Later that night

Alice had left Dana in their bed fast asleep secured by the crisp white sheet. She had been trying to nod off for what seemed like hours now and to no avail so instead, she untangled her limbs from her girlfriends and made some coffee. She opened her laptop and clicked on her email inbox, five new emails. The first three were spam, the next an email from work and the last was from her assistant Cooper. She clicked it curious to know what it contained.

Hey it’s Cooper, just thought I’d write a quick email to let you know I’m having a barbeque this weekend and thought you might like to come. If the fact that I alone will be there is not tempting enough, we have more burgers, beer and hotdogs than you can shake a stick at and it would mean a lot if you could make it. Let me know what you decide.

Coop

XxX

Alice instantly smiled and decided on the spot that she was going. Shit. Should she bring Dana? Was it really Dana’s scene? It’s not like she would keep it a secret from her but she knew that if she took the brunette they’d be the lesbians and that would be Alice’s identity for the whole evening. For one night she just wanted to be Alice and for people to look beyond her sexuality yet how could she convey that without bitterly hurting her lover? Plus Cooper didn’t know she had a partner let alone one that was female and how would he react? She couldn’t imagine that he would care and for a young man he would probably see it as some sort of bonus. Why did she even care what people thought of her? Alice sighed heavily, for the first time she was unsure of her relationship and craved the independence she usually was happy to sacrifice. Maybe she did have a problem with the move in after all. She took the ceramic mug back into the kitchen and set it down on the counter softly and brushed her hair from her eyes, a nervous tick she had developed in childhood. Deciding to reply in person tomorrow, she accepted the fact that it was easier to miss out and would tell Cooper this at work in the morning.