Maya smiled sweetly in a way that Hanna thought held some understanding of what it was like to be so visibly different in a homogenous area. The brief exchange warmed Hanna, and she leaned into that rare feeling of being seen without explanation. She was one of the few Asian people in town, let alone her household, but she hadn’t grown up culturally so. There was a disconnect in the way people treated her outside of Maplewood. She’d had one friend in high school who was Latine and thought they’d forever be an outcast because of an obsession with 80s music and Star Wars. But in college, they had learned thatwasn’t the case, discovered how diverse and expansive their racial identity was, and told Hanna she just needed to find her tribe. It was hard for her because there were so many layers she hadn’t yet explored. She rarely felt like there were circles she fit in at all.
“Gonna need some cider, Lily,” Hanna said, as they continued to crunch through leaves.
“Almost there,” Lily replied and a silence fell between them. It wasn’t comfortable, but Hanna bet it was the type of silence that would be washed away by the liquid courage the Blake family hard cider could provide.
Hanna continued to survey the land around her, having never ventured this far onto the Blake’s property. The land had been in the family for generations. Plenty of time to perfect an apple cider recipe the town, including Hanna, was obsessed with. Though Hanna wasn’t sure if it was the cider, or this feeling she got when she thought about the inside of Lily’s mouth tasting just as sweet. That had been a revelation in high school that she hadn’t dared explore. One, at the time she didn’t know how, and two, being into girls had been Lily’s thing.
In a small town that liked to think of itself as liberal, differences were exchanged as social currency. You were allowed to have just one depending on what it was, how interesting it made you, how edgy. You possibly could have two if you came from money, but being the adopted Chinese girl was already enough for Hanna. Being into women would have turned her narrative from “survivor” to “outcast” quickly.
Still, there was something about the way Lily parted her lips when she was thinking. Her pouty, almost-red lips against her pale skin, opening slightly like an invitation to something Hanna would always want to attend. Light blonde hair sun-kissed by the summer, dark blue eyes lined with thick dark lashes, a disinterested stare that made her look effortlessly cool. Like shedidn’t care if Hanna took the invitation or not. It made Hanna’s throat grow dry with nerves.
“Holy shit,” Maya whispered as they came to a stop. They were deep into a set of trees, not exactly the woods, as Hanna could still see the main house in the distance.
The main house, god.
The fall sun was beginning its descent for the night, and light poured through the trees, bathing Lily and Maya in golden light. The result was striking; both women looked almost ethereal, and Hanna’s breath caught in her throat. She had always known Lily was attractive; she’d thought about Lily countless nights in high school, even while she hooked up with her high school boyfriend. But seeing Maya this way, she felt smacked in the face with just how breathtaking she was. Maya’s eyes moved to Hanna’s and she melted.
“Yeah,” Hanna heard herself try to say back, hoping it had come out of her mouth clearly.
“It’s like something off of Pinterest,” Maya whispered to her, which made her giggle a little.
She was giggling.
Hanna was suddenly less jealous of the way Lily had been checking Maya out. Now she saw that she couldn’tblameLily. Maya was magnetic. Sure, she’d been hoping that with her and Lily only home for a short stint, they might be able to help on the orchard, chat, and then get a little drunk off hard cider and stumble into something steamy. Being tipsy wouldn’t be a requirement; she simply wanted all parts of Lily, and that included the taste of her family’s sweet cider.
But the pull, the curiosity around Maya in that moment felt just as strong. Hanna suddenly wished it were possible for themallto stumble into something steamy, maybe even a little romantic. There was something about fall in New England thatforced the latter, each reddening and yellowing leaf ushering in cuffing season.
“So this is a…” Maya started to say.
“….a treehouse?” Hanna finished. The treehouse Hanna had heard of but never seen. It was like a mini cabin? Cottage? Hanna didn’t know the true difference. The structure sat about eight or ten feet above the ground, built in a—hexagon? Hanna sucked at geometry, but an angular circle—and held up by five trees. The whole thing had windows and a plain wooden door at the top of a wooden staircase.
“Welcome! Let’s get inside, it’s somewhat insulated, but I also have a ton of warm blankets,” Lily said, making her way up the stairs.
Hanna exchanged a look with Maya that was equal parts excitement and wonder.
Being a rich kid was something else.
“Okay, I mean, this is pretty fucking cool,” Maya said as they all entered the treehouse. It was the size of a luxury studio in Boston.
“Thanks, this was definitely my corner growing up,” replied Lily.
“Some corner.” Maya used her hands for air quotes.
“This is insane. I’d heard about this place but—wow, you’ve got everything you could need in here,” Hanna said, taking in the space. The treehouse had a teal futon, a mustard bean bag, and an oval forest green all-weather rug pulled the space together. The whole thing was made of wood and smelled of the outdoors and spice. Throughout the room, Hanna noticed small but substantial ceramic sculptures that looked like unraveling waves. Like they had frozen in motion and someone was peeling them apart layer by layer, with increasing speed. Each piece was painted a jewel tone. The three she spotted in the room were fuchsia, navy, and forest green, presumably to match the rug.Hanna could also see that there were shapes painted on the pieces with text like “puberty” and “war paint” on them.
“You even have highbrow art in here, some treehouse,” Hanna said, taking a closer look at the fuchsia “puberty” piece.
“You think so Hanna?” Lily asked, smiling sheepishly, and Hanna noticed her cheeks had gone slightly pink.
“I mean, look?” Hanna said, gesturing around the room. “God knows what this would go for as an apartment in Boston or New York.”
Lily laughed and Maya nodded in agreement.
“Is that a cooler?” Hanna said. On the floor was a solid shape, like a 70s old school fridge on its side.
“Yeah, we’re going to need refreshments. I keep it stocked and cool. Hard cider good with everyone?”
Hanna and Maya grunted appreciatively at the same time.
