A sign on the door of the coffeeshop read “Closed for Private Party.” There was even a rather large man dressed all in black with a clipboard standing at the door. But before he had a chance to ask them if they were on the list, the door opened and Megan appeared.
“Hiiiii!” she squealed, stepping out and giving Rachel a hug first before doing the same to Ainsley. “I saw you from inside!” She then turned to the large dude and said, “They are definitely on the list! Although…may I?” She politely took the clipboard from him and pointed to it. It was a neat column of names, printed from a computer, with many of the names already crossed out by the burly gatekeeper.
“As you can see,” Megan continued, “there was a condition to you being let in…”
Ainsley and Rachel both looked at where Megan’s perfectly manicured finger was pointing and then started laughing.
It read, “Rachel Hamill (but only if Ainsley is with her).”
“You are fucking amazing!” Ainsley said to Megan, still laughing.
“So I’ve heard,” Megan replied.
“Well, you know I wouldn’t have left her behind,” Rachel said.
“Come inside! Come inside!” Megan insisted, looping her arm through Ainsley’s. “God, you both look incredible!”
Ainsley had to admit to being a little nervous. This was going to be her first social engagement with a number of Rachel’s friends and she was hoping it went well. Megan, of course, was an absolute dream. Vanessa she had spoken to only briefly and only whenever she and Rachel had come here for coffee. Even Amy, Rachel’s BFF, Ainsley had only met that one time a few weeks ago. And of course, Sally, Amy’s fiancée, with whom Ainsley had had a couple of drinks with last year on a blind date set up by their mothers but whom she hadn’t seen since.
Inside, La Vida Mocha was crowded but not packed. Very cool and hip dance music was playing—the kind of music always featured in any movie or TV show about gay men, Ainsley thought. Speaking of men, Ainsley noticed a handful of them here as well. But the majority of the guests were women and it was no mystery they were lesbians. Most of the tables in the shop had been removed, creating a nice open space which some people were using for dancing. All in all, the vibe was very chill and cozy.
She spotted Sally—the guest of honor—standing with Amy against one wall, laughing about something. In a coffeeshop filled mainly with women, Sally was easy to spot because, like Ainsley, she was tall and made taller by wearing high heels. When Sally’s eyes met hers, she got a surprised look on her face and, taking Amy’s hand, came over to join her and Rachel.
“Oh my god!” Sally exclaimed, embracing Ainsley. “It’s so good to see you!”
“Same here,” Ainsley said, wrapping her arms around Sally’s back.
Sally looked devastating tonight in a little black dress the same color as her hair. Ainsley couldn’t prevent a fugitive thought from running around in her head that no wonder she had wanted to take Sally back to her place when they met for that blind date. The woman was, in a word, yummy.
“Wait…” Sally began, looking between Ainsley and Rachel. “Are you the one dating Rachel?” She turned to Amy. “Sweetie, why didn’t you tell me that Rachel was dating Ainsley? I told you I met her once.”
Amy said, “Didn’t I? I must have forgot. So sorry.”
Laughing, Sally turned back to Ainsley and Rachel.
“Your bestie is losing her marbles,” Sally said to Rachel. Then to Amy, she added, “Wait…tell Rachel your crazy idea about moving to New Zealand.”
“It’s not so crazy,” Amy replied, blushing. “They have government-subsidized healthcare.”
“Anyway, congratulations!” Ainsley told Sally.
“For what?” Sally asked.
“The book release?” Ainsley clarified with a chuckle. “The whole reason we’re here?”
Now it was Sally blushing.
“Oh yeah, that! Right. The book. The one I wrote. Which was released today. Thank you so much!”
Ainsley’s Kindle had already downloaded the new Jillian Ashley novel. It was the first book of a new series about lesbian artists and she had already starting reading it earlier today while having lunch.
“When are you going to write a series about lesbian doctors?” she asked Sally, smirking. “I mean, that would be your number one bestselling series. Just saying.”
“You think so?” Sally asked with a smirk of her own. “I don’t know…doctors are kind of dull. All those insurance forms and fancy Latin words for simple body parts.”
“Excuse me? Dull? I can explain to you just how not dull doctors—”
“Cake!” Amy suddenly blurted out.