Work Text:
Alex Danvers walked into her favourite bar and, as was her custom after a day of staring into microscopes and fussing with test tubes, petri dishes and pipettes, she went up to the counter and ordered herself a bottle of beer.
“I’ll have that for you in a sec, Alex,” said Michelle, the cute bartender, as she finished up a mixed drink for another customer.
Alex nodded and leaned back against the bar on her elbows, gazing out at the rest of the patrons. Some sat alone at the bar, some were talking at tables with others, while still others played darts or pool.
She raised an eyebrow as she spotted a new face who was playing pool by herself. As a regular, Alex knew virtually everyone who came into the bar and most everyone knew her, too. She definitely would have noticed the woman before.
“Beer’s up,” the bartender said, cheerfully.
“Thanks,” Alex said. She turned around and thumbed for the cost of the drink and a generous tip before grabbing the cold bottle in her right hand and turning back around. The gorgeous woman was still there, studying her next move, no doubt. Her long, dark brown hair cascaded down to her shoulders in large waves. Alex took a swig of her beer, eyes never leaving the other woman. She was slender, wearing dark blue jeans that could have been painted on for all they left to the imagination, with a white button-up shirt, its sleeves rolled up to her elbows. It contrasted nicely against her olive skin. Alex nodded in appreciation. She took another swig of her beer and pushed herself off the bar towards the vision of loveliness.
The woman had just missed a shot.
“Shit,” she muttered.
“Not enough spin,” Alex said, approaching.
She looked up from the table. “Excuse me?”
“Not enough spin,” she repeated, gesturing to the table with her bottle of beer. “That’s why the shot didn’t go in.”
“Oh, you think you can do better?” she challenged.
Alex snorted. “In my sleep.”
“Prove it,” she said, picking up the cue ball and placing it back where it had been before she’d missed her shot. She held out her cue stick.
“What do I get for my trouble?” she teased, putting down her beer and shrugging out of her leather jacket, placing it on a nearby stool.
“If you sink it? Which I doubt you will?” she smirked. “A drink, on me.”
Alex smirked right back, letting her eyes rove over the other woman, making sure she understood her double entendre. “Deal.” She relished in the initial sparks between them. This was going to be fun. She took a moment to roll the sleeves of her own jean shirt over her elbows before taking the proffered stick.
She leaned down and lined up her shot. One, two, three practice strokes and then she let the stick impact the cue ball, sending it down the table, spinning at the right angle to rebound properly and knock the five-ball into the side pocket. She straightened and leaned on the cue stick. “Satisfied?” she asked.
“I suppose so,” sighed the other woman. “What do you want for a drink? Another beer?”
Alex shrugged. “What are you having?”
“Scotch.”
“Scotch sounds good.”
She looked at her and folded her arms across her chest. “Not a cheap date, are you? One scotch coming right up.”
“Make it a double,” she said, grinning.
The other woman rolled her eyes and headed over to the bar.
The night seemed quite promising. The beautiful woman was buying her a drink and was clearly aware of Alex’s interest. Not only that, but she seemed receptive to Alex’s advances, as most women did. Even the straightish ones. Alex took a mouthful of her beer and smirked, remembering how scandalized the woman she’d bedded the previous weekend had been… until she had begged for more. She didn’t make it a habit of sleeping with straight girls, but she did seem to attract a lot of them, all things considered. She looked over her shoulder towards the bar. Was this one straight? She shrugged, turning back to the table. It wasn’t her problem. Straight, gay, somewhere in between, it didn’t matter. All that mattered was the time they spent together in bed. Or on a countertop. Or against a wall. Or in a public bathroom. And then, it was done, no muss, no fuss. On the extremely rare occasion, Alex would see a woman more than once, but only if the sex was truly incredible. She’d long ago decided she simply wasn’t wired for intimacy, not the real kind. She’d sleep with the entire female population of National City, and was well on her way to doing so, but a relationship? She chuckled to herself. No way was Alex Danvers the relationship kind.
She couldn’t complain, either. It was a fun life. She had a good time, all told. She had another swig of beer. And, if the woman was, in fact, interested in Alex, tonight could be a good time, too.
She arrived a moment later, with two tumblers. She placed one by Alex. “One double scotch, as requested.”
“Thanks,” she said, abandoning her beer for the scotch immediately. “What should we toast to?” Alex asked. It was a standard line of hers, but she enjoyed using it to see what others were hopeful about or grateful for in their lives.
The other woman shrugged. “Don’t really have much to toast, to be honest,” she admitted.
“Oh?” Alex asked, interestedly.
The woman sighed and looked down at her glass. “My, uh, my girlfriend broke up with me last week.”
Alex only barely kept the smirk off her face, sensing her chances with this exquisite woman had gone way up. “Maybe it was just a fight?” she tried.
She gave a weak laugh. “Well, she said I was hard-headed, insensitive, obsessed with work…”
“Well, that’s not so bad.” Alex had certainly been called worse things.
“Also borderline sociopathic and, uh, she never wants to see me again, so I’m pretty sure it’s over.”
“Well,” Alex said, nodding in understanding, “her loss.” She smiled brilliantly at the other woman. “To celebrating singledom,” she said, raising her glass.
That got a smile from the other woman and Alex knew she was in trouble as soon as the dimples appeared. “To celebrating singledom,” she repeated, clinking her glass against Alex’s and maintaining eye contact. They both took a mouthful and swallowed, still gazing into each other’s eyes.
“The bartender warned me about you, by the way,” she offered, breaking the silence.
Alex grinned. “What did Michelle say?”
“Just I might want to be careful around you.”
“That’s it?”
She smiled, her dimples showing again. “And that you’ve slept with every woman in this bar.”
Alex looked around and considered. “Well, she’s got a point,” she admitted. “Though not every woman, obviously,” she said, her voice low, the implication clear.
She twitched her lips into a small smile. “Funny. That’s what I said.”
Alex took another sip of her scotch and considered her next move in the ridiculous game of assessing people’s interest. Game. Of course, she thought to herself. “Wanna play?” she offered, pointing to the table with her chin and picking up the cue stick.
“I think you’ve already shown me that you’re way out of my league.”
Alex smirked. “Come on. I’ll go easy on you.”
She rubbed the long, elegant fingers of her right hand lightly across her chin, evidently pondering the offer. “Stakes?”
“Twenty dollarpounds?”
She scoffed.
“Well, what would you like to play for?”
“I want to know your name. It’s probably the one thing the bartender didn’t tell me about you.”
Her left eyebrow lifted with interest. “And if I win?”
She took a step forward and pulled her cue stick back from Alex. “Whatever you like,” she said with a seductive smile, tilting her head to the side.
Alex let go of the stick. “Deal.” Her mouth had gone dry. She took another mouthful of scotch before fetching her own cue stick. This was one game she wasn’t going to lose.
Less than fifteen minutes later, Alex watched the other woman sink the eight-ball and win the game. “Rematch,” she said, instantly, “double or nothing.” She hadn’t gone easy at all. She’d played her level best and still lost.
“Don’t tell me you’re not a woman of your word.” It was tinged with disappointment.
She rolled her eyes and acquiesced. “Danvers, Alex Danvers.”
“Pleased to meet you, Danvers, Alex Danvers,” she smiled, extending her hand.
She grinned. “Likewise.” She took her hand in her own, enjoying the warmth of it, the softness of her skin. “And you are?”
“Maggie Sawyer.”
They continued shaking hands well beyond what was necessary or even socially appropriate, but neither seemed to care. “Has anyone ever told you, Maggie, that you are absolutely gorgeous?”
“My, my,” she chuckled, “aren’t we forward?”
“I’m told it’s part of my charm.”
“Oh, really? You think you’re charming?” Maggie’s eyes sparkled with mirth.
“Doesn’t matter what I think.” They were still loosely holding hands and Alex pulled Maggie’s hand up with both of hers and placed a gentle kiss on the inside of her wrist. “You tell me.”
Maggie inhaled sharply. “You know what you are, Danvers?”
Alex smiled and stepped closer to Maggie, enjoying the electricity crackling between them. “What’s that?”
“Sexy as hell.”
She gazed longingly at Maggie’s lips and started to lean in. But Maggie pulled back.
“What’s wrong?” Alex asked, somewhat disappointed.
Maggie picked up her abandoned cue stick. “I won the last game. You don’t think I’m gonna make you earn it?”
Alex narrowed her eyes and found her stick. She started chalking the tip, methodically. “Stakes?”
“If I win, you have to honestly answer three questions of mine.”
“And if I win?”
She smirked. “Anything you want.”
“Deal,” she said, before downing the rest of her scotch. There was no way Maggie was going to beat her again.
The second match was a much closer affair but ended the same way. Maggie managed to sink the eight after Alex had missed.
“I’m going to need another drink,” she muttered. “Another double scotch?” she asked.
Maggie nodded. “I’ll be waiting here. Coming up with my questions.”
Alex made a face at her and headed back to the bar. “Two double scotches,” she ordered. “And Michelle?”
“Hm?” The bartender was already pulling out two tumblers.
“You don’t need to warn people about me,” she chided. “Have you ever heard anyone complain about spending the night with me?” She scoffed. “Hell, you had no complaints.”
“No, the sex was spectacular,” she admitted, “but it’s the fact you typically vanish after an amazing night that causes the girls to cry.” Michelle poured the drinks and placed them on the bar. “And then they come in here and they cry to me about it.”
“So you’re saying I’m good for business?” Alex joked.
Michelle rolled her eyes. “Just because I didn’t cry into my beer doesn’t mean it didn’t suck when you didn’t text or holochat me back after you seduced me, Alex.” She held out the pad for Alex’s thumbprint.
Alex pressed her thumb on it firmly. “You know I’m not the settling type.”
“Now I do,” Michelle retorted. “Be nice to this one.”
Alex rolled her eyes and grabbed the glasses. “Yes, dear.” The sarcasm in her tone was evident and Michelle moved on to serving another customer.
She walked back and handed one of the glasses to Maggie, who was sitting on one of the stools at the small nearby table.
“What should we toast to?” she asked as Alex climbed on to her own stool.
Alex smirked. “A promising evening.” She clinked her glass against Maggie’s. “One question down, two to go.”
Maggie paused in mid-sip and swallowed the drink. She looked up at Alex, narrowing her eyes. “So it’s gonna be like that, is it?”
Alex shrugged. “It was a question. I answered it honestly.” She took a mouthful of the alcohol. “Go on, ask me number two.”
“Well, I would have given you a soft one, but you’ve left me no choice by stealing one of my questions,” she said, after sipping at her scotch. “So it’s straight into a hard one.”
“Go for it.”
“Why do you hide behind your looks and brains and not let people get a look at what’s behind this, admittedly beautiful, façade?”
She managed to swallow the scotch in her mouth. “Wow. You weren’t kidding.”
“I was planning on asking about your family or something easy. But you stole one of my questions.” She gave a slight shrug.
She sighed. “I… I don’t get close to people,” she said, flatly. “Connections with other people… they’re stupid. Overblown.”
“Mm hmm,” Maggie hummed in response. “Not so sure that you’ve fully answered my question, Danvers.”
She rolled her eyes. “And it lets you get hurt, okay?”
“That’s what I thought.” There was a pause. “I’m not going to ask who hurt you.”
“Well, forcing me to answer that as the last question is the only way you’ll ever learn the answer, so…” She threw back the last of her scotch. “Next question.”
Maggie steepled her fingers in front of her face and narrowed her eyes. “If we sleep together tonight, what assurances do I have that you’ll contact me ever again?”
She snorted. “That’s an easy question. You have none.”
She raised an eyebrow. “And you’re gonna admit that?”
“Why not? I don’t usually text, almost never holochat anyone, rarely see the same woman twice…” She shrugged. “This is who I am,” she said. “And if no-strings-attached isn’t your thing, Sawyer, you tell me now and I’ll find someone else to take to bed tonight. But…” She paused and smirked. “I think you want me. And I think you’re just weighing the possibility of me being a one-night thing against your own personal code of ethics.” She bit her lower lip and looked at Maggie’s again. “Because you want me that badly, even though you don’t do the whole casual sex thing.”
It was a guess, but Maggie swallowed and Alex knew she’d hit a nerve. “Another match?” she offered, easily.
“Stakes?” Maggie asked, reaching for her cue stick. Alex noticed that her hands were trembling slightly.
“If I win… anything I want.” She took the opportunity to rake her eyes across Maggie’s body.
“If I win, I get three more questions.” She paused. “Four. To make up for the question you stole from me.”
She laughed. “Fine.”
From the start, Alex’s luck had changed. She sank shot after shot. Maggie had four balls on the table to Alex’s one, then she sank the eleven, leaving the eight as her last ball. The eight was, unfortunately, hidden behind the two, one of Maggie’s remaining balls, so Alex attempted a trick shot and managed to touch the eight with the cue, but hadn’t been able to move it much or been able to make a real attempt on a shot.
“You’re up,” she said, stepping around Maggie, taking her time as she brushed past her in the close quarters.
Maggie inhaled and Alex smiled, slowing down as her thigh grazed Maggie’s ass as she moved past her. She was certain that Maggie wanted her just as badly as she wanted Maggie. It was silly that they were even still playing pool. In her mind’s eye, Alex saw herself pick Maggie up and lay her down on the table and … She took a breath and shook her head, trying to clear her mind of the erotic imagery. It wasn’t going to help her concentrate on the game.
Maggie was doing a good job of clearing out the table, except for the two, which was still touching the eight. She took a very soft shot that placed the cue up against the two, opposite the eight, along the side rail.
“Come on,” Alex grumbled, “really?”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about, Danvers,” she grinned, clearly proud of herself.
Frustrated, Alex tried a bank shot, which allowed her to finally separate the two from the eight, but she didn’t end up sinking her ball. Worse, it led to an easy sinking of the two, followed by yet another victory by Maggie.
“More drinks,” Alex muttered and returned to the bar again, getting another two doubles. She was definitely beyond tipsy and had started to think that perhaps pool wasn’t such a good plan anymore.
She returned and, this time, Maggie had learned not to ask what to toast to.
“Go ahead and ask,” she said, sitting on her stool, taking a sip.
“At the risk of not spending the night together,” she began, “tell me who hurt you.”
Alex sighed, lowering her gaze to her drink. “My dad died.” She held up her hand, forestalling any empty condolences, any stupid words of sympathy. “I’ve heard it all before. Don’t. Please.” She sighed again. “I was fifteen. He died. It was kind of my fault, and yes I’ve been to therapy and no, the gendarme didn’t hold me responsible, but it was still kind of my fault and I know it and when he died, my mother and I were never the same.” She took a healthy drink. “She blamed — no, she still blames me. As she should.” She paused for a moment, waiting for the inevitable platitudes. To her surprise, none came. “Next question.”
But Maggie didn’t ask another question. Alex frowned and forced her eyes from the amber liquid to look up at Maggie. Her brown eyes were shining, she was biting her lower lip and a couple of tears had escaped.
“What?”
Maggie shook her head. “It’s nothing.”
“What?” Alex asked, her voice stronger, angrier. She wasn’t there to be pitied, she was there to get laid. She was only playing this ridiculous game of cat and mouse because this Maggie person was insanely gorgeous and Alex had decided within ten seconds of seeing her that she had to find out what she sounded like when she came.
“I’m just… sorry,” she said, gently. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean…”
She exhaled, releasing the tension that had collected in her jaw, in her neck, at the thought that Maggie was pitying her. “It’s fine. Go on. Next question.”
Maggie sniffled and dabbed at her tears with one of the cocktail napkins. “Sorry,” she said, gently. And, for a moment, Alex believed that she was, genuinely, sorry. For bringing it up, at least, if not for what had happened so many years ago.
She nodded, giving Maggie just a smidgen of acknowledgment.
“Okay. Next question should be easier. How did you know you were gay?”
Alex laughed, a true, pure laugh. “Oh God,” she chuckled. “Her name was Vicki Donahue and she was the most beautiful girl I’d ever known.”
Maggie smiled. “You gotta give me more than that.”
“We were best friends in high school. Inseparable. Sleepovers all the time. Just… you know, one of those friends? You see each other and talk and giggle for hours and then you go home and call each other up and talk for hours all over again? Into the early morning?”
Maggie nodded.
“That was us. We were always together. And even though I knew Vicki adored me… I felt this…” She paused, trying to find the right word. “Imbalance. There was an imbalance. She was my best friend and I was hers and she gave me all her attention, but something… something was missing.”
Another nod, one of recognition. What Alex was saying resonated with Maggie.
“I loved sleeping over at her house. In her room.” She exhaled, slowly. “In her bed.” She paused. “So, yeah, Vicki Donahue is how I knew. And when I told her, she, uh… Well, she freaked out. We got over it, eventually, but things were different after that.” She shrugged. “She married a guy a couple of years ago. I was part of the ceremony. It was fine. Happy for her.”
Maggie nodded a third time. “Eliza Wilke was mine. We kissed after the big Valentine’s Day dance, which we attended. Together.” She smiled, her dimples coming out once more. She held out her glass. “To Vicki and Eliza.”
Alex smiled. “To Vicki and Eliza,” she said, clinking again. She downed the rest of her drink. “Next question.”
Maggie gazed at her. “I’m going to give you my question.” She held up a finger as Alex grinned. “Nothing about sex.”
She rolled her eyes. “Boring.”
Maggie smiled, her eyes twinkling. “Ask.”
“Why are you so curious about me?”
She nodded. “Good one, good one.” She took a sip of her drink, clearly considering her words.
Alex leaned forward in anticipation of her answer.
“You intrigue me. I mean, you’re sexy, you’re smart, you’ve got a sense of humour…” Maggie propped her elbow up on the table and rested her chin in her palm. “You’re complica—. No, you know what? You’re not complicated, you’re complex.”
“Is there really a difference?” Alex chuckled.
She nodded. “There’s a negative connotation with complicated. Complex… complex is something you could really sink your teeth into.”
Alex raised an eyebrow.
“Take that as you will.”
“Oh, you know exactly how I took that,” Alex smiled. “All right, you have one question left, Sawyer. What’s it gonna be?”
Maggie folded her arms in front of her, resting on the table. “Are you enjoying talking with me, or are you counting down the minutes to when I either lose a game of pool to you or lose my patience and beg you to take me to bed?”
She threw her head back and laughed. “You’re funny, Sawyer. I like it.”
“Yeah?” she asked, tilting her head.
“Yeah,” Alex nodded. She considered. “I’m enjoying our conversation.” She looked into Maggie’s eyes. “But, make no mistake about it. I’m also dying to get you into my bed and make you scream my name,” she leered.
“One more game,” Maggie said.
“Oh God. Stakes?”
“If I win… I want to go out with you. Like, on a proper date. You pick me up, we wear something nice, we go to a fancy restaurant, we have dessert and then, maybe, if all goes well, we finish up the date at my place.”
Alex looked at her. “Seriously?”
“Seriously.”
“And if I win?”
“Whatever you want.”
She folded her arms across her chest. “You in my bed tonight?”
“I’d certainly be willing,” Maggie admitted. “But I’d rather this not end tomorrow morning.” She extended a delicate finger and lightly stroked Alex’s bare forearm. “I’d rather see where this could go.”
Emboldened by the physical contact, Alex smirked. “And you just don’t want to admit that, for me, at least, you could be a no-strings-attached kind of lady. For a night.”
She smiled, dimples showing. “There might be a bit of truth to that,” she confessed. “I do want you, Danvers,” she confirmed. “But not just for a single night.” She stood and grabbed her pool cue. “So do we have a deal?”
Alex rubbed her face with her hand. “Deal,” she agreed, hoping the pool gods were looking down on her for at least one game that evening.
Maggie broke and sank the four, but couldn’t sink anything else, so Alex sank the one and was solids, already two balls ahead. She was definitely a little drunk and probably should have had something to eat with all the scotch. And some water, too. Still, she tried to take her time and focus. Back and forth they went, alternating sinking balls, missing key shots. It came down to the very last ball. Both of them had tried, and failed, to sink the eight. It was Alex’s turn again and she studied the angle as she carefully chalked the tip of her cue.
“Hey, Danvers?”
She looked up. “Yeah?”
“Regardless of who wins,” she said, knitting her fingers together a little nervously, “I’ve had fun with you tonight.”
Alex smiled. “Me too.” She paused. “Not as much fun as we’ll be having in like, oh, twenty minutes, though.”
Maggie laughed. “As if. I’m going to win.”
“Sounding awfully confident there, Sawyer.”
“You haven’t won a game all night,” she pointed out, mildly.
“Yeah, but losing has never meant doing that whole dating thing.” She made a face.
Maggie laughed, her dimples coming out. “Sure, make it sound like a death sentence, why don’t you?”
“I just don’t understand why you want to prolong things. Do you think you can change my mind about dating and relationships with one date?” Alex scoffed.
“I’m pretty sure I could change your mind about me in one date, show you that I’m more than another of your conquests.”
With false bravado, Alex smirked. “Pfft. You’re just a notch on my belt. Wanna take it off?” she asked, raising her shirt high enough to expose her waist, her belt, and, of course, a good portion of her flat stomach.
“I’d be insulted if you weren’t so damn sexy, Danvers,” she replied, gazing at the expanse of revealed skin.
She kept her smirk on her face as she dropped her shirt back in place, only letting it fall once she leaned over the table to take aim at the cue ball. The funny thing was she really had been enjoying her evening with Maggie. They’d been playing with their chemistry all night long, teasing one another. It was clear they’d sleep together, at some point. They both wanted the other. Alex found herself wondering what, exactly, would be the harm in having more of this whole “talking” thing before they fell into bed and had what would probably be exquisite sex together?
Alex thought some more about the situation. Then she considered the angle of the balls on the table. “Eight ball, far right corner,” she called. She carefully took a few practice strokes and then finally let the cue stick connect with the cue ball. It hurtled towards the eight, sinking it easily, but rebounded hard off the rail and, to Maggie’s extreme surprise, fell into the corner pocket opposite the eight. Alex had scratched.
“Oh shit!” Maggie laughed. “I win!”
With an exaggerated sigh, Alex straightened, leaving the cue stick on the table. “Guess you do,” she agreed.
“How’s tomorrow for dinner?” Maggie asked, still gleeful. She dropped her cue on the table as well.
“Fine,” Alex said.
“Great. Pick me up at 7. And wear something nice,” she said. “You do own something nice, don’t you?”
“I do,” she laughed.
“Good.” Maggie slid her cellular device out of the back pocket of her jeans and tapped a button to send her address and number to Alex’s.
Alex pulled her device out of her jacket and accepted the information. She looked up at Maggie. “You sure I can’t convince you to come back to my place tonight?” She gazed at Maggie’s lips.
Maggie pulled her jacket on and tucked her device into the interior pocket. “Tomorrow night, Danvers,” she promised. With that, she closed the distance between them and gazed up at Alex’s lips. Alex could feel the chemistry, the heat between them. She swallowed, resisting every instinct that was telling her to just gather Maggie into her arms and kiss her senseless.
Maggie slid her arms up around Alex’s shoulders and linked her fingers at the back of her neck, while Alex slipped her hands to Maggie’s waist. She slowly pulled Alex down to meet her lips. Their eyes closed. And then… contact. Alex felt herself start to respond, but she held back, letting Maggie take the lead. She kissed Alex gently, once, twice, three times, before running her tongue softly across Alex’s lower lip and then sucking lightly on it, before pulling away.
“Just an appetizer for tomorrow night,” she whispered, opening her eyes.
Alex opened her own eyes and gazed deeply into Maggie’s. “Can’t wait,” she breathed.
Maggie pulled away and Alex reluctantly let her go. “Can I walk you home?”
“Not a chance,” she chuckled.
“Can’t blame a girl for trying.”
Maggie nodded, smiling, her dimples on display once more. “Goodnight, Danvers.”
“Goodnight, Sawyer.” She watched as Maggie left. She touched her fingers to her lips, still feeling the ghostly presence of the other woman’s lips on hers.
Fuck, did she ever need another drink. She pulled on her jacket and stopped at the bar.
“Scotch.”
Michelle pulled a tumbler from beneath the counter, along with the bottle of scotch. She poured a healthy shot into the glass. “It’s free if you tell me what that was all about.”
“What what was all about?”
“You didn’t leave the bar with her.”
Alex snorted. “I lost a bet, nothing more to say.”
“Explain,” she said, pushing the glass towards Alex.
Alex swirled the liquid around the tumbler. “I lost a game of pool to her, so we’re going out on a date tomorrow.” She downed the shot in a single swallow.
Michelle was stunned. “What? You? Going on a date?”
Alex scowled at her. “What about it?”
“Are you telling me she--”
“Maggie.”
Michelle laughed. “That Maggie has done the impossible?” she teased. “She’s tamed Alex Danvers? With a single kiss, no less?”
“Shut up,” Alex laughed. “I’ll be back here in two nights. You just wait.”
“Not gonna hold my breath, Alex,” Michelle grinned.
Alex rolled her eyes and left the bar without even saying goodbye.
True to her word, Alex was back in the bar two nights later... with Maggie on her arm. She asked Maggie to get a booth for them while she got them drinks.
She walked up to the bar. “I don’t want to hear it, Michelle. Just two beers. And chicken wings.”
“I’m not saying anything! Not a word.”
“Good,” she said, gruffly. Then, she turned back to look towards Maggie who waved at her from the booth across the bar. She could sense her lips forming a dopey grin without her permission. She turned back to Michelle, who was also smiling, though hers was more smug than anything else. “Oh shut up and give me the damn beer, already.”
“With pleasure, Alex. With pleasure.”