarm and then slides into bed, the room dark. She isn’t sure if Christen is asleep yet, so she moves slowly, not wanting to disturb her. “I set an alarm,” Christen announces, making her jump slightly with surprise, “you said you need to be up at seven?”
“Yeah, I do,” Tobin replies, “thanks baby,” she rolls onto her side, “you take such good care of me.” Christen immediately snuggles close, her head resting on Tobin’s shoulder.
The next morning only Tobin’s alarm goes off, they discover that Christen had set hers for the evening by mistake. She has a slight headache and thanks Tobin for making sure she drank water and for the Tylenol she took before bed so her hangover wasn’t worse.
During their day at their respective jobs, they both think a lot about how much they liked waking up to each other and wonder if it’s too soon to make that happen on a permanent basis.
XXXX
October 21st
“So, what is the Field of Reeds like? Do you remember it now?”
Tobin quirks her mouth, sucking in her cheeks as while looks out at the ocean as she forms her response, “It’s like having the best day of your life every day,” she responds with a little shrug, “it can lead to whatever you want it to, like, you just think of something and it happens. I would equate it to Christianity’s version of Heaven, but that’s just my opinion.”
Megan Rapinoe nods her head, shifting in the deck chair as she glances down at her notebook, “Were you happy there?”
“I was fine,” she says, looking down at her and Christen’s hands interlinked hands resting on her thigh, “I felt in my heart that Hatshepsut was my soulmate and the Gods kinda agreed and were trying to fix it, so…” she shrugs, “I was just kind of waiting, you know? But it felt like I was only there for a short time, time was weird. You didn't always remember the day before because the present was so enjoyable."
“I imagine the Egyptian scholars of today would want to know about the whole process of the Afterlife of your time back then, is that something you would consider sharing with them?” the woman asks.
Tobin glances at Christen next to her, “I’d have to think about it,” she grins, “I don’t know that I want to be the one responsible for sharing that,” she looks at Megan, “There has to be some mysteries left in life,”
Christen chuckles, “We’ll have to talk about that,” she states, smiling at her.
Christen had contacted Megan and they arranged to meet. When Tobin and Megan met, they hit it off, both enjoying each other’s laid back vibe. Megan was incredibly interested in the story and genuinely humbled that Tobin and Christen wanted to share their story with her.
Megan had come down from LA to meet with them, the three instantly at ease with each other. Christen and Tobin had both read many of Megan’s previous articles and watched her a few of her documentaries and felt she would convey their story truthfully and respect. When Tobin's friend had heard that they were working with Megan, she assured them Megan would help them immensely and she has already.
They are here with cameras rolling, just talking easily and neither Christen or Tobin feel like they’re being interviewed, it feels like having a normal conversation with a new friend. Megan guides their conversation skillfully, allowing them both time to respond and asking follow up questions that most people would. This is the third interview Tobin and Christen have had with Megan and after the initial nerves of being in front of cameras left, each consecutive interview has the two more relaxed and natural.
Megan’s interview wouldn’t be shown until the initial one hour documentary on the expedition aired in mid-November. Christen still had to do her final interview with Jurgen before it would be completed. He and the crew from the Egyptian Museum were in the final editing and had blocked out the final interview to culminate with Christen to revealing that she was Hatshepsut. A much longer documentary was being edited now that was scheduled to be released just before all of the artifacts recovered would be displayed in a special museum tour across the United States in the late fall of next year.
Working the video and discreetly taking still photos is Megan’s partner, Sue, who is just as easygoing as Megan. She’s nearly a foot taller than Megan and has long black hair. Side by side with Megan and her short pink hair they make a stunning couple. Sue has a great sense of humor and she’s always muttering something funny under breath and she’s also compassionate when Christen or Tobin grow upset when retelling their tale.
Megan recommended a company to Tobin and Christen that would wipe their personal information off the internet so people wouldn’t be able to find their homes, phone numbers and family members. People would know be able to find where they worked, Christen obviously was the higher profile of the two. Megan and Sue spoke to them about the rush of strangers approaching them and the paparazzi and gave them some tips on how to handle those situations. It was an incredibly kind gesture and they were grateful Sue and Megan were thoughtful to think to prepare for them the flash of fame they would be subjected to.
They end the session after another half an hour since the light is fading and Sue wants to shoot the whole thing without artificial light for this part of the interviews. Tobin helps Sue pack up the tripods and equipment while Megan and Christen review the outline of the style of how they want to present this story. Christen gives her the completed paperwork from the Egyptian Museum and Stanford allowing the use of photos and to visit and film the Stanford lab. They agree to meet for the final filming the first Saturday of November and Sue and Megan depart.
As Tobin enters the house, Christen steps close and hugs her and then pulls back, looking at her closely, “You sure you’re ready for this?” she checks in with her. Christen is familiar with her low level, academic fame and has been approached and interviewed countless times before. She knows the media onslaught will be tenfold more with this news, yet Tobin hasn’t been in this position before.
Tobin kisses her softly, “I think so, babe,” she replies, bringing her arms around her and smiling, “I’m lucky to have you talking me through this and Megan and Sue have been amazing,”
Christen hums with agreement, “They’re both terrific people,” she comments, “not too many people would be as kind as they’ve been to us,”
Tobin smiles, “They’re good people,” she nods, “of which I’ve learned tonight that they know Ashlyn,”
Christen jerks her head back with surprise, “Really? Through hockey?”
“Sue played basketball and met Ash at the Olympics. I guess we’ll see them at the Halloween party,” she smiles.
“What a small world,” Christen murmurs, “speaking of Halloween, are we set?”
Tobin gives her a closed mouth, wide smile, “Oh yeah,” her eyes sparkle with amusement.
“Am I going to be impressed or embarrassed by this?” Christen narrows her eyes and lifts an eyebrow at her.
“You’re gonna be blown away,” Tobin states confidently, “You’re my Queen and I must treat you as such,”
Christen grins a little, amused by her, “You are aware how out of character this is for me to just let you do whatever it is you’re planning, right?”
Tobin nods, grinning at her.
“And you’re very aware of how this usually causes me great anxiety when I don’t know what to expect, right?” Christen eyes her steadily, seeing the confidence begin to shrink in Tobin's eyes.
Tobin nods slowly, her grin faltering and her eyes turning worried.
Christen chuckles suddenly, enjoying making Tobin squirm for a minute, “Well that’s not happening,” she smiles at her, looking at her lovingly, “because I trust you and I love you and I know whatever you’ve planned is going to be amazing,”
Tobin lets out a little huff of relief and shakes her head and then smiles, “You're such a tease," she complains with a smile, It’s going to be awesome,” she promises and kisses her. “What do you say we take the pups for a walk on the beach before it gets really dark?”
“I’d love to,” Christen agrees and kisses her softly before going to get the leashes.
XXXX