Halfway through Arlington it started to snow, or else it had never stopped in the suburbs. Back at Stony Court, the light was still on in Kim’s den. Heidi couldn’t bear to sleep on Kim’s floor, facing the cigarette butts and the gummy dildo under her bed. If only Lisa Parsons would drop Kim off and pull a U-turn back to the city, fit her hand back inside Heidi’s pants.

“Bye,” Kim chirped, leaping from the car into a snowbank.

Heidi reached to pull the lever of the seat in front and let herself out. Then she pretended to fumble, wrestling with the front seat like it might attack. Lisa Parsons got up and came around the car. By the time she hunched over to jiggle the passenger seat forward on its tracks, Kim was already way in the distance, halfway across the complex’s lawn. She was an idiot to give up this close to the finish line.

Heidi climbed out into the snow, her sneakers immediately soaking through to her socks. Lisa Parsons appeared through the falling flakes, as though she was stuck in a fuzzy TV. “This was fun,” she said. If only Lisa Parsons would snatch her and pull her in close.

“Yeah,” Lisa Parsons said, peering around. “Is this your apartment?”

“It’s Kim’s.” Heidi tipped her head up so Lisa Parsons could reach her for a kiss.

Lisa Parsons sucked in a breath, her cheeks reddening. When her voice emerged, it squeaked: “I better go.”

Before Heidi responded, Lisa Parsons darted back into her car, where she waved manically through the window, face pinched with regret. “Goodbye,” she mouthed, the saddest word on earth. Slowly, Heidi turned and stumbled through Kim’s tracks. She’d praised Kim so hard, of course the lesbians preferred her. All this was Heidi’s own fault. Her shoulders sagged as she walked away.

When Heidi reached the stone with the nameplate of the complex, hands flashed out and caught her ankles. She screamed.

“Shush,” Kim said, jerking her behind the stone. Together, they crouched low and sheltered.

The world quieted and became familiar again. Kim’s loose mouth and fuzzy hair were the same as they always were, homely but nice, soft and flexible, warmth pulsing off her. The rest of the night unrolled before Heidi: discussing the café under the toxic violet of Kim’s black light, a sticky nylon sleeping bag bunched under Heidi’s head, their breath mixing and souring the air. They could still have an okay time.

“Keep hidden,” Kim said, shuffling over the ice until their knees kissed.

Kim had laughed with the lesbians, head thrown back, shameless. Heidi’s cheeks burned. “Why’d you do that?”

“I wanted you to hide with me.” Kim giggled, her dead canine popping out. “I didn’t mean to scare you. God, you screamed so loud.”