After we sat down on high stools by a small table, my date asked me what I wanted. I knew the establishment had great ‘prohibition-era cocktails,’ but I preferred my liquor straight. When I told her I was in the mood for tequila, she ordered the priciest bottle. “Really? I was thinking a few shots… That bottle costs like triple what I spent on dinner.”
“I know, but I’m overcompensating.” Her grin was undeniably charming. “Cassidy, I’m the one who asked you out… Which means you shouldn’t have paid for anything in the first place.”
I chuckled. “That’s kinda old-school, don’t you think? If I-” Hearing my phone’s text chime, I stopped talking. My eyes jumped to my purse. But I shook my head and looked at the brunette sitting across from me again. “What was I saying? Oh yeah, I-”
“Go on, check it,” she cut me off, still smiling. “I’m sure you’re dying to know if she texted you back…” Confused by the statement, I asked who ‘she’ was. “Whoever you’ve been thinking of this entire night.”
Guiltily, I sent her a tightlipped smile. What was wrong with me? She’d been nothing but amiable and attentive, while I’d been nothing but impolite and insensitive. “I haven’t been very good company. I’m sorry.”
“You have nothing to apologize for.” She waved her hand dismissively. “You’ve been a great date. A little distracted, sure… But don’t worry, I’m enjoying our time together.”
“Mm, I find that hard to believe.”
“Believe it because it’s true. I like talking to you and at the risk of speaking out of turn, I hope you know that you shouldn’t be stressing over someone not texting you back. Whoever she is, it’s her loss.” Before I could respond, our tequila arrived along with glasses and chasers. “Anyway, I’ll pour us some shots while you attend to your phone.”
Without looking, I reached inside my purse and silenced the disruptive gadget. I then raised my right hand. “I solemnly swear I’m not gonna touch my phone for the rest of our date… You have my undivided attention.”
“Yeah?” She said and I nodded, yes. “Lucky me then.”
. . .
After almost two hours of relaxed drinking and engaging conversations, a rowdy group had arrived. Their boisterous yelling had swiftly ruined the atmosphere. Making a split-second decision, I’d clarified to my date that our night would remain G-Rated then invited her to Apartment 202. It wasn’t very late and I was enjoying her company, so I’d figured why not keep things going..? Also, after five lonely nights in a row, I was keen to change things up.
“You’re a Scorpio, huh? That makes so much sense,” I tipsily told my date who shot me a bewildered look in response. We were both sitting on the navy-blue couch in the living room. Our halfway finished tequila bottle was on the coffee table. It was now also sporting a huge neon sticker of the speakeasy’s name to indicate that we’d paid for it. “Based on your work stories, you just seem really career-driven.”
“Thanks… I think?” She sounded confused but looked cute. “I’m clueless when it comes to all that star sign stuff. But if you’re a Pisces, are we-” Before she could finish her question, I heard something that stole my focus. Even with music playing, my ears picked up a very, very familiar noise coming from the corridor outside.
I turned my neck to face the front door and time slowed down. At a snail’s pace, the metal knob jiggled as it was unlocked then the wooden door creaked as it was opened. I blinked once, twice and then Gray was in view. She’d burst through the door, breathless. “Cass, I-”
The shock to her system rendered her mum and mute. However, her crushed expression was worth way more than a thousand words. She looked like she just took a kick in the teeth. Her expression betrayed how hurt she was.
Meanwhile, my eyes widened, my heart stopped, my stomach plummeted. No, no, no. She wasn’t supposed to be back until tomorrow. In an instant, it was as if someone dunked me in ice-cold water. I rapidly sobered up. My drunk vision instantaneously returned to its 20/20 default. “Gray, hi!” I squeaked out. “You’re home.”
Roughly quoting an old proverb, what the eyes didn’t see, the heart couldn’t grieve over. And believe me, if I’d thought there was even a minuscule, microscopic chance that Gray was coming home tonight, then I would’ve never put her in this situation. Yes, technically speaking, I knew I hadn’t done anything wrong… But I had enough emotional intelligence to discern that this situation was fucked up. Silently, I wished I had time travel powers like ‘Umbrella Academy’s Number Five,’ so I could change the past and avert this crisis.
It sounded ludicrous, but this horrid encounter felt so, so much worse than when she’d caught me filming porn.
“Yeah, uh, I- hey.” Hearing Gray’s uncharacteristic stuttering caused a sharp pang of pain to rush through me. Her blue eyes darted around. As they took in the scene, they seemingly got dimmer and dimmer. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have barged in.” Her apology was unnecessary. This was our home, so she could come and go as she pleased. “I just- I-” She cleared her throat. “I wanted to make sure you weren’t ‘working on a project.’ I texted and called, but I-”
“What the hell?” Blue Ranger demanded. Tonight, her rose gold hair was up in a messy bun. Carrying two duffel bags, she closed the door behind her. “I thought you really need to pee? You left your stuff with me and ran up here, but you’re just standing there like-” She stopped talking once she saw me and my companion. “Oh. Hello, Cass and Cass’ friend.” Unceremoniously dropping the bags, she hurriedly pulled Gray into a one-arm hug. What she said next was soft, but I was hyper-focused on them, so I still caught it. “Home sweet home, huh, kid?”
“Hey,” I chirped out. I waved shyly at the pair. It was painfully awkward, but I managed to make the necessary introductions. I then politely asked them to join us, but they declined… Well, Blue Ranger turned down the invitation for both of them since Gray headed to her room after shaking my date’s hand. My eyes were fixed on her until she closed her bedroom door. I dug my nails into the cushions, narrowly resisting the urge to run after her. “Is she okay?”
“She’s fine.” Blue Ranger smiled at me reassuringly. “The kid just had a long day. Like not exaggerating, we drove for more than twelve hours, so we’re ready to pass out. You two enjoy! Seriously, just pretend like we’re not here… Good night, guys!”
Once it was just me and my date, she filled two shot glasses to the brim and handed me one. I thanked her then knocked back the amber-colored liquid without flinching. Foregoing a chaser, I took the bottle and repeated the sequence. Then I did it a third time for science. I was drinking too much and too quickly. But I needed to anesthetize myself against the guilt that was gnawing on my insides. Tragically, although I swiftly went from numb to number then numbest, I didn’t stop feeling bad.
After an indefinite number of minutes wherein I was just dazedly staring at Gray’s shut door, my date kissed my cheek. Finally, I looked at her again and she smiled at me. “I get it now…” She stood up from the couch, but her brown eyes remained kind. “I was confused why someone with no tattoos was so interested in mine, but I figured it out. Well, thanks for tonight, Cassidy,” she told me amicably. “We have each other’s number… If it doesn’t work out between you two, maybe one day, ‘the star signs will align’ and we can try again.” She offered me her hand then helped me to my feet. “I’ll leave the tequila with you. It’s clear you need it more than I do.”
“Wait, no, I-”
“Based on what you told me, I know the sapphic world is new to you… But it’s not to me and there’s obviously something going on between you and your roommate,” she accurately concluded and my alcohol-tinted cheeks got warmer. “I don’t blame you, she’s a stunner.”
Sheepishly, I looked down and nodded in agreement. What she said was the gospel truth anyway, I couldn’t refute it. I let out a deep sigh and then smiled at her sincerely. “Thank you so, so much for tonight. You’ve been amazing and I loved hanging out with you.”
“Glad to hear that… And likewise,” she replied. At the door, she gave me a lingering hug. She then disappeared into the night. No question, she checked all the right boxes. Well-educated, well-spoken, well-mannered, well-dressed, well-connected, etc.
As soon as Gray reentered the frame though, wearing one sea-green sock and one mustard-yellow sock with three-stripe slides, my ‘perfect date’ faded into the background, along with the rest of the world.
. . .
The day after the incident, Blue Ranger ate a quick breakfast with us then left. Once she was out the door, I broached the uncomfortable topic with Gray at our dining table. Not wanting to prolong the inevitable, I jumped right in. “Nothing happened last night.”
Predictably, I didn’t get even a wink of sleep. So, in an attempt to make the most out of my distressing high-strung and anxious state, I’d ‘played lawyer’ for hours. I’d utilized my imagination to envision a hypothetical scenario wherein my roommate and I traded arguments and counterarguments. I’d come up with mitigating factors… With points meant to explain away what she’d walked into as nothing of importance. Like if push came to shove, I was even ready to plead not guilty by reason of temporary insanity in order to whitewash my wrongdoings.
“Yeah, sorry about that.” She sent an apologetic grin my way. Christ, even with how tense I was, her smile was still such a sight for sore eyes. “We didn’t mean to ‘clam-jam’ you.” I shot her a questioning look. “No cap, it’s the girl version of ‘cock-block.’ I know it sounds like I’m making that up, but it’s true… Google it.”