Matthew’s laugh boomed in the quiet of the house and startled Scribble, who attempted to get to his hooves, but he couldn’t get purchase on the floor.

“I did not come to this party to watch some white girl from Maine get Mason Vergered,” said Veronica and turned on her heel.

Greta didn’t know what that meant. She scrambled to her feet, but the room spun and she found herself on the bed.

“I got it,” Carys’ voice said from what seemed like far away.

Then warm hands were pushing her hair back.

“You okay?”

“Mmf,” Greta said.

“You have some lemonade?”

“Mm-hmm.”

“Helen put twice the usual amount of moonshine in,” Carys said.

Greta’s head spun. It took her a moment to remember who Helen was and what moonshine was. Moonshine. So pretty. The way it looked gilding Carys’ brown curls.

When she looked up, she saw that her hand had found its way into Carys’ hair, the damp curls dotted with pearls of water that plocked onto the bed.

“Greta, I like you a lot. I think you’re so lovely and sweet and intensely hot. But I’m never gonna lie to you about this stuff. So I’m sorry if this wasn’t the right time to talk about it, and I’m ready to whenever you are. Okay?”

“Never?”

“Nope. Not even when it would be nicer to.”

Greta felt a mix of relief and fear. Then her head started spinning, and she let it fall to the pillow.

“Will you stay for a minute?”

“Yeah, I’ll stay as long as you want.”

Chapter 18

Greta

Greta woke in Carys’ arms. It took her a minute to realize they were in Carys’ bed rather than her own, or Truman’s, or the rich pig people’s. Warm light streamed in through the window and twinkled in the cut crystals that hung on the sill, throwing sparkling rainbows of light over them.

“So gay,” Greta murmured with an affectionate smile.

Carys kissed her. “I’ll show you so gay.”

They kissed sleepily, lazily, and Carys nuzzled Greta’s neck.

“How’re you feeling?” she asked.

Greta took stock. Her head was throbbing and her throat was dry, but physically, she felt better than she’d expected. Emotionally, on the other hand, she felt anxious. Had she ruined everything last night? Would it be horrible and awkward and stressful?

“Okay,” she said.

Carys passed her some painkillers and a glass of water. “Good. What are you doing today?”

“Nothing.” Greta never did anything. “Um. Gotta walk Horse, but other than that, nothing.”

“Want to explore with me?”

Greta sat up. “Wait, really?”

“Yes, really,” Carys said, smiling. “Why?”

Greta shook her head. “Nothing.”

Carys waited.

“I thought maybe you wouldn’t wanna see me again after last night.”

Carys sat up too and put her hands on Greta’s knees. “Why wouldn’t I want to see you again after last night?”