Page 97 of March

“No,” Sophie said with a light laugh. “I just like feeling you here.”

“Here, meaning inside you?”

“Yes,” Sophie said. “And on top of me.”

“I like being both of those places,” Bryce replied and shifted a bit to look down at her girlfriend. “Do we need to talk about last night?”

“Which part?”

“The part where you got quiet and wouldn’t let me go.”

“Oh, that,” Sophie said, looking away from her.

“Soph, would it help if we plan your visit or my next one here?”

“It’s fine. I’m okay. I just had a few moments where I realized that Melinda and Bridgette both had gotten their happy endings. Well, theywill, at least. Monica is going to propose, and Kyle probably will, too, soon.”

“And you think we won’t get our own happy ending?”

“No, they just moved here for their girlfriends.”

Bryce nodded. Then, she pulled out of Sophie slowly and sat back on her heels, still wearing the dildo, which was at attention and drawingSophie’sattention. That had Bryce smiling, but she needed to focus because this was a serious conversation.

“You want me to do that,” she stated more than asked.

“No,” Sophie replied. “I mean, yes, I do, but I know you can’t just drop everything in your life to make that happen. I wouldn’t ask you to. The circumstances are different. Kyle’s life was pretty bad, and she came into some money when she got here. So, she has this amazing house that she and Melinda were able to move into, and she loved it here. She didn’t just want to move for Melinda, you know? Monica is richer than God, and she wanted to leave Arnette and New York, so when she came here for work, she fell in love with the cityandBridgette. Plus, her son was heading to college at Tulane. It was easy for them because they both loved it here and wanted to give up what they had there.”

Bryce nodded before she stood, slipped out of the harness, and climbed back onto the bed next to Sophie, leaving enough space between them. She stared up at the ceiling and thought about how best to respond.

“I like New Orleans, Soph. I’ll admit, I came here as a tourist, drank a lot with my friends, and bought the beads all the tourists do before they leave. This trip has been all about you and not really the city, but Idolike it.”

“Babe, I know. I get it. I was just trying to explain why I–” Sophie stopped. “Technically, Monica didn’t move here full-time right away. She went back and forth. I mean, most of her time was here, but she was in Manhattan at least one to two weeks a month. They did long-distance before she moved here full-time, and now, they live together. I didn’t mean to imply that you have to move here tomorrow or at all. I don’t want it to sound like that. If I get the job at Arnette, I can work remotely. MaybeIcould move if you don’t want to or can’t come here.”

“What about your grandmother and your family?”

“I’d have to come back to visit a lot. My grandma probably only has a few years left. She’s diabetic, and she’s been declining for a while. They’ve mentioned that her mind isn’t what it used to be, either. In my culture, family is everything, so just picking up and moving away for college and Arnette already got me a lot of side-eye from my mother, but I’d do it for you and me and just come back.”

“I’m sorry about your grandma,” she said, turning her head to Sophie.

“It’s been hard, watching it happen to her, but she’s in an assisted living facility now, where she’s getting round-the-clock care and still gets to do some things herself. My parents are there at least twice a week, and I usually try to go at least once.”

“Can I go with you?”

“You want to visit my grandma?” Sophie turned her head to her.

“Maybe not this trip, but yeah, I’d like to. Your parents, too, when the time is right. Does your grandma know you’re gay? If not, I can be your newfriendBryce.”

“I’ll never just introduce you as my friend, Bryce.” Sophie rolled onto her side. “I may not be confident about how I dance in a bar, but I am confident about who I am, and I don’t denythat I’m gay to anyone. My grandma knows, and she loves me. She just wants me to be happy.”

“That’s good. And I really would love to meet her someday,” Bryce said as she rolled so that they could both face each other.

“We were talking about me moving, though,” Sophie replied.

“Soph, we can figure that out later. We’ve been together for, like, four days,” she said, trying to make light of the situation.

“I thought you said we’d been together for a year and two days when we were at the gallery,” Sophie replied seriously.

“Oh, I have to hang that painting for you,” Bryce said. “We need to go tool-shopping.”

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