Miri turned on the sofa, curled one leg under her, and studied Anja intently. “There’s something else, isn’t there?”

Her friend knew her too well. Anja avoided her gaze. “I think it would have happened if it wasn’t for my period, but I can’t help thinking maybe taking it slow is for the best.”

“Is it?” Miri asked. “I thought the whole point of dating her was to see if there could be something worth pursuing after she leaves. Why wouldn’t sex be part of testing it out?”

Anja cringed at the reminder that Susanne would only be staying a handful of more weeks. She lowered her gaze to the hole in her jeans again. “Because I don’t think it would be just sex.”

Miri pulled her around by the shoulder so Anja would look at her. “What do you mean?”

Anja peeked up at her. “I think if I made love to her and she to me, it would shove me over the edge.”

A smile curved Miri’s lips. “Isn’t that the point of having sex? For your partner to take you over the edge?”

“Not that edge. I’m talking about my feelings for her. I think if we made love, it would make me fall for her all the way.”

“Ah.” Miri gave her a knowing look. “So that’s why you stopped her. You were afraid of falling.”

Anja wanted to deny it. When she and Susanne had kissed on the couch and she had ended up deliciously trapped beneath Susanne’s body, she hadn’t consciously thought about it. But deep down, she knew it had probably influenced her decision to stop.

“You know what I think?” Miri said. “That look on your face when I got here? That wasn’t the after-sex glow.”

“Of course it wasn’t. Didn’t we just establish that Susanne and I didn’t have sex?”

Miri waved her away. “Now that I think about it, maybe it was more the goofy I’m-so-in-love glow.”

“No, I’m not… I…”

“I think it doesn’t really matter whether you have sex with her or not, Anja. You’ll fall for her even without mind-blowing orgasms. If you haven’t already.”

Anja sank against the back of the couch and stared at the wall, which blurred before her eyes. Something quivered deep inside of her. God, Miri was right. Her feelings for Susanne had grown with every day they spent together, and even abstaining from sex wouldn’t change the fact that she was falling in love with her. “Shit.”

Miri laughed and patted her knee. “Hey, look on the bright side. After Easter, you and I can keep each other company on the long drives or the flights to Berlin and back, and Franzi and Susanne can travel together too.”

“Assuming Susanne wants a long-distance relationship with me.”

“Why wouldn’t she? You’re great.”