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L inden stared up at her ceiling, thinking about Asher. The night before had been a strange one. Asher had looked like she was going to throw up any minute before she’d left the bar, and Linden wasn’t sure that, in their entire ten-year friendship, she had ever seen Asher sick. Asher was always her healthiest friend. Usually, she had a smoothie for breakfast that was green and smelled bitter. Linden had only tried it once, and that had been enough. For lunch, Asher typically had another smoothie, fruity and sweet this time, along with a salad. Dinners for her were usually grilled chicken or fish or the occasional small steak with a salad as her side, and she rarely snacked on anything that wasn’t a healthy option, choosing fruit or kale chips over the snacks Linden preferred that had actual flavor.

Asher also went to the gym, but not to get muscles. She just ran on the treadmill and swam in the pool. It was usually only one or two times a week and not every week, depending on her schedule. She’d given Linden a guest pass once, and Linden had gone with her, but she wasn’t much of a gym person. She had a treadmill in her apartment. It had been a gift from her parents – a hand-me-down, really, from their own house when they downsized into a smaller place. She ran on that about thirty minutes a day, four or five times a week, and that was good enough for her.

In the month leading up to a big wedding, Asher took extra vitamin C because she couldn’t risk getting sick before the event, and with at least four major weddings a year, that basically meant that Asher Hahn was the healthiest person in the world. Linden tried to remember a time when she’d seen Asher not feeling well even a little bit. There were mornings when she’d been tired. After the Cumberland wedding two years ago, she’d been so wiped for weeks that Linden had actually asked if she might be pregnant. Asher had been with Martin back then, and it had been six months with him, so it had been possible. Other than that, she couldn’t think of a single time when her best friend had felt bad enough that she looked pale and like she needed to vomit.

Linden hadn’t wanted to continue texting her last night because Asher had clearly been exhausted, so once she had checked on the woman that she’d gotten home safely, she returned her attention to Jill and Sophie, and they’d stood around the table for another hour, just talking, while both Jill and Linden looked around at the people in the crowd. Sophie had left not long after, deciding she’d rather be home when her girlfriend called her to say goodnight. With Bryce in the Pacific Time Zone, Linden had gotten the impression that Sophie had only come out with them to kill time until Bryce was at her hotel after a meeting and late dinner with the studio.

That had left Linden and Jill to their own devices, and around one in the morning, they’d danced again to a much faster song and hadn’t touched at all. The next song, though, had been a little slower, and they’d danced how they had the first time but without the kiss. A woman had joined in, and Linden had been excited, thinking that she wanted to dance with her, but she’d wanted to dance with Jill instead. Linden had gotten herself another drink, found another woman to talk to for a few minutes until Jill had found her, and they’d talked for another thirty minutes or so until Linden finished her drink. That had been it. Jill had enjoyed her dance with the woman, but she hadn’t been interested in anything more. Linden hadn’t found anything more, either, so they’d walked to a corner where they could share an Uber, and Linden had made sure Jill got into her apartment safely before she had the car take her to her own.

Now, it was the next day, and Linden needed to talk to Asher. She picked up her phone and texted her, hoping the woman was free on their one day off this week. Ten minutes later, she heard a ding and went back to her phone, picking it up and reading Asher’s reply.

Asher Hahn : I can do a late lunch. Slow start to the day today.

Linden sent a quick response.

Asher Hahn : No, he didn’t keep me up late.

Linden had been joking about Gavin keeping her up, and Asher usually used emojis to indicate that she understood her humor in texts, but she hadn’t used any this time. They’d always joked about how guys sometimes drank, got in the mood, and then couldn’t get themselves going enough to do anything about it, so she’d thought Asher would reply that Gavin had passed out right when they’d gotten home or that he had tried something, but she had been too tired. It didn’t matter. It was a lame joke, anyway.

She took a shower because she hadn’t done that after the bar last night, dressed, grabbed her keys and phone, and left her apartment. Choosing to walk to the restaurant, she turned left and decided to take the route through the Garden District to take in the beautiful houses that she could only dream of affording.

Kyle and Melinda had a house there that Kyle had inherited. They had been redoing it since Kyle moved to New Orleans over year ago, and they’d recently held Monica and Bridgette’s engagement party in their backyard. When Linden had gotten her first glimpse of the house and the courtyard, she thought it was gorgeous, and she wished she could afford a place like that because she wanted to have a nice home for her future family. Well, she wasn’t sure about kids. She was thirty-five now and not getting any younger, so she doubted she’d even have the energy to have children when she finally decided to settle down. Either way, that had never been a major concern or need for her. She knew she wanted a wife, though. Well, she wanted a partner, really; someone to love, who would love her in return. Linden didn’t care if they ever made it official.

She had spent her entire life thinking that she’d be in a prison of a marriage to a man that she liked and probably would love to a degree, but not in the way she wanted to love someone. Linden wanted to be in love, to have someone who lit her up in a way no man ever had. She didn’t think she was ready for that just yet, but maybe soon, she’d find someone for real; no more hookups and first dates only. Part of her was already starting to want to go out with someone to see how things could go between them, and maybe it would turn into something that was long-term rather than sweaty sex and no promises.

“Hey,” she greeted with a wide smile when she walked into the restaurant off the beaten path, finding it only half-full, with Asher at their usual table. “The tourists still haven’t found this place, huh?”

“Thank God,” Asher said as she took a sip of her iced water.

Linden sat down across from her and took her in, trying to see if there were any remnants of her exhaustion or sickness still there.

“Are you feeling better?” she asked, seeing none.

“What?” Asher looked confused for a second. “Yeah, I’m okay. Just needed some sleep, I guess.”

“What happened yesterday? I know you said the bride hit on you, but I didn’t get the whole story. Something about boobs, I do remember.”

“Nothing, really. She had way too much to drink and said some things she didn’t really mean. She apologized later, though.”

“She did?”

“It made me sad, actually,” Asher shared.

“Her apology?”

“The way she… She just seemed to regret getting married. It had been a few hours, and she was already regretting it. She didn’t want to do it, to begin with, but it was one of those things.”

“Why are there still weddings like that?” Linden asked. “I mean, it’s not the eighteen-hundreds. Why is old money still pushing its tired agenda now?”

Asher shook her head and said, “I don’t know. But she went along with it, and now, she’s married to a guy who told her after the wedding that he’d just assumed she understood that their relationship wasn’t really a monogamous one.”

“Damn…” Linden replied. “I love my last gay grooms even more now. They were great. No drama. Just a quick ceremony and lots of dancing. They wrapped early and told me that they didn’t offer an open bar on purpose. They knew some of their guests tended to get sloppy drunk, and they didn’t want any of that on their wedding day. I mean, respect to them, right?”

Asher smiled then, and it was the first smile Linden had glimpsed since she’d gotten to the restaurant.

“So, did you have a good time last night after I left?” Asher asked.

“Yeah. Sophie didn’t last all that long. She wanted to talk to Bryce, so she headed home. It was just Jill and I after that.”

Asher nodded but didn’t say anything.

“She’s cool,” Linden continued.

“Who? Jill?” Asher asked.

“Yeah. She’s cool. I mean, she’s a good dancer and a great kisser.”

“Right,” Asher said, picking up her water glass. “Where is our waiter?”

“I was thinking about asking her out.”

“Jill?” Asher asked on a near choke.

“Yeah, Jill. Who else are we talking about?”

“You’re going to ask Jill out?”

“Maybe. Why?”

“She’s, like, twenty years old.”

“She’s twenty-six, and you know that,” Linden said.

“So?”

“So, it’s only ten years; not that big of a deal. Bridge and Monica are about ten years apart, too.”

“But you’re just hooking up right now, Linden. You can’t just hook up with Jill. She’s a friend. She’s a new friend. You’d throw off the whole friend group thing we just found.”

“By asking her out? Besides, she could always say no, and it wouldn’t even happen.”

“What if she says yes?”

“We go out.”

“And then?” Asher asked.

“I don’t know. Whatever happens, happens.”

“And when it ends?”

“Why are you assuming it will ?” Linden argued. “It’s a date. I’m not asking the woman to marry me. And if it’s not there with us, it’s not there. She did kiss me, though, and said it was good, so I think she’d be up for it. I know she’s a friend, Ash. I wouldn’t be an asshole with her or anything.”

“I know you wouldn’t. We just have this new balance.”

“Balance?”

“We work with NOLA Guides, Linden. Jill works there, and Melinda, who’s about to inherit that place from the owner, is one of her closest friends. If something goes wrong with you and Jill, it could jeopardize the business relationship.”

Linden laughed and replied, “I hardly think that business relationship is that big of a deal. We don’t make any real money on it. We’re mainly just referring people there when they’re in town for a wedding and are looking for things to do that are kid-friendly in a city that usually isn’t. That’s about it. Besides, I don’t think Melinda would hold it over me if Jill and I go on a date and it doesn’t work out. I’m not looking to just sleep with her. It would be a date. We’d see.”

“Good afternoon,” their waitress said as she arrived at the table. “What can I get for you?”

“Can I get a sweet tea, please?” Linden asked her but stared at Asher, who still seemed to be off.

“Of course. I’ll be right back with that and take your order.”

“No need. I’ll have the spinach; salad dressing on the side, please. She’ll have the cheeseburger; medium well, no tomato, and the sweet potato fries,” Asher said, giving the waitress their usual order.

Linden hadn’t wanted the cheeseburger today, though. She’d planned on ordering the pulled pork sandwich, but she would eat the burger because it wasn’t worth changing the order now.

“Hey, is everything okay?” she asked after the waitress walked off, leaving them alone.

“Everything’s fine,” Asher replied as she picked up the cutlery wrapped in a paper napkin and unwrapped it. “Why?”

“Did something happen with you and Gavin?”

“No. Why?”

“Because you’re acting weird.”

“I’m not acting weird. You ’re acting weird.”

“How old are you again?” she asked as she laughed. “I thought that comeback only worked with preteens.”

“I’m breaking up with Gavin, okay?” Asher said as she placed the paper napkin in her lap.

“You’re what?”

“It’s not working. I’m going to tell him tonight.”

“What happened last night?”

“Nothing happened. I just made the decision.”

“Ash, was he a jerk when you pulled him away from the game or something?”

“No, I didn’t pull him away from the game.”

Linden had suspected that Asher hadn’t actually texted her boyfriend when she told her that she had, but she’d still assumed that Asher had walked the two blocks over to the local pub where Gavin would’ve been hanging out with his friends and had him walk her home to be safe.

“Asher, explain.”

“I took a car home, okay? I didn’t text him. I just went home alone.”

“Well, I’ll lecture you later on walking these streets alone at night when we have a perfectly good system to avoid that, because something’s clearly going on here. What happened? If you didn’t even see him last night, why are you ending it?”

“It’s been three months, Linden.”

“I know.”

“It’s not working. I just don’t… I don’t feel that thing.”

“That thing?”

“The thing you should feel for someone right around now. Maybe it’s not love, but you’re on your way there. Hell, Melinda and Kyle, Monica and Bridgette, and even Sophie and Bryce, a little, all said that they loved each other sooner than that. Sophie and Bryce technically met a year before, but they weren’t in touch, so I’m not counting that time.”

“You can’t compare what you have with Gavin to them. Besides, lesbians usually move faster. There are many stereotypes about that.”

“I just know, Linden.”

“That it’s not there with you two?” she asked.

Asher nodded.

“I’m sorry, Ash. I thought things were good with you two. I guess this explains why you didn’t get my joke text this morning.”

“Joke text?” Asher asked.

“When I asked about him keeping you up late.”

“Oh,” Asher said, looking away for a moment. “Yeah. I wasn’t really in the mood.”

“Sorry. I didn’t know.”

“It’s okay. Not your fault. I’m kind of tired of this, you know?”

“Of what?”

“Dating and it going nowhere. Can we just talk about something else, though?”

“Yeah, sure,” she said, worried about her friend now. “You know, the Dallas office opens in a few months.”

Asher gave her a thankful smile at the subject change and said, “Yeah, I know.”

“Do you think they’ll pull people from this one to staff that one up or hire all local?”

Linden didn’t give a damn about their company’s new location. She cared about her best friend, who seemed a little lost this morning, and she wanted to pry until Asher revealed everything that was clearly bouncing around in that head of hers, but for now, she’d talk about work, and maybe they’d get there later.