This story is part of Tagg After Dark, a sapphic erotica collection exclusively for readers 18+.
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Sitting across the tiny square table, Smyrna realized a few seconds too late just how wide her eyes had grown. What tipped her off was the smirk—those thin, shaped-like-a-bow, lightly tinted, faintly strawberry-scented lips curling up into that infuriating, gorgeous, maddening smirk.
Blushing because her face had revealed so much, Smyrna quickly readjusted her gaze, and assuming what she prayed was a composed expression, she tightly squeezed Gowry’s fingers, and then signaled to the sullen waiter for the bill.
Smyrna had met Gowry merely a day back. She’d been studying for an upcoming psychology test, and while reading through the behavioral traits of a pathological liar, had once again found herself dragged into a spiral of rage, instantly recognizing the patterns that she had willfully been blind to, all the while that her ex was sleeping around town.
Fighting back angry tears, she had snatched up her phone and opened Bumble, the dating app that her two closest friends had been encouraging her to abuse ever since the breakup. After all, who knew? Maybe there was some truth in all that talk about rebounds.
After a few inconsequential right swipes, there she was—dark-eyed, pixie-cut hair, thin-lipped Gowry. Smyrna, never having been big on first sight, was embarrassed at how hard her heart thumped when her “first move” was met almost instantly with, “Hotness should be a crime unless I get to devour it whole.”
And then, it was fire. Shot after shot, like an aggressive, hungry game of tennis was served. Within the hour, Smyrna was already imagining what those thin curling lips might feel like against her skin.
So, when Gowry threw a “How much more must I give away before you ask me out?” Smyrna’s stomach did three backflips before she responded, with the broadest grin plastered on her face, “Blue Steam Coffee House, 6pm. See you, beauty :)”
Eighteen hours later, she was looking into the devilishly beautiful face, forgetting to breathe.
Smyrna had reached the coffee shop 45 minutes early, after an hour long nervous video chat with her best friend Dani, who patiently witnessed the pre-date wardrobe crisis that Smyrna had thrown herself into.
So, when Gowry walked into the coffee shop on the dot, dressed in a casual Queen tee under a grey hoodie, Smyrna was both upset and horrifically aware of her asymmetrical skirt, white top, and large golden hoops. Did Gowry not think this was a date worth dressing for?
Swallowing her feelings and fretfully tugging at her hair to try and cover the hoops, Smyrna stood up, smiling at the woman whose name she had repeated in her head all night before falling asleep.
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Is Gowry as into this date as Smyrna is or is Smyrna set up for disappointment? Find out when part 2 drops on Sunday, January 12, 2025. Sign up for our weekly newsletter to be reminded when the newest installment is available. Or, you can access the entire story now when you become a Tagg Supporter. 
