Page 59 of Scorpio Season

“What,” Florence demands.

“Shhh. Not done yet.” Izzy clears her throat. “Luca had thought so. Florence was a rock star on stage, but here in the bedroom, all that confidence was gone. Her chest heaved as she watched Luca, every one of Florence’s voluptuous curves—wow, that’s a big word—on display. Luca crawled onto the bed and—”

“Izzy,” Toni cuts in. “That’s enough.”

With a cackle, Izzy lets Toni wrench the phone from her. Luca detaches herself from Florence and stumbles over to one of the chairs, burying her face in her hands to muffle her high-pitched giggles.

“That is absurdly, insultingly inaccurate,” Florence says.

“That’s true,” Izzy agrees. “Your curves are really not that voluptuous.”

Florence’s outraged noise of protest is drowned out by the others’ laughter.

Wiping tears from her eyes, Miray gasps, “Where’d you find that?”

“Someone sent me a link,” Izzy reports.

“Is there more of this?” Florence asks, desperately hoping the answer is no.

“Yep,” says Toni. “Do you want to see?”

“No,” Florence and Luca say in unison.

“You have to look at it this way,” Miray says cheerfully, “I think fanfiction means we’ve made it.”

“Great,” Luca says, pained.

Toni looks up from her phone. “There’s more,” she says. “Izzy. Would you like to hear about your hot, illicit affair with Florence?”

This time, it’s Izzy’s face that drains of color. “Come again?”

“Yeah. It’s . . .” Toni’s eyebrows rise as she skims whatever cursed piece of fiction she’s stumbled upon. “Oh, wow. It’s explicit. Want to hear it, Iz?”

The haunted expression on Izzy’s face is enough to send them into hysterics again. It’s another thirty minutes before they finally leave the laundromat, drunk on laughter all the way back to the hostel. Florence still can’t meet Luca’s eyes without flushing, but after all that, Luca isn’t any better off.

Izzy Dabrowska

@itzzzizzydab