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Life was pretty stale in this town. Jane bartended at the only bar in the town, a small, decrepit place, rusting away, but that had a kind of charm to it. She didn’t get new patrons often, with most of her customers being the regulars such as John, an old man who owned a farm and liked to flirt with her (she put up with it, he would always tip well and wouldn’t try anything funny).
Jane had been left in charge of the whole bar this week. The manager, her sister Irene, was out for the week, visiting their sister Bosco and her girlfriend in the big city. Neither of them resented Bosco: she’d gotten an offer from a big modeling agency and moved away when she was 19 years old, leaving Irene to inherit the bar from their parents.
She had then offered a job to Irene, who had struggled to find a job after school. It was kind of boring, but it paid her bills while she was at college.
She was wiping glasses, the only other person in the bar was some regular drinking their beer.
That is, until she burst in.
The chime at the door jingled, and Jane turned to look at the incoming patron. It was a tall, lanky woman, with big, puffy, curly blonde hair. She was wearing a green gingham dress and matching bow. She spotted Jane, and immediately smiled, a bright, wide, dazzling smile, practically skipping over to the bar.
“Hiya!” She exclaimed. “Could I get a Mimosa please?”
“Sure thing.” Jane answered, pulling out the ingredients.
“What’s your name?”
“Jane.”
“Nice to meet you Jane! I’m Darlene.” She smiled. “Darlene Mitchell”
“Whatcha doing in this small, middle of nowhere town Darlene?” Jane asked.
“Oh, just passing through with my boyfriend!” She answered, still smiling.
It truly seemed like nothing could wipe the smile off of this girl’s face.
“Do you like living here?” Darlene asked.
“It’s fine.”
“Do you have any siblings?”
“Two older sisters.”
“Studying anything?”
“Theater. I’m trying to get my BFA.”
“Ooh nice!”
Throughout her whole drink, Darlene kept pummeling Jane with questions, not that she minded. Sure, Darlene didn’t stop, but it was nice to have someone to talk to, especially someone this pretty.
Soon enough though, Darlene had sipped the last of her mimosa, and gently pushed the glass back towards Jane.
“Well Jane, thank you for the drink!" She exclaimed, still smiling. “I’m in town for a few days, would you mind if I swing back here tomorrow?”
“Not at all.” Jane answered. “See you tomorrow, Darlene.”
“See you tomorrow Jane. Your smile is beautiful, by the way.”
And with that, she left, the chimes echoing in the silent bar.
—
Jane would never admit it, but she had been anticipating Darlene’s visit all day. She silently thanked no one that Irene was out of town, because she knew her sister would’ve picked up on her weird mood and teased her about it.
She had gone around the establishment, doing her routine as usual, but she couldn’t shake the excitement at the thought of seeing Darlene again. Everything had felt dull after she and her bright personality had left the establishment.
Around 7pm, Jane had done everything she could do to pass time, and was left to wait behind the bar for Darlene to arrive as she had promised.
However, when Darlene got there, at little after 7:30pm, she wasn’t smiling like yesterday. No, there were tears streaming down her face, her mascara smudged under her eyes.
“Darlene- shit- what happened?” Jane asked worriedly, rushing from behind the bar to comfort the taller girl.
“Sorry Jane, I didn't mean to come here in this state, but, well, I promised I would.” Darlene sniffled, trying to crack a wobbly smile.
“Oh Darlene…” She answered. “You didn’t have to come if you didn't want to.” She hesitated. “Look, I’m not supposed to do this, but my boss is out of town, and it's pretty quiet today. I can lock up and we can go back to my place if you’d like?”
“I’d appreciate that, thank you Jane.”
“Of course. Come, sit here while I clean up.” Jane said, leading the taller girl to one of the bar stools.
Once Jane had finished cleaning, she took Darlene’s hand, and, after having locked the bar for the night, they started walking back towards Jane’s apartment in silence. Luckily, she didn't live far from her workplace.
She turned the key to her apartment, and led Darlene inside. Her apartment wasn't the biggest, but she liked it anyway. Vinyl shelves lined the walls of the living room, as well as a couch and TV, the kitchen tucked away in a corner.
“Do you wanna talk about it? If not, we can just hang on the couch.” Jane asked softly.
“I think I need to talk about it, it might help.” She answered as they sat on the couch. “I thought things were going well, but I guess I wasn’t enough for him, ‘cause I walked in on him in the motel bed with some random brunette. I don’t even care anymore but I don’t know what I’m gonna do, I don’t really have a place to stay.”
“You can stay with me.” Jane said, pulling Darlene closer towards her.
“You don’t mind?”
“Not at all. Who would I be to not help a pretty girl?”
Darlene chuckled at that. “Thanks Jane.”
They settled into a comfortable silence, Jane running her hand through Darlene’s blond curls. It felt nice, but there was something in the silence. Darlene, who was just staring ahead, slowly turned her head towards Jane. The two locked eyes, Darlene's hand slowly moving towards Jane's face. Before reaching it, she stopped as if asking for permission. Jane answered by nodding slowly, and Darlene's hands cupped her face. She looked at her a little longer, before pulling down and kissing her softly. Jane sighed into the kiss, her red lips meeting Darlene's soft, pink ones. She pulled back after a moment to look at Darlene.
"Are you sure?" She asked.
"I'm sure." Darlene answered, pulling her back in for another kiss.
Darlene shifted, so that she could straddle the other woman, and Jane's hands moved to Darlene's waist, pulling her closer against herself as they deepened the kiss. She got up slowly, and Darlene wrapped her legs around. Jane steadied her grip, and carried her towards the bedroom. She sat her on the bed, and Darlene pulled her against it so that Jane was above her. They kept kissing, softly, and Darlene sighed, as if she had needed this for a long time. Jane was hypnotized by the girl under her, and pulled away after one last kiss on the lips.
"I think we should get some rest.” Jane whispered. “You’re gonna have to go get your things tomorrow.”
“You don’t mind if I stay here a little bit?” Darlene asked
“Not at all. You can stay as long as you want.” She answered, smiling.
They got under the covers, and Jane pulled Darlene closer, wrapping her arms around her, and soon enough, they both drifted into blissful sleep.