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“Stop fiddling with your seat belt,” Esther said.

Sweet baby Jesus, she was gorgeous.

Esther unbuckled and buckled her so the strap wasn’t stuck then leaned over Ashley to adjust some contraption by her head. Ashley didn’t know or care what she was doing. She was close enough that Ashley felt heat radiating off Esther’s body. If she breathed in deeply, maybe their boobs would touch. Could she handle that sensation, or would her mind self-destruct from sensory overload? She was starting to inhale when Esther finished her work and sat back in her seat. Ashley’s seat belt rested comfortably across her shoulder instead of her neck, and she hated it.

“You’re like a super mom.” Ashley felt the need to inform her. “Not that I’m projecting kids onto you if that’s not something you’re into. You would also be amazing at herding the drunk. Not that I’m drunk. Just a little tipsy. Good practice for when you get a real-life drunk person to herd.”

“Can’t wait for that day.” Esther rolled her eyes and put the car back into motion.

“Esther,” Ashley said. “My mom forgot I’m gay. My own mother! Who made me. From her womb. How gay is that? And yet she forgets?”

“I’m pretty sure some not-so-gay things happened that led up to you being born, but sure. I don’t know your mom.”

“And now I have to go home, and they don’t know I’m all vampire-like.” She lifted her hands into claws so Esther got what she meant. “And she forgot I’m gay. I mean, I guess it’s been a while since I’ve been home, but what did she think happened in the meantime? I was just out trolloping with the peniae, penises,dickory? Not that penises are a bad thing. I mean, you’re into the peen, right?”

“I have imbibed in a penis or two. That is true. Not that we’re conflating genitalia with gender, correct?”

“Touché.” It sucked that Esther wasn’t gay, but it was still so nice that she was here to give Ashley a ride. “You’re so nice, Esther. You should come home for Christmas with me.”

Shocking as it might have sounded, Ashley hadn’t thought this idea through before saying it aloud, but now she was obsessed with it. Her and Esther holding hands on the couch under the light of a Christmas tree, sipping hot chocolate while her mom played her favorite Christmas music and her dad told stories from his early firefighting days.

“I mean, my parents are out of the country.” Esther’s words drew Ashley’s attention back. “So, my uncle invited me to join Jason and his annual Disney trip, which kind of sounds like the worst. But I don’t want to impose on your family.”

“Oh my gosh, Esther!”

The car halted, and again, Ashley was flung forward and caught by Esther and the seat belt.

“Stop doing that!” Esther scolded. “You keep startling me.”

“No, but Esther. Esther!”

Esther silently fixed Ashley’s seatbelt.

“This would be perfect. You could be my girlfriend.”

Esther froze with her hand on the release, and Ashley realized her mistake. Esther didn’t like her that way.

“No, no!” she corrected. “Not a real girlfriend. You would be like my pretend girlfriend. So my mom knows I’m still gay. But also! Also, you can help me with the whole vampire thing. Because they don’t know about that, and I kind of want to keep it that way.”

Esther was driving again, and Ashley waited for an answer. And waited. Maybe Esther hadn’t understood her. Did shesay the idea out loud, or was she talking in her head again? Sometimes she did that when she was drinking. But Ashley was basically sober now, and this was the best idea she had ever had since that time she thought about drinking from Not-Brian in the middle of a Halloween party.

Esther pulled to the side of the road and turned off the car. “How serious are you right now?”

“So serious. Super serious.” How could she emphasize this properly? The only thing she wanted for Christmas was for Esther to come home with her.

“I’m pretty sure you’re going to forget this conversation in the morning, so I don’t want to commit to anything you’ll regret the next day.”

“Oh, wow. That sounds like not a no.” Ashley bounced excitedly in her seat. Esther unbuckled her, which only made her more excited.

“Well, we’re here. Text me in the morning if you remember this conversation, okay?”

“Yessss.” That was definitely a yes. No doubt about it. “An unmemory never elephants,” she proclaimed and leaped from the car before Esther could change her mind. Her shoe caught on the curb, and she face-planted into the grass. Damn curb, making her look like a drunken fool when she was clearly sober. A car door slammed, and then Esther was there in front of her looking beautiful and concerned.

“Are you okay?” Esther asked. “I’ll walk you to the door.”

She helped Ashley up, and nearly on her own, Ashley walked up the porch steps and opened the front door.

“Are you going to be okay?” Esther’s brows were puckering most adorably. Ashley wanted to kiss that spot. So, she did, leaving behind a pink lip print in the middle of Esther’s forehead like a flag on the moon.