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Aly sighed. “I’m so sorry she said that to you.”

Lola looked at the ground. She felt too upset to look into Aly’s deep brown eyes. She should have known that this whole thing wasn’t abouther—it was just Aly’s pattern.

“So do you?”

“No!” Aly said. “I don’t havea thing for straight girls.This has nothing to do with you and everything to do with Colette and the grudge she’s holding.”

At this, Lola looked up. “What’s her grudge?”

Aly sighed and shifted her weight. “We were really young when we dated,” she said slowly, clearly not wanting to tell this story. “And we broke up because I met someone else.”

“That happens.” Lola nodded.

“Well, the person I left her for had been straight up until we met.”

“Ah,” Lola said, the information starting to click into place. “So who was she?”

“She was a model,” Aly said. “And I really loved her. I thought we were going to get married. We lived together for two years. We were kind of an it couple, though I hate to say it like that because it sounds gross. People were just constantly writing stories about us and taking photos of us. It was a whole thing. The relationship, in hindsight, was more about our aesthetic than our actual compatibility. Anyway, it turns out she was cheating on me with her ex-boyfriend. They’re married now. They have two kids. They moved to the suburbs.”

“Jesus,” Lola said, her heart hurting for Aly despite how mad she still felt. “I’m so sorry, babe. That’s awful.”

Aly nodded. “So I guess Colette is mad about our breakup as my ex and, as my friend, worried I’m going to get hurt in the same way all over again.”

Lola imagined what it would take for her to hurt Aly like that, for her to leave her for a man—for Justin, maybe. To have two kids with him and live in the suburbs. It felt impossible. It had felt impossible to live that life with Justin even before Aly was in the picture, but it was extra unfathomable now.

Lola rose to her knees and pulled Aly into a hug. “I would never do that to you.”

“I know,” Aly said, into her neck.

“But does it bother you that I’m straight?”

Aly pulled away and then gave her a funny look. “Do you really still think you’re straight after the week we’ve had? You wouldn’t say you’re at least bisexual?”

“But I’m not bisexual,” Lola said.

The truth was that Lola had never really considered it.

She knew that bisexuals existed, but somehow, in Lola’s mind, it wasn’t an option for her. Her ongoing attraction to men, she’d always felt, negated her occasional attraction to women. She hadn’t bothered to think about the gray area, about whether her fantasies about women meant something larger about who she was. And whether that mattered.

Aly looked annoyed. “Whatever you say.”

“I’m sorry,” Lola said. “This is all so new.” There was no use dragging this out, not when all Aly’s friends were downstairs. “I’m going to take a shower, and then I’ll meet you downstairs.”

Aly seemed to understand that Lola needed a minute and finally left her alone.

In the shower, she turned the wordbisexualover and over in her mind. She’d never considered it before. She had always just assumed she was a straight woman who was sometimes attracted to other women. If that made her bisexual, it was news to her.

***

The hot dogs were crisping to perfection on the barbecue by the time Lola reappeared downstairs. The tension from earlier seemed to have dissipated too. Whether because Aly told Colette to be nicer to Lola or she decided on her own, Lola didn’t know and didn’t care.

The sun had set and stars were twinkling into view, the moon a pale sliver in the velvety sky. Fire Island was greener than East Hampton, and the trees were bending in the warm breeze. It was a beautiful night, and Lola felt ready to relax into it. She didn’t want to fight with Aly. She wanted to enjoy this new place, these new people—Aly’s whole world and how she fit in it.

“Can I make you a drink, Lola?” Lauren asked. “We’re all having negronis.”

“That sounds perfect,” Lola said, taking a seat on the balcony beside Aly, who put an arm around her and kissed her on the cheek.

“You look cute,” Aly whispered in her ear, and Lola gave her a reassuring smile.