“Together for over ten,” Winter added. “She’s my only love, you know?”
Larissa didn’t know why, but she glanced over at Harlow, who was looking down at the water bottle on the table in front of her.
“That didn’t bother you? Being each other’s only? Not exploring more?” Harlow asked.
“What’s to explore?” Maia asked back. “Do you know how lucky I am?” She shook her head and smiled. “I found the love of my life at fourteen. Not only that, but we made it work. We stilllove each other like crazy. We both still want the same things. No kids, for example; just us. Maybe a cat one day or a dog, but they’re more to handle, so we’ll see. We made a home together, and we’re going to grow old together.”
“Plus, the sex is amazing,” Winter added.
“Babe!”
“What? It is. If that’s what she’s thinking we’d want to explore, no need. That’s all I’m saying.”
“Not only what I meant, but I concede your point,” Harlow said with a small laugh.
Larissa wondered why she’d asked the question at all. Harlow always seemed to be looking for something or someone, though, so maybe that was why.
“I find it interesting that your first kiss was right after a haunted house and that you both knew it was a date before you went in. Can we talk a little more about that?”
“She means dissect the whole thing for her,” Harlow stated with another laugh.
“Shut up,” Larissa replied with a laugh, too, and saw Maia quirk an eyebrow at her.
CHAPTER 12
“That was fun,” Larissa said once Winter and Maia had left.
“Yeah, they were great. I’d actually hang out with them, I think.”
“You would?”
“Why not? They’re nice and around our age,” Harlow replied and looked over at Larissa, who had paused packing her things. “What?” she asked when Larissa looked up at her.
“Nothing. You’re just really into this. I think you asked more questions thanIdid.”
“I told you that if I’m in the way, you–”
“No, it’s good,” Larissa interrupted her. “Harlow, your brain works differently than mine, and you think of questions I wouldn’t have. You’re also really good with people. I’m all right, I guess, but I just want to get to science right away, you know? Learn about all the things I can to make the paper or the book better. You manage to bring out even more out of the conversation because you’re almost like a friend they’re just sharing their story with. It’s really helpful.”
“Itis?” Harlow asked.
“Yes, especially because you seem to be good at asking the questions. Like you asked that one about the stress of the proposal. I’m guessing that was for my benefit.”
“I’m always fascinated by proposals, honestly,” Harlow replied as she threw their trash into the can by the door.
“Youare? I didn’t know that. Why?”
“The same reason we got tonight from Maia. She told us she knew one-hundred-percent that Winter would say yes right up until the moment she got down on both knees, held out the ring, and asked her. Then, she freaked the hell out and rambled because she worried that she wouldn’t. They’d been together for years at that point, they lived together, had talked about getting married and what they both wanted, but she still worried. Is that because of the whole stress hormone thing?”
“Possibly,” Larissa replied and slung her bag over her shoulder. “Fight or flight, right?”
“You think everyone feels that way? It’s what I’ve heard whenever I’ve heard about people proposing. Not that I’ve heard a lot of people talking about it, but you hear about it if you do. They knew until they didn’t. So, is that the cortisol and adrenaline making them scared?”
“It’s a huge decision, so it definitely makes hormones like that go a little crazy in some people. Maia said she was fine until she was already on her knees, but I bet other people don’t make it that far. They have the ring in a pocket or something and talk themselves out of it. Probably fear-induced stress.”
“Yeah, it’s fascinating.” Harlow shook her head. “She knew Winter would say yes, but then, she didn’t. For a split second, she thought about standing up and shoving the ring back into her pocket.”
“But she didn’t, and they’re married now. She was able to get over the fear and the stress and ask her future wife that very important question.”
