"Do you seriously need an escort?"
"Not an escort, Aubrey. A sidekick. At least, that's what I'd prefer to think of you as."
The blonde lifted one perfectly plucked eyebrow in near disdain. "You know how I feel about those kinds of bars, Chloe."
Chloe gave a humpft as she crossed her arms over her chest with a scowl plastered across her face. "And what kind of bars are those exactly?" She didn't frown often, but when she did, it was intense. "My kind of bars? I can't believe you, Aubrey. I go out with you all the time."
"That's... different." Aubrey narrowed her eyes as she knew her best friend probably had a point.
"Or are you still stuck on the 'abnormal nature of my chosen lifestyle'?" The redhead's voice was cutting and snippy. When she'd first come out to her best friend, Aubrey had not spoken to her for weeks. She knew her friend was past that, but the redhead's feelings were hurt, and she was lashing out.
Aubrey's facial features softened as she placed her hand on Chloe's arm. "You know I don't feel that way anymore, Chlo. That was a long time ago, and you just… caught me off guard when you told me. My upbringing was different."
"But how one was raised doesn't factor in with whom you're attracted to or whom your heart chooses to love." Chloe had spoken these words to Aubrey many times and would continue to try to get her friend to understand that her 'lifestyle' wasn't a choice. "Look… will you go out with me tonight, or am I going solo?"
"Alright, I'll go. But only until Beca gets off work." Aubrey hugged her friend. "I'm not sure why you don't want to wait for her before you go to the club."
Chloe's eyes had gone from sad to bright and excited. "You know Beca's work schedule is sporadic. Please come with me," she begged.
"I already said yes, you goof. I'll be here by eight. You're buying me dinner first."
When Aubrey got back to her friend's apartment, she was wearing a loose green sweater, tight jeans, and ankle boots. Her hair was loosely pulled back into a ponytail. "Cute," Chloe chirped. "Casual yet adorable. The women will be falling over themselves," she teased as Aubrey rolled her eyes.
"As long as they realize I'm straight."
"All you have to do is tell them." Chloe tugged her shoes on before standing up. "I'm starving. Let's go."
After a light dinner and pre-club drinks, the two friends headed out on the town. Aubrey hooked her arm through her friends. "You look nice tonight, Chloe. New outfit?" Chloe had on an almost see-through red shirt with flowing sleeves that hung over tight black leather pants. "Are those flats I see?"
"Better for dancing, my friend."
The club was not terribly crowded when they first arrived, but people began to flow in soon after. The DJ was filling the dance floor early with some fantastic music. Chloe did not waste any time pulling her friend into the middle of the people so they could dance. The first song was more than enough to get them both sufficiently warmed up.
As the song changed, the beats became stronger. In the center of the dance floor, Aubrey stood with her back arched and hands stretched to the sky. The lights shined brightly on the mirrored ball, colored rays flicking across her skin. She allowed the rhythm to pulse into herself and started to tap her foot to the steady beat. As the drums picked up the pace, she began to let her body dance without inhibition. The blonde had forgotten how much she loved dancing. And though she would never admit it to Chloe, gay clubs had the best music.
She opened her eyes, pulled her hair from its ponytail, letting her blonde locks loose around her shoulders. She grabbed Chloe's hands as they began to spin, laughing without abandon. "Are you glad you're here?" Chloe's smile was infectious. "Oooh," she squealed before Aubrey could answer. "There's Beca." The redhead took off to greet her girlfriend who had gotten there surprisingly early.
Aubrey wasn't ready to stop dancing and waved at Beca as the brunette waited for Chloe to fight her way through the crowds of people. Back in her zone now, Aubrey jiggled and shimmied, electrifying the air with her exuberance as a hundred thousand fireflies ignited the atmosphere. Her soul burned with every bob of her head, every jiggle of her shoulders, every gyration of her hips.
As the song ended, the DJ slid into a slower song to encourage people to take a breather and grab drinks. Aubrey found Chloe and Beca leaning against a bar that ran along the side of the club and took the pale, red cocktail her friend offered. "Thanks, Chlo." After a long drink, she wiped her brow. "Hey, Beca."
The tiny brunette nodded her head. "Thanks for keeping my girl company."
"And now that you are here, I'm going to head out after I finish this drink." Chloe stuck out her lower lip in a pout. "No way, Red. That won't work. I told you I'd stay with you until Beca got here. And… here she is." Aubrey waved her hand up and down Beca's body.
Beca grabbed her girlfriend's hand and spun her around. "That's our cue to get out on the dance floor. Thanks again, Aubrey." She pulled Chloe towards the floor as the redhead blew kisses back to her friend.
"Love you, Bree!"
The blonde laughed to herself as she nursed the rest of her drink, trying to cool off. No sooner had Aubrey finished her drink and unlocked her phone to order an Uber, the bartender set another drink in front of her. "Oh, I didn't need another. I'm about to leave."
The bartender dried her hands on a towel tucked into her waist and pointed to a tall brunette standing on the other side of the bar. "Compliments of the tall drink of water over there."
Aubrey primly left the drink on the napkin and crossed her hands in front of the glass, not sure what to do. Maybe she should order her Uber and duck out before the woman came over. Would that be rude? Or would the woman expect something in exchange for her purchase? But while the decisions were circling in her brain, she felt another person invade her personal space, well almost.
She looked over to see the rangy, brunette woman who'd bought her the second vodka cranberry sitting on the barstool next to her. Aubrey drew a deep breath while collecting her thoughts. Using the back of her hand, she slid the drink over towards the woman. "I'm flattered but straight."
The woman raised her hands in a non-threatening gesture. "Still, keep the drink. I don't do cranberry." She slid a matchbook over towards Aubrey, got off the barstool, and walked away.
Aubrey huffed and took a drink of the fresh cocktail for argument's sake. "Cranberry is the best mixer," she muttered. As she took another sip, she glanced up and saw Chloe making a beeline towards her.
"Yay! You stayed for another drink." Chloe ordered herself and Beca drinks before turning back to her friend. Her eyes landed on the matchbook. "Ooooh, did Aubrey get herself a number?"
"What? Huh?" The blonde was confused. Then Chloe snatched the matchbook from in front of her and opened the cover.
Call me, Stacie – 404-555-2012. Chloe closed the matchbook and tucked it in Aubrey's jeans pocket. "Pray tell, who is Stacie?"
"Nobody." Aubrey felt her face heat up with embarrassment.
"Nobody gave you her number?"
"Yup. And nobody bought me this drink." Aubrey drained her drink. "And somebody should not be so nosy." She leaned over and kissed Chloe on the cheek. "Bye to the little woman, too. Wait, where is Beca?"
Chloe motioned towards the restroom. "She was headed to the little girls' room and ran into a friend."
Aubrey glanced over and saw Beca talking to a much taller woman. When the woman turned her head around, she locked eyes with Aubrey, and the blush began to rise on the blonde's face again. Beca was talking to Stacie. Aubrey ducked her head down and quickly made her way out the door.
Aubrey fiddled with the matchbook, opening and closing it as her driver made his way to her apartment. She felt the irritation crawl across her skin but wasn't sure where the ire had come from. The stranger, Stacie, hadn't done anything wrong.
Women hitting on her was why Aubrey never liked going out to gay clubs with Chloe. She was comfortable with her own sexuality, just didn't enjoy it when women presumed she was a lesbian only because she was in a gay club. Her fingers ran over the message and the numbers which were in block print, trying to conceive what Stacie's occupation could possibly be. She finally settled on engineer or architect since both of those jobs required precise block lettering.
As she walked towards her complex after her driver dropped her off, Aubrey stopped at one of the metal trash cans still sitting by the street after trash collection day. She opened the matchbook and ripped out a few of the sticks. After striking them, she lit one edge of the paper cover and dropped the flaming book into the empty can. As it hit bottom, the matches flared as the rest caught flame. After Stacie's message and number turned to ash, Aubrey placed the lid back on the can and dragged it to the side of her building.
Memorial Day meant many people had off work, so Chloe had invited Aubrey to lunch. A slow day at the studio enabled Beca to take a few hours to join them, which excited her girlfriend. Chloe arrived first with her girlfriend following quickly behind her. "Where's Aubrey?" Beca kissed Chloe and took a seat next to her.
"There she is." Chloe motioned towards the door. She waved a tad to get her friend's attention. Aubrey walked over and gave each of her friends a short hug before taking her seat on the other side of Chloe.
The trio of friends chatted as they ordered and waited for their food. Suddenly Beca stood and started motioning for someone. She wiped her mouth before speaking. "Chlo, remember I told you about my friend I ran into at the club? She's here." Chloe turned in her chair to see who Beca was beckoning over. "Mind if she joins us?"
The woman walked up to the table and bent down to hug Beca. Next to Chloe, Aubrey stiffened. "Chloe, this is Stacie. Stacie, Chloe is my girlfriend and her friend, Aubrey."
By now, Chloe had sensed her friend's discomfort. "Nice to meet you, Stacie. Stacie? Ohhhhh, Stacie." Aubrey dug her elbow into the redhead's ribs as she grimaced and nodded a greeting.
"Ladies, nice to meet you. Chloe, Beca has told me so much about you."
Beca's girlfriend was a natural, bubbly woman who was beyond friendly. "Any friend of Beca's is a friend of mine. Have a seat, Stacie." She cut her eyes sideways to check on Aubrey, who was sitting a little more upright, back a bit more ridged than usual as the tall brunette took the last seat at the table.
Beca's friend was quite the charmer and showered her attention on Chloe, asking her a slew of questions about where she grew up, how she'd met Beca, what she did for a living, etc. Never did Stacie's inquiries turn to Aubrey, who was far too polite to show her discomfort or displeasure in being left out.
Stacie's questioning continued, and Aubrey could not believe that Stacie was ignoring her. She didn't know whether to be offended or flat out angry. Without meaning to be self-evident, she crossed her arms and gave a small huff.
Stacie turned to Aubrey. "Oh, Spaghetti Girl, I forgot you were here."
Aubrey's jaw dropped open, her mouth forming a perfect circle. "Aca-cuse me?"
"Where are you from, Spaghetti Girl?" Stacie was grinning at Aubrey's discomfort.
"My. Name. Is. Aubrey. Posen." The blonde spoke through gritted teeth. Stacie gave a Cheshire Cat grin as she watched the blonde primly dab her mouth with her napkin, fold the cloth, and place it next to her plate. "Chloe, Beca, thanks for inviting me to lunch. I think I'm going to head home."
As Aubrey stood, Stacie said, "nice seeing you again, Spaghetti Girl."
The blonde whipped her head towards the offensive woman. "Why do you keep calling me that?" Stacie motioned the blonde over and proceeded to whisper in Aubrey's ear. The look on Chloe's best friend's face was nothing less than horrified. She swung her hand back and open-handed slapped Stacie across the cheek, leaving a bright red mark shaped like her palm. Without another goodbye to her friends, Aubrey turned and rushed out of the restaurant.
Chloe was too shocked to go after her friend. Even Beca stared at Stacie in shock as her tall friend rubbed her face. The taller brunette was laughing so hard she could barely catch her breath. Eventually, she calmed down enough to lean back and catch her breath as she rubbed her cheek. "I guess I deserved that."
"Legs, what did you say to Aubrey?"
"She wanted to know why I kept calling her Spaghetti Girl, so I told her." She shrugged.
"And? You said?"
Stacie flashed her evil smile again and replied, "I said, 'even spaghetti is straight until it's hot and wet.'"