Sarah leaned against the bar, signaling for a beer. She shifted uncomfortably, trying to relieve the pain in her feet.

This is why I never wear bloody heels.

Coming to the wedding was a bad idea. She'd agreed to attend with her sister, Beth, but only after an exorbitant amount of cajoling and bribing on Beth's part. It'll be fun, Beth said. She even offered to let Sarah borrow one of her dresses, ooh-ing and aah-ing when Sarah tried on a particularly curve-hugging black number so convincingly that even Sarah thought a few hours at a wedding wouldn't be so bad if she looked this good.

Then the day of the wedding arrived and Beth had a 103 degree fever. Sarah protested furiously when Beth insisted that she go, but her resolve was no match for Beth's sick puppy dog eyes. So now here she was, sipping a beer at the bar alone, feet throbbing, trying to ignore the croon of Train's Marry Me over the speakers and wondering why she thought attending a wedding stag would turn out well.

That question was swiftly answered when a dreadlocked woman in a very flattering silk maroon dress came up beside her and ordered a pinot noir. The woman looked over at Sarah, her shoulders high as she leaned against the bar. Sarah noticed cateye makeup beneath her black glasses.

"You look like you're having a really great time over here," the woman commented, a slight smile dimpling her cheeks.

"Oh, yeah," Sarah nodded, using her beer bottle to gesture at the room as a whole. "Coming alone to a wedding, there's really nothing like it."

The woman accepted her glass of wine and turned towards Sarah. "So what are you doing here if no one dragged you along?" She took a sip, her eyes not leaving Sarah's face.

"Ah, I promised my twin sister I'd come with her, but then she got sick this morning so of course I had to come alone to make an appearance or some bullshit."

The woman nodded sympathetically, "That sucks. Weddings really are the worst."

"What are you doing here, then?"

"Obligatory attendance," the woman said. She gestured at her dress, "I'm a bridesmaid. Delphine's an old high school friend."

"Oh, hey, I'm sorry, I didn't mean any disrespect-" Sarah stammered but the other woman cut her off with an emphatic shake of her head and a waving hand.

"No, no, no, it's totally cool. Weddings are a total bummer unless you're the one being wedded, everyone knows that."

Sarah laughed, "Isn't it your moral obligation to be happy for her or something?"

The woman shrugged, her gaze wandering over to where the tall blonde bride stood with her groom. "I don't know about that. I mean I am happy for her, totally. It's great that she found the one, you know?" She paused and a cheeky grin pulled at her lips. She leaned in towards Sarah conspiratorially. "You wanna know a secret though?"

Sarah nodded, captivated by the sudden proximity of this alluring woman.

"I slept with her in high school."

"No. Are you serious?"

The woman's dreadlocks swung jauntily as she tilted her head in a self-satisfied nod. "Totally. I mean, like, we're just friends now, so it's cool. But it's a pretty awesome feeling to think that maybe, just maybe, little fifteen-year-old me probably got her off better that one night after field hockey practice than big dick Paul over there will tonight."

Sarah laughed in disbelief, "You certainly are something else, aren't you?"

She smiled, catching Sarah's gaze with her own. "Yeah, maybe I am. I'm Cosima, by the way."

"Sarah."

"Listen, Sarah. You wanna get out of here? Go somewhere we don't have to listen to this sappy love song shit?"

Sarah picked up her beer and took Cosima's hand, leading her out of the room without another word. Cosima had to trot to keep up, her laughter falling pleasantly on Sarah's ears, and Sarah made a mental note to thank Beth for forcing her to go to the wedding alone.