Page 6 of For the Plot
That was until one night at a party after a few beers, he kissed me. And in traditional queer fashion, we moved in together a month later and stayed together for two years. We had parted amicably, but he was the one to end it, saying he felt held back by my complacency, that I never went after what I wanted. But when we were together, it had been a feeling unlike anything else.
Maybe that's what my problem was. I craved that feeling again, even more than the pleasure of sex itself. Not that it mattered, as I had no one in my life I felt that way about.
A flash of dark hair caught my eye again, and I looked up. The dark hair was gone, but the man at the counter was still devouring me with his eyes.
Fuck it, what could one more casual hookup hurt?
4
Nikki
Lunch - Billie Eilish
Thiswasaterribleidea. Why did I think listening toCollinsof all people was a good call? Oh, that’s right, because Iwas sick of feeling like an impostor. Sick of wondering what it really felt like, instead of just imagining it.
So here I was, freshly showered, natural waves behaving for once, make-up on and wearing my favorite going-out dress. You know that lemon milk maid dress that everyone and their mother seemed to own if you looked at social media? Yeah, the ads got me on that one, but for once it actually turned out well.
I took a sip of my drink and looked around the crowded bar around me. I debated going somewhere new, but in the end I opted for the comfort of The Sleepy Siren instead. I figure if I was trying to do something that terrified me, I should at least be in a place that felt safe. I hadn’t said hi to James yet, as he was too busy tending bar on the opposite side of the room.
Leaning back on the wall, I took a sip from my vodka apple juice I'd gotten from the other bartender on shift. The bar was a big U-shape leading from the back wall into the middle of the space. On my side, there were a few pool tables, a dart board further down the wall I was leaning on, and a long shuffleboard. On the other side of the bar, booths lined the wall while high tables were scattered the rest of the area.
The Sleepy Siren was packed tonight, all the tables and booths full, the bar itself almost completely hidden behind the people sitting or standing and waiting for their drinks. No one had paid me any mind, and I questioned whether this was a good idea or not. Did I really think I could just decide to go to a bar and get laid for the first time ever? As if I was suddenly going to stop being socially awkward around strangers and just hit up a random person.
It had been forty-five minutes now and I was just about ready to call it quits, my people-observing adventure enough excitement for one night. I pushed off the wall, slurping up the last dregs of my drink. Right as I went to set my glass down, someone bumped into me from behind. I stumbled forward, anoofescaping me as my stomach slammed into the edge of the bar.
Warm hands wrapped around my waist. “Whoa there.”
Shrugging out of their grip, I turned around ready to tell them off only to pull up short. The woman standing behind me was tall, with long golden-brown hair tumbling pin-straight over her light brown shoulders. The words dried up on my tongue as I took in her sparkling green eyes, which were currently looking me up and down.
The thing so many people didn’t realize about attraction was that there were different kinds. Romantic, sexual, aesthetic. Demisexual people may not experience sexual attraction without an emotional connection, but we sure as hell understood aesthetic attraction. And this woman was absolutely stunning. And if I wasn’t wrong, she was totally checking me out.
“How in the world did I missyou?” she murmured, biting her lip.
I had a choice here. Flirt back with the Amazonian goddess, or head home alone like I had planned.
“Can I buy you a drink?” The words were out of my mouth before I even decided. Well, I guess my brain decided for me. Or was it my vagina? For me, it was the idea of the act itself that tripped me up more than who my partner would be. Although, imagining her… I could feel my face beginning to heat up, and quickly tore my eyes away from hers.
I wasn’t even sure if she was actually interested. I needed to get a hold of myself.
“Only if I can buy you one, too.” My eyes whipped back up to hers as a small smile grew on her mouth.
“I think I would be OK with that.” We both turned back to the bar, shoulders brushing as I flagged down James’s coworker, Megan.I’m sure he’d be thrilled about that.The thought flitted across my mind, and I had to bite my lip to keep from laughing.Wait, why was I thinking about James?Get your head in the game, Nikki.
As Megan made our drinks, I turned to the woman. “So, what’s your name?” I asked, realizing that neither of us had even bothered to ask.
She chuckled self-deprecatingly. “ I guess we should have started with that, huh?”
“Hey, we got there eventually.” We both laughed, and she tucked a chunk of hair behind her ear, before looking down to me.
“Penny. Yours?”
“Nikki.”
“Nikki.” She said my name slowly, her eyes heating. “And what are you doing at a bar all alone Nikki?”
I raised a brow at her. “Are you not also alone?”
Penny threw a look over her shoulder to a group of women standing around one of the high tables, throwing covert looks at us. “I am not.”
