Page 24 of The Wrong Date Deal

“You don’t have to—”

“It’s really okay, Meilíng. I’m happy for you. And it’s okay that my journey is taking a little longer. It’s just nice to have other friends who are going through the struggle too.”

She chewed her lip, looking slightly downcast, but, eventually, she nodded. “Yeah, okay. I guess I get that. But, still, if you need to talk, I’m always there.”

“I know.” She smiled softly. “Thanks, Meilíng.”

Meilíng smiled sweetly before shaking her head. “I still don’t quite get how you met someone on a date, thought they were your date, but they weren’t.”

“Yeah…” August laughed. “That part is quite the comedy of errors, I suppose.”

“How so?”

“Don’t you need to get back to your office?”

Meilíng waved her off. “Yeah, yeah, in a minute. I want to hear about this new friend first.”

“Oh, well, she sent a message at the same time my date did, heard the notification, and we both just… assumed, I guess.”

Meilíng laughed. “You didn’t ask identifying questions?”

August stared at her. “I’m not going to lie to you, Meilíng, I absolutely did not.”

“Why not?”

“I… don’t know. We didn’t get that far before we figured out what was going on, but we were just… chatting, and nothing seemed out of the ordinary.”

Meilíng shot her a speculative look that almost had August squirming under the scrutiny. “And you didn’t think to just go on a date with her instead?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

August shrugged. She didn’t have a good answer to that question. She supposed she just enjoyed being friends with Piperso much that it hadn’t occurred to her to even ask. A date between the two of them had never really been on the table. “We’re friends. Being friends came really easily. Plus, you know, we’re both on the app and we haven’t matched with each other—”

“—that you know of—”

“—so clearly we’re not an immediate romantic match.”

“You can’t know that.”

“I mean, I’m friends with you and I’ve never asked you out. Sometimes, people are just friends.”

“Yes, but I’m straight, and, if she mistook you for her date, she’s clearly not.”

August shot her a look. “I’m not just attracted to every queer woman I meet.”

Meilíng shook her head. “Yes, I knowthat. I’m just thinking, if you two got along when you thought you were each other’s date, why would you not at least try?”

August blew out a breath. “Because we’re friends.”

Meilíng raised her eyebrows. “Okay, but if that changes, I’ll be the first person to say I told you so.”

“Not everyone hits a home run the first time they step up to the plate,” August said with a laugh.

“Maybe not, but Noah and I are going to a game next week, and, if the first guy up to the plate hits a home run, I’m taking that as a sign.”

“A sign that you hit a home run on the first try? Yeah, I think we already know that.”

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