Page 98 of Kiss Me, Maybe
“You can try at home, not here.” Home means her place or mine, but more often than not, we end up at her place. I moved into my own apartment last year when I landed a youth librarian position minutes away from what would become the Elixir Lounge, but I’m still not fully unpacked, which makes my apartment a disaster zone. The last time Krystal stayed over, she spent three hours unpacking my kitchen while I was sleeping.
“Fine,” I grumble, but it doesn’t last long when she kisses my cheek. I turn my head and catch her lips, because even after two years, kissing Krystal never gets old. “Are you excited for tonight?”
“I’m more nervous than anything,” she admits as I wrap my arms around her neck. “What if something goes wrong?”
“Nothing is going to go wrong.” She harrumphs like she doesn’t believe me. “You worked hard for this, and there’s a long line of people waiting outside who are all excited to behere. You got what you wanted, Krystal. Don’t forget to enjoy it.”
“I guess you have a point,” she says, looking at me like she’s not sure how she got so lucky. It’s a feeling I’m all too familiar with. A hand comes up to cup my cheek and her eyes go soft. “I do have exactly what I want, don’t I?”
I’m right—the night goes off without a hitch. Marcela and I watch from a corner booth as customers enter the bar with oohs and aahs, smiling as they order drinks and marvel at the general ambiance of the place.
Before long, everyone I love is inside these walls. Theo finds some time to hide away at a back table with Marcela. Briana and her husband pop by, greeting me with her signature bone-crushing hug that only seems to get stronger each year. No Esme, but I didn’t expect her. We may never see eye to eye, but that’s fine. She’s not someone I need in my life, but I’m glad the same can’t be said of Briana.
Julian and Leti show up an hour after opening, hand in hand, smiling at each other like the idiots in love they are. Their relationship has certainly come a long way in two years, but I couldn’t be happier for them. Natalia and Stephanie show up around nine for two drinks before heading back. I don’t get to see them nearly enough these days—ever since the scavenger hunt and completing her art residency, she’s been booked and busy.
“I hope you’re proud of all the work you put into this place,” Natalia tells Krystal as they hug goodbye. “The bar is amazing. Dare I say, it might even be a new hangout spot for me and Stephanie.”
“Bet you feel right at home, what with all your art pieces hanging around here.” I gesture to the wall where even more of her work is framed.
“You could call it a perk.” She smirks. “I have to visit the statues every once in a while. Make sure they don’t miss me.”
“Thank you for everything, Natalia,” Krystal says. “And thanks for being the first to bring my attention to this prime real estate.”
Krystal’s arm falls around my shoulders as we watch them leave. It’s funny, all the transformations a person can go through with enough time. I couldn’t have imagined this life for myself two years ago. I have my dream job and once I get my shit together, a nice, cozy apartment that feels like home. A girlfriend I’m dizzyingly in love with, who returns those feelings tenfold. Not one, not two, butthreebest friends—but if Marcela asks, she’s still my number one. Natalia and Leti have rounded out our group quite nicely, especially during monthly brunches when our numbers increase to include significant others.
That once-constant loneliness that dogged my every step? Turns out it was ephemeral after all.
“I do too,” I tell Krystal much later, once the bar is closed for the night and we’ve said good night to everyone. We’re in her car on our way back to her apartment. It’s three in the morning, either way too late or far too early for my contemplativethoughts.
“You what?” She turns to me, eyes sleepy but still alert.
“I have exactly what I want too.” At the stop sign, I cup her face and she leans in to kiss me.
“I love you so much, Angel.”
“I never get tired of hearing that.” I smile against her lips. “I love you too.”
My life is so much fuller than I ever thought it’d be. I guess that’s what happens when you’re surrounded by people you love, and who love you in return. They fill your heart. They never leave you alone. And, if you ask me, no kind of love is truer than that.