A Seed Of Something Greater

Alexis Tae's chilling at home when Lumi Ray shows up with that look in her eye, dying to spill some big news. "Get your ass in here," Alexis grins, tugging her through the door. Turns out Alexis is the local historian and Lumi's the environmentalist raising hell to save the ancient tree out by the square. They've been tag-teaming city hall meetings, protest signs, all of it. Today Lumi's celebrating: she convinced the council to pump the brakes on chopping the damn thing down. "And I brought you this," she laughs, holding up a fresh sapling like a bottle of champagne. They head straight for the garden. Soil under their nails, sweat sticking their clothes to them, Alexis brushes a smudge of dirt from Lumi's cheek and their fingers linger. A second later a petal catches on Lumi's shirt; she yanks Alexis close by the hem, almost flashing skin, and they both laugh too loud, too close. The more they dig, the hotter the air feels between them. Finally the sapling's settled, roots packed tight. Alexis looks her square in the eye. "Party's not over," she says, nodding toward the house. "Get inside. We're gonna do this right."