Page 31 of Back Up Plan

“I’ll just have an iced coffee with oat milk and for you,” Ari said as she stepped to the side and gestured for Cass to order.

“I’ll take a cold brew with soy, please,” Cass said as she fished in her shallow pockets for her wallet.

Before she could tap her card on the white square, Ari’s card was making contact.

“You know, you have to let me treat you at some point,” Cass said with a sigh.

The barista giggled as Ari shrugged and added, “Says who?”

“Happy Pride,” the barista said as she turned to get working on their drinks.

As they leaned against the wood counter by the pickup area, Ari smiled.

“What?” Cass asked.

Ari shrugged, “I guess we’re pretty good at selling this whole thing.”

Cass rolled her eyes and said, “Well convincing a barista and your entire company is a little different.”

“Take the victory,” Ari said as she grabbed the finished coffees from the barista.

Cass smiled and followed Ari the few blocks to the company float’s meetup spot in the parade line. They were pretty far back in the parade which meant they had some time before they were due to be social.

Once they arrived, Tommy approached them and hugged Cass, “It’s so good to see you again, darling.”

Clearly Ari had gotten Tommy on board with their experiment and Tommy wasn’t afraid to commit to the bit.

“Oh my god, I have so much to tell you about work this week,” Cass said as Ari put her hand on Cass’s shoulder blades. Her long, strong hands pressed in Cass’s back and guided her toward another group. Cass could melt under the weight of Ari’s firm hand.

“Cass, this is Sydney, who you met the other day,” Ari said as she gestured.

Cass nodded and stuck out her hand, “It’s great to see you again. And under less strange circumstances.”

She was sure to smile as she confessed to her odd behavior.

Sydney laughed and replied, “Well, we’re happy to have you and get to know more about Ariel’s mysterious girlfriend.”

“Oh, there’s nottoomuch to know,” Cass said with a blush.

“Help yourselves to the water and snacks. Ariel, you know the drill,” Sydney said as she moved on and greeted more employees.

Cass’s shoulders sank as she walked away, “God, she’s intense.”

Ari nodded and walked with Cass to the snack area. She tossed open the lid to the blue cooler attached to the back of their float.

“Are the rest of the partners coming?” Cass asked as she looked around for other intimidating, older bosses.

Ari shook her head, “No, Sydney is usually the only one who comes since she’s queer.”

Cass raised her brows.

“Yeah, we’ve all thought about it. She’s hot. But she’s very professional and very stern about work-place boundaries. But it doesn’t stop Tommy from trying every year.”Ari said with a laugh.

Cass giggled as she grabbed the water bottle from Ari’s hand. The chilled plastic was already cooling her off as the June sun peeked through the Manhattan skyscrapers.

Tommy walked over and said behind Cass, “Who doesn’t love a hot, older lesbian?”

The trio hopped onto their float and found a spot with a good view of the street.

---