And April realized, horrified, they’d been staring at each other like two idiots on Moon Lovers Trail.
“Just fuck already,” Sasha said, sipping her own wine.
“Oh my god, wait, what?” Daphne spluttered in one breath, her cheeks going adorably pink.
Except it wasn’t adorable at all, dammit.
“Sasha, Jesus,” April said calmly, bracing her palms on the counter.
“I’m just saying, you both want to.”
“We do not,” Daphne said, the knife shaking in her hand.
April lifted a brow at her but said nothing.
“There’s nothing wrong with a casual dalliance,” Sasha went on, tossing stuff April didn’t even recognize into the peanut sauce. “In fact, I found a play party in Concord tomorrow night. You should both come with me. Getsomethingout of your systems, at the very least.”
“A play party?” Daphne asked. “What’s that?”
“Oh my god,” April said, dropping her face into her hands.
Predictably, Sasha smirked. “It’s a social event in the BDSM or kink community where people hang out, talk, share ideas, and sometimes kiss and have sex. It can be really chill or really intense. Whatever people want to make of it. Someone hosts at their own house, usually, and there are toys and gadgets you can use if you want. It’s fun.”
“Oh, wow…okay,” Daphne said, her voice a squeak.
“I think you broke her,” April said.
“No, no, I’m…I’m into it,” Daphne said.
Sasha laughed, but before any of them could discuss it further, the heavy front door opened and closed, followed by a flurry of voices and footsteps through the expansive living room, which opened into the kitchen. Soon, a slew of people came into view with Dylan and Ramona, including Ramona’s dad and sister, and Dylan’s rock legend parents, Jack Monroe and Carrie Page.
April and Ramona locked eyes, something unspoken traveling between them April couldn’t even translate, but thankfully, she didn’t have time to focus on it because Olive Riley flung herself into April’s arms.
After introductions weremade, they took drinks and some crab cakes with a homemade remoulade to the back patio.Sasha stayed inside to finish cooking, despite April’s protests that she take a break.
The sun was just starting to set over the lake, spreading blood orange and crimson and gold over the water. April sat in a turquoise wooden chair around the firepit, and Olive tumbled into her lap. April wrapped her arms around the girl’s waist and hugged her close.
“I can’t believe how big you’ve gotten,” April said, rubbing her face against Olive’s back.
Olive laughed, her light brown hair newly cut short, a very butch-like hard part on the left. She was dressed in baggy shorts and an oversized white tee, and she was the most beautiful thing April had ever seen. She hadn’t realized exactly how much she’d missed Olive—missed being part of a family—until this moment.
“I’m the same height I was when I was thirteen,” Olive said.
“You’rehuge,” April said, still snuggling. Olive even smelled the same, like cotton and worn leather from her softball glove. “Where’s Marley?”
Olive sighed. “Still in Nashville. We’re working at a softball camp for kids this summer and I only got a few days off to come home and see Ramona.”
“More chances to pine,” April said. Secretly, though, she was glad Olive’s girlfriend had stayed in Tennessee. She loved Marley, who’d been practically attached to Olive’s hip since they became best friends in eighth grade, but April wanted Olive to herself.
She wanted everyone to herself, if she was being honest—Ramona, Olive, even Mr.Riley. She wanted a moment where everything felt like it used to. Before Dylan, before Noelle Yang, before LA and film sets in Clover Lake, before Elena.
Just April and her family.
She pressed her forehead against Olive’s back. If she closed her eyes, focused on certain voices as they chattered on, she couldpretend she was sitting on the beach with Ramona and Olive, Mr.Riley in one of those straw sun hats and that pink Hawaiian-print shirt Olive was always so horrified he insisted on wearing.
“She’s pretty,” Olive whispered, jolting April out of her happy place.
She lifted her head, her eyes going immediately to Daphne. She didn’t have to ask who Olive was talking about—Daphne was the only new person outside right now, and yes, Daphne was very, very pretty. The late-day sun filtered through her lavender hair as she sat in a chair with her legs crossed, making her look almost as though she were glowing underwater. She wore a floral sundress, tiny opalescent buttons trailing down the middle.
