“No, we kind of skipped this part earlier, so no big deal. That’s when things got awkward,” Amber revealed.
“Igot weird. That’s what she meant,” Sandi added and took her hand. “I didn’t know how to process what had happened because I’d never, in my life, had a one-night stand.”
“And she didn’t know yet that I wanted it to be more than a one-night stand,” Amber shared.
“I had my own insecurities, so I got scared that she got what she’d wanted, I got what I’d wanted, and we’d go our separate ways. I kind of acted like that after we woke up and made her think it was all I wanted.”
“The fear crept in,” Larissa said with a small nod.
“Yes. I wish that it hadn’t. In a way, we still got around it, and we’re together now, but what if we hadn’t? What if we hadn’t talked after that morning, and we’d just let the other person think that all we wanted was one night when we were clearly meant for something more?”
“We’d at least exchanged numbers, and when I reached back out, it was to talk,” Amber shared. “I wanted to tell her that my ex hadn’t left the apartment we’d shared how she’d promised to, but that I was hoping Sandi and I could maybe go out sometime. I ended up complaining about my ex and her new girlfriend being assholes, sleeping together in the apartment we’d still shared, and that I couldn’t stay there anymore. Sandi offered to let me crash with her, and I took her up on it. I decided not to let pride get in my way and packed a bag.”
“Did you think it would lead to more?” Larissa asked Sandi.
“No, I still thought it was just one night. But the more time we spent together after she arrived, the more it became clear to me that we both wanted more than friendship. So, I pushed the fear aside again and asked her out on a date.”
“We had sex first,” Amber shared with a laugh.
“Oh,” Harlow said. “Yeah?”
“I saw her coming out of the shower in the guest bathroom,” Sandi said. “We were getting ready for our date separately, but I guess I just couldn’t wait until later that night.”
“Trust me, I’m still grateful for that fact,” Amber replied. “But, yeah, that’s the beginning. If you want me to go deeper intoany of it, I can, but basically, I felt like I’d finally met someone who was worth it; who wouldn’t hurt me like my ex. It felt right. I was supposed to know Sandi, and later, I was supposed to love her.”
“Thank you,” Larissa replied. “Can we move on to the first time you felt that feeling? Love?”
She listened as they both talked about when they knew they had fallen in love, but she couldn’t stop thinking about what they’d said so far about fear and what they would have missed if they’d let it get in their path. She also couldn’t stop thinking about how good it had felt to have Harlow in her arms that morning, or what her nosy sister had said about them being in love with each other and needing to finally admit it.
“That went well,” Harlow said once Amber and Sandi were gone. “Well, the second half, at least. I wasn’t here for the first part. How did that go?”
“Um… Good,” she replied but was unable to recall anything from the first part of the interview. “Did you get everything done that you needed to for the apartment?”
“Yeah, for now,” Harlow confirmed and grabbed her bag off the floor. “I had to agree to all these other things first. I guess it’s a really nice place, and they plan to keep it that way. Now that I submitted all of that, I have to sign the lease and send them their money, but I probably won’t get that until tomorrow since it’s after business hours, and I need to pick a move-in date. I hate to ask, but would you be able to help me? It’ll be easier if I have two cars making trips over there. I think I can do it all in two trips and pay movers to get the furniture out of storage. It’s probably a waste of money to even have it there since the monthly cost is more than the cost of the furniture I’ve got stored there, but if I get it out before the beginning of next month, I’ll save some money there. I’ll pay for your gas in cash and your time in cooking if you help.”
“Of course. Whatever you need,” Larissa said.
“Are you okay?” Harlow asked.
“Yeah, I’m good. Just tired. I don’t know that I retained anything from this interview, but at least I recorded it.” She held up her phone. “Hey, it’s only eight. Want to grab dinner? My treat.”
“Now?”
“No, tomorrow morning.” She laughed. “Yes, now. I haven’t eaten since lunch. I’m sure you’re hungry.”
“I can’t. I’m actually going bowling. I’m supposed to be there at eight-thirty, buying pitchers for everyone and curly fries for Samantha.”
“Samantha?”
“She’s the one who invited me. A friend of hers canceled at the last minute. I told her I’d fill in, but I’ll just eat there.”
Larissa took a deep breath and said, “Harlow, can you cancel?”
“Cancel? Why?”
“I was hoping we could talk. Maybe going out was a bad idea on my part. We could go home and do it there.”
“Talk aboutwhat?”
