Grace tilted her head, her mouth brushing Alix’s ear as she whispered, “You’re different here.”
“How so?” Alix asked, voice a little rough.
“Lighter,” Grace said simply.
That one word hit somewhere deep. Alix didn’t know how to answer, so she pressed a kiss to Grace’s temple. Grace’s hair smelled like her dark floral perfume and Alix breathed her in, wanting to stay in that moment forever.
Later, tipsy and giggling, they spilled into the cool night. The city hummed around them — traffic lights blinking red on Sunset, laughter echoing from a rooftop bar, the faint buzz of someone playing guitar on a porch.
Alix suggested Grace remove her heels for a Bridal Carry 2.0, but Grace insisted she would never be apata sucia, whatever that meant.
They walked past palm trees and street murals, the air a mixture of orange blossom and exhaust. Grace stopped suddenly, pointing at a shop with a flickering pink neon sign that read: I LEFT MY HEART IN YOUR DMs.
“That’s definitely on-brand for us,” Alix said. “Should we take a selfie?”
“I thought so too.” Grace angled her phone for what could only be categorized as the worst selfie of all time. Somehow, she managed to cut off half of her own face and the neon sign, and only took photos when Alix’s eyes were closed.
Alix finally took pity on her, stealing her phone citing long-arm-tall-person privilege, and took a more flattering photo, then another of her sneak-attack kissing Grace. Grace giggled and they continued walking toward home. “You know, I still have a question, Gator.”
“Oh?”
“Why in the world was your username GoGators? You don’t strike me as a sports fan.”
Grace smirked. “HotBabe69 was sadly taken.”
Alix barked out a laugh that startled a nearby couple. She tugged Grace closer and kissed her, once, twice, again, unable to stop herself. Her lips tasted faintly of lime and salt. When Grace laughed against her mouth, Alix kissed the sound away, chasing it like a dare. “I am changing your contact in my phone immediately,” she murmured against her cheek.
After a few blocks they were back at Phyllis and Alix’s bungalow, the porch light flickering like a dying star. Grace spotted the longboard leaned against the railing.
“Teach me,” Grace demanded in a bratty tone that had Alix playfully smacking her ass.
Alix shook her head. “Absolutely not. You have heels on. And you’re not sober.”
Grace finally kicked off her heels, hair falling around her shoulders. “You’re not sober.”
“I am not,” Alix agreed, grinning.
“C’mon. I was great at rollerblading in the nineties.”
“You were probably eight.”
“Exactly. Peak athleticism.”
Alix sighed but handed it over. “Okay, so, you’re going to step on and evenly distribute your weight between your feet.” Grace stepped on with all the grace of a baby deer.
“Bend your knees,” Alix instructed, holding Grace’s hands to steady her.
Grace bent too far. The board shot out, and they both went down in a heap on the lawn.
“Oh my God! Are you okay?” Alix scrambled up, heart racing, hands immediately skimming Grace’s arms, her hair, her cheek. Her pulse was everywhere at once.
Grace was laughing too hard to answer. “You make that look easier than it is.”
“I have coordination. You have litigation. We all have our strengths, Gator.”
Grace wiped away tears of laughter, cheeks flushed. “You should’ve warned me I’d be falling for you again.”
Alix groaned, half from pain, half from the ache of wanting her. “That was so cheesy, and somehow so cute.” She brushed a few leaves from Grace’s shoulder, her fingers trailing down her arm, lingering longer than necessary. Grace looked up at her with a giddy smile. Alix couldn’t help it, she leaned down and kissed her again, slow and sweet, her hands cradling the back of Grace’s neck.
