Aki
Roommates Alice and Gemma need a third roommate. Aki is everything they were looking for and more – he is clean, well-mannered, and easy to get along with. Alice invites him to be her yoga partner and gives him a spare yoga kit. During a yoga session Gemma arrives home with ex-roommate Penny who mistakes Aki for a girl. Gemma and Alice, amused by her misgendering, suggest Aki play Penny along. ——————————————————————————- The soft hum of conversation enveloped the cozy coffee shop, its warm, dimly lit interior a sanctuary from the brisk early autumn air outside. Although 27 Alice and Gemma still claimed 23, friends long before they became roommates, they sat across from each other at a small wooden table near the window, a pot of steaming oolong tea shared between them. They were a study in contrast, once people looked past slim and pretty. Alice with her long, almost blonde hair, radiated an aura of effortless elegance. Her delicate features and hazel eyes framed by long, dark...