Page 47 of Semantics

“I should’ve asked last night… I haven’t had a partner in a while, and I got tested after her, so I’m–”

“Oh,” she interjected. “Yeah, I’m good. Same, I mean.”

“Thank God,” Violet said.

“I wouldn’t have done that with you if I were worried about that, Violet.”

“How did you know that I was okay?”

Stella laughed and said, “Because I may not know you well, but I do know you well enough to know that you would have gotten tested after a previous partner. Then, had you gotten anything from them, you would’ve had it taken care of, and if you couldn’t, you would’ve told me before we did anything. It’s not in you to be duplicitous or reckless when it comes to sex. Am I right?”

Violet nodded and took another long drink, nearly finishing the water already, before she nodded to Stella’s beer.

“You should drink that.”

When the waiter came back with Violet’s card and the receipt for her to sign, Stella took a long pull from her beer, hoping that she was right in assuming the reason why Violet wanted her to drink it and get the check quickly.

“So, I live with my friends. You know that, right?”

“Yes.”

“They know I’m here.”

“Okay,” she said, wondering where this was going. “Did you tell them because you think I might kidnap you or something?” she joked before taking another drink.

“No, I meant that I told them about last night. They know you and I had sex.”

“Oh. Really? I half-expected you to never tell a soul.”

“Well, last night was definitely out of character, and I needed to–”

“Process?” Stella guessed with a smirk.

“Don’t make that face.”

“What face?” she asked.

“That smirk.”

“Why not?”

“Because it’s sexy,” Violet said.

“Is that a problem for you?” she asked, leaning over the table.

“No.”

“Are you lying?”

“Yes,” Violet confirmed.

Stella smirked again and told her, “You know, I haven’t stopped thinking about you all day.” She reached for Violet’s hand, took the pen that she was still holding out of it, set it on the table, and ran her fingertip over the inside of Violet’s palm. “In particular, what we did on my floor.”

“The handprints,” Violet said breathlessly.

“That too, but I was referring to you being on top of me, and me eating you out as you–”

“We can’t talk about that here,” Violet interrupted and looked around quickly as she pulled her hand away.