At exactly eight forty-five, Eiko left her room, clutching Ashlyn’s key card in her sweaty palms. She almost fumbled it as she tapped it against the black sensor by the VIP elevator panel. The doors slid open, and she slipped inside.

Six. Seven. Eight. The numbers above the door kept climbing, and only now Eiko realized she’d been holding her breath. She let it out slowly, drawing in a steadying inhale.

Eleven. Twelve. Ding. The doors slid open and the metal music hit Eiko like a truck. If someone were sacrificing a baby goat, this would be their soundtrack, she thought as she set off the carpeted hallway. 

Halfway there, a petite figure appeared, striding toward her. Eiko squinted. The sway of the long black ponytail, the blue dress… Eiko's eyes widened. It had to be her; the beautiful girl from the VIP lounge she had seen on her first night here.

Was it appropriate for Eiko to say hi? Or should she just nod? She kept running both scenarios in her mind, but as the girl approached her, Eiko didn't get a chance to speak first.

"The hotel staff are not permitted on this floor after hours," the girl said icily as she walked by without even glancing at Eiko. "I was under the impression we had made that perfectly clear."

Eiko stopped in her tracks, thrown. "Uh—I don't work here."

The girl paused, looking back at Eiko. "No?" She arched a brow, letting her gaze travel slowly over Eiko's jeans, then up her blouse, the way one might inspect a knockoff handbag. "Then all the more reason you shouldn’t be here. Shall I fetch security, or would you prefer to explain yourself properly first?"

"I'm just heading to the party." Eiko waved the key card. "At Ashlyn's. It's here, no?"

The girl's gaze sharpened. "Ah. I understand." She swooped her ponytail to the side and rested her hand on her hip. "You must be the stripp—" she stopped herself, smirking, "—the entertainment. In which case, I suppose you are precisely where you ought to be."

Eiko felt her jaw drop. Oh my god. Ibe was right. Ibe was so, so right. "I’m not," Eiko muttered weakly after her, but the girl was already striding away.

Heart pounding, Eiko turned back toward the suite. There would be female strippers too? The visions of naked men dangling their junk in Eiko's face were back, now accompanied by the jiggle of massive breasts in the smallest pink bikinis too. Great. Just great.

And it was far too late to back out now. Eiko let out a quiet sigh. She was already standing at Ashlyn’s door, the sacrificial anthem still blasting at full volume behind it. 

You've got this. You are not a stripper. You don't look like a stripper. Eiko wiped her palms against her jeans and knocked once. No answer. She tried again. And again. Nothing but the roar of guitars. Eiko swallowed hard, fingers trembling as she tested the handle. It turned without resistance. "Here I go," she whispered, shut her eyes and stepped inside.

"Eiko!" Strong arms swept Eiko off her feet, and for one horrifying second she was certain it was one of the naked metalhead strippers, until she blinked to find Kong hugging her tight. Fully clothed too.

Relief washed through Eiko. "Hey," she yelled over the booming music and glanced around, looking for massive jiggling things. Instead, the only inappropriate sight was the sheer mess: bottles scattered on the floor, heaps of half-opened luggage, and the lingering haze of something pungent and earthy in the air. "What’s with the smell?" she asked warily.

Kong released her, rolling her eyes. "Shorter," she yelled back, as if that explained anything. She waved at Eiko, inviting her to follow. "Come, join us."

Ashlyn’s suite was nearly twice the size of Eiko’s; probably fancier too, though it was hard to tell under all the mess. It took them a minute to reach the lounge area, where the Banana Fish girls sat sprawled across the fuzzy carpet, while the couch sagged beneath a mountain of crumpled jeans, hoodies and an occasional lost sock. No strangers. No cocaine. No strippers. And, thankfully, no baby goats. 

"Eiko!" Bones and Shorter shouted in unison as soon as they spotted her. Someone must have lowered the volume—the metal no longer rattled Eiko’s ribs and she could hear the girls clearly.

Ashlyn was there too, lounging back with a can in her hand. She tipped it toward Eiko, a small smile tugging at her mouth. "Hi, big sis."

"Hi." Eiko’s grin came too quickly, too wide; maybe because, for the first time, Ashlyn smiled first. She also wasn’t hiding under a hoodie, just a plain white tee, which somehow made her look even more boyish. And cute.

"Sit here." Bones patted the carpet beside her. "Want some?" She held out her beer can.

Eiko shook her head with a smile. What she really wanted was to slip down beside Ashlyn. Maybe ask her about her amp collection or her weird gardening book. But that would’ve been too obvious. Too rude. So instead she eased herself onto the floor, settling between Bones and Shorter. Still, she couldn’t help stealing one quick glance across the room. Ashlyn was looking at her too. Or at her direction. Or whatever.

"Eiiii," Shorter drawled, half-hugging Eiko. 

Eiko eyed the strange purple glass contraption in Shorter's hand. It looked more like lab equipment than anything else, but it had something mossy in—

Oh, right. Eiko smiled at her own callowness. Weed. How silly of her. She had never tried it, but she had seen it, a few times; never in such glass vases, though.

"Wanna do somethin' fun?" Bones said from the other side and Eiko nodded. "We've got cards—" Bones scanned the mess, smiling helplessly, "—somewhere. Probably."

"How about," Kong chugged the last drop of her beer and laid the empty bottle in the middle, "Truth or Dare?" 

Ashlyn rolled her eyes. "What are we, twelve?" 

"C'mon." Kong’s eyes lit up, bright and eager, almost puppy-like. "We'll get to know Eiko this way." She nudged at Bones who caught her gaze and nodded. 

"Yea, yea," Bones agreed, then glanced at Eiko. "What do ya think?"

Eiko shrugged. She’d seen this kind of game in American movies. It wasn’t so different from the King’s Game they used to play in high school. It was fun, besides that one time she was dared to kiss a boy who called her ugly and ran away before she could even process the dare. Eiko was pretty sure she had cried for the remainder of the night then.

But she wouldn't have to kiss any of the girls here, right? Not that she minded, really. It would be just weird, them being girls. That's it. 

"So?" Shorter dragged the sound out, blinking slowly as if the word itself took effort.

Eiko fidgeted with her ring. "We can try… I guess?"

"Okay, let's go!" Kong shoved the bottle into Ashlyn's lap. "Go first, boss."

Ashlyn sighed, but accepted it anyway. "Are we really doing this?" she asked, and all the girls nodded in unison besides Shorter who took a few seconds to catch up. Ashlyn looked like she wanted to protest, but instead she just set the bottle down, gave her wrist a flick, and sent it spinning across the carpet where it stopped, pointing straight at Eiko.

Eiko blinked. "What do I do now?"

"Pick." Ashlyn rested her back against the sofa. "Truth or dare?"

Eiko narrowed her eyes. If she picked a dare, she might have to kiss someone. That someone possibly being Ashlyn. Ashlyn, with lips that looked a little chapped, though Eiko couldn’t help but wonder if they would feel softer than a boy’s. Would they feel warmer? Kinder?

Heat rushed to Eiko's face. No. Absolutely not. "Truth," she blurted way too quickly.

"So…" Ashlyn looked up, thinking, then gave the smallest shrug. "You got a boyfriend or anything?" 

What an odd question for a truth, Eiko thought, but she knew better than to say that out loud—the girls weren’t being mean, most likely, just curious. "No," Eiko said, a nervous laugh slipping out. Her hand drifted back to her ring, turning it without thinking. "I have a fiancé."

Ashlyn’s brows furrowed. "Oh." Her voice went flat, and for a moment Eiko felt as if she’d answered wrong on a test, which made no sense—of course she wasn’t wrong and this wasn't a test to begin with. Yet Ashlyn wasn't smiling anymore. "Then why aren’t you married yet?"

American bluntness left Eiko breathless for a moment. "Uh—time, money, reasons. I guess."

Ashlyn gave her a look that screamed yeah, right. "So you want it? Marriage?"

Well, obviously, who wouldn't, Eiko wanted to say but she nodded instead. "Yeah."

Ashlyn rolled her eyes. "Why would you want to sign a contract that sells your soul to some man?"

The room stilled. Bones and Kong exchanged a worried glance. Even Shorter stopped grinning for a beat.

Eiko stiffened. "Tomoya’s not just some man."

"Sure," Ashlyn muttered. She took a few big gulps of her beer, then set the can down on the coffee table with more force than necessary. "Whatever you say."

Eiko wrinkled her nose. She doesn’t know anything about me and Tomoya, she told herself. So what if he hadn't called her yet? He was a great guy. Dependable. Nice hair. Always remembered to text her parents on New Year’s. He… held umbrellas properly? The list went on.

Shorter broke the silence with an awkward chuckle. "Okay, now," she said, sounding much more sober than a few moments ago. "Eiko. Your turn."

Eiko sneaked one last glance at Ashlyn who was once again avoiding her gaze. So much for hoping to be friends. Maybe the Ashlyn from yesterday—the one who’d actually seemed warm and kind—had just been a coincidence. 

Swallowing the thought, Eiko pressed her hand to the bottle and gave it a spin.

It came to stop pointing at Shorter who slowly broke into a grin. "Dare." 

"Um…" Eiko scratched her head, blanking. Kissing was the only thing on her mind. Inappropriate. Way too inappropriate. "Stand up?" she blurted.

Confused, Shorter looked at Eiko. "You serious?" She stood with her legs wobbling slightly. "Okay, this was actually harder than expected." She chuckled.

Bones groaned, nudging Eiko. "Ya gotta be more daring than that." 

Eiko nodded. "Sorry."

Shorter spun the bottle next. Her smile turned sly as soon as the bottle landed on Ashlyn. "Gonna be a pussy?"

Ashlyn answered with an equally devious smirk. "Try me." She crossed her arms. "Dare."

Shorter let out an evil chuckle, rubbing her hands like some cartoon villain. "Dare it is." She grabbed her weed vase from the floor and wiggled it in front of Ashlyn. "Shotgun." She tilted her head towards Eiko. "With her." 

Ashlyn's cheeks went red for a second, this time Eiko had no doubt.

"Miss fiancé clearly doesn't want that," Ashlyn muttered, and Eiko raised an eyebrow, wondering what her status had to do with shot guns.

"P-u-s-s-y." Shorter spelled out and stuck her tongue out at Ashlyn who did the same in response. "You didn't even ask her." Shorter turned to Eiko, the vase catching the lamplight in her hand. "Do you want a hit, sweetie?"

"Do I want weed?" Eiko breathed out. She'd always been curious. She even heard rumors that it might help ease chronic pain, though she would have never risked jail time back in Japan. But it was legal here, right? "Uh—maybe, I could try?" she said, only now realizing that it was odd for Shorter to ask since it was Ashlyn's dare, not Eiko's.

"Told you." Shorter shot Ashlyn a daring look. "The only pussy in this room is," Shorter paused, eyes fixed on Ashlyn, grinning, " you."

"Jesus." Ashlyn clicked her tongue. "Gimme." She snatched the vase from Shorter, who looked far too pleased with herself for getting under Ashlyn's skin.

Eiko couldn’t say exactly why, but she was certain Ashlyn was still mad about the whole fiancé thing. Which was why it startled her when Ashlyn glanced her way at all. "Come on," Ashlyn said, patting the spot beside her. "Sit here."

Eiko blinked, then scooted closer, eyes fixed on the glass vase in Ashlyn’s hands.

Ashlyn flicked a glance at her but didn’t hold it. “You sure you want this?” she asked, pointing her head down toward the weed vase.

Eiko nodded, still unsure why she was a part of Ashlyn's dare. "Do I do it now?"

"No. After me," Ashlyn said, and Eiko swore she saw her cheeks bloom pink again. Cute. Ashlyn must have noticed it too because she turned her head away and grabbed a lighter from the table. "Let’s get this over with."

Eiko watched like a student at a lecture, trying to commit every detail to memory. She was going to have to remember all of this for her own turn—how Ashlyn brought the vase to her lips, how she sparked the bowl, how long she inhaled, how the water bubbled, how—

But then, cold, calloused fingers found Eiko's jaw, tilting it up, so gentle it felt almost affectionate.

Eiko froze.

What?

Ashlyn was guiding her closer, steady, like she’d done this a thousand times. Eiko’s heart skipped, then stumbled over itself.

What was happening?

Smoke drifted from Ashlyn’s parted lips, and suddenly she was right there; so close Eiko could smell something lingering beneath the haze of weed: something sharp like tobacco and something sweet, maybe a trace of vanilla. It was almost dizzying, either the weed, or Ashlyn’s scent. Or both.

Eiko dared a glance upward, and Ashlyn’s eyes were on her, sharp, until, they softened. It wasn’t Ashlyn the rock star looking at her. Not the Ashlyn from magazines. Not even the Ashlyn from the balcony. This was someone… real.

In a moment between heartbeats, Ashlyn's breath became hers; not just the smoke, not just the air, Ashlyn's soft gaze too, like a secret meant only for Eiko. She inhaled, the smoke scratching her throat. She wanted to cough, but she held it, as long as Ashlyn's eyes were on her.

In the end, their lips never quite met, yet somehow it felt more genuine than a kiss.