A weird but vaguely familiar feeling stole over me as I watched him leave the room after pulling on a pair of gym shorts. It had been so long since I felt this way, it took me a few more heavy breaths to label it.

Happy. I felt happy, lying in bed after getting thoroughly morning sexed by the silent beast. I’d only agreed to Victor’s version of Operation Good As New so that I could present my thesis on May 25th and earn my MFA. But I had to admit….

I didn’t hate this. Just the opposite. I was glad that I took the deal.

“This is a reminder. Take your pill,” the Alexa device chimed on the nightstand. “This is a reminder. Take your pill.”

“Thanks, Alexa,” I said, meaning it.

Taking my birth control every morning at the same time was more important than ever these days. I padded to the bathroom to pull this month’s vacuum pack of pills out of my toiletries bag.

No matter how happy I felt, this was an illusion. One that couldn’t go on past May 25th. I popped today’s pill with a handful of tap water. Vowing to remember that.

* * *

Victor and I went through our usual school day morning routine, after that bout of morning sex. He jogged down to the never-used-by-me basement to do his morning exercises. He’d cleared a spot out and ordered a bunch of weights, martial arts weapons, and workout equipment that had come the very next day. So now it looked like a state-of-the-art gym down there.

Meanwhile, I took my pill and a leisurely shower. Then I read the latest translated volume of the Toilet-bound Hanako-Ku manga on the couch in the room, I had started to think of as ours over the last two months.

When Victor came back through to use the shower after his workout, I put my manga down and went downstairs to reheat the last of the Korean porridge I’d made Wednesday night on top of the stove. Sometimes I tried to squeeze some last-minute homework in during this part of the routine. But Jacoby had canceled the second half of our Monday, Wednesday, and Friday Thesis Production seminars for the rest of the semester so that we’d have more time to prepare our final projects. That meant I didn’t have anything to present or turn in today.

Maybe I’ll make us something special tonight, I decided as I added a packet of some protein powder Victor swore by into his bowl of porridge. I’d been cooking more healthy again now that I had a fitness nut living with me. But since I had a little extra time on my hands, maybe I could make a three-course meal, with soup and dessert.

Oooh… I excitedly began looking up ideas for three-course meals.