“Your boyfriend shouldn’t have kept that secret,” Carrie said softly. She leaned in and hugged Cadence. Then she kissed her lightly on the cheek. Then her lips steered to Cadence’s mouth, kissing her lightly there, too.
Cadence reared back. She watched Carrie’s lips curl into a grin. And then Carrie reached over the bar for a lime wedge. The bartender didn’t stop her; he was curious to see what she planned to do with it. He didn’t think she meant to simply drop it in her cocktail.
Cadence stared, fascinated as Carrie stuck out her tongue slightly and squeezed the lime. She swallowed and licked her lips, then repeated the process all over. A bit of juice dribbled down her chin the second time, and Cadence reached out automatically, tracing her thumb over the sticky trail, wiping it away. It seemed natural to lick the juice off her thumb, so she did, and she watched Carrie while she did it.
Carrie smiled and leaned in, centimeters from Cadence’s face.
“This won’t hurt a bit,” she cooed, and Cadence nodded.
She pressed her tarty lips to Cadence’s. A gentle kiss. She was testing her out, seeing how far she could take it with a girl so innocent. She teased open Cadence’s mouth, and Cadence tasted the lime juice on her tongue—the most delicious and naughty kiss she’d ever had. They mingled their tongues, moaning softly into each other’s mouths as curious onlookers moved in closer. Cadence didn’t notice them. She was too busy trying to taste every bit of fruit on her friend’s lips. She couldn’t get enough.
Carrie drew back and handed the lime wedge to Cadence.
“You try.”
Cadence stuck out her tongue and squeezed the last of the juice. It made her eyes water, and she swallowed fast, squeezing her eyes shut and puckering her lips. Carrie laughed, then trapped Cadence’s face in her hands. This time, Cadence made the first move. She opened her eyes and leaned in. She kissed her friend passionately, drawing her lower lip into her mouth and sucking gently. She thrust her tongue in Carrie’s mouth and shared the lime juice. She ran her tongue over Carrie’s perfectly straight teeth, then explored the inside of her lips—that soft, wet flesh.
The girls put on quite the show, kissing and holding each other’s hands as men crowded the end of the bar to watch. They clapped and cheered, encouraging the girls to continue their make-out session, maybe take it a little further. One young man suggested they touch each other’s breasts, and Cadence laughed.
“Get lost,” she said. “This isn’t about you.”
Carrie nodded in agreement.
They continued drinking into the early hours of the morning, gossiping and sharing stories and mingling their conversation with fruity kisses. It didn’t feel like cheating at all, Cadence realized, perhaps because she was kissing another girl. That made it different. Maybe not okay, but different. She didn’t want to think about if it was okay, though. She wanted to immerse herself in this alternate universe where everything was softer, more lyrical. Feminine tenderness, and she wanted to keep touching and tasting it.
They stumbled out of the club and into a cab around 4 A.M. The last thing Cadence remembered was their elevator ride back to Carrie’s room. Everything after that was blank.
***
Avery banged on the door.
Cadence ripped it open and screamed, “Stop harassing me!”
Avery pushed her aside and walked in. “Then answer me when I text you. When I call you.”
“I don’t wanna talk to you right now,” Cadence said. “Leave.”
“No.”
“Fucking leave!”
“No.” Avery tossed her purse on the club chair and sank down into the couch.
“What do you want from me?” Cadence demanded.
“My friend. I want my friend back.”
Cadence averted her eyes.
“Mark and I don’t talk about you behind your back, Cadence. I texted him a few times to tell him where you were. He’s worried about you. Don’t you think you’ve punished him enough?”
“It’s none of your business.”
“I know it’s not. I’m just trying to be a good friend to you. I see you hurting, and I wanna help.”
“I don’t need your help.”
Avery rubbed her face. “Why are you so angry with me? What have I done?”
How could Cadence tell her? That she was jealous and angry of Avery’s life. That Avery was growing up and she was growing down. That she felt Avery had the better version of what was supposed to be her life.
Avery, because she was intuitive, already knew.
“I don’t even like instrumental hip hop,” she said after a moment. “I think it blows. I just humor Dylan because it makes him happy. That’s all that is.”
Cadence said nothing.
“I’m not trying to compete with you or have your life. I wasn’t expecting to fall in love with Dylan. I wasn’t expecting him to fall in love with me. We’re not trying to copy you and Mark.”
Silence.
“Mark has a nice friend. He acts immature sometimes, but he’s actually really smart and insightful. I like being with him. He treats me like a lady. He wants to take care of me.”
Cadence walked to the kitchen for a glass of water.