"Brannon won't mind?" She questioned while still in his embrace. Nemo's dad was stricter than either of her parents had ever been, though Nemo had the fortunate piece of being born male.

The hug lasted another minute or two longer before she pulled away. Cook would tolerate much when it came to Nemo, but not Penny clinging to him as though he were a piece of driftwood in the sea. An unconventional friendship was alright, just nothing more than that.

"I really am sorry about Paris," she repeated again. The loss of contact from him had her anxiety flaring again, but she knew better than to keep touching him. Arousal could happen just from external stimuli and not because he wanted it to happen, and she refused to put him in that position again. "I didn't — I didn't know what happened to men."