Sage anxiously checked her phone again. Still nothing. Where the hell was she?

Sage wasn’t really sure if she was looking for friends or for a date, but it should be fine either way. She’d talked to Mel about it and they’d agreed on having an open relationship or being polyamorous or whatever you wanted to call it. Still, with her vaguely Protestant middle class suburban background, she couldn’t help but feel like she was doing something wrong.

She was just about to give up and go home when she saw a figure approaching her.

“Hey! Sage, right? Sorry I’m late. Traffic was crazy. Anyway, it’s really nice to meet you in person!”

“Hey,” Sage said, lifting one hand in vague greeting. She felt overwhelmed by the sheer energy of this person. “You’re Sara?”

“That’s me!” Sara said. 

Sage perceived her, respectfully. Sara was fairly short and chubby and had short, curly hair. She looked like a person who would give great hugs. 

“So have you ever been here before?” Sara asked in reference to the cafe they stood in front of.

Sage shook her head. “I don’t really eat out much, honestly.”

“Damn, girl, that’s too bad,” Sara said. “I know some great places for eating out.”

Sage genuinely couldn’t tell if Sara was trying for double entendre or not and ended up settling for a nervous chuckle. “Is there anything you’d recommend?”

“I’m a big fan of the breakfast burrito bowl,” Sara said. “You can get it vegan or keto if you want.”

“Oh, I’m not really on any diet. Sounds good, though,” Sage said.

After they were seated, Sara resumed the conversation. “So, what do you do?”

“Like, for a job?” Sage asked.

“Well, whatever you do with your time. I have some friends who are full-time volunteer activists and I think that’s more worthwhile than a lot of jobs.”

Sage felt a pang of anxiety, reminded that she wasn’t doing much of anything at the moment. “I’m… kind of on a break from work right now, I guess, but I guess you could say I’m a content creator.”

“Cool!” Sara said. “Any chance I would know your work?”

“Do you ever watch Twitch?” Sage asked.

“No, sorry, I’m mostly on Insta and Tiktok,” Sara said. “So, like, do you play video games, or?”

“Mostly video games, yeah,” Sage said.

“Huh. It’s amazing people will pay to watch other people play games,” Sara said.

Sage felt vaguely insulted but tried to not take it personally. She decided it was a good time to change the topic. “What about you?”

“Oh, I’m going to school–commuting to Long Beach–and I teach English as a second language and petsit part time.”

“Cool,” Sage said. “What are you majoring in?”

“Eh, not sure yet,” Sara said. “Probably WGSS or English or Education. I’m only taking a few classes per semester so it’s gonna take a while.

“WGSS?” Sage asked.

“Oh, Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. Anyway, uh, if you play games for work, what do you do for fun?”

Sage thought for a moment. It was maybe sad how little stuff she actually got up to. “I… well, sometimes I play games for fun, or I watch YouTube or Twitch, or I hang out with my girlfriend.”

“Oh, you have a girlfriend?” Sara said.

“Yeah,” Sage said. “I–I put polyamorous on my profile, right?”

“Oh, yeah,” Sara said, “I saw that and it’s all good. Just didn’t know if you had a current partner or whatever. I kind of have a boyfriend, right now? But we’re not currently talking.”

Sage had the slightly rude thought that straight relationships sounded kind of terrible. Although Sara was bi, so maybe she shouldn’t call it straight. A different-sex relationship? But that sounded kind of awkward and also maybe it should be gender and not sex? But–

“Hello?” Sara said again. “Sorry, did you hear what I said.”

“...No, I’m sorry. I zoned out for a moment. Could you repeat it?” Internally, Sage swore at herself for probably ruining Sara’s opinion of her, by seeming like she didn’t care what Sara was saying.

“Oh, I asked if you know your sun, moon, and rising.”

Sage momentarily thought of a strange trio of video games–two Pokémon and one Metal Gear–before realizing Sara was talking about astrology. “Uh, I was born in early September so I think I’m Virgo or Libra. I’m not sure beyond that though.”

“Oh, well, you can tell me when and where you were born and we can figure them out together!” Sara said. “I love helping people learn more about themselves.”

Sage repressed the urge to say that astrology was obvious bullshit. “Sounds fun,” she lied. 

There wasn’t a second date.

***