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“They want to make a movie out of your story. That’s weird, I guess, in a way, because I’m not sure any of us thinks about our lives as a movie. If mine were a movie, it would be, like, ninety percent boring and mildly tragic until I met Mel and moved here,” Kyle said.

Melinda smiled over at her girlfriend and replied, “Mine was pretty boring before I met you, too.”

“Mine was boring until Bryce,” Sophie agreed. “I had a boring job and really not many friends until Monica moved here and I met all of you, but that happened around the same time I met her, so I can’t really separate it.”

“Wait. Who would play us?” Melinda asked.

“What?” Sophie laughed.

“Who would play you?” Melinda added. “And Bryce?”

“Whatever actresses are doing low-budget lesbian romance movies,” Sophie suggested.

“Hey, they might get someone really good,” Melinda said. “People get Oscars for going gay.”

“Going gay?” Jill asked. “Who’s going gay? What did I miss here?”

She sat down on Melinda and Kyle’s side of the booth, and Bryce joined Sophie after their trip to the bathroom. It hadn’t taken long for Jill to somehow pull the whole movie thing out of Bryce, who had looked over at Sophie apologetically, but Sophie had just shrugged it off.

“No one. We were just talking about who might play us in the movie.” She laughed.

“Oh, that’s a question,” Jill said. “I’m not sure I’ve ever landed on an actress who would play me. Are we talking looks, acting ability, or all of the above?”

“We hadn’t landed yet,” Kyle replied.

“Okay. Then, how realistic are we talking, because I’d love someone like Cate Blanchett or Sandra Bullock to play me, but let’s get real… Also, I’m in my twenties, so as young as they both look, I don’t know that it’s realistic,” Jill said.

Sophie leaned over into Bryce as they continued to talk about which actresses would play them in this movie that wouldn’t actually happen. She supposed that was why it was so easy for her to say that it was fine to Bryce as they had walked to meet her friends. It wasn’t as if anyone was actually going to make a movie of their meeting and subsequent relationship. She and Bryce would meet with the producer, and once they see how boring Sophie actually was, they’d decide that there were far more interesting stories to tell that would make them money and leave it.

Of course, on top ofWomen Loving Womennow, who wanted to set up follow-up interviews with both of them, there were also the two other people who’d reached out to Bryce about interviews. Sophie wasn’t sure how any of that had happened. Yes, it was magical to her how they’d met and found one another, and she guessed it made sense for Bryce’s subscribers that they would be invested, but for the rest of the world to want to read about them or see their story unfold on the big screen was astretch. Maybe it wouldn’t be a big screen. Bryce had mentioned it probably being on TV or streaming somewhere, which made a little more sense, but still. What would the middle of the movie be? Sophie sitting at her desk, pretending to work while she daydreamed about this woman she met and lost one night? She didn’t think that would be interesting to anyone. It definitely wasn’t interesting to her.

They were having dinner with her friends, though, and Sophie needed to focus. She loved how Bryce seemed to just fit in with everyone so easily. Kyle and Bryce had something in common. Melinda and Bryce had something else. Jill also seemed to like her. She already knew that Monica and Bridgette liked Bryce, so all that was needed now was for Sophie to visit Bryce and meet Megan and Kelsey, and possibly Sean, depending on how things went.

Thinking about that future visit made her think about how Bryce would be leaving soon. She tried to hide her sorrow, but she got quiet and wrapped an arm around Bryce’s stomach as if that would somehow keep her in New Orleans forever.

“Are you okay?” Bryce asked softly while Kyle, Melinda, and Jill debated about whether or not they could get an A-lister to play one of them.

“Yeah, I’m okay,” she lied.

“Soph…”

“It’s fine. Just not here, okay?” she requested, meeting her girlfriend’s eyes.

Bryce looked concerned and said, “We can go.”

“We can talk later. I don’t want to go. I’m having fun.”

“You don’t look like it,” Bryce said, cupping her cheek.

Sophie winked at her and replied, “I’m okay. Really.”

Bryce gave her a look that told Sophie she didn’t believe her, but they stayed for a little while longer. Later, when they paid for dinner, Bryce pulled out her phone and showed it to Sophie, withthe promised email from the producer right there, in black and white.

Bryce,

Attached you’ll find the standard contracts regarding story rights. Please take a look and have Sophie do so as well. If you need a recommendation for an entertainment attorney or other representation, let me know. I can send over a list of names we’ve worked with in the past. I’d recommend having someone look over it, at least, to make sure you’re protected accordingly. You’ll find the amount we’re offering in the agreement. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out. I’d love to discuss the terms with you two as soon as possible in order to capitalize on your story being somewhat viral right now, so I’ve attached a link to my online booking tool. Feel free to grab some time on my calendar so we can discuss the next steps.

Eloise Axford