I rise on my toes. I move my hands around the back of Noah’s neck. I press my lips to his. He meets me with tenderness, then with passion, cupping the back of my neck and pulling me closer. He tastes like cinnamon. The seam between our bodies tightens, and it feels just like I fantasized it would—exhilarating, satiating, part-itch, part-scratch, brand new, and such a very long time coming. “So,” I say, “how’d you like to go to your first launch party tonight, Noa Callaway?” “I’ll go anywhere,” he says, and kisses me again. “So long as you go with me.”

