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It was a valid hypothesis, especially with all this Lesbian Wonder Woman bullshit happening.

At first, Krissy had thought all of that was funny, good for countless years of teasing her best friend. But now she was belatedly recognizing the threat—namely, the number of attractive gay women who would hit on Becca because of it.

Krissy was certain that, eventually, Becca would succumb.

She knew for a fact that Becca hadn’t had a girlfriend since whatever-the-hell-her-name was, way back at the beginning of the year, and so it only made sense that Becca would finally become unable to resist at least some of the female attention she was getting lately.

Especially, if the attention came in the form of that mythological creature who appeared on the beach this past Sunday: the Redheaded Vanessa.

As annoyed as Krissy had been that her private time with Becca had been interrupted, Krissy still couldn’t help eyeballing every inch of that woman, delighted when she got her own head-to-toe ogle and a smile in return. And because that gorgeous vision had even kind of looked like Vanessa a little, it had made Krissy simultaneously want her more and want her to get the hell away from Becca.

Becca and

Ariel—Krissy had overheard the woman give her name—had seemed to hit it off particularly well. Thus, it gave Krissy a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach to imagine that Ariel had been the one to finally make Becca succumb. That, perhaps, Ariel was the “old friend.”

So what are you going to do about it?

That had been the question Krissy had been asking herself all week.

But she still had no answer.

Except to be sure to look devastating tonight at the awards thingy.

***

“Jesus!” Krissy’s friend Rachel exclaimed when they found each other in the council chamber of City Hall, where the awards ceremony was set to take place. “I…totally look like shit next to you!”

Krissy laughed as they hugged.

This was far from true, Krissy considered. Rachel, her red hair flowing behind her, was wearing a stunning dark-green dress that flattered every bit of her. She looked as beautiful as always.

Krissy, meanwhile, was wearing an Adrianna Papell-designed border print short dress, which not only was suitable for the occasion but also which Krissy knew would stand out because of its lavender color that had pops of reds, pinks and purples in the floral design. She was wearing it with red open-toed four-inch heels, making her almost as tall as Becca.

“You look amazing,” she told Rachel. “Let’s just call it a tie.” She looked around at the still gathering crowd. She spotted Becca’s parents seated in the first row along with several firefighters in their dress uniforms. She’d say hello to them later. “Where’s the rest of our gang?” she asked Rachel.

“On their way,” Rachel said. “Except Ainsley. Hospital. If she can, she’ll join us afterwards at the spot.”

Rachel’s girlfriend, Ainsley, was a surgeon and was frequently unable to make things like this. Krissy hoped, though, that Ainsley would be able to get away from work soon. The plan was for all of Becca’s guests to have a celebratory dinner at the Bluewater Grill after the awards ceremony, even though Becca had protested against it.

She and Rachel found a mostly vacant row in the audience gallery of the chamber and then set about “reserving” the empty seats in it for their friends by placing their handbags and the light sweater Rachel had with her on enough of the empties to drive other people away. Then they sat down themselves next to each other.

“So,” Rachel began, crossing her legs and turning herself a little towards Krissy. “When are you and Becca getting together?”

Krissy felt her face heat up with a fiery blush. She wanted to laugh off Rachel’s question. She wanted to protest; say things such as, “It’s not like that” or “We’re just good friends, you know that.” But when she opened her mouth to utter such nonsense, she couldn’t. Instead, she suddenly felt incredibly grateful to Rachel.

I’ve been keeping it bottled up too long.

Rachel was offering her a cathartic outlet which Krissy now realized she desperately wanted.

“How did you know?” she asked, also turning towards Rachel.

Rachel rolled her eyes.

“I’ve known since I first met you two a few months ago,” she stated.

Krissy sighed.

“So, it’s that obvious?” she asked. “I mean, do you think everyone else knows too?”