“Am I the dumb girl in that situation?” I said, smiling at the small scrap of levity.

“Guess we’ll have to find out…you’re at Mastrano’s, right?”

“Yeah…”

“I’ll see you in five.”

“Thanks, Yara. Genuinely.” I said.

We hung up, and I walked out of the restaurant and onto the sidewalk. The cool late spring air was a relief, and the clouds were just patchy enough that I could see a few stars dancing in the murky black sky. I almost felt human again. Almost.

2

“Can I be honest with you?” Yara said, shuffling into the booth, being careful not to topple the latte mug that was filled to the brim in front of her.

“It’s been a pretty brutally honest night. What’s one more hard truth for the pile?” I said.

“It’s not a truth about you, Vi…” Yara said, her ringlets of hair golden and dark brown, a tuft hanging in front of her face in that perfect ‘I woke up like this’ way. “The girls on those apps…in a city like this, Vi, they’re not looking for what you want…you want something more than a hookup, you want⁠—“

“—Yara,” I slapped the table, “in some circumstances that may be true, but, as we stand right now, I haven’t had sex with a woman in eight months, and I feel like my pussy is basically a radiation exclusion zone at this point.”

Yara laughed, putting her hand up to her mouth to stifle it. “Have you ever considered that talking like that might hurt your chances?”

“God…” I looked up, the yellowy light of the café calming if a little blinding, “I mean, probably.”

“No, listen, Vi, you’re…too good for those apps.” Yara sipped her drink, giving me a soft, serene expression over the rim of the mug. “Isn’t there someone from work you could ask out, like…anyone?”

“All those ships have sailed long, long ago. Every single woman I work with is straight, married, or not at all interested in me.”

“Alright, well…” Yara tapped her nails on the mug and pursed her lips. “I have another idea, but…it’s a whole other level that I don’t know if you’re even remotely ready for.”

“Yara, I’m desperate, so anything from your much more interesting and fun sex life will probably be beyond enticing for me.”

Yara sighed, her face not animated or doing anything for maybe the first time since I met her in college, almost fifteen years ago at this point. She didn’t get serious or contemplative very often, and it was one of the main reasons we worked so well together…because I had more than enough seriousness and contemplation for the both of us. “You know my friends Brenda and Wendy?”