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“G od!” Sophie screamed.

Yes, it was definitely a scream. Bryce was rocking into her, strapped-on and nearly coming herself after bringing Sophie to her second orgasm that morning. Her first had come from Bryce’s mouth. Then, she’d gotten up, found what she needed, and climbed back on top of her girlfriend. Moving inside Sophie like this while she came herself was one of the best feelings Bryce knew she’d ever experienced. The fact that Sophie agreed with her on that front only made it better.

“Did you?” Sophie checked when Bryce finally crashed down on top of her, still and gathering her breath.

“Yeah,” she replied against Sophie’s neck.

“Will you stay where you are for a few minutes?”

“You think you can come again?”

“No,” Sophie said with a light laugh. “I just like feeling you here.”

“Here, meaning inside you?”

“Yes,” Sophie said. “And on top of me.”

“I like being both of those places,” Bryce replied and shifted a bit to look down at her girlfriend. “Do we need to talk about last night?”

“Which part?”

“The part where you got quiet and wouldn’t let me go.”

“Oh, that,” Sophie said, looking away from her.

“Soph, would it help if we plan your visit or my next one here?”

“It’s fine. I’m okay. I just had a few moments where I realized that Melinda and Bridgette both had gotten their happy endings. Well, they will , at least. Monica is going to propose, and Kyle probably will, too, soon.”

“And you think we won’t get our own happy ending?”

“No, they just moved here for their girlfriends.”

Bryce nodded. Then, she pulled out of Sophie slowly and sat back on her heels, still wearing the dildo, which was at attention and drawing Sophie’s attention. That had Bryce smiling, but she needed to focus because this was a serious conversation.

“You want me to do that,” she stated more than asked.

“No,” Sophie replied. “I mean, yes, I do, but I know you can’t just drop everything in your life to make that happen. I wouldn’t ask you to. The circumstances are different. Kyle’s life was pretty bad, and she came into some money when she got here. So, she has this amazing house that she and Melinda were able to move into, and she loved it here. She didn’t just want to move for Melinda, you know? Monica is richer than God, and she wanted to leave Arnette and New York, so when she came here for work, she fell in love with the city and Bridgette. Plus, her son was heading to college at Tulane. It was easy for them because they both loved it here and wanted to give up what they had there.”

Bryce nodded before she stood, slipped out of the harness, and climbed back onto the bed next to Sophie, leaving enough space between them. She stared up at the ceiling and thought about how best to respond.

“I like New Orleans, Soph. I’ll admit, I came here as a tourist, drank a lot with my friends, and bought the beads all the tourists do before they leave. This trip has been all about you and not really the city, but I do like it.”

“Babe, I know. I get it. I was just trying to explain why I–” Sophie stopped. “Technically, Monica didn’t move here full-time right away. She went back and forth. I mean, most of her time was here, but she was in Manhattan at least one to two weeks a month. They did long-distance before she moved here full-time, and now, they live together. I didn’t mean to imply that you have to move here tomorrow or at all. I don’t want it to sound like that. If I get the job at Arnette, I can work remotely. Maybe I could move if you don’t want to or can’t come here.”

“What about your grandmother and your family?”

“I’d have to come back to visit a lot. My grandma probably only has a few years left. She’s diabetic, and she’s been declining for a while. They’ve mentioned that her mind isn’t what it used to be, either. In my culture, family is everything, so just picking up and moving away for college and Arnette already got me a lot of side-eye from my mother, but I’d do it for you and me and just come back.”

“I’m sorry about your grandma,” she said, turning her head to Sophie.

“It’s been hard, watching it happen to her, but she’s in an assisted living facility now, where she’s getting round-the-clock care and still gets to do some things herself. My parents are there at least twice a week, and I usually try to go at least once.”

“Can I go with you?”

“You want to visit my grandma?” Sophie turned her head to her.

“Maybe not this trip, but yeah, I’d like to. Your parents, too, when the time is right. Does your grandma know you’re gay? If not, I can be your new friend Bryce.”

“I’ll never just introduce you as my friend, Bryce.” Sophie rolled onto her side. “I may not be confident about how I dance in a bar, but I am confident about who I am, and I don’t deny that I’m gay to anyone. My grandma knows, and she loves me. She just wants me to be happy.”

“That’s good. And I really would love to meet her someday,” Bryce said as she rolled so that they could both face each other.

“We were talking about me moving, though,” Sophie replied.

“Soph, we can figure that out later. We’ve been together for, like, four days,” she said, trying to make light of the situation.

“I thought you said we’d been together for a year and two days when we were at the gallery,” Sophie replied seriously.

“Oh, I have to hang that painting for you,” Bryce said. “We need to go tool-shopping.”

“Don’t change the subject,” Sophie said.

Bryce sighed and replied, “I’m not, Soph. I’m trying to enjoy our time together. We can talk about this when I’m back home. We’ll only be able to talk until we see each other again anyway. I like talking about the future with you, but focusing on it now, while I’m lying right next to you and just want to keep touching you and enjoying our time together, makes our last couple of days feel sad, and I don’t want to feel sad right now.”

“Right,” Sophie said, nodding. “You’re right. I’m sorry. I get ahead of myself sometimes. I just like to plan things, you know? I think seeing my friends all coupled up and talking about getting engaged just made me turn into one of those girls.”

“I like that you’re one of those girls,” Bryce said with a smile. “I want that, Soph. I’ve never really just dated because I don’t want to just date someone. I want to be with someone. I want to be with you . I promise you, we will talk, and when the time comes, we can decide what steps to take and when, okay?”

“Yeah,” Sophie replied. “I think I’d like to hop in the shower. Want to join me?”

Bryce’s phone rang.

“Saved by the bell?” Sophie said.

“Saved? More like tortured . Hold on.” She rolled over and reached for the phone. “It’s Megs.”

“Get it. I’ll get started without you,” Sophie told her as she wiggled her eyebrows.

“Don’t you dare get started without me. Shower only, Soph. No touching.”

Sophie laughed as she walked into the bathroom.

“Megs?” she said into the phone.

“Did you know?”

“What?”

“Did you know?” Megan repeated.

“Megs, I’m sorry. I just woke up,” she lied. “What are you talking about?”

“Kels.”

“What about her?” She played dumb because she didn’t want to blurt something out that would get her in trouble later.

“Bryce…”

“Megan…”

“She told me.”

“Told you what?”

“Oh, my God! She told me she likes me, and she said that you know, so stop pretending like you don’t.”

“Megs… I’m your friend and Kelsey’s, so I’m kind of stuck right in the middle here.”

“I know. She said that you know, though. And she told me, Bryce. I really need someone to talk to about this. Sean is dealing with you right now, so I didn’t want to talk to her. I know you’re with Sophie, but this couldn’t wait until you got home.”

“Okay. Calm down, Megs,” she said as she heard the water starting on that shower. “She told you?”

“That she likes me, yes.”

“What did you tell her back?”

“That I like her, too, because I can’t just drop the fact that I’ve been in love with her for years on her right after she says that. She’s never liked a woman before, Bryce. Why me? Why now? I’ve wanted her for years, and now she’s interested? She’s straight. How many times has she dated a girl? None. Only guys for Kelsey. No girls. I mean, women. No women. Now, she thinks she likes me and wants to go out?”

“Okay.” Bryce chuckled. “I think you’re rambling a little, which I understand, but it’s kind of hard to make sense of it all.”

Megan took a deep breath and slowly said, “Bryce, I’ve been in love with my best friend, thinking she’d never, ever feel the same way about me. Then, Kels is sitting on my sofa, telling me that she wants to go out. She wants to go out, not hang out. She told me she loved it when I stayed at her place and we fell asleep together.”

“How did you like falling asleep together?”

“I loved it, Bryce. God, obviously, I loved it. But I didn’t actually allow myself to think she did, too.”

“Okay. And she said she wanted to go out on a date?”

“Yes.”

“What did you say?”

“I said that I had to think about it because this changes things.”

“And what did Kels say after that?”

“She said she understood. Because, of course, she did. She’s amazing and patient, and I love her, Bryce. I’ve always loved her .”

Bryce smiled at her sweet friend and asked, “This was last night?”

“Yes. I didn’t sleep at all, but I figured you’d be out with Sophie late and either asleep or having sex, so I waited until right now. You’re not having sex right now, are you?”

“If I were, I’d be one hell of a multi-tasker,” she said, laughing at her own joke. “She’s in the shower.”

“You’re happy?” Megan asked.

“Yeah, I am,” she said with a smile. “But back to you. What are you going to do?”

“I’m asking you that. What do I do, Bryce? It’s Kelsey.”

“I know,” Bryce replied. “It probably took a lot for her to tell you, Megs.”

“I know,” Megan said quietly. “She was really cute.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. It took her a few minutes, and she kept rubbing her hands on her jeans. I could tell she was nervous, but I didn’t know why until she told me.”

“What do you want to do, Megs?”

“Be with her.”

“Okay. Tell her that.”

“No, I mean, I want to be with her, Bryce. I don’t just want to go out on a date because she thinks she wants to be with me like that. I want her to want to be with me how I want to be with her.”

“Are you afraid that you’ll go out, and she’ll discover she really doesn’t want that?”

“Maybe.”

“Well, I can’t predict the future, but for what it’s worth, Megs, I’ve never seen Kelsey like this. I know she doesn’t ever want to hurt you, so I think if she told you, that means something. She knows she can be with you in the way you want to be with her.”

“But what if we go out and we kiss goodnight, and she’s thinking of the last guy she kissed instead of me?”

“The last guy she kissed was an ex-boyfriend, so I don’t think you need to worry about that. He’s an ex for a reason.”

“What if she doesn’t like my lips on her lips, Bryce?”

“You might not like her lips on your lips. You won’t know until you kiss the girl.”

“I’ve wanted her lips on mine for years, Bryce. Years. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve pictured us kissing and, well, more than kissing.”

“Kiss the girl, then.” Bryce laughed. “Let her kiss you.”

“She’s my best friend.”

“I know.”

“I can handle my unrequited love. I have been forever now. But if I lose her as a friend, I can’t handle that, Bryce.”

“So, you tell her that and everything else you’re feeling so that she can tell you how she feels, and you decide what you want to do then.”

“Am I crazy for not just saying yes to the woman I’ve wanted for years?”

“No, you’re being smart. But so was Kels. She’s, apparently, been thinking about this for about a year now.”

“Wait. What?”

“She said that the whole Sophie thing had her feeling differently about you. She’s not just jumping into this, Megs. You’ve been on her mind like this for a long time now. I think you need to trust Kelsey here.”

“I’m going to tell her yes,” Megan said.

“Yeah?”

“I have to give this a chance. I’ll regret it if I don’t.”

“Good. Now, call Kelsey and tell her you want to go out on a date.”

Megan sighed, said her goodbyes, and hung up. Bryce stared up at Sophie’s ceiling and thought about how two of her best friends might be dating now. She smiled and remembered the painting that she still needed to hang up for Sophie. Still naked, Bryce stood up and walked over to where the bag lay on the floor. When she unwrapped it, the art piece looked muted in the daylight, but it was still nice.

“Hey, everything okay?” Sophie asked, standing in the open doorway, wearing a towel and only a towel.

“I’m hanging this up for you, Soph. I want you to have it where you can see it and remember that I’m coming back; that I’ll always come back to you.”

Letting go of her towel, Sophie walked up behind her and wrapped her arms around Bryce’s waist.

“We’re going tool-shopping, I guess.”