We parted from Roxy and her friends at the end of the march in the Castro, where Pink Saturday was already a massive street party hemmed in by metal barricades and police officers. Roxy, Talia, Jasmine, and Gabe were headed to a club where they were playing, and Mel and Lisa both had crack-of-dawn shifts at work in the morning. Everybody said their goodbyes in the middle of the street, and then we walked back to the parking garage, stopping at a taqueria on the way to inhale tacos al pastor doused with green salsa from a sticky squeeze bottle.

By the time we got to the Jeep, I was tired and full, the way you feel after spending a day in the sun with friends. It surprised me to feel that way; it surprised me that climbing into Mel’s Jeep and smelling its leather interior already felt familiar.

Mel put on Frank Ocean as we drove back to Marin. As we crossed the Golden Gate Bridge, I twisted around to look back at the city lights glimmering in the darkening night, and Steph smiled at me from the back seat. Lisa had fallen asleep, her head on her shoulder. I smiled back and felt as if I had passed some kind of test.

Outside Mel’s place we climbed out into full night. The streetlight at the end of the driveway cast harsh shadows. Lisa was still half asleep as Steph bundled her into their car. Before I left I said to Mel, “Thanks for inviting me today. I had a really good time.”

“I’m glad,” Mel said. “And you’re invited to this summer. Period, okay?”

I smiled. “That’s really nice of you, but you don’t have to babysit me.”

Steph and Lisa’s car turned on, and Mel and I waved to them as they drove off.

Mel said, “You must be bored out of your mind over at your grandma’s.”

“It’s not that bad. I’m helping her with a project, but I do miss my friends. We had big plans for the summer.”

“Like what?”

“Parties on Martha’s Vineyard. Lobster rolls and beach parties. Cute boys.” I laughed; it sounded like a foreign country.

“All the cute boys I know are gay. Maybe you should branch out a little.”

“Got any suggestions?” I said, without thinking.

Mel stepped a little closer and I saw her smile change, making the tiny switch from friendly to flirtatious. “You want a suggestion?”

I heard the unmistakable invitation in her voice, and for a moment, I was tempted. Only half of her face was lit by the streetlamp, turning her into dramatic color and shadow. The edge of her jaw was golden, the curve of her mouth was soft and full, and the tiny hoop earring that hung from her right ear glinted.

“I thought your heart belonged to Roxy,” I teased her.