Page 1 of Make Room for Love

1

There wasnothing like being crammed together with hundreds of gorgeous, strobe-lit people on a dance floor to make you feel alone. Mira exhaled as the doors of the club closed behind her, muffling the pounding music. She needed a break.

This was supposed to be a fresh start—her first time reemerging from her friends’ apartment since the breakup, aside from unavoidable trips to campus and the corner bodega. She’d let Vivian and Frankie drag her out to Volume, their favorite queer club. They’d helped her move her paltry possessions out of Dylan’s condo, and they were letting her crash on their couch, so Mira couldn’t really say no.

It had been good to let the music drown out her thoughts, to dance in a crowd where she was far from being the only brown trans girl, to forget about the rest of her life. But then, among all the effortlessly beautiful people getting very close to each other, all the fishnets and leather and glitter, reality had set in again.

Her long nightmare with Dylan was over. But now she was single for the first time in years, with nowhere to live and no idea of what to do with herself. Thank god she was finally free of him. But what was she supposed to do, when she still didn’tfeelfree?

Mira walked a block away from Volume, enough for the bass to stop rattling her skull. She wasn’t a smoker, but she almost wished she were, like most of the people scattered on the sidewalk. It would give her something to do other than feel sorry for herself.

Maybe it was time to go back to Vivian’s apartment. She could let herself in with the spare key and fall asleep on the couch alone. She reached for her phone to text Vivian.

“Mira!”

Mira’s chest clenched. That was a voice she never wanted to hear again.

She immediately spotted him. Dylan was half a block away on the sidewalk, heading toward her with two men she didn’t recognize, all looking like Brooklyn literary dirtbags about to hit up the bars. Dylan had more stubble than usual. Malice gleamed in his eyes.

“You’ve been ignoring my texts,” he shouted. A few people near him turned around. Mira’s face flushed in shame. “I’m sorry, okay? You never even let me apologize.”

He didn’t sound sorry. He always berated her in this tone of voice, but now he was bold enough to do it in public, which chilled her. The nerve he had to talk to her like this after he’d cheated on her was unbelievable. But icy fear gripped her, and she couldn’t move or speak. She may as well have been back in his condo, silent as the walls closed in on her.

“Hey, Mira, I’m talking to you,” Dylan said. “You really think you can just keep ignoring me?”

They were getting closer. Dylan’s friend was looking her up and down without even bothering to hide it. She shouldn’t have worn this tiny dress. Arriving with Vivian and Frankie was one thing, but now it was dark and chilly, and the sidewalk no longer seemed very populated. No one was coming to her aid. She was outnumbered and alone.

She looked around, panic rising. There was no escape. She couldn’t get back into the club without getting past Dylan. In the other direction were dark streets and empty warehouses, and she couldn’t run in these heels?—

“Hey!” someone called.

Mira nearly jumped. A tall woman was approaching from across the street, making eye contact with Mira. “Haven’t seen you in a while,” the woman said, her voice cutting through the club music and street noise, her strides deliberate and long.

Mira gaped in confusion. This woman was curvy and even taller than Mira, with light golden skin and East Asian features. Her long, thick hair streamed behind her. She wore a black leather jacket and work pants with a rip in one knee.

Was she talking to Mira? The woman was stunning. Mira couldn’t possibly have forgotten meeting a woman who looked like this.

She glanced around. Dylan and his friends were also a few feet away now. Too close. Who was this long-haired butch talking to?

Then Mira caught on. “Oh!” Relief rushed through her, so pure she could weep. Dylan trying to humiliate her was somehow less surprising than having a stranger stand up for her. “Um, I also… I haven’t seen you…”

The mystery woman stepped close. “Want to talk?”

Her commanding aura radiated from her like heat. She was in charge now. Mira nodded.

The woman took Mira by the arm. Her hand was big and shockingly warm against Mira’s bare skin, and she gently but firmly guided Mira to turn away from Dylan and his friends. Mira had no time or wits to think twice. She simply went where her rescuer was taking her.

“Is he bothering you?” The woman’s voice was a low, soothing rumble.

Maybe Mira ought to explain that this was her ex-boyfriend, that he was mostly harmless, that she was sorry for wasting this woman’s time. She probably had more important things to do.

Instead, Mira said, “Yeah.”

“Hey,” Dylan shouted. “I’m talking to you.” Mira instinctively started turning around, but the woman guiding her didn’t stop or hesitate, and Mira thought better of it. “Mira!” Dylan called, and she winced. His footsteps were too close. She moved closer to the woman, closer to her solidity and warmth.

The woman let go of Mira’s arm and turned around. Mira turned, too, her skin still tingling from the woman’s touch. Dylan was right in front of them, and the other men stood just a step back. The harsh streetlights distorted their faces. Mira edged behind the woman, who was as thick and sturdy as a wall.

“Leave her alone,” the woman said, just loudly enough that the passersby couldn’t ignore her. Someone stopped on the sidewalk a few feet away.

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