Page 51 of April

“I think so. Once around the Square to check out the art, and then, my place for a movie?”

“Sure,” Linden replied and stood up, feeling giddy and excited for some reason.

It was strange. When she had gotten Asher’s texts while she was with the woman she knew she would never see again, all she’d been able to think about was her best friend sitting alone at a table. The woman touching Linden had turned her on, but not in the way she wanted anymore. When she had practically fled, her clit had been hard, swollen, and annoyingly ready to come,but that whole thing was already a distant memory. She was excited in a totally different way now. She was excited to walk around the Square with Asher, which they had done probably a thousand times, if not more, since becoming friends due to the proximity of the place to their apartments and the fact that they both liked to support the local artists whenever they could by buying pieces for family members who didn’t live close at least once or twice a year.

“So, do you still think you want to delete the app?” Linden asked once they crossed the street.

“I don’t know. Maybe,” Asher replied. “I know it’s been exactly one date, but I wasn’t planning on doing all of this so quickly.”

“Whydidyou?” she asked, realizing she really did want to know.

“I don’t know. I felt like now was the time, I suppose. Gavin texted me this morning, by the way.”

“He did?”

“He said it was just checking in.”

“Did you reply?”

“No,” Asher said, shaking her head. “I don’t want to be mean to him, but I did tell him that it was over. We weren’t together long enough for him to have anything at my place or me to have anything at his, and I don’t think I want to try to be friends. At least, not now, anyway. So, there’s no reason for us to talk anymore.”

Linden nodded and asked, “Do you think you’d want to date a woman before another guy? Like, if you met a guy you were interested in today, would you go out with him, or would you want to date a woman first?”

“I don’t think it works like that for me,” Asher replied, turning to look at her. “I’d like to date a woman, yes. This thing I realized about myself, I want to explore it. But at the same time,if I met this amazing guy right now who made me feel that thing I’m looking for, I’d go out with him.”

Linden nodded again, taking it in.

“I want the person, Linden. I want someone who gets me, someone who makes me feel like I can express all parts of myself in every way, someone who makes me feel like they wake up thinking about me and can’t wait to talk to me. Is that silly? Am I too old for that kind of romance?”

“What? No,” she replied. “I think that sounds pretty great.”

“Gavin thought about sports first thing. He woke up and went into the bathroom before even saying good morning or kissing me. He would disappear in there for a long time, checking scores on his phone and, well, taking his morning you-know-what. Then, he’d shower and come out, still on his phone, answering texts and emails. I realize the world is on our phones now, and it’s easy to get caught up in it, but look around us.” Asher looked around the Square. “There’s all of this out here while he and I spent more time watching TV than doing anything else. That includes sex. Every game, he had to watch. He had his fantasy football, fantasy baseball, fantasy basketball. It never ended, and I was only with him for a few months. That’s not even an entire sports season. He was always talking about the plans for various drafts, players who were injured during off-seasons, and it was exhausting. I want someone who wakes up, rolls over, and just smiles at me because they can’tnot. I want them to kiss me first thing because they can’t wait to do that. It’s not much, but if I can get that, I think I’d be happy.”

“Ash, you deserve a lot more than that. Gavin is just an idiot. I like sports, too, but you don’t see me on my phone all the time or watching games constantly. I don’t understand how he could do that when you’re sitting right there next to him. I mean, look at you.” Linden motioned to Asher with an open palm.

Asher shook her head, but she was smiling, and Linden loved her smile in all its variations. This smile, for example, was her compliment smile. Asher was terrible at taking compliments, so when she got one, she gave a tight, modest smile. When she was really happy, though, her smile was wide and lit up her entire face.

“Hey, I’m going to run in and grab the mix,” Asher said, pointing at a shop at the Square. “They sell it here, I think. Want to stop and get oil and sugar at the store after this? We can try to make them in my kitchen, if you want.”

“Nah,” she said. “Maybe another time. Get the mix for now. Hey, will you get me a praline in there?”

“Does that come with the dentist who will have to drill the cavities out of your teeth?”

Linden laughed and watched as Asher disappeared inside the crowded shop.

“Hello there, dear.”

Linden turned around to see a woman standing a few feet away, looking at her.

“Me?” she asked.

“Yes,” the woman said.

“Can I help you with something?”

“No. I just wanted to tell you to keep doing what you are doing.”

“Sorry?”

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