“Their loss,” Maya said. “All I’m saying is that I get it. Even though I don’tgetwhere the judging would even come from in this context. Sex work is just work. If my partner was in that field and didn’t mind being there, I doubt I would either.”
Harper couldn’t help but smirk. This topic was a lot easier to handle than a trip down memory lane. And given that everything about today had beentotallyplatonic, she might as well give voice to her curiosity.
“So, hypothetically, you wouldn’t mind if your partner was working at a place like the Lucky Penny?”
Maya’s eyes glinted with amusement. “Iwouldmind, actually. I’ve been told that place is a shithole.”
Harper couldn’t help but laugh. Another surprising trend. She could usually dial the noise down to a flirtatious giggle, but not around Maya.
“Well, Ican’twork anywhere else,” Harper said. “St. Louis isn’t the friendliest place for me at the moment. If I want somewhere decent to work, I’d have to seek it out elsewhere. We spent the better part of last year moving all over the state, and unless I can find something guaranteed, I’m not putting them through that again.”
“Them?”
“The four of us are a package deal. Me, Trish, Nell, and—” Her shoulders stiffened. She cleared her throat, hurrying on. “The three of us, I mean.”
Maya had obviously noticed the blunder. A slip of the tongue Harper should really have gotten past by now. She hadn’t needed to say ‘the four of us’ for over two years, but her mind still refused to accept what it should know perfectly well.
Maya paused, clearly considering whether to press the topic. But when she spoke, she didn’t press, really. Her soft tone made the words feel more like a caress.
“I’m guessing, whoever that last person is, it was her birthday recently. And she wasn’t around to celebrate it.”
The knot that had caught Harper’s voice sank into her chest.
“Yeah. Good guess.”
“Can I ask about her? Or should I drop it?”
“You can ask, but there isn’t much to tell. That’s the problem. She’smissing, technically, but in this case, ‘missing’ actually means ‘we don’t care enough to confirm that she’s dead.’ Her disappearance made the local news for a few days, but they didn’t have any leads, so… the world moved on.”
Harper’s grip on the leather jacket turned from tight to clutching.
“We got lucky, really. Evie was gay, but she was still a pretty, white girl. The news eats that up, since it’s rarely people like her who gomissing. If she’d been a person of color or trans or both,I doubt she would have gotten more than a few paragraphs on some indie blog.”
“Doesn’t sound fair.”
“It sounds like reality. Reality sucks sometimes.”
Maya paused for a moment. She opened her mouth but stopped whatever she was about to say before it could escape.
“You must have been close,” she said instead. “You and Evie, I mean.”
“We were. We all were.”
Harper rolled her shoulders, shaking off the dark thoughts. Today had been far lovelier than expected, and she didn’t want to end thisnot-date feeling melancholy. She could do that any other day.
“You’re lucky to have them,” Maya said, smiling. “Sometimes, the family you find is better than the one you were born into. Sounds like you found a good one.”
“They’re better than good.”Better than I deserve.“What about you? Do you have anyone?”
“Not really. After I left home, I moved around for a while. Did odd jobs where I could find them, had my heart broken a few times. I guess I’m still looking for the right fit. When you grow up in a place that makes you feel like you’rewrong, it’s hard to recognize when something feels right.”
“Your parents would love mine,” Harper mused. “The Montgomerys are so prim and proper that they fall into basically every stereotype. White picket fence, green lawns during droughts, and two-point-five kids, with me being the point-five. They could be mistaken for being in a cult where everyone wears beige.”
Maya chuckled. “I’m glad you escaped. That sounds horrid.”
“That’s not even the cultiest part. My parents’ names are Howard and Harriet. Their creativity had limits when it came to their children.”
Maya slowed to a near halt. “No…”
