Page 39 of Marry Me

“Allison?”

“Yep.”

“From-school Allison. Hi.”

“Hi, Lacey. How’s your Sunday? Tons of papers to grade?” She sounded way too chipper, even for her.

“Okay, what happened?” Lacey asked. Yep, she’d seen straight through her.

“The engagement is off. Or paused. The woman I told you about, Megan, is still the most intriguing, beautiful person I’ve ever met, and I’m now supposed to go to her house for dinner. What the hell am I supposed to do when I’m there? I’m freaking out. I need my fairy lesbian consultant.”

“I think I have the answer.” A short pause. “Eat the dinner,” she said with total confidence. “I think it’s customary to do the thing one was invited to do. I really think I nailed this one.”

Ally pinched the bridge of her nose. “I hear you, and that part I have under control. It’s…the rest. What if something happens between us? Will she expect it to?”

“I’ve never met the woman, so it’s hard to say. There’s not a universal lesbian expectation of sex if that’s what you’re asking. People are just people. Gay or not.”

Ally sighed because of course there wasn’t, but she felt like she was exploring brand-new territory without a map. “Right. But any advice?”

Lacey paused. “Trust your intuition, and try to have a good time. I think with those two things in effect, you’re going to be fine.”

“What if I’m overcome and want to kiss her again?”

“Do you think she’ll scream and run away?”

“Well, I didn’t until you said that! Is she going to scream and run away?”

A pause. “I think you’re putting too much pressure on yourself, and the only reason you’re calling me is because this woman—”

“Megan.”

“Right,Meganhappens to be female. Can you just forget that part and just relax?”

“Relax, relax, relax,” Ally repeated, moving her limbs like they were made of Jell-O. “Sure, I can try that. I’m mellow. This is not a big deal, and I’m not swimming in attraction for a hot woman, who is about to make me dinner. In her home.” A pause. “What if she’s barefoot?”

“I think that’s allowed. No?”

“She looks so sexy when she’s barefoot and relaxed.”

Lacey laughed quietly. “Oh, dude. You have it bad. And you’ve never been attracted to women before? I don’t buy it. Are you sure?”

“That’s the crazy part.” Allison noticed that she was gesturing wildly, alone in her car in the parking lot. Didn’t matter. Times were desperate. “More on that front. I’ve been paying attention to myself. So, I’ve never really let myself notice women before, but I’m noticing them now. A lot. Like someone turned on the lights at a mostly dim party. I see them differently after Megan. They’re pretty in…other ways now.”

“Kissable ways. Barefoot ways.”

“But none come close to Megan. Do you understand me?” She pressed her forehead to the steering wheel, begging it to give her guidance.

“You get that you’re in control here, right? It’s a two-way street, so if you want to have dinner and walk the hell out of there, that’s completely your choice.”

She sat up, latching on to that idea and coupling it with Lacey’s earlier suggestion. “I’m a mellow person on a two-way street of control.”

“Hell, yeah, you are. Okay, but don’t walk in the door and announce that. I can see you doing that.” Lacey sighed. “And I can’t believe I’m saying this, but let me know how it goes, okay? I feel invested now.”

“You’ve got it. And hey, Lacey? Thanks for being my sounding board.”

“Yeah, well, I guess we’ve all been there before.”

Another helpful tip. Ally was not the first person to have this kind of revelation, and she wouldn’t be the last. “It helps to think of it that way. One of many.”

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