She stepped aside and left a pathway for me to enter. She then walked to the wet bar and poured me a glass of water, though I hadn’t asked for one. I sat down on the edge of the bed. I was wishing I hadn’t come here, hadn’t knocked. I felt myself shiver—was something actually going to happen? “Are you cold?” she asked.

I shook my head, taking off the tie and tossing it on the bed. I stood up. She was standing directly in front of me, inches away. I could feel heat emanating in the space between us. “I’m not.”

She cupped my waist with her hands and I shivered again. My teeth chattered. She pressed her mouth against my neck, and I crumbled into her. We lay down on the bed and moved up toward the pillows. She slid her hand under my dress and pressed the base of her palm against me. I let out a slight, pained moan. She smiled before continuing and said, “You liked that.”

The next morning, I thought I could sneak out of the hotel and back to my mother’s friend’s apartment without running into anyone I knew. I had messaged my mother the night before to tell her that I wouldn’t be back until morning, and when she asked where I planned to stay, I responded that my phone was dying. When I stepped off the elevator and into the lobby, I saw that everyone was congregated by the front desk to say goodbye to Eman before she left for her honeymoon. As I attempted to slink away unnoticed, they called out to me.

“Shit,” I mumbled, then shuffled over to where they were standing. “How was your first time?” I heard someone ask Eman as I approached.

“First time,” she said, “yeah, right,” and everyone laughed. When the concierge came over to us and announced that the car to the airport had arrived, I found myself taking Eman aside. “I have confirmation.” My heart thumped so hard I could practically hear it. “That bridesmaid is definitely gay.”

“No way,” Eman said. “How do you know?”

“She came on to me last night,” I said, keeping my eyes pinned to the floor. “She invited me to her room.” The words practically burned as they left my mouth.

“That’s disgusting,” Eman said. “What did you say?”

“I told her she must’ve gotten the wrong idea.” I felt the heat spread across my face. “And that I like men.”

For a moment I worried that Eman would ask why I was still at the hotel and not with my mother, and where I’d slept the night before. Instead she said, “Well, you’d better be careful. I don’t want to come back to a wedding announcement!”

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