"I got screwed," Olivia said." For four years Mr. B handed out A's like mints. The year I take the class? He decides to be a real professor."
"Mhm." Alison replied.
"Dude really made me read 800 page books for a D? My GPA can't take that, how am I supposed to explain that in a job interview?"
Alison looked up from the bar. "You won't have to, they don't really care about that."
Charlie walked past them, eyes looking down, not uttering a word. Olivia balled up her exam and shoved it in her oversized purse. She refused to use a backpack, she'd sooner be found dead than use them. "You still haven't talked to her."
Alison shook her head. She was going to. Last week, when she saw Charlie at a restaurant near campus, the same place she was meeting her tutor to discuss the never ending dread called: her final project. She was going to walk up to her and address the conversation they had, when she saw another woman sit down in front of Charlie. They didn't seem to know each other, but they were both smiling.
Alison didn't exactly plan to stick around after meeting her tutor but it took about fifteen seconds for her to find the bar, far enough from Charlie so she wouldn't notice and close enough to see them clearly, the woman had excused herself to go to the restroom it seemed, and Charlie was checking her makeup and hair through the front camera of her phone. Strange. Maybe she could work on the outlines of the project at the bar, Alison thought. What if Charlie got herself in trouble? She should stick around just in case. Alison angled her body to touch as few people as possible, she kept her head down and walked swiftly to the bar. Once there, she exhaled in relief, the bartender's face a stranger.
"Bourbon, neat." She said, setting her bag next to a stool and resting her arms on the bar. The guy - Jake, his name tag said - smiled and winked at her, then made a very large show of pouring her liquor into her glass from a height of about two feet.
She simply stared at him, tapped her dark green painted nails on the shiny bar top. He set her drink in front of her and leaned in. Floppy hair, trimmed beard, deep brown eyes. Probably cute to most girls.
"Thanks," she said, tossing it back. It burned all the way down, lighting her up in a way so familiar to her as paint on her fingers, maybe more.
"You from around here?" He asked.
She fought an eye roll.
"I'm not your type," she said.
His smile faltered. "No?"
"No."
"I think you might be."
She tapped her glass for a refill, and he obliged with even more showmanship than before, flipping the glass and the bottle in the air. Oh, how she wished he'd drop them. When he gave her the drink, he lingered, eyes on hers expectantly. She sipped her bourbon more slowly this time, staring at him down with a look that could blow a hole through the wall, in hopes he'd scamper off.
He didn't.
"Listen buddy, you're type is a pretty, little girl, hoping to be swept off her feet by how charming you are or how cool you can make pouring bourbon onto a glass look. I, on the other hand, think it's a little pathetic how you think you can impress me with a cheap trick and hope it'll get me in bed. So turn around and only come back when you see my glass is empty."
She heard a familiar laugh from across the room. Charlie's no doubt. The woman was back from the restroom, she looked... Like she was touching up her makeup as well.
Wait a minute, Alison thought. She reached for her phone, almost dropping it to the floor, and called Olivia.
She didn't pick up.
Olivia: In class. What's up?
Alison: SOS
It didn't take more than a few seconds for Olivia to call her back.
"What's going on? Are you ok?"
"I think Charlie's on a date."
There was a second too long of silence on the other end. "So? She's been on a couple dates lately."
"No, Liv... She's on a date with a woman."
"WHAT?" Alison had to pull her phone away from her ear a little. "With who? Where are you?"
"I'm at Angelo's, I was discussing my project with my tutor when I saw her having lunch with this woman. I didn't think much of it at first, but then I looked closer and I don't know, she seems nervous, she was checking her makeup, she was laughing in this- stupid romantic comedy way."
"Who's the other woman?"
"I don't know, but she looks older."
"Ew, Charlie."
Alison let out a breath. "Not in that way, like late 20s or early 30s older."
"Try to take a picture and send it to me."
Alison took the picture and sent it to Olivia.
"She seems familiar," Olivia thought out loud. "Wait, she's the woman who did the interview, for the New York Times job."
"How do you know?"
"Because Matthew told me and then I helped him stalk her to see if they had already picked a candidate because Charlie was stressing about not hearing from them."
Alison let out a breath. "So they're not on a date? It's a job meeting."
"Would it make you feel better if it was?"
Alison chuckled. "I don't care."
"Then why did you call me?"
"Because you like gossip."
Olivia sighed. "It's amazing how easy it is for you to erase what you don't want to accept.
"Yeah, well, I'm amazing in every single way..." There was silence, once more. Alison wanted to press on the subject, she wouldn't admit it, but she did want confirmation from her best friend that the encounter didn't seem like a date and was just a job thing. Luckily she didn't have to ask the question twice.
"Al, I don't know, if it was just about the job she could've just received a call or an email. But they're having dinner at a restaurant and laughing about stuff and she had a gay flag on her bio. It looks like a date |||to me."
Her heart dropped to her stomach.
"Maybe she's exploring this side of her. If she could develop feelings for you maybe it's worth a shot to see if it happens with other women."
"So," Johanna said, then lowered her eyes, lashed fanning her cheeks, lips curving into the tiniest of smiles. She tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear and took a deep breath. "What else are you good at apart from writing?"
Charlie lifted a brow. Was she...? Yeah, she was. "I... Uh, well..."
Johanna giggled. "You don't have to be nervous, I'm not interviewing you anymore."
"You're not?"
The woman sipped her glass of wine and shook her head slowly. "You got the job already."
Charlie smiled. She watched Johanna for a beat. She could tell her. She should tell her that she is getting all of this wrong and that she wasn't into women.
Or.
She could flirt with this gorgeous woman - maybe even more than flirt - and see what happened. There was nobody around to judge her and Johanna was clearly attracted to her. She wouldn't be sitting here right now, lashes fluttering, if she wasn't. A thrill ran through her body at the thought of Alison though, but she quickly brushed it aside. Johanna seemed like the type of woman who knew what she wanted and wasn't afraid to admit it, unlike other people.
"Right," Charlie said. "Then why are we here? I already got the job, you said as much when you called."
Johanna smirked and lowered her voice. "I did," she brushed the wine glass aside so there was nothing between them. "Maybe I wanted to buy you a drink to congratulate you."
Charlie nearly cackled, she was nervous. Never in her life had she flirted with another woman like that. Not in the way you flirt with someone who wants the same outcome as you.
"So can I buy you another drink?"
Charlie leaned closer, her knee was now brushing Johanna's, the woman simply looked at Charlie and lifted a brow. "Good."
Alison wanted earth to swallow her whole. Why did she even consider staying?
"What's going on, update me." Olivia said over the phone, accepting her fate that she wouldn't be going back to class any time soon.
"They're flirting... Like hard core, flirting."
"Hmm," Johanna said, resting her chin in her palm. "That's quite the predicament."
Charlie laughed again. "You're not going to help me out?"
"I haven't decided yet."
"Well, I'd appreciate you throwing me a bone. I'm not very good at this."
"Good at what?" Johanna asked.
"Flirting with a woman."
Johanna made her eyes dramatically wide. "This is you flirting?"
"Oh god," Charlie said, dropping her head into her hands.
"I'm kidding," Johanna said, taking a sip of wine. "When did you find out you liked women?"
Charlie chuckled. "Uh... Recently."
"Well you're lucky I'm not one of those straight-confused girls. I'd recommend skipping that part."
Charlie took a big gulp of her drink. "Will do."
"I can..." She trailed off and leaned in until her mouth was right next to Charlie's ear. "Teach you a couple things, flirting amongst them."
Johanna whispered, releasing the words slowly while her bottom lip brushed the shell of Charlie's ear. The brunette pulled back, her dark eyes all pupils now. "That's very good to know."
"Isn't it?"
"Al, I think Charlie is gay, gay," Olivia said over the phone after her friend described the scene she just witnessed. Alison meanwhile was white as a sheet of paper.
But before she could reply, a familiar voice cut through the faint music and her best friend's voice. At the sound of her name, Alison's head swung toward the voice. A blonde guy stood about five feet away.
"Alison Hayes." Oh no, that was the guy from the other night, the older guy, what was his name? Trevor? Tristan... "Tom Astor, from the art show, remember?"
"Liv I'll call you back later." She said.
"I live a few blocks from here, if you're free we could continue this very interesting conversation back in my place." Johanna said to Charlie.
Alison forced a smile. "What are you doing here?"
"I was looking for a place to have dinner. Care to join me? Last time I didn't even get a chance to buy you breakfast before you were gone."
Charlie finished her drink while Johanna paid for everything. They both stood up and headed to the exit.
Alison shook her head, it was hard to think, all she could see in her mind was this image of Charlie and whoever that woman was. She turned her head to see if they were still flirting but didn't see them. She panicked. Fuck.
Charlie was following Johanna through the tables while holding her hand when her eyes landed on Alison.
"Or we can go to my place, I'm guessing you want your underwear back." She heard a blonde man say to Alison and stopped dead in her tracks. Johanna turned around, Alison's gaze landed on Charlie and Tom followed her line of gaze, his eyes landing on a familiar face.
"Jo?" Tom said.
Johanna smiled but didn't let go of Charlie's hand, Alison picked up on it and when she lifted her eyes back to Charlie, the brunette looked down and let go of Johanna's hand.
The woman didn't notice though, because she was walking towards Tom. "Tommy!"
"How are you?"
Johanna smiled. "Good, it's been a while. Sorry, this is Charlie, Charlie this is Tom, my least favorite friend."
Tom smiled. "That's what she keeps saying..." He turned to Charlie as if he wanted to tell her a secret, "I still don't believe her, though."
"Shut up." Johanna said.
"Oh, this is Alison," he said gesturing to the blonde.
Johanna extended her hand and Alison had to pull herself together to stand up from the bar and shake it. Then her gaze landed on Charlie, their eyes locked on each other.
"Hi Charlie."