Relief floods through Rey and she smiles over at him, feeling herself flush even more than she might have were she actually naked. They aren’t currently lost in each other and driven by lust, and it makes everything feel much more deliberate.

She had been embarrassed because she knows very little about sex, and has no idea if it’s normal to feel so overcome by need as she does sometimes with him, to the point that she would touch herself so wantonly in his presence. Now she’s realizing that it doesn’t matter if she’s normal or not. What matters is his acceptance of her just as she is, and she gives him a pleased smile as she finishes the rest of her sandwich.

After setting the plate on the counter and wiping her hands, she steps up to Ben and wraps her arms around his waist, pressing her face into his chest and breathing in before tipping her head back to look at him, chin resting against his sternum.

“Maybe you can have me naked somewhere else later,” she tells him, thrilled by her boldness as she takes his hand and leads him over to the sofa, looking over her shoulder at him. “If you’re good.”