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I t was Bryce’s last night in New Orleans. She was sitting next to Sophie on the sofa, and her arm was around Sophie’s shoulders. Sophie’s head was against her chest, and her arm was over Bryce’s stomach under her shirt. They hadn’t said anything to one another in a long time. After the meeting with the producer, they’d spent the rest of their day walking around New Orleans, with Sophie pretending to be a tour guide for NOLA Guides, which was very entertaining to Bryce. Then, they’d grabbed sandwiches and had dinner by the water. For dessert, they’d gone to Café Du Monde and had beignets in honor of the day when they’d nearly found each other after the night they met.

Melinda had joined them there unexpectedly, along with the two women they’d met in a bar the other night, and it was nice for Bryce to see Sophie with her friend and the possibility of new friendships with Linden and Asher, who, themselves, had been friends for years outside of being colleagues. When Jill showed up after her final tour of the day, they’d all talked about everything but the fact that Bryce was leaving tomorrow, which Bryce had appreciated, and she was sure Sophie had, too. Kyle had joined them after a call from Melinda, and they had continued to hang out at the café, ordering coffee and more beignets because they’d felt bad about taking up the small round metal tables from those waiting for the fritters covered with powdered sugar and coffee of their own.

Bryce thought they would leave after that, but Monica and Bridgette had walked over hand in hand, and Monica had asked to borrow Sophie and Melinda for a minute, leaving Bridgette and the rest of them at the table. When Sophie returned without them, Bryce had silently asked her what was going on with her eyes. Sophie had looked both happy and somehow sad at the same time. She had told Bryce that she would tell her later as Monica and Melinda rejoined them at the table.

“Hey, Soph,” Monica had said.

“Yeah?”

“I heard from a little birdie today that someone is about to get an offer from Arnette.”

Sophie’s eyes had gone wide, and she had said, “What? Really?”

“Yes. I got the call before we got here, so I asked them if I could tell you myself. They’ll be calling you with a verbal offer tomorrow, and the offer packet will follow that. Congrats!”

“I’m happy for you, but I was hoping you’d be a tour guide for us,” Melinda had said with a wink.

“I got the job?” Sophie had asked.

“You got the job,” Monica had replied.

Bryce had hugged her then.

“I can’t believe it,” Sophie had said.

“Yes, you can. Mon told me they said they loved you when they called her,” Bridgette had replied. “You killed it. Congrats, Soph.”

“Thank you,” Sophie had said as Bryce had held on to her.

“Congrats, baby,” Bryce had whispered into her ear.

“You two should take off and celebrate,” Kyle had suggested.

“Yeah, alone and all night long,” Jill had chimed in.

“You don’t want to go for drinks or something?” Linden had asked.

Sophie had pulled back and looked at Bryce then.

“No, it’s my last night here. We didn’t intend to stay out this long,” Bryce had explained, running a hand through Sophie’s hair. “Want to go, babe?”

Sophie had nodded, and Bryce knew it was about that time. Every minute counted now. They had hours left, not days. They had one night left to hold one another, make love, assure each other that they wanted this and that it would work, make plans for their next visit, and now, to talk about Sophie’s new job, which would probably mean it wouldn’t be easy for her to take time off for a while.

“You should come with me,” Bryce suggested before she kissed the top of Sophie’s head.

“What?”

“Right now, you don’t have a job, Soph. I have to get back because I’ve got an electrician coming to my place for my aunt, but you could come with me before your new job starts. If you get the offer tomorrow after I leave, you’ll know your start date, right?”

“I guess, yeah.” Sophie looked up at her.

“Maybe you can come for a visit between now and then. They think you have a job, right? They’d expect you to give notice.”

“As much as I would love that, and I would, I need a paycheck, Bry. The sooner I can start, the sooner I’ll get my first check. I can get by without it, but I’d rather not have to. If we’re doing the long-distance thing for a while, I need to be able to afford flights and gas if I drive.”

“Okay. But maybe a week?” she asked. “At least a few of those days could be spent with me, right?”

Sophie smiled at her and said, “I’ll see what they want, and if I can make it work, I’m there.”

“Yeah?”

“Yes,” Sophie said. “I know you’re worried because I’ll have this new job with probably not a lot of time off, right?”

“It’s a big corporation. Don’t they usually give you a certain number of days per year, and you have to earn them first?”

“Yes,” Sophie said. “But you’re forgetting something.”

“What?”

“I will be working remotely. I can work from your place as long as you can keep your dropped beer cans and loud bags of potato chips out of my meetings.”

“Deal.” Bryce laughed before she kissed Sophie’s lips.

“Babe?”

“Yeah?”

“Your pocket is vibrating. So, unless you’ve been wearing something all day that you haven’t told me about, your phone is going off.”

“I know. I’m ignoring it.”

“Bryce, you can answer the phone. We’re watching a movie.”

“It’s our last night.”

“It’s okay,” Sophie said. “You hung out with my friends tonight. I’m sure that’s one of yours.”

Bryce pulled her phone out and saw that it was Kelsey calling.

“Kels, this better be good. This is my last–”

“We kissed!”

“Woah! I heard that,” Sophie said, leaning back because Kelsey had been so loud.

“What?” Bryce asked, putting her phone on speaker. “And a little softer this time, please. You nearly burst Sophie’s eardrum.”

“She’s there?”

“You’re on speaker. Is that okay?”

“Yeah, it’s fine. Hi, Sophie,” Kelsey said.

“Hi, Kelsey,” Sophie replied with a smile.

“I kissed her. I kissed Megan,” Kelsey shared.

“What?”

“We went on a date tonight, and I just dropped her off. I’m still in my car, but I drove down the block and parked before I called you. I just fucking kissed Megan!”

“You mean really kissed, right?”

“My tongue was in her mouth, Bryce.”

“Really?”

“And hers was in mine. Why didn’t you ever tell me how soft a woman’s lips were? They’re so soft, Bryce. There’s no five-o’clock shadow that’s, like, midnight-o’clock shadow, really. Midnight o’clock isn’t a real time, but you know what I mean. They were so soft, and we kissed on her porch for, like, ten minutes before I left.”

“You liked it, I take it?” Bryce asked.

“Bry, I loved it. I’m in love with her. I know that now. I know I sound like one of those girls who meet someone, and it’s instant love.”

“Lesbians?” Sophie joked.

“Yeah. Sure,” Kelsey said. “But I know what I’ve been feeling for, like, a year now. I’m in love with my best friend, and it’s fucking amazing and terrifying, and I just want to kiss her again right now.”

“She’s probably not asleep yet,” Bryce reasoned.

Sophie laughed.

“I can’t go back,” Kelsey said. “Besides, she’s probably talking to Sean right now.”

“Sean?” Bryce asked.

“Yeah. I told her I’d call you , and she said she’d call Sean. We divided you two up so that we both had someone to talk to.”

Bryce laughed this time and asked, “So, what happens next?”

“We go out again. She said she wanted to, and she was going to pick the place.”

“That’s good, right?”

“Bryce, I–” Kelsey stopped. “Can I trust you, Sophie?”

Sophie looked confused and said, “Yes.”

“Okay. Don’t tell Megs, but I want to have sex with her. I, like, really, really want to be with her. I know how she kisses now, you know?”

“Yes, I do know.” Bryce laughed. “I told you that about Soph.”

“You did?” Sophie asked.

“Yes!” Kelsey said, a little exasperated. “She’s obsessed with you. We couldn’t get her to shut up about you. Thank fucking God, she found you.”

“Agreed,” Bryce said seriously.

“Anyway…” Kelsey continued. “Megs wore this short silver dress tonight, Bry. I’ve never seen her in a dress like this, and during dessert at the restaurant, I put my hand on her thigh.”

Sophie laughed silently.

“On her thigh , Bryce!” Kelsey added. “Did you know how sexy Megan’s thighs are?”

Sophie lifted an eyebrow at Bryce.

“No, I can’t say I’ve ever noticed Megan’s thighs, Kels.”

“God, I want them wrapped around me,” Kelsey said. “Shit. I said that out loud, didn’t I?”

“Yeah,” Bryce replied with a laugh.

“Don’t tell her I said that.”

“We won’t,” Sophie said, laughing, too.

“Fuck. She’s calling me.”

“Megs?”

“Yes! What do I say?”

“You say, ‘Hello Megan. I really enjoyed our night together, and I want your thighs wrapped around me, probably while I have my tongue on–’”

“You’re hilarious,” Kelsey said sarcastically. “I’ve got to go. I don’t want her to think that I’m ignoring her call.”

“Kels?”

“Yeah?”

“It’s good. All of this is good, okay? She likes you for you. Just be yourself.”

“Yeah, okay,” Kelsey replied. “Bye. See you tomorrow, maybe.”

Then, Kelsey was gone, and Bryce and Sophie burst out laughing.

“She wants… thighs… wrapped…”

“Around her,” Sophie finished as they laughed on her sofa.

“I wouldn’t mind yours around me right now,” Bryce stated, moving until she had Sophie on her back and was hovering over her, holding on to Sophie’s legs from under her knees.

Sophie moved her legs around Bryce’s back, bringing Bryce down on top of her more fully.

“Hey, I forgot to ask you. What happened with Monica and Melinda at the café?”

“Oh. Monica found a ring.”

“For Bridgette?”

“She was going to ask us to help her find it, but she was out with Bridgette’s mom, I guess, and they were walking by a jewelry store. They went inside, and she just saw the one she thought Bridgette would want. Bridgette’s mom agreed, and it’s getting sized now.”

“Really? Wow. That’s great,” Bryce said.

“Yeah. Monica is going to propose this weekend. She’s going to pick up the ring and take Bridgette to this spot by the water they both like and ask her. She told Mel and me tonight so that we could be there right after. Well, technically, she wants us to film it for Bridge. I’ll be on one side, hiding, and Mel will be on the other to get both angles. Then, we’ll have dinner somewhere, I guess. Monica is going to make a reservation.” When Bryce only nodded, Sophie added, “You look serious right now.”

“I won’t be here,” she said. “I just wish I could be.”

“You sure you can’t stay?” Sophie wrapped her arms around Bryce’s neck.

“I wish I could. I have the stuff for my aunt, though, and I need to get back to my friends. I need to check on Sean, and I don’t want to do that over the phone if I can help it.”

“I get it. We need to get used to this anyway, right?”

“Not forever, Soph.”

“I know,” Sophie said. “It just sucks. I’m really going to hate tomorrow.”

“I’m going to hate it, too. But just remember that when it comes, that’s one less day until I get to see you again.”

“I wish I could look at it that way,” Sophie said. “All I keep thinking about is how tonight, I got to be out with my friends and my girlfriend, but tomorrow night, you’ll be gone, and when we all go out again, it’ll be me sitting next to Jill as Melinda and Kyle cuddle up and Bridgette and Monica talk about getting married.”

“Do you want to FaceTime me when you’re out? You can put your phone on the table. Just lean it against the napkin holder, and my face will be right there with you.”

Sophie laughed softly and said, “You know it won’t be the same.”

“I know,” Bryce replied, pressing her forehead to Sophie’s. “But you’ll visit me soon, right?”

“Yes,” Sophie said with a smile. “Once I know my start date, I’ll book something for the weekend, maybe.”

“I’ll take whatever I can get.”

“Right now, you can get whatever you want,” Sophie replied with wiggling eyebrows.

Bryce’s phone chose that moment to ding, of course, and she grunted, picking it up to read the screen. Then, she laughed and turned the phone toward Sophie.

Megan Underwood : Did you tell Kelsey to tell me that she wanted me to wrap my thighs around her?

Sophie nearly cackled and said, “I can’t believe Kelsey actually told her that.”

“They’ve always been that kind of close, so it’s not all that surprising to me,” Bryce replied.

“Do you think they’ll make it?” Sophie asked as Bryce put the phone down on the table.

“I think they will, yes,” she said as she looked down at Sophie, hoping to convey exactly what she was talking about.

“Do you want to kiss me right now?” Sophie asked.

“I want to kiss you all the time, but I will right now.”

She leaned down and kissed Sophie’s soft lips because Kelsey was right: women had soft lips. In fact, Bryce believed Sophie’s were the softest. She loved how they fit with her own and how Sophie always seemed to match her pace when they kissed, ensuring this sensual rhythm that transformed into a faster one as they continued to kiss.

They stayed like that for a little while longer before Sophie pulled back and shifted her body, giving Bryce the indication that she wanted to get up. When Sophie stood and held out her hand without words, Bryce took it and stood up, too, following Sophie around the living room furniture and into the bedroom, where most of her stuff was packed already and in the corner. She watched Sophie stare at it for a moment before she reached for Sophie’s T-shirt and pulled it over her head. They would worry about that packed bag tomorrow, when it was time for her to go. Now, it was time for Bryce to show Sophie that she loved her, even if it was too soon for her to tell her that with words.