Page 106 of Isn't It Obvious?
“Yes, Yael. Okay,” he says, letting go of her hand so he can drape his sweatshirt over her shoulders. He settles one hand on her hip, gently urging her toward him so only a sliver of space is left between them.
“That’s it?” Her breath ghosts against his lips. “One conversation, and you’re ready to try?”
He laughs, lifting one hand to the place where her jaw meets her neck. “One conversation with you. A handful with Suresh. And six weeks of being miserable.”
Yael smiles. “Come back to book club,” she says. “I think Leo has something to tell you.”
“Okay,” Ravi replies.
“And please still be my editor,” she says.
He nods. “Okay.”
“And come to my Chanukah party tomorrow night. Youcan bring Suresh and Mia if you want—or not, if you’re not ready.”
“Okay,” he says.
Her smile widens, a mischievous glint in her eye. “And give me one million dollars.”
Ravi shakes his head. “Nice try,” he says. “I love you, Yael Koenig.”
“I love you, too,” she says, and he covers her lips with his.
She opens to him immediately, her tongue tracing his in time with her fingers against his scalp. He forgets where he is, turning her so her back is against the door and he can press his body along hers the way he wants to. She gasps at the contact, and he laughs. Disbelieving. Appreciative.
A wolf whistle comes from behind him, and Yael’s eyes fly open. “Sanaa,” she calls over Ravi’s shoulder. “I asked you to stay by the car.” Ravi leans his head against Yael’s neck, catching his breath.
“You didn’t seriously think I would? I’ve been hiding behind that tree.”
Ravi rolls off of Yael but keeps hold of her hand. “Hey, Sanaa,” he says.
“Heyyyyyy, Ravi,” Sanaa calls back. “I’m really sorry to interrupt, but I just got off a five-and-a-half-hour flight and if I don’t eat soon, I think I’m going to end my longest-standing friendship. You hungry?”
Ravi chuckles, looking at Yael. She’s staring back at him, a dopey smile on her face. “Yes,” he says. “I could eat.”
“Perfect! Yael was taking me to Stepping Stone Cafe. Have you been?”
“Once,” he says. “But I haven’t stopped thinking about it since.”
EPILOGUE
PORTLAND PRIDE FESTIVAL, THE JULY AFTER NEXT
It’s a heat wave, and Yael waits impatiently for her coworker, Gemma, to relieve her from her shift at the Multnomah County Library booth. Mia is off getting her face painted (like a shark; her dinosaur phase has come and gone) and she has Yael’s portable fan with her. She presumably has Suresh and Ravi with her, too, but they’re lower on Yael’s list of priorities at the moment.
Trading half of Pride as an attendee for two shifts next week instead of three seemed like a steal on a date where the average forecast is seventy-nine and partly cloudy. At ninety-seven and full sun, she’s sweating in her it’s-too-hot-to-wear-clothes-that-touch-me flowy dress even seated, and she’s no longer sure she got a good deal.
Gemma arrives, two iced matcha lemonades in hand, and passes one off to Yael. The first sip very nearly earns her a confession of love. She gives Gemma a quick rundown of the booth operations, and then she’s off to find the Kissoons.
“Dadi!” Mia shrieks as Yael approaches the face-painting station.
“You need to sit still, honey,” the (probable) saint working there tells her.
The Kissoons got to the festival after Yael did, so she didn’tget to see any of them get ready. Mia has on a matching shirt-and-shorts set with hearts of every color printed on it, Ravi wears an ombré pink-purple-blue mesh shirt and white drawstring shorts. Suresh is, as always, wearing a company T-shirt, but the logo on this one is outlined in rainbow instead of white. Both men have freshly (read: messily; Mia hasn’t yet honed her craft) painted nails.
“Hey, baby girl,” Yael says. “You look stunning.”
“What about me?” Ravi asks.
