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Tess was sitting in her office. Zara had just left. Tess’s mind (and body) were reeling from what had just transpired. She touched her lips, still tingling from the kiss.

She leaned back in her chair, staring at the ceiling. The rational part of her brain was screaming that this was a bad idea. Mixing business with pleasure rarely ended well, and they had worked so hard to get to a place where they could collaborate effectively. Was it worth risking all of that for… what? A molten hot kiss?

But another part of her, a part she had been trying to ignore for weeks now, was elated. It wasn't just physical attraction with Zara, though that was certainly there. But there was more. Zara challenged and excited her.

Tess groaned, covering her face with her hands. ‘What am I doing?’ she muttered to herself.

A knock at the door made her jump. For a wild moment, she thought it might be Zara coming back to continue their conversation—or perhaps to do more than talk. But when she called out, ‘Come in,’ it was Fi who poked her head around the door.

‘Oh, it’s you,’ Tess said, truly disappointed.

‘Hey,’ Fi greeted her, a bit more subdued than before, thank god. ‘I just saw Zara leave.’

‘Yeah, you can thank yourself for that, you bloody idiot,’ Tess reprimanded her sister.

‘Oh man, I box-blocked you, didn’t I?’ Fi wailed.

Tess nodded. ‘Just a bit.’ She gestured for Fi to take a seat. Fi closed the door behind her and sat down.

‘I'm sorry,’ Fi began, surprising Tess. ‘I got carried away earlier. I didn't mean to make things awkward.’

Tess raised an eyebrow. ‘Awkward? No, it was great to have a blow-by-blow with you before we’d even managed to talk to each other,’ she growled.

Fi smiled sheepishly. ‘I know, I know. It's just… You’ve been alone for ages. Since Shit Tits.’

Tess rolled her eyes. ‘You know her name.’

‘I don’t like to say it too often. Might be a Candyman type of thing and she’ll show up. It was bad enough seeing her the other night.’

Tess couldn’t help but smile. ‘I wish she could know you just compared her to a ninety’s slasher. The snob she is, she’d probably pass out.’

‘Slasher?’ Fi repeated, appalled. ‘That is so reductive.’

‘I’m not having this argument again,’ Tess said quickly.

‘Anyway! I got excited about you and Zara. But I shouldn't have run my mouth like that,’ Fi apologised.

Tess frowned. ‘Don’t be. I don’t know if it’s gonna happen. It's… complicated, Fi,’ Tess said softly.

‘Every relationship is,’ Fi shrugged. ‘But… are you OK? Do you want to talk about it?’

Tess hesitated. Part of her wanted to keep it all bottled up, to pretend it hadn't happened. But another part of her desperately needed to confide in someone.

Was it OK to talk to Fi about how she felt? It had never gone that way round before. But things were changing. The Eclipse was changing.

And if the old shit heap could change, Tess wondered if she wasn’t quite as beyond it as she’d thought.

‘I don't know what I'm doing,’ Tess admitted. ‘Zara… she's not just anyone. She's important to the business. To the cinema. If this goes wrong…’

‘But what if it goes right?’ Fi interjected.

Tess looked at her sister. ‘That's almost scarier,’ she confessed.

Fi reached out and squeezed Tess's hand. ‘Look, I know I'm not always the most serious person, but I’m gonna summon it, just for a second. I've seen how you are around Zara. You get this energy. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen that before. So maybe it's worth the risk?’

Tess was a bit surprised Fi had noted any of this. She saw more than Tess thought. ‘I’ve never been good at this stuff, though, have I?’ she asked her sister.

‘What, relationships?’ Fi asked.

‘Yeah. I mean, at one point, I thought me and Deb…’

Fi shot her a look.

‘That person we don’t ever want to see again. I thought I might marry her,’ Tess spat with disgust.

‘It was a mistake. It’s not worth cancelling your vagina over,’ Fi said.

‘Cancelling my what?’

‘You know what I mean. You have to try again,’ Fi said fervently.

‘Don’t I seem more like the alone forever type to you?’ Tess asked flippantly, though it was far from a casual comment.

‘No,’ Fi said firmly. ‘You do not. You’re the best. You deserve someone cool.’

Tess didn’t know what to do with that, so she looked at the doorknob. You did this, she thought.

‘I need to talk to her,’ Tess said.

Fi nodded. ‘Yeah, you do. But not right now. Give her some space. Give yourself some space. Figure out what you want.’

Tess nodded, feeling a mix of fear and anticipation. Whatever happened next would change everything. But as she thought about Zara, her smile, her determination, the way she made Tess feel scared and excited, she knew she wanted more.

‘Thanks, Fi,’ Tess said, managing a small smile.

Fi stood up, grinning. ‘Anytime, sis. And hey, when you two do figure it out, I still think a double date could be fun.’

‘Fi, from the bottom of my heart, no matter what happens next, I will never go on a double date with you.’

Tess rolled her eyes, but she was laughing as she shooed Fi out of the office. As the door closed behind her sister, Tess took a deep breath. She had a lot to think about, a lot to figure out.

But it felt like something truly wonderful had just happened to Tess. It was a weird feeling.