The first few months out of college was a little underwhelming for Piper. She had started well and done the usual things you would expect from a college graduate in the summer. Along with her friends she had taken part in a montage worthy road trip across the states, taking polaroid pictures and drinking in grimy bars. For the most part they stayed in clean motels and hotel rooms, but when the group reminisce it was usually about that one time they all smoked weed and slept in the car under the stars. Right after that she moved to New York and with the aid of her parents was able to rent a small apartment with her best friend of three years, Polly. Bright eyed and bushy tailed she set off round the publishing houses of New York, imagining herself beginning as a lowly assistant, working her way up the ladder with the help of a hard faced yet secretly kind boss who would help her realise her true potential as an editor or author. Or perhaps that was just the plot of too many chick flicks she has seen.
After two weeks of raised eyebrows and effectively being shooed from shiny glass desks, she gave up on that idea with a single word buzzing round her brain 'experience'. Though she would never admit it to friends, she had somewhat been expecting to easily roll into a well-paid job after college. Some of her friends had been preparing for months to apply for paid or unpaid internships that worked through the summer, or started just after. Now she had this horrible feeling that her entitlement had got her in trouble again. It didn't help that her best friend and current roommate Polly had been one of the people who had sorted out an internship. Hers was paid. At American Airlines. She was already coveting several of the pilots she had seen, including the older (married) man who had winked at her several times and not so subtly felt her up in passing. Piper would internally roll her eyes at this and casually ask how things had worked out with Professor Broadhurst in their previous year. Polly would usually fix her with a pointed stare and ask her how the job hunt was going. Piper sometimes thought they got on so well due to their uncanny ability to tease out the colossal bitch side out of each other.
Despite her setbacks, Piper decided it was time to start looking further afield for jobs. She came to realise that unpaid internships were common, but they couldn't pay the rent. The Chapman bank of mom and dad were beginning to get a little impatient. The last thing she wanted was to return to Connecticut, to be set up with the 'sensible option' of working for a close friend of her fathers. Her mom liked to mention Mr. Daniels at least seven times per phone call, any other questions were usually linked with whether or not she had acquired a suitable boyfriend yet. Admittedly Piper was rarely without an admirer or five whenever she went out to bars or clubs, or even just on the street or public transport. Being tall, slim and blonde accompanied with soft features and what Polly had dubbed 'Bambi eyes' she would quite often be the first to attract attention of her friends. The trouble with Piper was her incessant need for perfection. On some level she felt she could have it all, the dependable with the funny, the smart with the kind and of course the perfect body with the perfect face certainly wouldn't hurt either… The result of this was usually a string of casual hook ups, broken hearts and plenty of free drinks. None of her friends begrudged the drinks.
Piper found herself a little bored with men as of late and had somewhat been experimenting with her 'lesbian' side as her friends called it. Growing up she had somewhat heavily repressed her attraction she felt towards girls, most probably the result of small town mentality and a constant negative stereotypes being reiterated throughout her middle and high school years. Since going to college she had slowly been chipping away at that repression piece by piece, with a drunken kiss here and a casual comment about a sexy girl there. She felt somewhat liberated whenever she successfully seduced a woman. It seemed to stroke her ego much more to make out with an attractive woman than it did to make out with an attractive man. One thing she had not admitted to anyone, including her best friend was that she had not actually got any further than second base with a woman. It wasn't necessarily that she didn't want to, there was just some deep fear within her that maybe, this one tiny part of herself she thought might be different to her whole family actually wasn't. What if she was just one of those girls who liked the idea of girls more than the reality? What if she just had some deep rooted family insecurities that were coming out in an unusual way? This is the fear that often kept her from going much further than groping with the girls she hooked up with as it would constantly linger in the back of her mind.
After a month of searching for some sort of reputable job Piper had succeeded only in telling her parents she had found a paid internship in marketing and assuring them that at the end of the current month she would be able to pay her own rent and bills. Her mother was pleased she could start showing her off again and her dad lectured her about grabbing opportunities that came her way and how she should call him if she ever needed him to help her handle them. If that wasn't enough she had also neglected to let Polly in on her little fabrication. This resulted in panicking. Excessively. Never one for emotional turmoil Piper decided drown her sorrows with alcohol… And possibly sex. Slinking into a tight yet casual navy dress and a pair of wedged heel sandals she gently curled the ends of her long hair and darkened her eye makeup before calling a cab to take her to the East village. She downed two tequila shots before she left for courage.
By the time she arrived she felt that sweet sense of indifference that often comes with alcohol consumption. She was about the cross the road to her usual haunt when another bar caught her eye. One with a neon sign reading 'Bolt' and a small rainbow flag waving cheerily in the breeze. Channelling the strength of tequila Piper crossed the road and pushed the door open. A little hesitantly she stepped forward into a dim room that was partially filled with tables and booths. The other side had a wide space for the dance floor and the bar was littered with stools. Her entrance had attracted a couple of stares which mostly lingered for a moment with slightly raised brows then went back to their drinks or group of friends. Piper chose a seat in the corner of the bar so she could observe what was happening around her. The barman glanced at her with an amused look.
"You do know what kind of place this is right hun?" the man's dark eyes danced with humour. He was of medium height with an impressively well-trimmed beard and multiple piercings. He wore a flannel shirt that suited him well. Secretly feeling a bit unsure of herself but desperately wanting to appear in control she met his gave and internally drew in a breath.
"Sure" she replied much more confidently than she felt "Can I ask what wine you would recommend?"
The barman's lips twitched into a smile "You a red or a white kinda girl?"
"White" Piper replied evenly. The barman chortled and looked back at her.
"Figures" he said. Piper's temper nearly flared its head before the barman offered her a genuinely kind grin.
"I'd try our house white to start if I were you. It won't knock your socks off and it's pretty sweet. Much like yourself doll."
Piper smiled back, she felt she needed someone on side and if she knew how to do anything well it was how to be charming.
"That sounds great, thanks."
"Large or sma-" before he could finish Piper replied "Large"
The barman laughed "Ok girl. I've got you."
After a couple of minutes staring into space and sipping on her wine the barman returned to her corner.
"How's the wine?" he asked nodding towards her drink. Piper shook herself from her daze and smiled over at him.
"Great... Thanks" Oh no. She had turned into that slightly shy awkward girl.
"Forgive me for saying this… But you kind of seem like a fish out of water in here." The barman said. Piper actually let out a breath, it was somewhat a relief to have someone break the awkwardness surrounding herself.
"That's definitely one way of phrasing it" Piper laughed. The barman smiled back and gave her a pointed look.
"My name is Richard, bar manager, cocktail expert and flaming homosexual… In fact, some of the regulars just call me Dick" he gave Piper an over emphasised wink, to which she giggled, then continued "What's your story hey sweetie?" Piper took another sip of her drink.
"Well… My name is Piper and what makes you think I have a story?" she asked.
"Hun, you walk in here looking like a frightened new-born lamb! My first thought was maybe she's the straight girl bored of guys hitting on her, so she heads to a gay bar… But that can't be right, because you clearly are not waiting on someone and you don't have a gaggle of giggling girls around you, all complimenting each other and saying how nice it is not to get constantly hit on; even though it's probably only about two of the group that actually get hit on in standard bars. Then I thought maybe you had genuinely made an error, but were too PC to say anything, so you have one drink before moving on to the next bar, but you're drinking too slowly for that to be true. So… Do explain what drew you here. You intrigue me and as you can see I have no one to serve right now. Relieve my boredom."
Piper had been listening to Richard speak with an amused expression and she raised her eyebrows as he finished, looking down the currently empty bar and the non-moving patrons sat at tables. She was flattered that someone so clearly full of confidence was interested in her with no ulterior motive.
"Clearly you have some theories. Perhaps you should expand on some of those" Piper said with a sly grin, which Richard returned.
"Oh ok, game on. So. You've just broken up with someone and you think if you get drunk enough and get with a woman that will solve your problems?" Piper simply shook her head.
"Hmm. You're a far right nut job who thinks just because her legs go on for days she can turn all the gay boys straight?" Piper laughed and gave him a pointed look.
"No?" Richard joked.
"No." Piper confirmed.
"Ok. You're not sure if you're straight or not and you also kind of want to stick it to your uptight family? Am I right? Either that or your life is going down the shitter so you need a distraction." Piper laughed and cast her eyes downward, sipping her drink again and smiling.
"That's definitely your most accurate description." Richard grinned at her.
"Aw. I've found myself a gayby. I feel like I need to protect you. The ladies are gonna have a field day with you sweetheart. Shall we come up with some kind of code so I can help you if you get stuck? Like a bird call?" Piper was only somewhat listening, concentrating more on the surprisingly astute reading from the barman.
"How did you know?" she asked out of the blue.
"What bird calls? I don't actually know any real ones but you can always just make them -"
"No" Piper interrupted "I mean how did you guess about me?"
Richard regarded her and smiled again.
"Ah, when you meet as many people as I do, you get quite good at reading people. The bit about your family I got from your name. I mean Piper? Are there many girl's names more phallic than that?" Piper burst out laughing.
"I suppose not." With that she downed the rest of her wine.
"Another?" Richard asked.
"Could you make me a surprise? I love tequila." Richard grinned wickedly.
"Sure thing Piper. After all, it is ladies' night."