“I like the Virginia Woolf reference,” Sidney said. “It’s only my second time here. I was expecting the place to look like a library.”
Kit laughed. “One of the owners taught college English in her past life, so that’s where the name comes from.” She crooked her head toward a poster of Virginia Woolf’s profile on the brick wall. Several artistic renditions of the famed author decorated the establishment, in places where one didn’t find the semi-nudes.
“I would have loved a place like this in Wyoming when I lived there.”
“Yeah?” Images of gorgeous women in tight blue jeans, bouncing in saddles as the horses they straddled galloped in some wide prairie, filled Kit’s mind. One rarely ran into country girls in town, and suddenly Kit pictured Sidney in a Stetson the color of her geektastic shoes.
Sidney in a cowgirl hat, stripped down to a Rubik-colored thong, straddled over her hips and bucking with one hand in the air…yee-haw.
“Not a big queer community there, I take it?”
Sidney shrugged and thanked the server when their drinks arrived. “Eh, it’s about the same as anywhere else in the country if you know where to look. Finding third spaces can be a challenge in rural areas, though.”
“Is that why you moved to Virginia?”
“I came here mainly to go to school. I wanted to live near a coast, too.” Sidney’s cheeks pinked and she looked away. “I won’t say Iwasn’tlooking. Oh, are you cold, too?” she asked when Kit folded her arms over her chest.
“I’ll be fine. The vodka’s good for warming me up,” Kit said, and sipped her drink. Her new co-worker didn’t need to know how Kit’s nipples tightened in response to her erotically rampant thoughts.
“I like how you think.”
Oh, if you only knew.Kit raised her martini glass. “Here’s to you, Sidney Campbell, and your new job.”
“Please, call me Sid. To many years of happy baking.”
They clinked glasses and Kit pondered the toast. How long did Sid expect to work the front register before hinting her desire for time in the kitchen? The idea that she might push Kit out of the way completely still niggled at her, but Kit really wanted to give Sid the benefit of the doubt. Anybody behind the service counter would outshine Gloria, and though Kit hated bearing bad news she actually looked forward to swinging that axe.
“Wow, I expected to pucker all night after the first sip, but this is really smooth.” Sid held up her glass and the opaque green liquid sort of glowed in the forefront of a twinkling fake palm. She licked away tiny crumbs from the graham cracker rim that stuck to her lower lip. “I wouldn’t think there was any liquor at all in here.”
Kit nodded. “They use real key lime juice, and marshmallow vodka with lots of cream. You have to watch who’s working the bar. Like tonight it’s Marie, and she’s notorious for fixing a drink that doesn’t hit you until much later.”
“Well, she’s amazing. It’s like I’m drinking a pie!” Sid took a deeper sip, taking in more martini than she probably should in a short time. “Damn, I can’t remember when I last had a good slice of Key Lime pie. I need to make one.”
“That sounds nice. Key lime isn’t a big flavor at Tish’s, though.” Kit figured they’d talk some shop tonight, and berated herself for the attempted negging. They weren’t competitors, and Sid had yet to work a full shift for Tish. Kit’s conflicting emotions, bouncing from searing attraction to Sid to paranoid caution, made her ache. She knew she ought to stay sober for their conversation, so she nursed her martini and changed the subject.
“You said this was your second time at the Den, right?” she asked. “I’m surprised you weren’t familiar with the drink specials. The staff here love newcomers. You get a whole orientation to the place if they don’t know you.”
Sid lowered her head, suddenly bashful. “I must have driven past here a hundred times since I started school, but never worked up the nerve to come in until a month ago. Up to that point, the closest I got was parking the car and unlocking the door. It was nighttime, and I guess I got spooked. Drove straight back to my apartment instead. This is my first actual visit where I set foot inside the place.”
Curious, but Kit wasn’t one to judge. She could claim similar experiences with other bars. At the Den, she felt safe. Hearing Sid’s story had her thinking they were alike in that respect, selectively out and comfortable with their privacy.
“Well, you picked the right night to come,” Kit told her. “Weekends are lit, but I suppose that’s true for any bar.”
“Yeah. That last time was a Monday, and the place looked dead anyway.”
That made sense. She rarely came to the Den on a work night, so she’d have missed seeing Sid. Kit didn’t like the idea of leaving her car in a sparse lot, either, in the off-chance somebody driving past might recognize it. Tonight, by good fortune, an SUV blocked the view of her compact car from the main road.
“Yeah, early weekdays skew an older crowd, and this place doesn’t really charge up until Thursday. What inspired you to come in tonight?” Whatever the reason, Sid’s presence lifted Kit’s spirits in the wake of Annalise’s absence.
“I wanted to celebrate getting the job.” Sid then leaned in very close. “I hoped to find somebody to party with, too,” she added.
Uh…Kit’s pulse quickened and she fixated on a small line of crumbs lining Sid’s lower lip. It wouldn’t take much to close the distance and kiss away a taste of pie-flavored vodka.
She blinked.Fuck, what am I doing?They would begin the new week as co-workers. Kit had to train her on the shop’s POS system and other procedures. Challenging to accomplish with the spectre of a flirty Saturday night lingering in her memory.
Sid’s eyes sparkled, rather glazed with her growing inebriation. That settled it for Kit. She couldn’t take advantage if the other woman had too much to drink.
Shecouldwait a while, order some appetizers, and make certain Sid consented to anything beyond a kiss with a clear head.Right.She was getting ahead of herself. Sid said she wanted to party, but didn’t specify with her.
