Page 30 of April

“We’ll sit off to the side and pretend like we don’t know you,” Linden added, trying to help her clearly overwhelmed friend. “And you can work out a signal. Okay?”

Asher nodded slowly and swallowed. She was nervous, and Linden wasn’t sure that all of them being there, essentially spying on her first date with a woman, was a good idea, but if it was what Asher needed, she’d rally the troops, and they’d all show up for her.

CHAPTER 9

“You’ll be great. Don’t stress. It’s just a first date. Those are always awkward anyway,” Linden told her.

“I think it’s too soon. What am I even doing here?” she asked. “I’m still figuring out what all this means, and now, I’m on a date.”

“Remember, it doesn’t have to go beyond dinner. That’s all this is: it’s a dinner with a woman you’ve found attractive. You took your step one a good twenty years ahead of me. For what it’s worth, I’m proud of you for going for this, Ash.”

“You sound like my mother. Don’t do that.”

“I sound nothing like Mrs. Hahn. She’s got that disapproving mom voice thing that all mothers get the moment the first baby pops out. I don’t have that. Don’t intend on getting it, either,” Linden said. “We’ll be right over there.”

“Why did I invite everyone I know to a date?”

Asher looked over at two tables that had been pushed together. Melinda and Kyle were already seated across from one another. Monica and Bridgette had just arrived and were in the process of sitting down. Sophie and Jill were sitting at the other end of the table. Sophie was staring at her phone, undoubtedly texting her girlfriend, and Jill was looking over at them. Asher knew why she’d done this, why she’d asked Emily out so soon.

Linden had gone on a lunch date with Jill. Hearing that Linden was going to test those waters, as she had put it, had Asher wanting to go out and meet someone for herself. She couldn’t even lie to herself about that. When Linden and Jill had shown up at NOLA Guides, talking about another date, Asher had decided that yes, she would go through with this. Even if Emily turned her down, she was going to reach out to another woman. She’d discovered this thing about herself, and she needed to give it a try since Linden wasn’t an option for a variety of reasons.

“You said it was okay that they all knew,” Linden said.

“It is. I just didn’t think they’d all show up. All I did was send an SOS text that I was nervous, and now, they’re all here.”

“Showing their support. But we’re staying completely out of the way.” Linden pointed at the table where they were sitting. “Your booth is around the corner. We can hardly see you from there. We’ll just be getting a meal, like you and Emily. Okay? If she turns out to be crazy or a bitch, text me. I’ll be right over.”

“Okay. I think you should go now,” Asher suggested. “She’ll be here any minute.”

“Yeah. Good luck, okay?”

“Thanks,” she said without emotion.

Linden left her at the bar and walked over to the table. Asher moved with her glass of wine toward the booth she’d reserved and sat down, waiting for her first-ever date with a woman. Her phone buzzed in her purse then. Expecting it to be Emily saying that she was canceling or running late, she pulled it out and rolled her eyes when she saw about four texts from her friends in a group chat.

Melinda Andrews: Good luck!

Kyle Schafer: We’re here if you need us.

Bridgette Musgrave: Message, and we’re there, okay?

Sophie Santiago: You’ve got this, girl. Just be yourself.

Asher smiled at the phone and locked it back up, tucking it into her purse again.

“Asher?”

Asher looked up when she heard her name and saw the woman from the profile photo standing in front of the booth.

“Emily?”

“Yes, hi,” Emily replied with a kind smile. “So nice to meet you in person.”

“Yes, it is,” she said with a smile, too.

Emily was even more attractive in person. She looked exactly like her profile photo, which, according to Linden, was a modern miracle, and she was dressed impeccably in a light-gray business suit with a white button-down beneath the jacket. Her short heels were black with silver buckles, and her bag appeared to match them. It was last-season and looked worn, but Asher knew it was expensive, even if she’d bought it at an outlet mall this season.

“Sorry, I’ve never…” Asher laughed. “Should I stand? Hug you? Shake your hand?”

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