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I’m single, straight and on the balcony of the house at the bottom of the cliff—the one with the Spanish roof. Just raise your arm if I can come down and say hi . I looked up, panicked, knowing immediately the home that was meant. The sunlight was strong, and for a second I couldn’t quite pick it out. Then something bright caught my eye, and I could just make out a man standing on the balcony. It was too far away to see much, but I could tell that he was smiling and had an arm raised, his golden hair catching the light like a jewel. Without thinking and despite my better instincts I raised my own arm. Then I stood there waiting, my heart pounding in my ears, while my future husband strolled down the beach toward me.

LUKE
•
    Though that Easter break was only four days it felt like forever, the warmth of the sun wrapping my memories in a kind of opiate haze. I’m not a sentimental man, but I often find myself remembering that holiday. On the last morning Cress left around dawn so she could make it to her shift. Though she was quiet, her departure woke Cary, who took one look at the becalmed lake and insisted the three of us head out for a ski. The sun hadn’t long been up by the time we got the boat in, and mist lingered on the water like guests reluctant to leave a good party. Kate had to be coaxed into the lake, grimacing as she lowered herself from the back of the boat.
    “Now remember,” Cary instructed as he lassoed the ski rope toward her, “weight on the back leg, then go with it. Okay?”
    Kate just nodded, teeth chattering as ripples lapped at her ski. Cary resumed his seat, looked back over his shoulder, then threw the throttle forward. Kate shot up from the foam, the ski wavering beneath her. For a moment it veered wildly toward the wake and I groaned to myself, sure she had lost it again. But with a monumental effort Kate centered her weight, dug in, then finally leaned back as if there had never been any problem. Her features relaxed and she let out a whoop, frightening the cormorants paddling for fish on the edge of the lake, the flapping of their black wings as they took flight sounding like applause. Cary grinned and gave her the thumbs-up.
    Kate made it around the lake then, growing in confidence, zigzagged back and forth across the wake, occasionally unsteady but always recovering. When her thin arms could finally hang on no longer she threw the rope in the air, making a quick curtsy on her ski before it sank beneath the water. We motored back to pick her up and found she was still smiling.
    “It all just clicked,” she said, thrilled, treading water as she pushed the ski toward me.
    “You did look pretty good out there,” I said as I plucked it from the lake, then extended my hand to help her into the boat.
    “Good? I looked fantastic!” Kate exulted. Then she took my hand, but instead of climbing into the boat she gave a sudden sharp tug. Not expecting it, I was pulled off my feet and headfirst into the water, hearing her laugh as I went under. When I came up coughing she was halfway up the ladder, still laughing. I made a lunge to pull her back in, but she was too quick, wriggling out of my grasp as she scrambled up the rungs to safety, giggling. And that was it—literally, I guess I fell for her. Maybe not immediately, but that was the start of it. For the rest of the day and all the way home in the backseat of Cary’s car I sat and tried not to think about the way Kate’s thighs had slipped through my hands, like mercury rising up a thermometer.

TIM
•
    I thought nothing Luke could do would ever surprise me, until the day he told me he was getting married. Don’t get me wrong—Cressida is a wonderful woman: intelligent, refined and undeniably beautiful, and I couldn’t fault his choice in any way. I actually even worried about her at first. I wondered how she’d cope when Luke’s interest flagged, and anticipated missing her when they broke up, as they were sure to do. When