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The Balloon and the Truth

by @rowdykite

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60 chapters

~150 min read

**Back-of-book hook:** Ivy comes home early to find Hazel with a balloon pressed between her thighs, her body trembling in a way that was never meant to be seen—and in the raw, gutted silence that follows, two years of unspoken want and buried shame finally tear open. Hazel, still shaking, has to learn that Ivy’s steady gaze isn’t the prelude to mockery, and Ivy has to prove that knowing every quiet pop and shudder is the only intimacy she’s ever craved.

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MEET THE CHARACTERS

Ivy Chen

Late 20s. 5'6", slender with soft curves. Warm medium-brown skin, deep chestnut eyes behind wire-rimmed glasses she's always adjusting. Natural hair worn in a loose twist-out or tucked into a bun when she's focused. Full lips, a quiet smile that arrives slowly but changes a room. Hands always slightly ink-stained. Dresses in earth tones — oversized cardigans, high-waist trousers, worn-in boots.

Hazel Moreno

Late 20s. 5'4", soft and rounded with an unconscious physical confidence — she takes up space without meaning to. Fair skin that flushes easily, a scatter of freckles across the nose and collarbones. Eyes an uncommonly light hazel-green, expressive and quick. Auburn hair in loose waves, usually slightly dishevelled in an effortless way. Dresses in pastels and prints — flowy midi skirts, chunky knits, always something that moves when she does.

Zoe Francoeur

30 year old woman. Doesn't work as a cam girl anymore, she is married to Liam ad Chloe. Bisexual, her first experience with a girl was Chloe, and she remembers it fondly. Lives with Liam and Chloe in the same house. She is sharp and quick to think and act, if a bit impulsive. She felt a bit lonely, longing for a deep emotional relation. Determined, can be obsesive and a protective sometimes. She is from New Orleans. Works in computing, she is a good natured femme fatale hacker.

Chloe Hartwell

A radiant 30-year-old with honey-blonde waves that tumble past her shoulders and warm hazel eyes that sparkle with mischief. She is married to Nova and Liam rooms. She moves through their house hallway like she owns it, always carrying one or multiple balloons. showing them off without a hint of shame. Her laugh is bright and contagious, but there's a knowing glint in her eye when she catches her husband neighbor's ears turning pink, and she lingers just a second longer than necessary. She likes to do balloon animals and gifting them, and has talent doing them.

Liam Porter

Ivy, boss. A serious 30-year-old man with chestnut-brown hair that falls into his eyes and soft gray-blue eyes that dart away when caught staring. He lives with his wifes. He's lanky and unassuming, the kind of man who disappears inside crowded rooms, but his long fingers have a nervous, precise energy—especially when he's tying a balloon knot, or playing his guitar, in the privacy of his bedroom. His cheeks flush at the slightest provocation of his wifes, and he's learned to keep his head down, but his ears perk up at the unmistakable sound of latex stretching through their house.

Pebbles

Small call duck, weights less than two pounds, Hazel and Ivy adopted him after he found them seated in the park, and decided Hazel legs made a good napping spot. He is a good duck. He waddles around the house, jumps and quacks. He can fly a bit, and he always comes back to Hazel and Ivy.

Emilia Chen

Ivy little sister. Sofia's best friend. Likes to dress like Sofia so people think they are twins.

Sofia Moreno

Hazel little sister. Emilia's best friend. Likes to dress like Emilia so people think they are twins.

EXPLORE CHAPTERS

Barometric Pressure

The Ordinary Evening That Isn't Ivy comes home forty minutes earlier than expected. A work thing cancelled. She texts Hazel — no reply, which isn't unusual, Hazel loses her phone constantly. The flat

The Telling

Hazel leads Ivy to the living room, where a cluster of balloons floats against the ceiling. Hazel talks. Haltingly at first, then more. Ivy listens the way she listens to everything — fully, without i

The Shift

The transition from friendship to something else isn't a single moment. It's a series of small ones. Ivy moving slightly closer. Hazel noticing. The specific quality of silence that means something is

After

Short. Quiet. The two of them in the warm flat, the heating ticking, the windows fogged. Something permanently and irreversibly different. Hazel asks what Ivy would have done if she'd known sooner — a

Balloon Between Us

Hazel clothes start feeling opresive uncomfortable, but she lacks the courage to take them off herself. Ivy helps her doing soft caresses on her skin as she strips her of her clothing. Hazel once nake

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