Page 176 of Let's Kiss and Tell

I’m forever grateful to Nadia for working her magic and lettingme publish that opinion piece. It gained so much traction that I started being a guest columnist once a month. It came so naturally that transitioning into opinion pieces made the most sense. I’m still able to cover topics that are important to me, but with less of a workload. Most important, I’m able to use my voice. I was able to find my voice.

“It’s good.” I reach over and take a sip of coffee. My current piece is about how we’re entering the age of extinction with the rise of AI. “I have an interview with that professor this afternoon, the activist for technology-based work.”

“That’ll be fun,” Lucy says sarcastically. “Oh! Before I forget, what time are we leaving tomorrow?”

My mom’s seventieth birthday is this weekend, and Lucy and Quinn have taken it upon themselves to plan a surprise party in the Bay Area.

“Want to leave by ten?”

“Then that means we should get there by three…” Lucy looks up, doing some mental math. “Okay, yeah. That will give me and Quinn time to pick up the food.”

“And your parents are meeting us there?” I ask.

“Yeah, they’re going up tonight actually.”

“Great,” I say, now giving Pepper belly rubs.

“Also,” Lucy adds, “before I forget, I think we’re going to do dinner with Jordan and his new girlfriend next week.”

“Are we being nice or interrogating her?”

Lucy and Jordan aren’t by any means best friends; he’s not someone she even feels comfortable calling her half brother. But in the past few years, they’ve developed a real relationship. One where Lucy will want to take him out for a birthday brunch, and Jordan sees the two of us as important enough to introduce to special people in his life.

“I think he really likes her,” she says. “I have a good feeling.”

“Yeah?” I raise my eyebrows. “I’m excited to meet her.”

Lucy reaches for her phone and then smiles to herself. “Jonah and Elijah say happy anniversary.”

“Thank you, Jonah and Elijah,” I say, unwrapping my burrito.

“Oh my god,” Lucy says, eyes glued to her screen. I wait for her to tell me that a celebrity couple broke up or that one of our favorite shows got canceled, but she just keeps her gaze locked on her phone.

“What?”

She looks up, her face white. “My agent just emailed me. There’s a studio that wants to have a meeting…to talk about optioning the book.”

When Lucy told me that Nadia encouraged her to apply for the open role atThe Journal,she wasn’t necessarily excited. Tempted, yes, about writing for a more renowned publication, but she never wanted to write about news. Instead, she attempted to push through her role atThe Ruefor a few more months, and when she didn’t get the promotion in the new year, asked me if it was crazy if she quit. It was a no-brainer; I supported her choice to start writing freelance. Even if things didn’t work out, I was making enough for the both of us. She wrote freelance about sex and relationships forCosmopolitan, The Cut, Glamour, Elle,you name it. It wasn’t long until she had an idea for a book. She asked me in the middle of the night if she was out of her depth for trying to write something long-form, and I told her she could do anything she fucking wanted because it’s true. There’s nobody more determined and good at what they do than Lucy.

So, she did it. She owned being a sex writer and wrote a memoir about her experience with sex and dating advice, her journey to finding love, and even her parents. It didn’t go over well when they found out, but it’s a narrative that Lucy could control and she’s never worked harder than she has the last year.

“Holy shit,” I say, gaping, “the book doesn’t even come out for another seven months.”

“I know,” she says, dumbfounded. “They got an advance copy and are interested. I don’t know what any of this means.”

She shows me the email on her phone, and I scan the words in front of me. “Luce…”

“Obviously nothing is guaranteed,” she says. “Literally nothing could come of this, but it’s cool to have the meeting, right?”

“Are you kidding?” I look at her. “It’shugeto have the meeting. The book is sharp and insightful, and even if this doesn’t work out, this just shows how much of an impact this book will make.”

She puts down her phone and swipes a quick tear at the corner of her eye.

“I couldn’t have done this without you, Marsh,” she says.

“Yeah, you could’ve.”

“No,” she says with weight to it and then sits up. “Think about it. I really wouldn’t be here without you.” She opens her arms out to me. I sit next to her and give her a hug. She buries her face in the crook of my neck, and I want her to stay there forever. “I love you so much.”