The Fireworks
Nicole Pyland2022

Aria Bancroft had been in love exactly one time. It didn’t go well, and ever since, she’s been floundering. Choosing sex over relationships and working as a freelance editor more to have something to do than anything else, worked for a time. But as her friends begin to couple off with their new girlfriends, Aria begins to wonder if she can ever feel that kind of love again.

London Carlson met a girl in high school and fell in love. After moving away, she tried to find that kind of connection with other women, but it was never the same. London focused on her friendships instead, and with two of those friends, she decided to open a bakery that happened to be in the same city where that long-lost love lived now.

It was July 4th, and Aria had just gotten back from Europe. She didn’t want to go to the annual fireworks display downtown, but her friends wouldn’t let her off the hook. Seeing the woman she’d only known as a teenager, shook Aria to her core, and she couldn’t believe the girl she’d once thought to be the love of her young life was standing right in front of her. Now that they’re both adults, can they put their past behind them and search for what could still be possible?