“Yup, but don’t worry about it. Let’s go. Don’t forget to pay your bill!”

I keep my tone light and friendly, and Ian dutifully pays without incident—thank God. As we get up to leave, he catches sight of Celeste, who’s been closely watching him this entire time like a murderous cat.

“Wait, who’s she?”

I almost call Celeste a “friend” but then realize she’s everything but. And I don’t want to get into our painful history with a total stranger, either, so I say, “Just someone I know.”

As Ian and I leave, I fix Celeste with one last stare. She blinks rapidly, her eyes widening slightly as she bites her bottom lip. It’s an innocent gesture, but the sudden moment of vulnerability makes my cheeks heat up again. I quickly turn away and walk out the bar with Ian.

When his car arrives, I hold the door open.

“You’re not coming with me?” Ian asks, pouting like a little kid.

“Sorry,” I say. “Maybe some other night.”

I have no intention of ever seeing this guy again, but I don’t want to piss him off. You can never tell how men will react to rejection, and I’ve already seen him yell at someone once tonight.

Luckily, Ian is either too tired or too drunk to put up much of a fight. He obediently slips into the back seat, and I close the door behind him.

The car drives off, leaving me alone with thoughts of Celeste.

5: Celeste

Once upon a time in college, Celeste Min fell in love with a girl named Gemma.

Gemma Cho was a friend of a friend, and they’d only ended up rooming together because Kayla Peterson, Celeste’s roommate of two years, spontaneously moved in with her boyfriend the summer before junior year. Since she felt bad for ditching her, Kayla brought in her other friend, Gemma, to replace her in the apartment they’d already signed the lease for.

Celeste hadn’t minded, especially after she saw how pretty Gemma was. Since Kayla, a Taylor Swift look-alike who now has three kids with her own Travis Kelce, was—and still is—one of Celeste’s straightest friends, Celeste had assumed Gemma only liked guys, too. But then she realized that, while she couldn’t stop staring at the beautiful girl she’d somehow ended up living with, the girl was also staring back at her.

Gemma told Celeste that she’d never dated a girl before. But after countless days and nights of going on dreamlike dates around LA and whispering sweet nothings in each other’s ears, Celeste had hoped she was the exception.

Now, alone in a dark, crowded bar in San Francisco, she sips her drink.

Celeste had never expected to see Gemma again, not after Celeste’s mom got sick and she had to temporarily drop out of school.