“If you crane your neck like this,” Martha said, “you can see the front porch of my house.” She demonstrated by slanting her body forward and twisting her neck to look into the distance.

“I’m sure you’ll show it to me up close and personal soon enough,” Amber replied. She slipped the straw of her cocktail between her lips and sipped happily. Upon arrival, Martha had given her a quick speech about how she respected Amber’s wishes to not overindulge in alcohol, and pointed her finger at the virgin cocktails they made—all massive sugar bombs, Amber thought, but didn’t say out loud. But Amber was on her second date with a gorgeous, accomplished woman and she could have a lie-in tomorrow. Moreover, she had plenty of milk thistle tablets at home to cleanse her liver with afterward. Besides, one cocktail wasn’t going to make her fall over. She was a lightweight, but she could handle one more drink on this date.

“I just might,” Martha said, and the tone for the last part of the night was set. “I believe I hijacked your story with my own earlier,” she continued. “Care to tell me more about that silly woman who broke your heart? Name and address, please, so I can have a word with her.”

Amber enjoyed Martha’s forwardness, but shook her head nonetheless. “No sad stories tonight,” she said.

“No matter how sad at the time, it contributed to the woman you are today,” Martha said. “But sure, tell me a happy story then. What is the best thing that ever happened to you?”

“Quitting my corporate job and retraining as a yoga instructor,” Amber said without thinking.

Martha had her hand in the air and wiggled her first finger. “While very admirable, that’s not something that happened to you but something you made happen for yourself. There must have been something or... someone who made you ridiculously happy at some point.”

“At some point, sure. Just not so much after.”

“And the mysteries of Amber continue.” Martha held out her glass, as though Amber not wanting to talk about the woman who had hurt her the most was something worth toasting to. Of course, Martha didn’t know. Amber wondered why she was so reluctant to tell Martha about Holly. All of that drama happened so long ago. But maybe she just didn’t want to taint this perfectly fine date with the memory of her ex.

“Maybe on the next date.” Amber followed up with a smile that couldn’t be misinterpreted.

“Didn’t you say you’d have some more free time next week? I’d love to have you come to the university for lunch. Show you around a bit. It’s the place where I spend most of my time and I’d like you to see it.”

“Sure, but only if you come to one of my classes in return.”

“Nu-uh. That’s far from a fair deal. I’m not asking you to sit in on my classes. Besides, I’ll wait until I’ve had that private lesson.”

“You sure know how to argue.” Their gazes locked again. The more Amber sipped from her mojito the longer she was able to look Martha in the eye without flinching away.

“I know how to do many other things well, too.” Martha leaned forward, put a hand on Amber’s knee, gave it the lightest of squeezes, and pressed her lips to Amber’s cheek, just next to the corner of her mouth.

Because Martha lived so close by, and Amber wanted to extend the date as long as possible without taking it too far, she walked Martha home. On the way, she ordered an Uber, just in case things got too heated too quickly—especially after that chaste but incredibly hot kiss Martha had planted on her skin earlier. Amber hadn’t properly dated in so long, she didn’t know what the protocol was for kissing and more—how long she was supposed to wait. She decided to just follow her gut, and her gut told her the second date was too early for anything more than kissing.

“This is me,” Martha said.

“My taxi will be here soon.” Amber turned to Martha and took hold of her hands. “I had a really great time with you tonight.”

“So did I.” Martha’s lips curved into a warm smile. “Will I see you soon?”

“Try to stop me.” Amber leaned forward until their noses almost touched.

“I won’t then.” Martha inched closer. They stood like that for a split second, frozen in a moment of absolute perfection. In that instant, Amber was sure this was right. That no matter how quickly she fell for Martha, she couldn’t screw this up. The stars were, finally, aligning for her. If this was meant to be, and Amber had a strong inkling that it was, it would happen. Amber had waited long enough—and so had Martha.

Then, they bridged the final, tiny distance between their mouths, and their lips met. Amber kept her fingers firmly curled around Martha’s. It was just their lips touching, their mouths opening, tongues searching. Then a car rounded the corner and flashed its lights once. Amber’s Uber had arrived.

“They can wait,” Martha said. She wrestled her hands free from Amber’s grip, and wrapped them around the back of her neck, pulling her close.

They kissed again, more deeply this time, with more intention. A proper kiss goodnight, holding a firm promise for what was to come.

The driver flashed the headlights again, making Amber feel too self-conscious to stay locked in their embrace.

“I’ll call you tomorrow,” she said, and walked to the car.