Chapter Thirteen

If Gray thought the itching sensation she felt while lying was uncomfortable, it was nothing compared to the bone-deep shame of being caught in a lie by Veronica. That night, she lay in bed for hours, her mind replaying on loop the moment when Veronica realized River wasn't her kid. She'd only gotten on friendly terms with the principal in order to make their work relationship easier, but she had actually started to see Veronica as a real friend, someone she enjoyed being around, someone who made her feel seen. But Gray had let Veronica's assumptions about River go unchecked in an effort to get ahead, and it had come back to bite her in the ass.

After a night of restless sleep, Gray was especially grateful that she worked from home on Fridays. She woke up determined to find a way to earn back Veronica's trust—and try to keep her job. Apologies, gifts, and sentimental gestures wouldn't work on Veronica. Instead, what could Gray do to break down some of the barriers standing in the way of Veronica's mission for St. Charles?

Her brainstorming led to the seed of an idea. It was a long shot, but with the superintendent's help, it just might work. After she shot off an email request to Dr. Donovan, Gray looked at the calendar and felt a buzzing sense of urgency. Her twenty-ninth birthday, the moment of Saturn return, was only three weeks away. That also meant she was halfway through the six weeks in which she'd planned to complete her astrology dating challenge, yet she was still stuck in her fruitless search for a Virgo. She needed to dedicate more attention to her zodiac mission if she wanted to get through all the signs in time, but lately, it felt like the challenge had gone on the back burner between work meetings with Veronica, friendly hanging out with Veronica, and now groveling for Veronica's forgiveness. But no matter how much Gray cared about impressing her colleagues or making new friends, she knew that finding her soulmate and starting a family had to be her priority.

Her Friday morning search on Mercurious finally turned up a couple of Virgo options, but upon further inspection, one turned out to be a couple looking for a third and the other unmatched with Gray after she misused "their" instead of "they're" in the chat. If the planets really wanted her to complete the challenge before Saturn return, couldn't they throw her a bone? It looked like she would have to download another dating app if she wanted to get back on track, maybe even more than one. The idea was daunting, especially without the help of Cherry, who was out all day running errands with River in tow. And anyway, Gray had some work to get through before she could double down on her search for her second earth sign.

Once she'd finished up a few work projects from her laptop at home, Gray took a break to drop by Demitasse Café's midmorning grand opening ceremony. Although Gray had seen a sneak preview, she was impressed by Riley's storefront on its first official day, stylishly decorated and overflowing with customers. She made it in the door just before Riley stepped around the front of the counter and quieted the crowd for remarks. Several reporters from local news outlets were gathered near the front, some Gray was pleased to recognize as contacts she'd recommended to Riley.

When Riley's speech concluded, Gray clapped enthusiastically and joined the line forming in front of the cash register. The reporter who had helped delay the article about Veronica and the spring festival protest stopped by to thank Gray for tipping her off to the café opening, steaming mug in hand, and shared that she was working on a piece about new Black-owned businesses in New Orleans, with Riley as one of the main interviewees.

Gray reached the front of the line and was preparing to order when Riley interrupted. "Give her a large macchiato and two palmiers on the house," she said to the cashier, then came around the counter to give Gray a firm handshake. "Thanks for coming."

"Thank you," Gray said, then turned to accept a plate with two small puff pastries, each shaped like a rounded heart and glittering with cinnamon sugar. "These look amazing."

"It was your idea to have a signature pastry," Riley said. "If I play my cards right, one day Demitasse Café will be as well known for our palmiers as Café du Monde is for their beignets."

"I'll certainly do my part to spread the word." Gray placed a hand on Riley's shoulder. "Seriously, I'm so proud of what you've done with this place. I hope it's a huge success. You deserve it."

"Good thing we failed at dating so we could be friends, huh?" Riley held out her knuckles for a fist bump, which Gray returned. "Anyway, got to get back to business. But don't be a stranger!"

Gray shuffled over to the pickup area and collected her macchiato, then turned to look for an open seat in the crowded café. Across the room near the front window, she noticed a woman sitting alone at a table with an empty chair. Gray navigated through the crowd and said, "Mind if I sit here?"

The woman looked up from her phone, at first annoyed, but growing curious as she looked Gray up and down. "Sure."

"Thanks." As Gray lowered herself into the seat, she wondered about the stranger across from her, who was still eyeing Gray indiscreetly over the top of her phone. She wouldn't have guessed it from the woman's conservative pantsuit or long blond hair, but Gray was definitely getting queer vibes from the way the woman was checking her out. She slid the plate of pastries toward the middle of the table. "Care for a palmier?"

The stranger eyed Gray's undercut, nose ring, and noticeably gay faux leather jacket. "Sure." She picked up one of the palmiers and nibbled at the edge of it. "Thanks."

"I'm Gray, by the way. Friend of the owner's."

The woman pocketed her phone, seeming to decide she was interested in a conversation. "Stephanie," she said. "I kind of happened upon this whole grand opening thing. I'm staying at the hotel next door."

"Well, lucky find! The coffee here is fantastic," Gray said, gesturing at the macchiato in front of her. "So are you from out of town?"

Stephanie nodded. "I live in D.C. Here on business."

"What kind of business?"

"Event planning." Stephanie paused to take a sip of her drink. "We have a huge event here next year. I'm scoping out the convention center and other host spaces, coordinating with some vendors. I have to leave in a few minutes for a meeting, actually."

"Ah," Gray said, then paused to watch Stephanie rearrange the tub of sugar packets at the center of the table. Hadn't Cherry said something about Virgos loving to organize things? Now that she thought about it, Gray could see that Stephanie's suit was meticulously ironed, her hair styled without a wisp out of place. Wasn't event planning something that required some serious attention to detail? She wouldn't normally be so bold and wasn't even certain Stephanie was her type, but Gray went out on a limb. "Random question. What's your sign?"

Stephanie's head tilted. "Virgo. You?"

Confetti exploded in Gray's head. She couldn't believe her luck. Just this morning she'd wondered if the planets could throw her a bone, and here Stephanie was, having appeared before her as if sent by Saturn. "That's perfect! I'm an Aries."

"Are Virgo and Aries compatible? I don't really keep up with that stuff," Stephanie said.

If Stephanie was leaving in a few minutes, Gray had limited time to turn on the charm. She grinned and leaned in, expertly arching an eyebrow in an expression she'd tested countless times in the mirror. "I'm not sure, but maybe we could find out. Do you have plans tonight?"

Against all odds, Stephanie leaned in. "I do now," Stephanie said. "Meet me at the hotel bar next door? Say, around seven?"

"Seven is great." Gray felt a rush of relief in her shoulders. This would put her at six dates in three weeks. Finally, she could get back on track.

Stephanie stood, gathering her bag and to-go cup. "I've got to run. See you at seven."

"See you then," Gray said with a wave, then contentedly settled in to eat her palmier. Success tasted sweet.

After finishing her work for the day, Gray had some time to kill before her date. She spent it specifically trying not to think about the look on Veronica's face when she'd kicked Gray out last night, and instead updating her search parameters on Mercurious. Gray was relieved to see a sizable list of Libras on the app. She began chatting with a couple of options, eager to keep the astrology challenge moving forward in case another sign proved as tricky to check off her list as Virgo had been.

That evening, she returned to the familiar block of the Warehouse District and wandered into the low-lit hotel bar next door to Demitasse Café. She located Stephanie, who was seated on a stool at the far corner of the bar, looking quite different from when they'd first encountered each other that morning. No longer in her business suit, Stephanie instead had her blond hair in a tight topknot and was wearing baggy, trendy clothes more suited to a skater than a corporate event planner. In this look, Gray would have clocked Stephanie as queer much more easily. She navigated through the bar's many tables and plopped down next to Stephanie. "Fancy meeting you here," Gray said, then winced at her cliché opening. The awkward first-date monster had reawakened.

Stephanie nodded at Gray, then flagged down a bartender. "Two Pbr and Beam beer-shot combos." She looked toward Gray out of the side of her eye. "Hope you like your liquor brown and your beer cheap."

"Uh, sure," Gray said, a little thrown by the change in Stephanie's demeanor. "How were your meetings?"

"Productive," Stephanie answered.

Gray waited for a moment before realizing Stephanie didn't plan to elaborate. "So is this your first time in New Orleans, or have you let the good times roll before?"

The bartender returned with two shot glasses full of whiskey and two cans of Pabst Blue Ribbon, both cracked open and covered in a fine sheen of condensation. "Been here a few times," Stephanie said, seeming to relax with the drinks in front of her. "I've been to most major cities in the U.S. for work, either coordinating events or scoping them out as potential sites."

"That's awesome that you get to see so many different places," Gray said. "I used to travel a lot when I worked at a wedding-planning company. Destination weddings. Lots of beaches. But now I work for a school group, so most of my work travel is in the same few square miles, from the administrative office to the school campuses. I don't miss the flight delays, but I do miss the pi?a coladas."

"Convention centers are pretty much the same wherever you go, but it's cool, I guess." Stephanie picked up her Jim Beam glass. "Shots?"

Gray picked up her own whiskey and clinked it against Stephanie's glass. "Cheers to…brown liquor and cheap beer."

Before she finished, Stephanie threw back the shot and swallowed it with a completely straight face. Gray followed, trying her hardest not to wince at the burning sensation making its way down her throat. "So, what do you do for fun? Any hobbies?" Gray said, her voice raspier than before.

Their conversation was a bit forced, but Gray managed to keep it moving. Stephanie shared a little about her love of puzzles and her favorite television shows, and Gray realized that the most interesting thing about her life at the moment was the very dating challenge she couldn't discuss. Instead, she dove into a story about a rodeo she'd attended in Oklahoma that was interrupted by a tornado, but when she remembered it ended with her making out with McKenzie in a spider-filled tornado shelter, she had to improvise a new ending that didn't break Cherry's dating rules. Somewhat luckily, Gray was interrupted by Stephanie chugging the last of her Pbr and crushing the can in her hand.

"So are we doing this?" Stephanie said.

"Doing what?" Gray asked, her eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"Going up to my room."

Gray froze for a moment, surprised by the sudden turn in a date she'd found unimpressive so far. Based on Cherry's musings, Gray had thought earth signs were harder to win over, more methodical, slower moving. She'd expected the date to lead somewhere besides the hotel bar, albeit more in the direction of a local restaurant or tourist attraction. But she wasn't opposed to sleeping with Stephanie, and Stephanie certainly seemed game. Gray hadn't expected things to go so well (or so quickly) with Carmen or Aisha either. And this would allow her to check an earth sign off her "to-do" list. Gray finished the last of her beer and nodded. "Yeah, let's go."

Stephanie told the bartender to put the tab on her room, then led Gray to an elevator and through the labyrinthian hallways to her door. Once inside, they took off their jackets in silence as Gray debated how to proceed. She'd never had sex that felt so impersonal before. Sex with McKenzie had been very personal, having been her first and part of a decade-long relationship. And with Carmen and Aisha, she'd had a chance to get to know them, even if it was brief. There had hardly been time to develop heat with Stephanie, besides the burning of the whiskey shot, which Gray wasn't even sure had fully hit her yet. She hoped when it did it would help her stop thinking about McKenzie. Why, after six dates, had her ex suddenly set up shop in a corner of her brain?

But before Gray could shake the specter of her ex, Stephanie took charge by grabbing Gray's hand and pulling her to the bed. Stephanie sat down first and pulled Gray in for a kiss by the lapels of her button-down shirt. The kiss was clumsy, their noses bumping gracelessly against each other's, but Gray felt a rising tide of desire, more for the fact that she was having such an unexpected encounter than specifically for Stephanie.

After a brief period of making out, Stephanie commanded, "Take off my pants." Gray complied, tugging down Stephanie's baggy cargo pants without unbuttoning them. "I'm going to go down on you."

"Oh," Gray said, a little surprised by Stephanie's domineering shift but not turned off by it. "Okay."

Gray shimmied out of her pants and underwear, and they tumbled heavily onto the bed. As Stephanie placed her head between Gray's legs, Gray tried to relax into the moment, tried to appreciate the feel of Stephanie's tongue against her skin instead of overanalyzing the experience. But she was distracted by something lighting up in her peripheral vision. She turned toward the brightness on instinct and saw Stephanie's phone, tossed against the pillow beside her, the screen awakened by the movement of the mattress. Nothing to worry about. But something on the lock screen grabbed Gray's attention, a familiar face. Not just Stephanie smiling in the photo, appearing a few years younger and her hair a slightly darker shade, but the person she was with—was that Ted Cruz? When Stephanie said she was an event planner from D.C., Gray had assumed she worked at some big consulting firm, or maybe a national nonprofit that hosted a lot of events, but maybe she'd overlooked the obvious political connotations. Now fully distracted from the actions happening below her waist, Gray looked across the room and saw, to her horror, a rolling bag with an RNC logo. Shit. Maybe it wasn't that RNC. Maybe Stephanie worked for the Researching Nanoparticles Council. Or the Revivifying Narwhals Commission.

"Um, what event did you say you were here to plan again?" Gray asked.

Stephanie paused, licking her lips. "I didn't say."

"Well, what is it?"

Stephanie sighed. "You're gonna be all weird about it, aren't you?"

Gray shifted to lean up on her elbow. "Just tell me."

"The Republican National Convention."

Gray jumped into action, pulling herself out from under Stephanie and fumbling to put on her underwear and jeans. She didn't even have them zipped and buttoned before she was at the door. "I've got to run. Thanks for the drinks."

"Come on, it's not even that big of an event! It's only a midterm convention!" Stephanie said, but Gray was already halfway down the hall by the time she finished the sentence.

"Thisis why people don't have sex with strangers without getting to know them first," Gray said an hour later, her hair still wet after taking a hot shower in an attempt to wash the whole embarrassing evening down the drain.

"So you almost had sex with a Republican," Robbie said as he handed out game controllers to Gray and Cherry. "It's okay, we've all done it."

"Speak for yourself," Gray grumbled. "I'm usually in denial that Republican lesbians even exist, much less that I'll find one licking my ballot box."

"It's not like all Republicans are inherently evil, and it definitely doesn't make you a Republican," Robbie said, settling down on the opposite end of the couch and navigating through the opening screen of Mario Kart.

"You didn't grow up like we did," Cherry said. "Where the Venn diagram of Republicans and evangelical Christians and homophobes is one giant circle."

"Exactly!" Gray said. "I spent my whole childhood being brainwashed by Republicans in my family, in church, in my school…I definitely don't need them in my pants."

Robbie shrugged as he looked at the character-selection screen and scrolled over to pick Wario. "Yeah, I guess it was pretty different in the Bay Area."

"I can't believe you got to grow up in San Francisco, the gayest city ever, and we had to grow up in Oklahoma," Gray complained as she moved her cursor to select Donkey Kong.

"Life really isn't fair," Cherry said, picking Toad as her avatar. "But Robbie's right too. It's not the end of the world. If you don't like her politics and you weren't really feeling it, then don't go on a second date. Done."

"Easy," Gray said. "And I'm still counting this whole kerfuffle as sex with an earth sign. It was close enough."

"That's fine! Your challenge, your call. Libras are definitely going to be more up your alley anyway," Cherry said. "They're fun, peacemakers, great taste in music. Everyone loves Libras."

A cry echoed down the hallway from River's room. Everyone froze for a moment, quietly hoping River would soothe himself back to sleep. When River cried out again, Robbie and Cherry engaged in a silent, gesture-filled debate over whose turn it was to check on him. But then River let out a pitiful call for "Momma" and the argument was decided. Cherry left the couch, and Robbie and Gray settled in to wait for her return.

"So this astrology dating thing," Robbie said, crossing an ankle over his knee. "You really think it's working?"

Gray dropped her game controller on the empty middle cushion. "I guess? I've been able to find someone of each sign so far, and I think I'm making good time."

"No. I mean, like, do you think it will really find your future wife or whatever?"

"That's the goal."

"Just seems like you're putting a lot of faith in some real woo-woo shit, is all I'm saying," Robbie said, not unkindly. "Don't get me wrong. I like reading horoscopes and listening to Cherry talk about sun signs and moon signs as much as the next person. But I don't know that I'd make any major life decisions based on it."

Surprised by Robbie's interest, Gray took a moment to fold her knees up toward her chest and place her socked feet on the couch. "I wouldn't say I'm, like, putting faith in it necessarily. But it does feel like…something to do? That will maybe work?" Gray clocked the uncertainty in her own voice. Why did she feel so exposed by Robbie's question when pretty much every step in the challenge so far had felt like progress in some way toward her goal of finding out who she was meant to fall in love with? Straightening up, Gray decided to defend herself. "It feels like I'm fighting for what I want. And I can't give up when I'm already halfway through."

Robbie gave a deferential shrug. "That's cool. No judgment here. It's just…You know that whole ‘you'll find love when you're not looking for it' mantra? I think there's some truth to it. At least there was for me."

"Didn't you meet Cherry on a dating app?" Gray said skeptically.

"Yeah, sure. But I wasn't, you know, looking for the one," Robbie said. "I was in Tulsa for a tech conference and didn't want to have dinner alone. Starting a long-distance relationship was the furthest thing from my mind. But it all worked out, even if it seemed unlikely."

Although she hadn't met Robbie on that first night, Gray had heard the whole story from Cherry and watched their relationship blossom. Robbie was a couple years older than Gray, but looking at his lanky frame in a faded old hoodie, tucked into the corner of the couch, game controller in hand, he reminded Gray of her younger brother. Hell, he was more of a brother to Gray now than her own sibling. "I'm glad you met Cherry that night," Gray said. "Y'all are good for each other. And we wouldn't have ended up as friends if you hadn't." She kicked a heel gently against Robbie's knee. "And it's good having you as a friend. Even when you're giving me shit about my romantic life."

"Giving each other shit is what friendship is all about," Robbie said, unbothered by Gray's mushy declaration. "Anyway, I just wanted to say…If you believe the universe will lead you to ‘the one,' do you really think it would make you jump through all these impossible hoops?"

"I hear you. But I feel like I'm onto something, like the answers are just a few steps away. And if there's even a small chance it might work, then I'm going to see it through." Gray noticed the caring concern on Robbie's face. Her best friend really had married one of the good ones. "But thanks for checking in, dude."

Cherry reentered the room, still looking over her shoulder toward River's door. "I think he's down. Back to the races?"

And before long, thanks to the perfect distraction with her closest friends, Gray decided to consider her latest date a lesson learned and focus instead on her next match.