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Avery laughed and raised hers, too.

“Now,” Beth said after she took a sip. “Tell me everything.”

So Avery told her. Not quite everything, but almost. She didn’t tell her about the way Taylor’s eyes had looked when she’d taken her clothes off, or how nervous and excited she’d been to undress Taylor, or about her anxieties about going down on Taylor. But she told her a lot.

And Beth’s reactions could not have been more satisfying. Her eyes got big when Taylor said it was a flirting midterm. She gasped when Taylor said,Now is when you kiss me, and she let out a little squeal when they got back to Avery’s apartment. By the time Avery finished, Beth had a huge smile on her face.

“Okay, I have many questions,” she said, “but first, can we toastto this incredible first queer sex experience for you? It was incredible, wasn’t it? No, I don’t even have to ask that, I can see it in your face, let’s toast.” She held up her glass.

Avery giggled again.

“I’ll toast to that.”

Beth took a gulp of her drink and then grabbed a handful of fries.

“First question: Why are you here, with me, and not still in bed with her? I mean yes, the garden is very exciting in August, I wouldn’t have wanted you to miss that zucchini, but I have a feeling Taylor offers a few more attractions.”

Avery let herself think about that for a moment. Let herself imagine what it would have been like to spend all weekend in bed with Taylor. That sounded…heavenly.

She reached for some french fries to bring herself back to earth. She’d barely eaten any, she’d been so busy talking.

“I had work all day yesterday, and Taylor is…Taylor. She checked in with me yesterday morning, and we agreed that neither of us wanted a relationship. But we’re still—”

Beth set her glass down.

“Wait. She brought this up already? Did you even have clothes on yet? Of course you agreed, she had the upper hand! I can’t believe her. Just because she’s more experienced doesn’t mean she’s allowed to be an asshole about it!”

Avery had the strange urge to give Beth a hug. The only person who had ever flown to her defense like that was Luke. It wasn’t necessary, but still.

“No, seriously, it was okay. Truly. I know I’m not ready for another relationship yet. Even if I was, I don’t think it should be with someone like Taylor.” Beth was looking at her doubtfully, so she kept talking. “I swear, I’m not upset. I never expected Taylor towant any more than sex. And I don’t want any more than that with her; anyone who gets serious about Taylor is asking to be crushed in the end. I’m glad we already talked about this so that things wouldn’t be weird between us.”

It must be so stressful to be in a relationship with Taylor. She knew Taylor too well at this point; she knew how it would go. The many women who’d had their hearts broken by Taylor could probably fill a convention hall; she didn’t want to be part of that number.

Beth looked relieved and took another handful of french fries.

“Good, I take back my rage at her. I will no longer plot to destroy her. And I’m very pleased that she gave you some great orgasms.” Beth raised her champagne glass to Avery again. “I know, I know, you didn’t tell me the details, but I could tell by the way you talked about it and that smug smile on your face.”

Avery felt the smug smile creep back and couldn’t help but shrug.

“Well, I mean…all I can say is, to many more.” She lifted her glass and touched it to Beth’s.

“That’s what I’m talking about,” Beth said. She raised an eyebrow. “Okay, but that brings up another question. Are you going to do it again? With her, I mean. I know you don’t want a relationship, but no one said you had to have a relationship to have good sex.”

Avery made a face.

“In my experience, once you have a relationship, all you have is bad sex, which is yet another reason I’m in no hurry to get into another relationship.”

Beth shook her head.

“Oh, honey. We need to talk about your relationships at some point, and yes, it’s probably good for you to wait awhile. Also, you didn’t answer the question.”

Avery shook her head.

“No, it was pretty clear that she didn’t think we should do it again, and I don’t, either. It would make things too complicated, and I don’t think I could really do a friends-with-benefits thing with her. But we’re still doing the flirting lessons—I want to get better at this, and I definitely want to kiss more women.” Avery couldn’t believe she’d said that out loud, but Beth just lifted her second glass of champagne to her. “I hope she keeps introducing me to her cute friends so I get a chance to do it again withsomeone.”

“Don’t worry, I have no doubt about that,” Beth said. “Who wouldn’t want to have sex with you? You’re hot, you’re smart, you’re fun, you’re the whole package.”

Avery held back her sigh. People always said this about her. Yet it was hard to believe them, since no one ever wanted to sleep with her.