Page 37 of April

“It’s a double. We’re celebrating, remember?”

“Oh, I love this song,” Jill said. “Who wants to dance?”

“I’m not much of a dancer…”

“Not what Bryce tells us,” Jill remarked to Sophie.

“I can really only dance withherbecause she walks me through it.”

“Ash?” Linden asked.

“No, I’m wearing three-inch heels. I’ll get knocked over.”

“Linden, come on. Dance with me,” Jill said, tugging on Linden’s hand.

“Fine. Okay. Okay,” she replied, laughing.

“Watch our drinks?” Jill asked.

When Sophie nodded in response, Linden allowed herself to be pulled to the dance floor, and there she was again, dancing with Jill. They were up close, pressed to one another as the music slowed down and then sped up again. Jill’s arms were around her neck. Linden’s were on Jill’s hips, but she hadn’t wrapped them around her waist.

“So, is Asher really okay, you think?” Jill asked.

“I think so. Probably just disappointed.”

“Yeah, I would be, too. I don’t envy her.”

“Why not?”

“Coming out later like that; it’s just hard. I’m glad she did it. It’s just got to be hard to put it all together like that when you’re almost forty.”

“She’s thirty-seven,” Linden corrected. “And, yeah, it’ll be hard, but I don’t know if it’s harder to come out later or when you’re young. I’m glad I came out when I did. I had a lot of time to figure out what I wanted, and now, I’m going for it.”

“Women. You want women,” Jill replied with a laugh as she pressed into Linden a little closer.

“I wantexperienceswith women, yes.”

“Sex.”

“Not just sex. Dancing is good, too.” Linden’s arms went around Jill then, and she pulled her all the way against her. “Like this. This is good.”

“Thisis dangerous.”

“Why?”

“Because it’s been a long time, but I don’t want to sleep with you.”

“I’ll choose not to take offense to that,” Linden said.

“Want to make out, though?” Jill asked. “That could hold me over until I can find a woman who’s not part of my friend group who wants to actually date me.”

Linden laughed and said, “Let’s just dance.”

When she looked up, though, she spotted someone she recognized standing over by the tables.

“Oh! That’s my friend.”

“Friend orfriend?” Jill asked.

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