Lily:
Excuse me
Lily:
What??
Em:
Game night but for gays. You’ll love it. I’m picking you up at six.
I snort, but also—since when are there enough gays in Blue Skies to hold a dedicated gayme night? Em, Case, and I were the only queer kids here when I was growing up. And this is a very small town, I’d know if there were more. But I guess with how rarely I visit Michigan, I’m not as tapped into things as I once was.
“I can’t wait for you to meet Naomi,” Em says after pulling out of my driveway. She taps against the steering wheel anxiously. Her sides are freshly shaven and her bounce of brown curls on top is perfectly tousled in a way that’s supposed to look effortless but is painstakingly curated. She came inside to say hi to my family, who were all overjoyedto see her. Mom even prepared a plate of cookies for us to bring to game night.
“I’m excited,” I say. Em has texted me nonstop about this new girl she’s crushing on. I can’t lie, I’ve been itching to meet the person who has my fuck boi best friend wanting to settle down. “She sounds amazing.”
“She is! She’s so smart and funny and gorgeous.”
I smile, loving seeing Em smitten.
“Brandon—a nurse I work with—invited me to play some board games with his husband and some friends after work. They were trying to make it a recurring thing but were struggling with people flaking out.”
“Of course they were,” I tease. “It’s a weekly gamenight.Nerds.”
Em rolls her eyes. She knows I’m only joking. I will fuck a bitch up in Settlers of Catan.
“And, yeah, man.” Em scratches the back of her neck nervously. “We just hit it off. It was this like instant connection that felt more than physical—I mean, obviously it was physical too.”
I laugh. “Obviously.”
It snowed heavily all afternoon. The sight of snowcapped trees has me leaning forward against the chilly glass, my head tipped slightly to the side. I hated childhoods freezing my ass off in sub-zero temps, but I’ve always appreciated when a fresh powder leaves my home looking like it belongs in a Hallmark holiday movie.
Em pulls into a driveway. “I think you’re going to love her. Andoh! There’s someone else coming tonight that I really think you’ll hit it off with.”
“Yeah?”
Despite all my self-care, I’m still painfully unsatisfied and could use a good night with someone beautifuland fun. Recently, Harlow’s been the star of all my inappropriate dreams. I need to sleep with someone new and put her behind me.
“I met her last week. She’s hot and nice and the only other person I’ve met who loves traveling as much as you,” Em says while I follow her up the driveway to the front door, adjusting my coat tighter around my body to block out the bite in the air. She adjusts the plate of cookies in her hands to knock.
“I can take those,” I offer.
She waves me off. “Before she moved here, she was living in her van for like ever, traveling across the country. How sick is that?”
I frown. This mystery woman is setting off some alarm bells, but …no.No way. There’s no chance the girl Em is talking about is?—
“Hey!” Em smiles at the woman who opens the front door.
Harlow grins. “Hey, Em …” Her voice trails off as she notices me. She stares in disbelieving shock, andshit.What are the chances this would happen to us … twice?
Fucking small towns.
“This is my best friend, Lily,” Em introduces. “Lily, this is?—”
“Harlow.” I smirk. “We’ve met.”
“You have?” Em’s gaze ping pongs between us.
