"Oh my god, Holly! Where are we?"

"We are at a club. You said you wanted to dance."

"This is a gay club!" Gail's exclamation caused several eyes to narrow as they fell on her. She turned them all away with an ice cold glare.

"You are very observant. You should consider applying for the detective rotation," Holly deadpanned.

"Shut it, nerd. What am I supposed to do at a gay club?" Gail looked around the room. Women everywhere. She finally spotted two men, and— oh, nope, they were definitely a couple. She glared back at Holly.

"Well, to start, you could buy me a drink." Holly winked, ignoring Gail's scowl as she began walking towards the bar.

Gail trailed after her, more than a little confused about one, why Holly had brought her here, and two, why that wink had her feeling things. Things low in her gut.

"What are you having?" Holly asked as Gail approached.

"Tequila."

"You want a shot then?"

"Yeah. Do a shot with me."

"Fine. Two shots of tequila, please," Holly told the bartender.

Gail glowered at the woman on the other side of the bar as she slid a shot in front of her. She really didn't like the look this chick was giving Holly. Was that a wink? Did the barkeep just wink at Holly? Who did she think she was? Gail took her shot, and slammed the glass down on the counter.

"Two more," Gail snarled at the woman, who obliged with a wicked grin.

Holly quickly downed her first drink as Gail slid another in front of her. After they both took their second shot, Gail threw down some bills, grabbed Holly's arm and led her towards the dance floor. As far away from the bar as she could get her.

The dance floor was crowded, but the two managed to stake out a small area with enough room for each of them to have some semblance of personal space.

They danced, next to each other but never quite touching, for about five songs before Gail decided it was time for another drink. Holly followed her up to the bar and ordered a Rum and Coke. Gail ordered another shot of tequila. The bartender stood there, looking expectantly between the two.

Holly looked at Gail, who was shooting daggers at the bartender.

"So I guess I'll get this one…" She said as she placed some bills in the bartender's hand. The woman across the counter let her hand linger a little longer then necessary, and when Holly met her eyes, she gave her a not so subtle wink. Holly blushed and awkwardly thanked the woman for the drinks before turning back to Gail, who was in the midst of downing her shot.

"Thanks, nerd," Gail said. "I think I need to sit for a minute."

Holly looked around for an open table, and spotting one, grabbed Gail's hand and towed her toward it. She released the blonde's hand as she took a seat at the table in the corner. With her palm suddenly empty, Gail didn't quite know what to do with her hands, so she took a seat and fiddled with them in her lap. She watched the sea of people moving to the beat, the music pulsating up through the floor. She wondered how nice it would be to dance with these strangers. No one expecting things of her because of her name, no one brushing her off as the ice queen. Holly had never done that, never seen her as just her name, never seen her as cold and uncaring. Dancing with Holly was nice. Holly was nice. And pretty. And smart. So very smart. Gail smiled to herself.

"What is it?" Holly asked, or rather shouted, interrupting Gail's thoughts.

"Nothing," Gail yelled across the table, turning her head back to Holly. "Just… thinking."

"Well are you at least having fun?"

"I am." Gail smiled genuinely, holding Holly's gaze for several moments before they both had to look away. Neither saw the other blush. After a beat, she said indifferently, "The bartender was hitting on you."

Holly glanced over at the bar. The woman was cute enough. She was maybe a little taller than Holly was herself, but she couldn't tell if the woman was wearing heels or not. She had a round face, with shockingly red hair that couldn't possibly be natural. And she was wearing a rather revealing, black top…

"Earth to nerd," Gail shouted, pulling Holly back to their conversation.

"Sorry," Holly said. She hadn't realized she'd been staring. She could feel the heat in her cheeks and was glad for the dark environment.

"You should go get her number." Gail's tone was blasé, but the look on her face was irritated. And maybe… a little hurt?

Holly looked at the bartender once more, something Gail couldn't quite read passed over her face before she said, "Oh, uh, no. I don't think so." The brunette took a rather large gulp from her beverage. "She's not my type."

"What is your type?" Gail asked. Did she sound… hopeful? No… It must be the alcohol.

"I don't know, I haven't really thought about it."

"But the bartender isn't it?" Gail looked back at the bar, eyeing the woman carefully. Holly did the same with Gail, scrutinizing her. Gail's posture was rigid, almost defensive. Holly watched her jaw flex, saw the way her throat moved as she swallowed. Her gaze traveled down Gail's neck, along her collar bone, and followed the trail of her low cut shirt down… she suddenly became aware of eyes on her. Holly looked up to find Gail examining her with such intensity, causing Holly to redden again and look away.

"No, I guess not," Holly finally said.

"Hmm."

"What?"

"Nothing," Gail murmured. "Let's dance."

Gail stood, and when Holly followed suit, grabbed her neighbor's hand and pulled her through the crowd.

"O-okay," Holly said as Gail yanked on her arm.

As soon as the blonde determined that she'd found an adequate spot, she stopped and spun to face Holly. Startled, the brunette froze. Gail grinned mischievously and grabbed Holly's waist, pulling her close. She began to sway to the music.

Oh my god, Holly thought, Gail is grinding on me. Gail Peck is grinding on me. Oh my god what do I do? Fuck, get your shit together, Holly. Dance with her, you idiot. Finally Holly's body and her brain connected and she began to move in time with Gail and the music.

They danced together for what felt to Holly like ages. That is, until Gail decided she needed yet another drink. The two made their way to the bar for their refills, which under Gail's order were more shots of tequila. Holly had barely downed her shot when Gail tugged her back to the dance floor, where the blonde resumed dancing on Holly as if she were a pole. Holly was not complaining.

Holly was drunk. Well, she was definitely buzzed, easily on her way to drunk. Probably at least a little drunk. This wasn't good. Not if Gail kept dancing up on her like she was. No, this was not good for her. It was becoming increasingly difficult to keep her hands off of her friend, between the alcohol circulating her system and the way Gail was moving— oh god, did Gail even know what she was doing to Holly? Certainly she knew… she had to… Nobody grinds on their lesbian best friend and doesn't know exactly what it does to them. Or do they? God, Holly, keep it in your pants, she scolded herself.

Gail threw her arms around Holly's neck, pulling her body flush against the brunette's as she moved with the music. This was getting to be too much for Holly. She put her hands on Gail's arms, about to remove them from her shoulders, but the look in Gail's eyes startled her. They were an electric shade of cobalt. So Holly let her instinct take over. She grabbed Gail by the face and pulled the blonde's mouth to her own.

Gail started, surprised by the actions of her neighbor. It wasn't but a split second before she was kissing Holly back, her fingers found their way into the woman's hair, scratching lightly at her scalp to bring her closer. Holly relented, opening her mouth to allow Gail's tongue the access it was seeking. She moaned into the kiss, causing Gail to tighten her grip in the most pleasing way.

Shit, shit, shit, Holly's mind began to reel. What was happening? She needed to stop this. There was no way Gail would be doing any of this if she wasn't under the influence of tequila. But oh god, did it feel good. Wait, no, this needed to stop. It needed to stop immediately. Holly ripped herself away from the blonde, gripping her by the upper arms. Gail's eyes were wide and bewildered. Holly knew she was right, that Gail hadn't meant to do any of this.

She turned and moved as fast as she could through the crowded room to the exit. She didn't look back. She didn't see Gail watching her, head tilted, mouth slightly ajar, and brow furrowed.

As soon as she felt the cold air hit her lungs, Holly felt better. Minimally so, but better none the less. Closing her eyes, she lifted her face toward the sky. She placed her hands on her hips and just breathed for a minute. God what had she done? Surely Gail wouldn't want to see her after this. Now, not only had she lost her best friend, she'd probably have to move.

"Fuck me," she sighed into the night.

"Well, ok. But you gotta buy me dinner first."

Holly spun around, eyes wide, fearful of what might happen next. "Gail! I—"

"You ran out on me." Gail cut in, her face impassive.

"I'm sorry," she said, eyes on the ground and shaking her head. "I don't… I understand if you—"

"Holly," Gail cut her off again. She took a breath and stepped towards Holly. "We've been friends for awhile now. And we tell each other stuff, and we hang out, and we have a good time, right?" Holly opened her mouth to speak, but Gail held up her hand. "Don't answer that. What I'm saying is, basically we've been on a bunch of dates. Unofficial, but I would— I do consider them dates. And it… it took me until tonight to realize, but I—I like you, Holly. I really, really like you." Gail was mere inches from Holly now. "I'm going to kiss you again. Please don't run away this time." Gail licked her lips slowly, inching forward hesitantly, giving Holly time to back away.

Holly caught the look of fear in the blue eyes before her, and it broke her heart that Gail thought she might not want her. But she needed to know, "Gail, you're drunk…"

"I'm not."

"Gail—"

"Holly, I'm not drunk."

"This isn't possible," Holly whispered, placing her hands gently on Gail's shoulders to push her back. "You can't be saying these things. This isn't happening."

"Why can't it be possible?" Gail asked, hurt edging on her words. She pulled back a bit.

"Because you can't possibly— This is a dream? Right? My subconscious, fueled by alcohol, creating this situation and it's… it's not real, because I really, really want it to be real. Therefore, it can't be real." Holly was looking at her feet now.

Suddenly there were hands on either side of her face, pulling her forward. She didn't understand what was happening until soft lips met her own. Her eyes briefly registered that it was Gail kissing her, before they closed. She tasted like tequila and cherry chapstick.

Gail pulled back slowly, her hands remained on Holly's cheeks. "You're over thinking this, nerd. I like you. You like me. There's this thing that people do, called dating. I'd really like to try it with you."

"I, uh, I'd like that too." A lopsided grin slowly took over Holly's face.

"Good. I'm gonna kiss you again now."

"Please do."