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Lola reached Ryan, her face turning the color of a strawberry. “How much did you see?”

A lot, apparently.

Having a witness made it all the more real.Holy fucking shit, she thought.I just slept with ARC.

He grabbed her by both arms and yanked her into the house. Before the door was fully closed behind her, he shrieked, “LOLA LIKES PUSSY?”

“Oh mygod,” Lola said, annoyed that Ryan had already turned her night into a hashtag, but then she was struck by how funny it was, and before she knew it, she was laughing so hard that tears shot sideways out of her eyes.

Ryan was hysterical too, holding on to her as they both slid to the floor. When he could speak again, he said, “So after all that angry obsession, it turned out you just wanted to scissor her?”

“It would appear so,” she said, wiping her face. “Sue me.”

***

Later, after regaling Ryan with a thorough play-by-play of the past twelve hours and then taking a shower—reluctantly washing Aly’s smell off her skin—Lola climbed into bed with her laptop and googledhow to make a woman cum.

This, she knew, was slightly presumptive. It wasn’t like they hadmade plans to see each other again. For all she knew, it was a one-and-done sort of thing. Maybe Aly hadn’t enjoyed it as much as she had. But still, if itdidhappen again, she wanted to be ready.

But the search results were not super specific, too AI-generated to be helpful. She triedhow to have sex with a woman for the first time; how lesbians have sex; what does it mean if a girl doesn’t want you to touch her back; how to tell if she likes me; diagram of a vulva.

Then she typedam I gay?

She deleted it before even hitting search. She knew the answer—she wasn’t. Her feelings for Aly didn’t invalidate her feelings for all the men that came before.

Between each search, she checked her phone, wondering when or if Aly would ever text her. She kept having flashbacks to their night together: Aly’s fingers curled inside her, Aly’s hot breath on her ear. It was better than anything she had fantasized about.

Lola Fine, she said to herself as a vivid image of Aly pressing her into the door took hold.You are down bad.

Then she heard a knock. She checked the time. It was almost noon. “Ryan?” she called out. “Can you get that?” No answer. He must have left while she was in the shower, going to see that guy again. She wondered if she’d ever meet the mystery man or if Ryan was purposefully keeping him away from her. The thought left her mind as quickly as it entered, though. There were other things to worry about—like figuring out Aly’s G-spot. And getting the door.

She was in a robe with her hair wrapped in a towel as she made her way downstairs, another knock quickening her step.

“Coming!” she yelled. She pulled the robe tighter around her chest as she opened the door. And froze.

“Bad time?” It was Aly. She leaned against the doorframe, theperfect picture of casual cool. Like she justhappenedto be here. In the neighborhood. Stopping by.

“Oh my god, hi!” Lola felt a rush of warmth.

“I realized I don’t have your number,” Aly said, smiling.

“Shit, that’s right,” Lola laughed. “And here I was waiting for your text.” She immediately winced. “I mean…very casually waiting.”

Aly laughed. “Well, if I’d had your number, I would have said that I really enjoyed our night together and would love to do it again soon.”

Lola put a hand on her hip. “How soon?”

“What are you doing right now?”

Lola just about dragged Aly up the stairs.

In the guest bedroom, Aly sat on Lola’s bed and watched as Lola took her wet hair out of the towel. And then, feeling only a little self-conscious, Lola untied her robe and let it drop to the floor. She stood in front of Aly completely naked.

Aly rose to her feet, wrapping her arms around Lola. Lola liked the feel of her bare skin against Aly’s soft linen pants and even softer T-shirt. Aly ran her hands up and down Lola’s spine as she kissed her.

“This is going to be a weird thing to say, but I missed you,” Aly said.

Lola couldn’t say it back because Aly’s hands were already between her legs, rendering her speechless.