Classes began for Mouse, and the days grew shorter and colder. Henry's job shifted, as it did every year, from photography to management. He tended to take more pictures during the warm weather and spend time running the agency during the colder months, which suited him just fine. He had felt a little odd to be around the models since the time in the Hamptons, anyway.

He had been faithful to Josie during their time together, and to Madeleine after that. He knew that there had been rampant speculation about him after he broke up with her, not just at the agency, but all over the modeling and fashion world in New York, and he didn't like knowing that everyone he came in contact with probably knew about his nanny and their miscarriage because of what had happened in the Hamptons. He'd much rather spend his days in his office, looking over proofs and making managerial decisions.

He found himself spending more time at home, as well, with Leo and Mouse. Most days, Mouse stayed in, even though he'd made it clear that she had free time in the evenings. She even began cooking their evening meal many nights, saying that she felt bad to be receiving the same salary for doing so much less.

"I have to try to make it up to you somehow," she insisted as they sat down to pot roast or lasagne. "I like to cook, I really do, and I haven't had the chance since I moved to New York, you know? My parents were so busy when I was growing up, I had to learn to fend for myself." She gestured behind herself. "And you have this beautiful kitchen that never gets used--it's almost criminal." She winked at Leo. "We have a good time in there, don't we?"

Leo nodded. "Cooking is so fun, daddy, there's lots of measuring and mixing, like science!"

"Well, it's certainly nice for me," Henry said with a smile.

Mouse returned his smile, and Henry could tell from how she looked at him that she wanted to talk to him, so that night, after Leo was asleep, he sat down in the living room and waited. Sure enough, Mouse came and sat next to him, looking soft and lovely in her oversized flannel pjs. She had brushed her hair, and it all but glowed. Henry looked away, steeling himself.

"You knew I wanted to talk to you," Mouse said.

Henry nodded, taking a swallow of wine. "I don't know what it's regarding, though," he said, nervously interposing his knee between them.

"Well, I'm trying to be more assertive, to be more in control of my life," Mouse began, twisting her shirt in her hands. "And I know that the main reason you decided not to--not to pursue things with me is because of how it might affect your son, how it might affect Leo."

Henry nodded again. "Yes. It wasn't the only reason, but it was a huge mitigating factor."

He looked at Mouse, trying to fathom how she could ever have gotten that nickname, when everything about her screamed beauty and grace, allure and comeliness. Her eyelashes, the way they brushed against the area under her brows, the slight up tilt of her lips, the unconscious grace with which she bent her neck when she looked down, they way her waist curved to her hip, all of these things made his breath catch in his throat, made his heart seize up in his chest.

"Is that what you wanted to talk about?" he asked, maybe more tersely than he intended.

She nodded, eyes downcast. Henry could tell her nerve was failing her, and his heart went out to her.

"Mouse, if things were to go wrong between us, Leo would suffer," Henry said softly. "We've been really lucky so far, I think you'd have to agree, that things haven't already gone irretrievably wrong, don't you think?" He took another swallow of wine. "I mean, with the horrible summer we've endured, it's amazing that we're still on speaking terms, I think, it's a miracle that we have a relationship at all, you know?" He leaned forward, and resisted the urge to touch her. "I don't want Leo to lose you. He needs you."

He leaned back. "We must leave things alone, for his sake. Okay?" He finished off his wine in one big gulp and rose.

"Good night, Mouse," he said with a smile, and left the room, congratulating himself on getting the hell out of there with his dignity intact.

He shut the door to his bedroom and got changed, brushing his teeth and getting bed, still feeling pretty okay about things.

He nearly jumped out of his skin when Mouse opened his door and stepped in, shutting it behind her. He sat up in bed, resisting the urge to pull the duvet up to cover himself up. He was a man, after all. Plus, it was nearly dark.

Mouse came and sat on the edge of the bed. Henry could feel it dip under her slight weight.

"What in the hell are you doing?" he asked.

"Well, you got to talk, but I didn't, you know?" Mouse replied. "I was the one who wanted to talk to you, and I didn't get to finish what I had to say. And you left. So I followed you. So I could finish. Speaking."

"Oh. Uh, okay. Go ahead, then," Henry said. "Should I turn the light on?"

"Not unless you want to," Mouse answered. "I don't need it."

Henry leaned over and flipped on the tiny nightlight at the base of the lamp, which bathed the room in a soft, pinkish light. This might have been a mistake, because Mouse looked ethereally beautiful in it.

"If we're staying apart," Mouse said carefully, "because the possibility of us breaking up or whatever could damage Leo, then don't we need to consider the possibility of damage to him from us remaining apart? I mean, this situation can't be good for him either, you know? It has to be stressful for him, and take a toll on him, too. If one matters, shouldn't the other matter, too?" She looked at Henry, quietly indignant.

Henry looked at Mouse, took a deep breath, as if to speak, then didn't, simply because he didn't know what to say.

"Wait, wait wait, I forgot to say something first," Mouse said, shaking her head. "If you don't feel anything for me other than friendship, other than the regular feelings you'd feel for your son's nanny, then none of this matters, I guess," she said, and Henry could see her squaring her shoulders. "Is that what you feel? Do you just feel regular, 'nanny feelings' for me, Henry?"

"No--no," Henry said with a chuckle. "Definitely not 'nanny feelings,' no."

"Okay, then," Mouse said, smiling. "Back to what I was saying before, then." She looked at Henry, eyes serious. "Leo's not stupid, he can tell there's something between us, and he doesn't know now, but he'll know one of these days how babies are made, and he'll figure out what happened in Greece.

"I can't help how old I am. Or how young I am, or whatever, Henry," Mouse continued. "You didn't corrupt me, or pollute me, or defile me, or any of those things. I didn't have sex before I met you because I didn't want to, and that's all. And if I want to have sex with someone else, I will."

Henry stared at her.

"I'm not saying I have," she hastened to assure him, "just that I would if it happened.

"So, in conclusion," she said, smiling, "I think that you were short-sighted to break things off with me, Henry. I think that we have something good here."

She began unbuttoning her pajama top.

Henry's eyes widened, and he sat up from where he'd leaned back against his pillows.

"Now then," she said, continuing to undo her buttons, biting her lip and looking up at him when she finished, "knowing what you know now, do you want me to stay, or do you want me to go?" She lowered her shirt to expose her shoulders, though she held it closed above her breasts, showing just their rounded tops.

Henry had never seen anything so beautiful.

"Stay," he said softly, swallowing as he reached for her.

Mouse made a sound of happiness as she reached for him, releasing her shirt so his hands could slide underneath and reach around her warm waist. He pulled her to him, clasping her body to his as he kissed her, letting out a sound similar to hers as their lips met.

He opened his mouth on hers, remembering how wonderful it was when he did this a few months before, on another continent. Her skin felt fine and smooth under his hands, velvety and silken and alive. He slid her shirt off of her arms so she was in his lap only in her pajama bottoms. He could see her beautiful torso, the way her breasts swelled away from her body, the way her nipples were already tight and sensitive.

He bent and took one in his mouth, and Mouse made a sound he'd never heard her make before, a sound that made him leap in his pants. He was already like granite, and he knew she could feel it from how she was sitting on him. He bent her back gently, so he could see her better, her beautiful breasts, her beautiful stomach.

"Mouse, you're so pretty," he murmured. He rolled her nipple against his tongue, sucking on it, loving how hard it got again the roof of his mouth. She grasped his hair, pulling on it, holding his head steady against her.

"Oh god, Henry," she moaned, "this feels amazing--" she moaned again, rolling her hips into his stomach where she sat on him.

He laid her back, pulling her pajama bottoms off. She wasn't wearing any underwear, and she was already wet, slick against his hand. He rubbed two fingers into her folds, and she arched her body nearly completely off of his legs, her breasts pointing up at the ceiling, looking like a sculpture, making Henry want to possess her, to be inside her.

Her knees were on either side of his body, and he pressed them open even farther. She let out a greedy, wanton moan when she felt his breath on her, his tongue.

"Henry," she murmured. "I feel like I'm going to pass out."

Suddenly he sat up. "Oh, fuck," he groaned. "Oh, shit."

"What?" Mouse asked, sitting up. "What's wrong?"

"I only have the condoms we used in Greece," Henry said. "We can't use those again, Mouse, I'll have to go get some--fuck."

Mouse laughed, lunging into his arms. "No, it's okay, it's okay, I'm on the pill now!" She looked around, continuing to laugh. "Thank god that's all it is." She looked at Henry, nodding. "Honest, I am! It's part of the whole 'taking control of my life' thing I'm trying."

He continued to stare at her, unconvinced.

"Henry, of all people, I'm the least likely to lie about this, don't you think? Or make a mistake?" Mouse prodded. "Trust me. I haven't missed a pill yet, all's well." She leaned in and kissed him.

"Unless you've really changed your mind," she said, leaning back to stare at him.

Henry sighed and kissed her, hard. "No," he murmured comfortably. "I definitely haven't changed my mind." He peeled his sweats off. "Where were we again?"

"I'll show you," Mouse said, laughing.

And this time they came together with Mouse on top, sitting astride him. She winced a little as she came down on him, making him ask, "What? Should we stop?"

She shook her head. "Nope, I'm good, just a little tight."

"Oh god, I know it hurts, and I'm sorry, but Christ, it feels so good," Henry gasped into her neck as she closed around him. He put his hand on her hip to steady her. "So good," he repeated, nodding.

She rolled her hips a little, rising and coming down, and Henry dug his fingers into her tender flesh, letting out an explosive breath. "Stop, Mouse, or I'm going to come," he said.

"Isn't that kind of the point?" she asked with a laugh.

"It is, but I promised you would too, this time, remember?" he reminded her. "It's not so easy for women, it takes time and effort," he informed her.

"Oh, okay," she said, nodding.

So she remained on top of him, unmoving, as he put a hand between them, finding her sensitive bundle of nerves and putting his thumb on it, pressing and moving in a circular motion. He leaned in and kissed her breast, again sucking on her, licking her.

"Make some noise for me, Mouse," he encouraged. "If you like something, let me know, okay?"

"I like it all," she replied, laughing, hugging his head. "Ohmygod, that feels so good--"

"That? Right there?" he asked.

"Yes!" she gasped, her head falling back. She rocked back and forth on him, her movements getting faster and faster, matching his. He moved his mouth to her neck, kissing her, sucking on her hard enough to leave a huge mark.

"Henry, Henry--" she called. "I think I'm coming, okay?"

"Oh, fuck, me too," he told her, clasping her sweaty body to his by her waist.

Her cries got faster and higher pitched, and just hearing her tipped Henry over, making him drive into her, lifting her off the bed with the force of his thrusts, as she held on, tensing on him. He could feel her muscles tighten on him as he emptied into her,  as every part of him that could be touching her did so.

They slowed down together, as Henry gently released her, laying her down next to him.

"Wow," she said, chest still heaving for breath.

He lay back next to her, pulling her close, kissing her forehead, her skin moist from her exertions.

"Mouse?"

"Mm?"

"I'm so glad you came into my room to finish talking."

"Me too, Henry."