Roxy lived in the Mission south of 24th Street. When Mel pushed open the front door, Daft Punk spilled outside from big speakers in the living room. People were already filling the space with Solo cups in hand. Mel knew a lot of them; she said hello as we walked through, and because I was with her, they said hi to me too even though they had no idea who I was. Lots of tattoos, bright pink or blue hair cut short or shaved on the sides. Short-sleeve button-downs printed with little birds, ripped jeans, battered sneakers or Docs. They were mostly women, but I also saw a few people who were more androgynous. No Steph.

Roxy was in the kitchen wearing a black vinyl miniskirt and a black-and-red silk corset, along with her boots. She was pouring a giant bottle of rum into a punch bowl, but put it down when she saw Mel and opened her arms. Mel had been holding two six-packs of Sierra Nevada, but she handed them to me so she could step into Roxy’s hello kiss.

Behind Roxy, I recognized Jasmine from the band, standing at a laptop plugged into the sound system. She caught my eye and grinned while Mel and Roxy’s kiss went on.

“Where do these go?” I asked Jasmine, holding up the beer.

She pointed toward the back door. “Out on the deck. You’ll find it.”

The deck had been hung with white Christmas lights, and a metal bucket the size of a small bathtub was filled with ice and beer and bottled water. I added the beers Mel had brought, then found a bottle opener nearby and opened one. A speaker was perched on a stool, and Pharrell was singing about getting lucky. Down in the yard, lawn chairs were set up in clusters. People I didn’t know were talking and drinking, but toward the side of the yard I saw Lisa smoking, and then I saw Steph.

It was dark already, so I couldn’t see her clearly, but I felt as if she saw me. I felt as if she watched as I came down the stairs from the deck and crossed the yard. I hadn’t seen her in three days. I tried to play it cool.

“Hey,” I said.

We hugged. Her body was warm against me, her hands sliding from the back of my bare shoulder down my spine. She was wearing some kind of cologne, spice and citrus.

“You look amazing,” she said in my ear.

Her breath made a shiver go through me. I was sure she felt it.

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