Stay With Me, Luna

Two: Mediocre...What?

Pan POV

I raised my eyebrows at Kita, who was currently sitting at my kitchen table, drinking my coffee out of my favorite mug, right after she had suggested the most ridiculous thing I had ever heard.

“I beg your finest pardon, Kit, but what the f**k did you just say?”

She rolled her eyes at me. The absolute audacity. “I said, let Lora stay with my sister for the night so you and I can go clubbing and finally get you some good dick.”

“I—” I was genuinely speechless. “Kit, it’s hard enough to be away from Lora on my night shifts, let alone going out to chase after mediocre d**k, if I’m lucky. Plus, the guilt would eat me alive.”

“Yeah, babes, I get that. The whole mom-guilt thing is totally valid,” Kita said, her tone softening slightly before her usual bluntness snapped right back. “But girl, you’re twenty-one years old. You’ve never been to a party, let alone had a wild night out since you turned eighteen. I am practically begging you right now: let me get you all dolled up so you can go out and remember what it's like to have fun.”

I bit my lip, staring down at my coffee. “Look, it sounds enticing. It really does. But I’m not on birth control, and I don’t exactly have a stash of—”

Before I could even finish the word, Kita reached into her purse and slapped a whole box of condoms onto the table. A second later, she whipped out a box of Plan B and threw that at me, too.

What the actual f**k? How long had she been planning this?!

The expression on my face must have said it all because she immediately started cracking up.

“I’ve been planning this for a few weeks now,” she admitted with a grin. “Look, my sister is a certified babysitter. She knows CPR, she knows how to handle an EpiPen, she has an elaborate first-aid kit, and she's incredibly responsible. Plus, I already gave Mrs. O’Connor her phone number so she can check in every hour. By the way, the Plan B is a courtesy contribution from Mrs. O’Connor.”

A deep, burning blush heated my cheeks at the mental image of my best friend and my elderly neighbor plotting to get me laid. “Wow. Okay, you really thought of everything, huh?”

Kita flashed the most triumphant grin I’d ever seen. “Yes. Yes, I have. And for real,” she reached across the table, placing a warm, loving hand over mine, “if you ever feel like you can’t handle being away, or the anxiety gets too loud, just tell me. I’ll bring you right back home to Lorie, okay?”

Tears instantly welled in my eyes at the raw sincerity in her voice.

“I just want you to have fun, Pan. Just because you’re a mom now—no thanks to the deadbeat who abandoned you both—doesn't mean you stop being human.” Kita pulled me out of my chair and into a tight, fierce hug. I buried my face in her shoulder, quietly letting the tears slick down my face.

Why was I crying? I didn’t even know. Maybe it was the sheer amount of effort she’d put into this. Maybe it was the validation. Or maybe it was just the heavy, exhausting realization that I had been working my hardest, and I was so, so tired. Hearing someone else acknowledge that it was okay to be tired—that I was allowed to step away and just breathe for one night—broke something loose inside me.

“You deserve this,” Kita whispered into my hair, rubbing my back. “You’ve worked your whole ass off to keep your heads above water. You moved you guys into a decent home that isn't one strong gust of wind away from blowing away. You've got groceries in the fridge and a little bit of savings. Be proud of yourself, my love. You deserve one night to feel twenty-one.”

After a few more minutes of quiet crying and holding onto each other, I finally pulled away, wiping my damp cheeks and offering her a shaky smile. “Okay. When do we go?”

Kita’s face lit up, her eyes beaming. “This weekend. At the Midnight Lady. You get an employee discount on drinks, right?”