“Now if you have to pee, there’s an outhouse outside, around the back. I keep flashlights by the door,” Lily added. “Figured we should get that known now before we start drinking.”
“This can hold us, right? I kinda, don’t always do well with heights,” Maya said, walking over to one of the cut-out windows.
“I used to have all my…study sessions in high school…well, let’s just say this place is durable.”
Maya raised an eyebrow.
“Not a lot of people wanted others to know they were with me, this place is private. Perfect for an escape, though I suppose people would have to actually want you for it to be called an ‘escape’.” Lily mumbled that last bit, Hanna noticed.
Hanna couldn’t help but think–what if Lily had brought her out here? Would she finally have experienced what she had yet to?
Lily handed them a cider each and looked around. “I would say let’s all get on the futon, but it is not meant for three. Shall we all just sit on the bed?”
“Buy me dinner first, geez.” Maya plopped down on what appeared to be a queen (a queen!)mattress against the far corner of the room. It had several blankets folded on top, and Maya pushed them aside and settled in.
“I got you a drink, there’s plenty by the way, but no pressure,” Lily said, grinning and stooping down over what looked like two glass canning jars. She turned a switch on each of the jars, and Hanna realized that they were filled with fairy lights. Lily grabbed a cord attached to what Hanna could see were more lights and turned them on. The cabin was aglow with soft light, and just in time the sun was quickly setting, taking the whole concept of “mood lighting” to another level.
“Points for mood lighting though, got any music?” Maya said, taking a sip of her cider. “Oh shit, that’s good.”
“Thanks—and one second, I’m working on it,” Lily said, procuring a small pill-shaped Bluetooth speaker from the side of the mattress. “Any requests?”
“Whatever, something chill,” Maya said, and then patted the spot next to her on the bed while looking at Hanna. “Come sit, girl,” Maya said, her tone friendly and warm. Hanna pushed past the flood of nerves and settled in next to Maya.
She was in the treehouse. Lily’s treehouse. On a bed. With two hot women.
She tried to cling on to the idea that they all just happened to be together, under circumstances that may or may not happen again.
Hanna took a deep pull from her cider, the sweet and sour flavor bursting across her tongue, tasting like possibility.
It was time to lean into the chance to be honest and maybe, into something steamy.
4
MAYA
Maya didn’t know how she’d gotten here, but the atmosphere was surprisingly warm. Like the invisible mismatched parts of them clicked. There was an air of taking advantage of the fact that they didn’t know each other well, and may never, so why not lay themselves bare?
They were all sitting on the bed drinking cider, forced into a playdate like a group of six-year-olds, while Lily’s mom, Diana, and her mother caught up. Maya made a mental note to ask her mom more about their friendship, but for now she was enjoying the present company. It didn’t hurt that she was sitting with two absolutely gorgeous women, and her body took notice. Maya’s busy school schedule didn’t leave much time for romantic run-ins and trysts. Most people needed her to be someone she wasn’t, someone she either couldn’t be or wasn’t at the moment. School was her focus, and after watching her parents’ marriage slowly implode, there had been no reason to make romantic relationships a priority. It meant that she had to make events like this one count.
“Maya you’re from Boston, and Hanna goes to school in Boston” Lily asked.
Maya was thankful to not be diving directly into broken hearts and homes. Maya nodded along with Hanna.
“Hanna you ended up at Tufts” Lily continued.
“Yep,” Hanna said.
“Nice!” Maya exclaimed.
“And you?” Hanna asked.
“Cambridge, I?—”
“Harvard? Wow, smarty pants here,” Lily said, taking a sip of her cider. Maya didn’t detect anything other than genuine interest in her voice. When Maya looked at her questioningly Lily rolled her eyes and said, “Please do not hit us with the ‘I go to a school in Cambridge’ spiel. God, why are women so humble? Own it girl, that’s badass!”
Maya felt her face heat. She didn’t have an issue with saying she went to Harvard because she was afraid to tell people she was smart. No, it was always what usually came next. The daunted expression followed by, “Oh, really? How did you manage that?”, or the smile in understanding followed by a misinformed affirmative action joke. Then she had to get into her credentials or uncomfortably laugh off the attention. She dealt with it enough on campus; she didn’t always have the energy to deal with it off campus.Fuck ’em,her mother would say. If only it were that easy.
Hanna turned to her and Maya braced herself, sure she was going to have a moment that outlined the different ways in which Maya experienced the world, versus someone like Hanna.
