Bruce did his best to not wince at the casual, affectionate contact, immediately trying to hide the motion with another sip of tea. What was he supposed to say? ‘Oh, don’t worry, it’s just that our friendship is ruined because I love you and you completely forgot we have a relationship’?

“I’m sorry about that. I just figured… you might not want it thrown in your face so soon after waking up.” And he still had no idea how to explain it.

He paused, staring down at his tea, trying to compose some kind of explanation in his head. “Has Alessa told you anything?” Hopefully, the question would give him just a little more time to think. He himself had had barely any time to process it all.