Seven Dates

Chapter One

AUTHORS NOTE: I hope you all enjoy this story! I intended for it to be a sweet, lighthearted, and silly read that people of all sexual orientations can hopefully connect with! I wrote this for Wattpride and was happy to see so many other writers also putting in the effort to support it. Thanks everyone for stopping by!

Trigger Warnings: Ash's friends are not immediately certain or supportive of the fact that she's a lesbian. Ash's friend Ari is a reckless drug-using bad boy chaser who does make some offensive comments and put Ash into some questionable and potentially dangerous situations. There is also a boy Ash goes on a date with who is openly homophobic because he is privately in the closet himself. The story does eventually warm up, but if any of that content triggers you, DO NOT READ the book.

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Today is the day I tell my friends I'm a lesbian. 

I inhale, stuffing my lungs with air. It's a secret I've kept for too long, one that weighs down on me every time I sleep over at Leah's house or help Ari unzip a dress. The nervousness suffocates me as my three best friends - Leah, Brent, and Ari - sit across from me.

The taco shop bustles around us. It isn't busy enough to be packed, but there are a few other people enjoying lunch together. Their chatter makes me nervous. I feel like everyone in the shop is staring at me, ready to shame me the instant I speak. I assumed it would be better coming out in a public place instead of my house where my parents could overhear or their places in case they responded poorly and kicked me out. In retrospect, a public place wasn't the best idea.

"Alright, Ash, spill it. I know it has to be important if you're offering us free food," Ari gives me an analytic expression as she chomps on a hard shelled taco. Brent settles into the booth beside her, grabs one of the tacos, and unwraps it. The enormity of the secret I'm about to profess weighs on me. Will me telling them this change how they feel about me? Will we still be friends once these words leave my lips?

I make a first attempt at telling them but end up stammering out nonsense. I shut my mouth and steady myself. I've summoned so much courage to bring myself to this moment. Now is not the time to lose it.

I look over and lock eyes with Leah, my best friend since middle school, and she smiles at me. At least I know that if everything went horribly she would do her best to defend me. She's sweet to everyone and has always had my back. I press my shoulders back in my seat, steadying myself. I can do this.

"I'm a lesbian." My voice wobbles.

Once the words sit between us anxiety constricts my chest. If I was suffocated before, I'm post mortem now. Judging by how inhumanly fast my heart pounds, I am dead anyway. Ari stops crunching on her taco. Brent pauses unwrapping his taco. Leah's smile fades. The suspense is killing me but I'm terrified to break the silence. I pray for them to say something.

"Um, Ash, I love you to death but I'm not sure you are." Ari is the first to speak. She lowers her taco and places her hand on mine, spreading taco crumbs onto it. I inch away from her grasp, a confused scowl constricting my brow.