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“T hank you so much. It was perfect. Today was perfect,” one of the grooms said.

“I’m so glad,” Linden replied with a smile.

And she meant it, too. She loved planning gay weddings. Not only were they often more fun, but it was so nice to see people she felt like she could relate to. It was true that she’d only come out a couple of months ago after years and years of pushing herself so deep into the closet that she thought it impossible to emerge, but for the past year of her life, she had been taking slow steps to try to get out of that, and this was the fourth gay wedding she’d planned since making the decision to take those steps.

In fact, it was a wedding around this time last year that gave her the courage to take the first few of them in the first place. It was two women getting married, and she’d been assigned them as clients in April. They’d wanted a quick and not-too-fancy wedding but something their friends and family would remember. They’d been a couple for well over a decade by the time they had gotten engaged and decided to have a quick ceremony and a big party that they’d throw all their money into to celebrate their life together. Linden had only had six months to plan the event, but she had met with them on several occasions leading up to the day, and she’d seen real love between them that had her thinking about her own lack of love. Her boyfriends had always come and gone, and usually, they left when they began to notice that Linden wasn’t exactly interested in much of a sex life or planning any kind of future with them.

Her last relationship had ended the day after the wedding between the two women. Her boyfriend had wanted sex, and Linden just could not picture lying there and letting him take what he wanted again without feeling anything for him or the act itself. It was as if seeing those two women so in love had her at her breaking point, and she’d broken up with him that night. That was step one.

“Seriously, he’s right: this was the perfect day. Everything was exactly what we wanted. Thank you so much,” the other groom told her.

Linden ran a hand through her ear-length blonde hair that she’d slicked back with product. That had been step two: cutting her hair and doing away with the long, wavy blonde locks she’d had her entire life that hadn’t ever really suited her or made her comfortable.

“I’m really happy for you two. You were dream clients, and you really know how to throw a party,” she replied with a laugh. “I think that was the most energetic Electric Slide I have ever seen.”

“My mother requested that song. I had it on a do-not-play list,” the first groom said and laughed. “But watching her doing that after having a few drinks was worth it.”

“Honey, we should get going to the hotel,” the second groom spoke. “I’m exhausted.”

One groom kissed the other one, and they both smiled at each other before they said their goodbyes.

Watching them interact had been making Linden smile all day today. She loved her job. She wasn’t the typical kind of wedding planner, she supposed. Before coming out, she’d not exactly believed in the kind of everlasting love weddings promoted, but she’d fallen into this career because she had needed a job, and they had needed an assistant. Two years as the gofer at weddings had proven to be challenging and fun, and then, she’d been promoted to a planner. Now, ten years later, she was one of the top three planners at the company and had people lining up to work with her. Asher was one of the other three and the top earner for the company for the past several years. Her best friend was also the more organized one of the two of them, while Linden preferred to let her clients have a little more fun and didn’t run things like a drill sergeant, but she could understand why Asher usually did. Sometimes, clients got in their own way, and Asher had things so well-planned and timed that she could often save them from themselves.

Things had only gotten better for Linden since she had started on those steps to come out. Step three had been going on a lesbian dating app, which she’d been surprised to find. She had only created a profile and hadn’t done anything else, but it was a good step all the same. A month later, as her next step, she’d actually reviewed all the messages she’d received and started checking profiles. While she hadn’t responded to any of them, she was proud of herself for moving forward. Then, without telling anyone in her life back then, including her best friend, she’d gone on her first date with a woman, making that step five, and step six had happened later that night: sex with a woman for the first time. That hot, passionate sex at the woman’s place had Linden craving more from her own life – not just hot, passionate sex with a stranger, but the intimacy that came from a relationship with a woman.

The next step after that had been telling Asher that she was gay. Asher hadn’t led on that she’d suspected all along and had taken the news well. She’d always been supportive of everything Linden had done or wanted to do since they’d met a decade ago and quickly became friends outside of work. Asher was the best friend she’d ever had, and when Linden had come out to her parents and siblings not all that long ago, Asher had been there, sitting next to her, holding her hand, and telling her that everything was going to be all right.

“Hey,” Sophie greeted her when Linden walked toward the high-top table the woman had somehow snagged.

With tourist season now in full swing, tables in bars were hard to come by, so they usually had to stand in the middle of a room or lean against a wall if they were lucky enough to find some space to do so. There weren’t any chairs, but at least they had somewhere to put their drinks, which was a luxury.

“Hey there. Anyone else here yet?” Linden asked.

“Jill’s in the bathroom,” Sophie said. “She’s been gone for twenty minutes, so she should be back soon.”

“Long lines and one bathroom… I hate French Quarter bars sometimes.”

“Why are we here, then?”

“Lesbians,” Linden replied with a shrug.

Sophie laughed and said, “Yes, there are a lot of those here tonight.”

“I’m going to grab a drink. Need one?”

“No, but Jill does. She went straight to the bathroom. Beer?”

“Yeah, I’ll get it,” Linden replied.

On her way to the bar through the crowd, she looked around, trying to see if anyone here would be of interest to her. Most of the women there would be tourists this time of year, which meant that if both parties were interested, she could get at least a hot make-out session and maybe a one-night stand with no complications because they’d be returning home soon. That was where Linden was right now: no relationships. She just wanted something uncomplicated and fun. Waiting this long to finally be with women meant that she wanted to be with as many as she could before she started trying to settle down. Yet to see someone of interest even on her way back to the table, she placed the drinks down and returned her focus to Sophie.

“So, how are things with Bryce?”

“I miss her,” Sophie said with a shrug. “I just saw her, and she’s coming back here soon, but I miss her.”

“I get it. Long-distance is tough.”

“Have you ever done it?”

“Only with a boyfriend. But considering I knew I was gay, I’m not sure that really counts.”

“I know it’s smart of us to do this because her moving here or me moving there is so soon, but it just feels so right to me. I mean, Monica moved here for Bridgette, and Kyle moved here to be with Melinda.”

“Yeah, but Kyle has family history here, and she fell in love with the city and Melinda at the same time. And if I remember correctly, Monica fell in love with New Orleans as well, not just Bridgette. Right?”

“Yes. And Bryce loves the city, too, but she’s working on something for her aunt and can’t leave just yet. I have family here that I can’t leave, so right now, it’s long-distance and drives and flights when we can.”

“Hey, at least you’re working remotely now, so you can leave whenever and just work from there.”

“Yes, but when I’m with Bryce, I don’t want to work.” Sophie looked off in the distance. “I just want to–”

“Yeah, we know: have hot sex with your girlfriend,” Jill said as she joined them. “Some of us don’t have girlfriends to have hot sex with, so maybe we can change the subject?” She looked down at the table. “This one for me?”

“Yeah,” Linden said.

“Thanks,” Jill replied and smiled at her, picking up the beer that Linden had gotten for her. Then, she took a long drink and added, “The line was fifteen girls deep, and once I finally got in there, there was no toilet paper, just a roll of paper towels on the counter that was half-wet. When will bars like this finally get their bathroom act together? Oh, and I’m pretty sure the two women who went in right after me weren’t going in just to pee. So, they might still be in there, fucking, which means some girls are standing in line, probably peeing their pants right now.”

Linden laughed and took a long drink of her own beer. Jill was about ten years younger than her and had all sorts of energy. While Linden wanted to go out and meet women, and bars this time of year were the easiest way for her to do that, she was thirty-five, and doing this even a few times a week for the past several months was already starting to wear on her. Jill, on the other hand, seemed to always have the energy to stay up until four in the morning drinking and then getting coffee and beignets at Café Du Monde if they all wanted to go that way.

“Who else is coming?” Jill asked.

“Ash should be here,” she replied.

“Yeah? Cool,” Jill said and turned her attention back to Sophie. “So, Bryce? When is she coming back?”

“We don’t have an exact date yet. Soon, though. I was supposed to go there, but this movie thing came up. She’s been working with that producer on the process and had to fly to LA for some in-person meeting. They’ve asked her to write the script, and she’s never done that. From what we’ve been told, they never do that, just ask someone with no experience to write a script, but they really think Bryce can do it, which is amazing. They have this super tight turnaround time because they’re trying to capitalize on how viral Bryce’s blog went while they can, but I miss her.”

“I still can’t believe someone is making a movie of your life,” Jill noted.

“Not my life; just the story of how Bryce and I met,” Sophie replied before she took a drink. “And she’s been nervous about writing the script. It’s so cute. She’s been reading books, watching video tutorials, and taking a master class on screenwriting to make sure she gets everything right.”

“Have you read any of it yet?”

“She’s got the first thirty pages, she thinks, but she told me she doesn’t want me to read them until the studio says it’s good. They have an actual screenwriter helping her out, but they’re a really small company, I guess.” Sophie shrugged. “I’m waiting as patiently as I can.”

“So, not that patiently,” Linden joked.

“Exactly.” Sophie laughed.

Linden had joined this friend group, in a way, through work, when Asher had met Melinda through partnering with NOLA Guides to offer tour packages for wedding guests at discounted rates. It had been a fruitful partnership so far, and while being out at a bar one night, she and Asher had run into Melinda with her girlfriend, Kyle, as well as Jill, Sophie and Bryce, and Bridgette and Monica. They didn’t hang out together all the time, but when Linden needed someone to go out with and Asher wasn’t up for it, she had other people to call now, which was nice. Because she’d only recently come out, most of her other friends were straight or weren’t interested in Linden being in this going-out-and-having-fun phase because they’d gone through it in their early twenties.

“Hey, want to dance or something?” Jill asked. “I spent most of the day in the office, and I’ve got some energy I need to burn off.”

“I’m good here, holding on to the table. If we all leave, it’ll be gone in about five seconds,” Sophie said.

“I’ll dance,” Linden replied.

“Cool. Let’s go,” Jill said.

They left their drinks on the table, with Sophie acting as guard, and Linden looked toward the door when Jill took her hand. Asher wasn’t here yet. She’d texted that she would be, but Linden knew her best friend well, so it wouldn’t surprise her if, at some point, she got a text from Asher saying that she’d changed her mind after a long or difficult day and was going home instead.

The dance floor was packed with mostly women dancing close together. As Jill pulled her onto it, the old-school R&B song playing loudly provided them with just the right beat to get closer and bring their hips together, moving in rhythm while Jill’s arms went around her neck. They’d danced like this before, and it had been totally platonic, but this time, for whatever reason, it didn’t feel as platonic. Jill’s hips were pressing harder tonight, and Linden couldn’t help the feeling of arousal that moved through her body. Jill was sexy, and Linden’s hands moved under the back of her shirt, testing the waters but stopping there, not asking for more as they continued to sway to the beat. When, in a few moments, Jill turned around, Linden held on to her, pressing her front to Jill’s back as Jill’s arms wrapped back around her neck from behind.

“What’s gotten into you?” she asked into Jill’s ear.

“I told you: I have energy to burn off.”

Linden could barely hear that over the music, but she took Jill’s lead and leaned in, giving her a tentative kiss behind her earlobe, checking if that was okay first before she reached her hand up under Jill’s shirt and rested it against her stomach. Jill’s head turned, and Linden looked into her eyes. Was this happening? Were they about to do this? Jill leaned. Linden leaned. Their lips connected, and the kiss started slow. Linden slid her hand up higher, leaving it below Jill’s breast, and Jill deepened their kiss, sliding her tongue into Linden’s mouth. Linden hadn’t ever kissed a friend before, but if this was how it went when she did, she’d start kissing friends all over town.

Jill turned back in her arms until they were facing each other again, slowly intensifying their kiss as they continued to try to keep up with the song. Eventually, when Linden wanted more and tried to move things faster, Jill slowed them down before she stopped the kiss completely, pulling back, which worried Linden that she’d taken things too far.

“You’re a good kisser,” Jill told her, moving Linden’s hands to her hips and her own back around Linden’s neck.

“So are you,” she replied.

While Jill stared at her, Linden stared back, and it was as if they were both asking a question without asking it. They were testing the other person to see if they wanted to do that again or maybe take things further. Then, Linden felt something that she couldn’t explain, and it had her turning around and looking over toward their table. That was when she saw Asher standing next to Sophie, staring at her and Jill with an unreadable expression on her face.