"I still don't know why you're dragging me to a gay club, Beth," Cosima says as she collapses onto Beth's bed with a huff.
"Because," Beth says from the bathroom as she straightens her hair. "Ever since Frenchie broke up with you, you've been mopey and sad and very un-Cosima, and its making me sad and very un-Beth."
Cosima groans. "I have not been sad and mopey," she says defensively, burrowing into the blankets she's draped herself over.
Beth pokes her head out of the bathroom. "Yes, you have," she says sternly, pointing the hair straightener at Cosima. "Now get your ass up and come get ready."
Cosima groans again. "Fine," she says as she pushes herself out of the bed. "What does Alison think of you taking me to a gay club?" she asks as she rummages through her bag for her eyeliner.
Beth glances over at her with a smug grin. "It was her idea."
Cosima groans loudly once more, and Beth laughs.
"Ah, you'll be alright. Just one night of hot ladies hitting on you. I'm sure you can handle it." Beth unplugs the hair straightener and leaves the bathroom.
"Whatever," Cosima says, drawing the word out sarcastically as she carefully applies her eyeliner.
Beth reenters the bathroom, now dressed in tight black pants and a white button up.
The two finish getting ready in semi-silence, the cd Cosima put on earlier playing softly in the background.
Cosima contemplates leaving her dreadlocks in their ponytail or letting them down, and finally decides to let them down, pulling out the ponytail and letting them fall freely over her shoulders.
Beth turns to Cosima with a grin. "Ready?" she says eagerly.
Though still reluctant, Cosima can't help but feel herself get a little excited. "A night of alcohol and hot ladies never did anyone any harm, right?" she says in answer to Beth.
"There ya go!" Beth says with an even bigger smile. "Let's go!"
Less than twenty minutes later, Cosima finds herself pushing through the beads hanging at the entrance to the club, Beth close behind her. They step into a room that, while not heavily populated, is substantially full of women. Some dancing, some sitting at the bar, and some (inevitably) making out.
Beth and Cosima push their way through the undulating crowd to the bar, the thumping bass vibrating through Cosima's chest. A woman with wild bleach blonde curls rushes around behind the bar, mixing drinks for all the women clamoring at the counter. She stops as she spots the two of them. "Beth!" she exclaims, and then glances at Cosima. "And… not-Beth!"
Beth laughs. "Hey, Helena. This is Cosima. We're here to get her laid.
"Beth!" Cosima exclaims indignantly, only getting a laugh out of Beth. Helena nods knowingly.
"That shouldn't be too hard, tonight."
Cosima feels her cheeks burn slightly.
"Can I get a beer?" Beth asks Helena, who promptly turns to get one. Beth turns to Cosima.
"I'm gonna go outside for a smoke really quick, alright?"
Cosima nods. "Yeah, I'll meet you out there."
She orders a rum and coke as Beth disappears. taking a sip of it as she glances around the dark room.
The faces of the women are all distorted in the flashing colourful lights from the ceiling, and Cosima quickly forgoes trying to search out any particularly appealing faces. She meets Beth outside, standing a bit off to the side of yet another bar, watching some of the women sitting there. The music is much quieter outside, Cosima notes, thanks to a door separating the outdoors from the energy inside the club.
"Spot any hotties yet?" Beth says with a grin. Cosima shrugs as she sips her drink.
"It's so dark in there, it's hard to really see anyone."
Beth nods, taking a drag of her cigarette. "We'll find someone, don't worry."
The door to the club suddenly bursts open, thumping music flooding out behind a woman who walks out with a cocky grin. The door rattles shut behind her, cutting off the loud music, as she approaches the bartender, who is clearly her friend.
Cosima takes stock of the few blonde highlights in her unruly brown hair and her dark smoky eyeliner. She's wearing tight black skinny jeans that fade to a lighter grey the closer they get to her scuffed boots. As Cosima watches her animated conversation with the bartender, she reaches into the pocket of her leather jacket for her phone, adjusting the heavy headphones around her neck.
Beth notices Cosima's stare and nudges her shoulder playfully.
"What?" Cosima asks unabashedly. "She's hot," she says with a grin.
Beth laughs. "There's my Cosima."
Cosima laughs and rolls her eyes. "Whatever, nerd."
Cosima watches as Beth puts out her cigarette, dropping the butt into the ashtray on the small table next to them. When she glances back up, the woman is standing right in front of her, nearly stopping her heart.
"Hey," she says with a half smile. "You're new here, right? I've never seen you here before." She's got an English accent, and Cosima's knees feel a bit weak.
"Yeah, first time here," Cosima says a laugh. "My friend Beth dragged me here." She gestures to the bar where Beth has gone to order another drink.
The woman doesn't break her gaze from Cosima's. "Bloody glad she did," she says and holds out a hand to Cosima. "I'm Sarah. I'm the DJ here, 's how I knew you were new. Most of the people here are regulars, so a new face stood out." She grins as Cosima takes her hand. "Plus, I doubt I'd ever forget seeing a pretty face like yours," she says with a wink.
Cosima grins. "Nice to meet you, Sarah. I'm Cosima."
Sarah tilts her head slightly. "Cosima," she repeats, and Cosima realises she's still got a grip on her hand. "Never met a Cosima before. I like that name." Her voice almost sounds sultry.
"Thank you," Cosima says, heart beating quickly as she realises she's flirting.
Sarah finally releases Cosima's hand and pushes her hair out of her face. "I should get back to work, I guess. I'll see you in there, Cosima." And then the door is banging open and shut again, leaving Cosima slightly weak at the knees and totally head over heels.
Beth walks up to her, another beer in hand. "Please tell me you got her number," she nearly pleads.
Cosima smirks. "Not yet."
Beth fist pumps the air. "Yes!"
Cosima grabs Beth's wrist. "Come on, let's go dance."
Cosima began to lose herself in the music as Beth shoved yet another drink into her hand. Beth had tried to inconspicuously place them directly in front of the DJ booth, but Cosima knew exactly what she was doing, and she could feel Sarah's eyes on her as she moved her body fluidly along with the music.
About an hour alter, the music dims and a woman jumps up onto the stage at the front of the room that Cosima hadn't noticed until now.
"Ladies!" she says into the microphone she was holding, grabbing the attention of anyone who hadn't noticed her yet. "How's everyone doing tonight?"
This prompts a loud chorus of cheers from the crowd, and even Cosima finds herself joining in.
"Glad to hear it! I'm Jennifer, your host for the night-" at that, she does a small curtsie and flips her curly hair over her shoulder, earning her more cheers. "And we're about to play a drinking game!" Even more cheers.
"Alright, here are the rules: I only need ten people, and all of you have to be single, no exceptions. Got it? Okay, who wants to get their ass up here?"
Beth's hand shoots up immediately, much to Cosima's surprise. "Beth, what are you doing? You're not single."
Beth grins at her. "I know. I'm volunteering you."
In her nearly drunken state, Cosima can't find a good reason to object to this, and soon finds herself on the stage with a few other people whose faces are indiscernible in the spotlight on the stage.
"Alright, it's truth or dare time!" Jennifer says. "I'm gonna go down the line, you'll tell us your name and where you're from, and then pick truth or dare. If you answer truthfully, or do the dare, you get a free shot." The crowd cheers again and Cosima grins.
Being at the end of the line closest to Jennifer, Cosima is the first one to have to introduce herself to the crowd.
"I'm Cosima," she says into the mic.
"Hey, Cosima," Jennifer says with a wink, an easy flirt. "These dreads are incredibly hot on you, I must say," she says as she reaches to touch one of the strands falling over Cosima's shoulder. Cosima grins at her, appreciating the forwardness in her tipsy state. "Now where are you from, hot stuff?"
"San Francisco."
"Alright, Cali girl, truth or dare?"
Cosima doesn't hesitate. "Dare," she says firmly into the mic.
"First dare of the night!" Jennifer shouts into the mic, and the crowd cheers and whoops again. Jennifer turns back to Cosima, a mischievous grin on her face. "Alright, Cali, dare time." She pauses for a moment. "I dare you to pick one person in this room, and make out with them."
At this, the crowd goes wild, but Cosima still isn't hesitant. She grabs the mic. "Anyone in the room?" she asks.
"Anyone in the room."
The DJ," Cosima says with a smug grin.
Jennifer explodes with laughter. "Nice choice! Sarah?" she says into the mic, beckoning to her in the DJ booth. "Get your ass up here, let's go!"
The DJ makes her way through the wildly cheering crowd, and as she hops up onto the stage, Cosima can see her cocky grin again. Sarah grabs the mic.
"Me? You sure?"
Cosima doesn't answer, just surges forward and grabs the lapels of her jacket and slams her lips into Sarah's.
She's sure the crowd goes wild, but to be honest, she can't even hear them because as soon as her lips meet Sarah's everything disappears. All that she can focus on is the way Sarah's lips are working against her own, and the way Sarah's hand is gripping the bit of bare skin where Cosima's shirt has ridden up like her life depended on it, and the way Sarah's other hand has found its way to the back of her neck-
Sarah breaks away from her after what seems like ages and while Cosima's sure that she can't have been that good a kisser in her inebriated state, Sarah's still grinning hugely at her.
"Damn!" Cosima hears Jennifer say, but she can't look away from Sarah, her own smile adorning her face. "Alright ladies, that was almost too steamy, break it up!" She continues with a laugh.
Sarah is the one to break their gaze as she laughs.
"Alright DJ, go on, get back to work," Jennifer says and playfully nudges Sarah off the stage.
Before she even has a chance to turn and rejoin the line, Cosima feels a hand on her upper arm and hears Sarah's voice in her ear, quiet enough that only she could hear.
"If you're just as interested as I am in doing that again, then stick around till the end of the night and find me in the booth." And then she presses her lips hard against Cosima's again before she vanishes off the stage, sending the crowd wild again.
Cosima, in her slightly dazed state, sees Jennifer shake her head with a smile. "Just look what we started!"
The rest of the game is a bit of a blur, punctuated by the shots at the end, which turns the rest of the night into a blur, until she finds herself pressed up against the wall of the darkened DJ booth by Sarah herself.
Cosima's skirt is hiked up and she's panting heavily into Sarah's neck, her fingers tangled in Sarah's hair. It's not particularly romantic, but at this point in time, Cosima couldn't give a shit less, as Sarah puts her hands in all the right places.
Cosima's gasping as Sarah asks "D'you wanna take this back to my place?"
"Oh, yes." Cosima nods furiously and Sarah grins.
"Well, let's go then," she says, and pulls Cosima out of the booth.