It was hard for Lily to stake her whole life on something an old piece of wood off eBay told her. But if that was what it took to make Maria take this seriously . . .

Maria was staring at the floor again. Lily laid a soft hand on her cheek and turned Maria to face her.

Lily swallowed, but she didn’t let her face change. She couldn’t let Maria see her uncertainty.

She couldn’t let herself feel bad about this, either. Guilt was a weak, useless feeling. Guilt got in the way.

Delilah didn’t go around feeling guilty for the things she’d done. She just enjoyed what she’d gotten from them.

“Look,” Lily said. “When you show it to her, she’ll probably take it. You won’t have to do anything except have a drink and pretend to be nice to her. Everything will work itself out from there.”

Maria stared into Lily’s eyes. Lily held her gaze.

She’d never been able to look away from Lily’s eyes for long.

Maria didn’t say anything for a long time.

Finally, she said, “I love you.”

“I love you too.”

Maria leaned her head on Lily’s shoulder. She kissed her, right at the place where her T-shirt collar met bare skin. Lily made a contented sound.

“Think about what it’s going to be like, Maria.” Lily’s voice was slow and rhythmic. Maria loved it when she said her name that way. “Not having to worry about her getting in our way. Then next year we’ll never have to see her again. It’ll be just the two of us, in California, away from all these awful people. We can do whatever we want.”

“Just the two of us,” Maria echoed.

She pictured it. Sitting on the lawn of their college campus, holding Lily’s hand, where anyone could see.

Next year they could finally really live.

If they could just skip the part between now and then, Maria would be perfectly, deliriously happy.

She lifted her head and kissed Lily’s lips.

Usually Maria was careful when they kissed. She knew Lily’s legs hurt more than she let on. If Maria got carried away, if she was too reckless, she might wind up hurting her somehow.

Tonight Maria forgot about being careful. They both did. Maria loved Lily so much in that moment she wanted to fuse them together until they never had to be apart again.

Their kisses were hard and fast, the mist from the shower clinging to their hair and making their skin slippery. This was the kind of kissing that didn’t stay in one place. The kind where lips and tongues and voices and breath all got mixed up.