CHAPTER 2
A tilted head and a smile from the object of her lustful stares greeted Emma's entrance.
"Well, goodness me, Leroy, I now have two regulars," she said with some surprise. "I'll finally be able to buy that Cadillac."
"Yeah, well, I discovered this place before it was cool," Leroy said cynically, his eyes not leaving the television.
"You're right," she said as her eyes went wide. "I don't know if I can take the hustle and bustle of being such a trendy hotspot."
"Money will change you," Leroy agreed.
"God, it so would," she said dreamily, as if imagining her riches.
Emma smiled. For brief moment in her fitful sleep, she'd thought she might have imagined the place, might have imagined both the woman and the bar. As Emma walked towards the bar she was glad to see that she was wrong. The woman was even more beautiful than she remembered. Now her hair was tight in a messy ponytail with a few hair loose on the sides and her gorgeous chest hidden behind a tight green cardigan. Now Emma felt like the dirty old perv as she looked at the woman with the same lust. She confidently walked to the bar and took the same seat she had the day before.
"Shot and a beer," she ordered.
To her surprise, though, the bartender shook her head. "Nope, can't do it," she said. "You get one day to anonymously drink away your sorrows, but if you're going to spend all of Tuesday and Wednesday drinking here then we're going to talk and figure out why."
"I don't really want to bore you with my problems," Emma said. It was true. She appreciated the offer, even if the sympathetic ear of the bartender struck her as a tad cliché, but she was not a sharer at the best of times. Emma had grown up and been taught to tough out her problems, deal with them herself.
"Yeah, well, tough," the bartender said, pointing to a sign on the bar proclaiming the establishment's right to refuse service. "At the very least you're going to tell me your name and what your story is."
Emma nodded. She could do that.
"Emma Swan then," Emma said, extending her hand.
"Regina Mills," the bartender said, gripping the extended hand. Her grip was firm but soft and Emma shook it with a smile.
"Regina, huh?" Emma chuckled
"Yeah, yeah, I was named after my dearly departed grandmother" she said, clearly used to having to explain her slightly old-fashioned name
"I like it," Emma said honestly. "It kind of fits."
"How so?"
"Well, you have kind of a fifties pin-up girl look, you know? Lola Flores, Diosa Costello, that sort of thing," Emma said with admiration, looking again at a body that seemed to defy description as well as gravity. Still, as she'd idly thought of Regina as she'd drifted off to her drunken sleep the night before, a pin-up model from that era struck her as the best comparison.
"Is that good?" Regina asked as she set a beer down in front of Emma,
"Oh yeah," Emma exclaimed with, she thought, perhaps a bit too much enthusiasm. Regina smiled and turned to Leroy with a broad grin.
"See, told you," Regina said, leaning forward to playfully swat at the older man's arm with her bar towel. He reached back into his wallet and pulled out a crinkled five-dollar bill.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Leroy said wearily.
Emma looked at the exchange with a little confusion. A look that Regina caught.
"We bet as to whether or not you were gay."
Emma was a little taken back. She wasn't sure she liked being the subject of that bet. She wasn't used to her sexuality being a matter of public discussion and it made her feel a brief flash of panic. She had to remind herself that she no longer had professional reasons to worry anymore about anyone knowing she was gay and she had no other concerns about being outed.
"Congratulations," Emma said, tilting her beer towards the victorious June.
"Eh, I sort of cheated," Regina shrugged, tucking the five dollars into the front pocket of her jeans. "I was on the receiving end of your stares all day yesterday,"
Emma could feel herself blush a little. She'd tried to been discreet and was disturbed to learn she'd failed so completely.
"Sorry, I just-"
Regina shook her head. "Don't apologize, I'm hot, " she said with absolute confidence in her words. "People stare at me all the time,"
Emma had to smile. Both at the exchange and at the confidence on display. She knew that many people considered her attractive. She'd certainly turned down enough fellow soldiers over the years to know she could turn a head if she needed it. Not in a million years, however, would Emma have stated her own hotness the way Regina just had. Coming from a woman as gorgeous as Regina, though, it didn't strike Emma as conceit or arrogance, just a simple statement of fact.
"Hey Regina," Leroy broke in, "any chance you could lend me five bucks? I need to pay for my drinks."
Regina nodded and produced the same five-dollar bill from her pocket, sliding it across the bar to Jim.
Emma laughed. She didn't know why but just being in this bar seemed to put her in a better mood. Even if Regina wasn't in her future, Emma still liked the interplay between Regina and Leroy and especially liked having permission to look at Regina. Emma found herself thankful she'd found the place. Looking around the bar, Emma had to admit that her initial impressions of the place might have been a bit unfair. True, some of the fixtures and furniture looked old and worn but it looked authentic, worn-in. It looked like the place that had seen many a good time over the years.
"So, Miss Swan," Regina said, "What's your story? The abridged version, if you like."
"Like I said-"
"Like I said," Regina interjected, "We're going to get to know each other if you're going to be a regular. You can leave out the drinking parts, I just need backstory,"
Emma thought it over. She could manage revealing something. She tried to give the Cliff's Notes of her life.
"Well, I'm twenty-six. Grew up in Storybrooke, Maine. Mom left when I was three. Dad raised me in his auto-body shop. Died when I was nineteen. Joined the Army as a mechanic. Served for five years. Have a sixth to go. Found a bar with a nosy bartender."
"Fair enough."
"How about you?" Emma asked
June shook her head."Wasn't part of the deal."
"Fair's fair," Emma insisted, putting her empty beer bottle down on the bar. Regina nodded and grabbed another from the fridge.
"Uh, raised here. I'm thirty-two. Pretty normal I guess. Went to art school. Realized photography was not the get-rich quick guarantee I'd always assumed it to be. My Uncle Graham died and left me his bar," Regina recounted.
"To Graham," Leory interjected, raising his whiskey to a small framed picture behind the bar. It was of an older, heavy-set man with a small girl that Emma recognized as a younger version of her bartender. "He knew more about baseball and was a faster pourer than his wastrel of a niece."
Regina reached back for a bottle of the stuff and took a swig herself. "Yeah, but I'm better scenery." Regina winced at the straight shot of whiskey, even as she nodded her agreement with Leroy. She turned back to Emma to continue, "So anyways I decided to go with struggling small business owner over starving artist which means technically you found a bar with a nosy owner, not a nosy bartender,"
Emma nodded. There were things about the story that didn't entirely add up to her though.
"Wait, if you own the place, then what was the deal yesterday? About the bar policy and you not being able to change it?" Emma questioned sharply, proud of herself for catching Regina in a lie.
"God's honest truth, I'm afraid. It was in the will, most I can charge anyone in or retired from the service is five bucks" Regina said plainly, continuing to wipe the bar down. "Graham served most of his life before he opened this place. His policy."
"Oh," Emma said
"I'm not inclined to change the policy, being a grateful patriot and all that," Regina said genuinely. "I mean, if not for your sacrifices and the sacrifices of those before you I wouldn't have all this."
Emma tried to figure out if that were sarcasm at the state of the bar or genuine sentiment. She gave up without coming to a decision.
Regina continued "Besides, even if I were inclined to do so, Leroy here served with Graham and would totally rat me out to the lawyers if I thought of changing things."
Leroy nodded his agreement. "Too right I would."
"So, wait," Emma said. "Me and Leroy are the only ones here. And we're both vets. And the most you can charge either of us for drinking all day is five dollars?"
"Like I said," Regina shrugged, "It's a struggling business,"
"And you get by, in this economy?"
"Eh, it's not all bad. My uncle owned the building outright which includes the apartment upstairs so, you know, no rent either way there," Regina explained. "And every now and then someone gets drunk and buys one of the photos."
Regina motioned to the bar and Emma followed. Emma hadn't noticed them before but rather than the typical photos of sports teams or bar patrons most places had, The Rabbit Hole's had black picture frames, filled with images that even Emma, who cared little for art, found striking. There were various buildings and images of the waterfront, even one of Leroy, beer in hand. Emma had thought of him as just an old drunk but looking at the photo, she saw another side. The photo made him look wise and gregarious and someone who fit perfectly into his surroundings. She had to admire the skill, even if she didn't know how to describe it.
"Oops," Leroy said, having turned slightly towards Emma and then back to Regina. "She's looking at the photos,"
"I am." Emma nodded. "They're awesome."
"Plus," Regina said, changing the subject, "I totally flirt with all of the beer and booze distributors for a discount."
"I'd give you one," Emma had to admit as she took a sip of her beer.
The banter continued for a while. Emma found herself relaxing even more, enjoying herself immensely.
Regina, for her part, seemed to welcome a change of pace from her constant interaction with Leroy. Emma was plain spoken and smart and Regina warmed to her quickly. The three of them quipped for a few minutes before they were interrupted as Leroy stood up and made his way to the bathroom.
"Remember, it's accuracy, not speed," Regina called after him as he disappeared behind the bar. She turned to walk to Emma at the end of the bar, propping herself up on her hands and lifting herself up to sit next to where Emma's beer was. It was the closest Regina had been to Emma and she was again reminded of just how attracted she was to the busty woman. Emma inhaled deeply. She wasn't sure how, but even in this place Regina had the unmistakable smell of apple and something else.
"So let me ask you," Regina said, her voice dropping a bit, "how did you know you were gay?"
Emma looked up at her, surprised slightly by the boldness of the question for a moment before realizing it fit perfectly with what she knew of Regina so far. Regina did not strike her as being cautious and conservative and had a tendency to speak her mind. If Regina wanted to know how Emma had known she was gay, Emma realized decorum or a lack of familiarity would have held her back. Emma thought about it for a second before responding somewhat defensively.
"I don't know," Emma said with a sip of her beer. "How did you know you were straight?"
Regina was taken back. She hadn't expected that response and had to think about it for a second.
"Not sure. Just instinct, I suppose," Regina shrugged
"There you go." Emma tipped her beer in June's direction. She couldn't have summed it up better.
"Well, okay, sure," Regina conceded the logic. "But at least you had to have had something where you realized you were outside the norm."
Emma thought about it. She was surprised a little by the intimacy of the conversation, but there was something about Regina that just brought it out of her.
"Best I can do, I guess, is years back, when I was just starting to work in my dad's shop and some of the other guys brought in a girly calendar. Hung it up, you know?" Emma said, remembering something from years back, "My dad saw it and said to the guys, you know, 'not around Emma' and all that and I was like 'doesn't everyone like looking at pictures of girls?'"
Regina laughed. Emma joined her.
"But that's, you know, not really it though" Regina continued, "I mean, I can appreciate the female form and I can look at a girl and say, 'wow, hottie.'"
Emma wanted to point out the differences between admiration for the form and being turned on by it, but caught herself. She saw an opportunity to do some of her own digging.
"And you've never been curious?" Emma asked slyly.
Regina gave a non-committal shrug. "Curious about being with another woman?" Regina inquired.
"Yup," Emma said, trying to hide her interest. She very much wanted to hear Regina admit to an interest. A burning one. One she'd always had and wanted to act on, maybe in art college, but had never gotten the chance and could maybe Emma help her realize it?
Emma smiled to herself as she let herself get a little carried away with her imagination. Regina, however, looked fairly disinterested although contemplative.
"I mean, maybe? But I'm curious about lots of things," Regina said matter-of-factly. "What's it like to shoot heroin or eat ostrich or go walk for a walk in space. So, yeah, what's it like to bang a chick? You could say I'm curious about that. Not to the point of I gots to have it though."
"Fair enough," Emma admitted, her hopes mildly dashed
"Besides," Regina said, hopping down from the bar and giving Emma a terrific view of her bouncing chest. "Lesbian sex always strikes me as so random,"
"How's that?" Emma asked, not sure if she should feel insulted or not.
"Don't get me wrong, I'm sure it's super," Regina said quickly. "But like with a guy it's pretty straight-forward. We fool around, maybe I go down on him, maybe he goes down on me but sex is pretty clearly the tab-A into slot-B act. With chicks, sex is going to vary, right? Like maybe it's that you two go down on each other or 69 or it's just fingers or it's toys. But sex can mean anything and it seems like it would take a while to get on the same page."
"Sounds like you've thought about it a lot," Emma teased. "But that's the fun of it. It can be anything. You and your partner can work out what you like with each other and develop your routine together and eventually you find what works for the both of you."
"And that, right there," Regina said, "is one of the biggest reasons I stick to the menfolk. Because this here,"Regina's hands waived over her body, "is a relationship-drama free zone. I do not get attached and I do not find things out eventually. This machine hits and quits."
"That would make guys the safer bet, I guess," Emma, drawing back on her own experiences, had to concede that no-strings attached sex would be easier to find, especially for a gorgeous woman like Regina, among guys.
The day passed with the two women talking extensively about whatever happened to cross their minds. Emma grew very impressed with Regina's wit, self-confidence and openness. The conversation occasionally veered into the realm of flirtatiousness but the two kept it light and fun. Emma had to admit that she was losing track of her troubles. In just two quick days, Emma had gone from feeling completely alone to feeling like, at the very least, she had a regular bar and a good friend.
Again Emma stayed at The Rabbit Hole the entire day and, when she made her exit, promised to return the next day. Emma knew, as she took one last look at the woman behind the bar, that she'd be there on both of her last days of leave.
