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“Y ou don’t think you’d watch me attempt to move hips that don’t like to move and see another woman on the dance floor and at least think about dancing with her instead?” she asked.

“No,” Bryce said as she shook her head, looking like she meant it. “I don’t.”

“Well, you’re right: we could do that, but we’d be giving up this amazing sofa seat I found for us. These are hard to come by here.”

“Could you part with it, and we just find another seat?” Bryce asked before she stood up, placed her glass on the small table on her side of the sofa, and held out her hand for Sophie to take. “Or, we could just dance right here, in front of the couch, blocking other people from taking it from us. I’ll even threaten them with… something if they attempt to take it from us, if I have to.”

“The song’s almost over, Bryce. I–”

“Take a chance, Sophie,” Bryce interrupted.

Sophie looked around. No one seemed to be paying any attention to them. In fact, most people were still in the front section of the upstairs and possibly hadn’t even noticed this part of the bar. She took a deep breath and handed her beer bottle to Bryce, who set it next to her own drink and held her hand out again for Sophie to take. Sophie did and stood up, with Bryce moving into her.

“This okay?” Bryce asked her.

Sophie could only nod in response because Bryce was now standing only inches away, and they were joined at the hand. She hadn’t ever felt whatever this was before, but it was as if she was supposed to be standing in this bar at this moment with this woman, and as Bryce took Sophie’s hips with her hands and began to slowly sway them back and forth, Sophie found herself trying to keep up because she wanted to give Bryce zero reasons to stop.

“You can put your arms around my neck,” Bryce said with a small smile.

Sophie realized then that her arms were at her sides, just hanging there like purposeless noodles, so she moved them around Bryce’s neck, remembering how arms worked now. Bryce’s were around her lower back as she continued to lead them in their sway more than a dance.

“I’m going to turn you around,” Bryce said after what felt like only a few seconds.

Sophie didn’t reply because she didn’t know what to say. When Bryce turned her around in her arms, she pressed her front to Sophie’s back, and her head went to Sophie’s shoulder as they began to sway again. Bryce’s arms were around her middle, but not for long before Bryce placed her hands on top of Sophie’s and brought Sophie’s arms around her own neck, bringing them even closer together.

“Your hips seem to move just fine to me,” she whispered into Sophie’s ear.

“I think you ’re doing most of the moving,” Sophie replied.

“No, you’re definitely moving with me.” Bryce’s hands moved back to Sophie’s hips, sliding a little under the blazer and shirt and resting on her hip bones. “Trust me. I can feel them.”

“Fuck,” Sophie whispered to herself but knew Bryce could hear her.

“I know,” Bryce said.

Sophie tried to reach for Bryce and pull her in closer. She had never wanted to kiss a woman she’d just met before, but as her hand moved into Bryce’s short hair at the back of her neck, she wanted to move Bryce’s lips to her own and kiss her until Bryce would turn her around and they’d end up making out on the sofa that was still, thankfully, empty, or else she’d be giving the people sitting there quite a show.

“Sophie, you…” Bryce’s hand slipped up a little higher and moved across Sophie’s stomach.

She didn’t finish her sentence, though, as the song finished instead, and they were left there for a beat before the next song started up, but it was a loud and fast rock song with no bass, not one they could dance to like this. Sophie felt Bryce’s hips thrust a few times, and she wished she were alone with a complete stranger because she wanted them to be doing this back at her apartment. She wanted Bryce to take everything off and climb on top of her. Never in her life had she thought that about a woman she’d barely known for ten minutes before.

“We should probably sit back down,” Bryce whispered, pulling Sophie out of the moment.

Then, Bryce kissed her neck and removed her hands from Sophie’s body, and Sophie felt empty, as if a part of her had just disappeared. What was going on right now?

Bryce walked around her, grabbed Sophie’s drink off the table, and handed it to her before she took her own and sat back down. Sophie just stood there and stared at her for a long moment before she finally sat down beside her.

“Now what?” Bryce asked with a smile. “I guess now that we’ve danced, I need to buy you another drink.”

“I’m not done with this one,” Sophie said, holding up her beer that was only half-finished.

“But if I buy you another one, will you stay longer?”

“You don’t have to buy me a drink to get me to stay.”

“No?” Bryce asked as she moved her arm around the sofa, with her fingers landing in Sophie’s hair. “Grapefruit.”

“What?” Sophie asked.

“Your shampoo or conditioner has grapefruit in it.”

“Oh. Yeah, I guess,” she replied.

“I could smell it.” Bryce ran her finger into the strands. “I like it.”

Sophie took a chance and leaned forward. She placed her hand on Bryce’s thigh and turned more so that they were facing one another. Bryce’s free hand ended up on top of her own, and quickly, their fingers were entwined and playing together as they continued to talk. Sophie lost all concept of time. She’d placed her beer on the floor, and at some point, someone had picked it up and tossed it out. She didn’t care. Bryce had long ago finished her drink and hadn’t ordered another one because that would mean that one or both of them would have to take a trip to the bar, and neither of them wanted to leave their cozy corner where they continued to get closer and closer as the night went on.

“I think I would like to move into a travel blog one day soon,” Bryce shared. “Food and travel just go together, and if I’m already driving to restaurants, I can easily write about the journey, too. I think it’s a natural progression.”

“It sounds nice,” Sophie replied with a smile. “Long drives with your soundtrack of choice. Something energetic when you’re tired and something calming when you’re contemplative.”

“Oh, I’d like that. I’ll have to make some good playlists.”

“And you like working for yourself?”

“Yes,” Bryce said as she shifted a bit and ran her hand through Sophie’s hair again.

Sophie had been closing her eyes nearly every time Bryce had done that because it felt too good to keep her eyes open.

“I don’t know that I’d want that. I like having a steady paycheck. And I think I’d crumble under pressure if I had to own everything, you know?”

“I think you’d handle it just fine,” Bryce said softly. “But it’s not for everyone; that’s true. It was hard at the beginning. I probably quit my job a few months too soon, but I needed to do it, and I was ready for the challenge. Still, there were a few nights of ramen noodles on the couch while I hoped people would click on my webpage and then click on the ads I had there to earn me some commissions while I watched the analytics on my laptop, but it’s all paid off.”

“I think that’s brave,” Sophie said as she leaned in a bit.

“Yeah? Do I get bravery points?” Bryce smiled at her.

“Do you need them?”

“I don’t know. I think that depends on you.”

“Why me?”

“Because I’m kind of into you, in case the hand-holding, dancing, hair brushing out of your face, and generally monopolizing all of your time tonight didn’t give it away.”

“It didn’t. I had no clue,” she teased.

“No. Really?” Bryce joked back. Then, her hand moved from Sophie’s hair to her cheek, and she added, “Maybe this will convince you.” Bryce leaned in as she licked her lips, and Sophie readied herself because Bryce was about to kiss her.

“Oh, shit,” Jill said. “Well, that escalated quickly.”

When Sophie pulled back and turned her face, which was still being cupped by Bryce, she saw Jill standing there, looking apologetic. She’d completely forgotten that Jill and one of Bryce’s friends, whose name Sophie couldn’t even remember right now, were downstairs.

“Sorry for interrupting,” Jill added.

“It’s okay,” Bryce said as she leaned back and dropped her hand.

“It is?” Sophie asked.

Bryce laughed softly and pulled back all the way.

“I’ve actually had to use the bathroom for the past hour. Can you save my seat?” she asked Jill. “And where’s Kels?”

“Oh, I walked her to her Uber. She said she’d call your friends on the way back to the hotel for safety. I came back to check on this one.” Jill pointed at Sophie. “But I can see that I didn’t need to.”

“Will you still be here?” Bryce asked. “You won’t go anywhere?”

“I’ll still be here. Not going anywhere,” Sophie told her with a smile.

“Okay. Like, two minutes,” Bryce said before she stood up and walked briskly in the direction of the bathroom, turning back to Sophie several times to check that she’d kept her word, which Sophie found adorable.

“She’ll be ten minutes, at least. There’s a line.” Jill sat down next to her. “So, this is going well, huh?”

“She’s…” Sophie looked after Bryce, who had turned the corner and was gone. “I’ve never…”

“Damn. Really? I thought you might just hook up or something,” Jill said.

“I don’t really do that, hook up with someone I just met.”

“You were about to kiss her.”

“Kissing isn’t hooking up,” Sophie said. “And she was about to kiss me .”

“You were absolutely going to kiss her back.”

“Oh, definitely. I’ve wanted to do that all night. How long have we even been up here?”

“About two hours. Kelsey and I talked for a while before some guy asked her to dance. I really thought she’d say no because I’d bought her a drink and was clearly giving her signals, but she said yes, and when the dance was over, she invited the guy and his buddy back to the table with us. The buddy hit on me, and I told him I was gay. Then, the guy she danced with asked if Kelsey was, too, and she said she was straight, so there went my one chance at making out with my own hot woman in a bar tonight.”

“Sorry, Jill,” Sophie replied.

“I didn’t want to leave you here, but I’m ready to go home. I’ve been killing time for a while.”

“Oh,” Sophie said, looking down the hallway again.

“ You don’t have to leave.” Jill laughed. “I’m a local. I know how to be safe. I live five minutes away from here.”

“Still, I should go with you.”

“You are obsessed with your new make-out buddy. I’ll be fine. I can text you when I get home so that you know I’m good. If you don’t hear from me in ten minutes, just call Mel. She’ll come to my place to check on me. Deal?”

“Are you sure?”

“I assume you’ ll be okay if I go? You and Bryce will be headed to your apartment, right? Or, she’ll at least make sure you get home safely?”

“I don’t know. We haven’t talked–”

“I will.”

Sophie looked up and saw that Bryce was back, standing in front of them.

“Oh, hi,” she said.

“Hi,” Bryce said back with a smile.

“You’ll make sure?” Jill asked as she stood.

“It’s really not a problem.”

“And you promise me that you’re a good person? Because this is the South… I know plenty of gun owners that I can send after you if she doesn’t–”

Bryce laughed and said, “I promise.”

“Okay. Sophie?” Jill checked.

“I’m okay here,” she replied.

Jill nodded and said her goodnights as Bryce sat down beside her again.

“So… We’ve been talking for so long that I’m actually really thirsty,” Bryce said. “I’d hate to give up this sofa, but I was thinking we could go downstairs and order some new drinks. Water is fine, if you don’t want another. Maybe we can find a table or just stand against the wall, and if you feel so inclined, we could maybe dance again.”

Sophie nodded to all of those things because she also needed something to drink, and she’d love to dance with Bryce again, hoping Bryce would kiss her neck on that spot as she stroked her stomach with her soft fingertips. She took the hand Bryce held out for her then, and Bryce entwined their fingers before she led the way this time as they made their way through the crowd, down the stairs, and toward the bar.

When they arrived, Sophie told Bryce what she wanted, and Bryce ordered for them. Their drinks ready, Bryce paid and handed Sophie her cup, but there weren’t any available tables in sight, and the place was even more packed than before, so they found a dark corner, and Bryce stood facing her. The bar didn’t even have bottles or glasses anymore, only plastic cups with the bar logo on them, and when Bryce finished her drink within a few minutes, giving her two free hands, those hands found their way to Sophie’s hips again. Sophie finished her own drink and dropped it in the nearby trash can before she wrapped her arms around Bryce’s neck, pulling her in close.

“I don’t understand how, but this feels like it matters,” Bryce shared.

“To me, too.”

“How?” Bryce asked.

“I have no idea. But it feels really good.”

Then, someone bumped Bryce from behind, pushing her against Sophie and Sophie against the wall.

“Jesus! Sorry,” Bryce said.

“Don’t be. You’re closer now. I like you closer.”

“I can be even closer,” Bryce suggested, tilting her head.

“I think I’d like to see that.”

Bryce licked her lips, and Sophie followed suit, trying to give her the signal that this was what she wanted. Then, Bryce leaned in, and the next thing Sophie knew, their lips were connected and moving together. Sophie’s hands were in Bryce’s hair, and she didn’t care if she was messing it up. Bryce’s hands were around her lower back at first, moving around against her skin before they lowered to her stomach and under her shirt, not trying to reach for anything Sophie didn’t give her permission to touch. Sophie moaned into the kiss when Bryce’s tongue moved into her mouth. They both tasted like alcohol, but she could also just taste Bryce, and there was something about the way this woman tasted, the way she kissed, the way she touched that had Sophie making a decision.

“Come home with me,” she said breathlessly when they parted.

“Yes,” Bryce replied before she went back in for another kiss, which Sophie welcomed, feeling Bryce’s thigh move between her own.

Bryce didn’t press or rock. She just stayed there, allowing Sophie to dictate their pace. When Sophie pressed into her, though, Bryce grunted a little into her mouth and pulled back to shift her lips to Sophie’s neck. Her thigh pressed into Sophie’s center, and Sophie hadn’t ever done anything like this before, but she didn’t want it to stop, either. Still, she knew that if they continued much longer, she’d be having an orgasm in this bar because Bryce’s lips were sucking on her earlobe, and Sophie’s hips were moving into her on their own accord.

“We–” she tried to say something, but there was a noise.

There was a lot of noise, actually, and it wasn’t music. Bryce must have noticed it, too, because she pulled out of the kiss and away from Sophie’s body. Sophie turned to see that there was a fight breaking out in the bar. Four guys were throwing punches and going at one another.

“We should go,” Bryce said.

But before she could hold her hand out for Sophie to take, more people joined in on the fight, so Bryce jumped up a few times as if she was trying to find them a way out of the pandemonium. Sophie looked around, too, and when she saw a possible exit path close to the bar, she was about to grab Bryce’s attention, but police officers had rushed inside the building, and people were now fleeing, trying to avoid being arrested. Sophie turned to her right, with people bumping and running around her, but Bryce was nowhere to be found.

She didn’t know what to do, so she tried to jump how Bryce had just done to see if she could spot her. Officers were breaking up the fight, but people were still running out of the bar, so she decided she’d run back upstairs. Maybe Bryce had ended up making her way there, hoping Sophie would, too. If not, Sophie could go on the balcony and try to spot the woman in the street. She rushed up the stairs, checking the crowd as she went, and then checked everywhere upstairs, too, before running to the balcony. She put her head on a swivel and looked down, but there were too many people running around and looking at what was going on inside the bar as more officers on their horses outside tried to corral the fighters, so Sophie simply couldn’t see her. Making her way back downstairs, she looked everywhere, but Bryce was gone.

Still, she waited. She took the chance that she might even end up arrested and stayed by the bar until the bartender told her that they were closing because of the fight and that she needed to go. Walking outside, she went up and down the street, hoping, silently praying that Bryce would reappear, and when she didn’t, Sophie called herself an Uber and waited on Canal Street. She hadn’t even gotten Bryce’s last name or her phone number. She’d had the most amazing night of her life with a beautiful woman, and she’d never see her again.