a/n: hi all,
We're here, we're here! This was not supposed to be a 45,000 word term, but c'est la vie.
I got a review last chapter asking for more happy Kate and Sophie chapters. I loved it; it was great; it was perfect. These will be coming, I promise. Slightly related, I have a series of one-off chapters in a separate 'Outtakes' story that I've neglected updating of late, but that exists as a source for concentrated happy Kate and Sophie moments that don't make it into the main story.
Cheers,
EQT.95
"You're thinking too much."
"Have you met me?" Sophie sighed in exasperation, lifting herself from the mat for the eighth time.
"You need to turn off your brain," Kate chastised.
"But I just replaced the batteries," Sophie shot back dryly.
It was their first Thursday session since the incident in Kate's room. Kate and Sophie hadn't spoken since then, but it was clear a flip had been switched. From the moment Sophie had nervously arrived in the gym, it was like every session before then had never happened.
For one, Kate was giving feedback. It wasn't a conversation so much as pointed critiques of how Sophie was or wasn't doing something right. Actually, in most cases it was how it was wrong, but Sophie was holding out hope there would be some positive reinforcement to this new version of training. Even if that didn't come to pass, this shift was enough to send her over the moon.
"Close your eyes."
"What?" Sophie asked, frozen in a defensive stance.
"Close your eyes," Kate repeated.
Sophie did as she was told, half expecting Kate to wipe her feet out from underneath her. It took her by surprise when Kate's voice spoke inches from her ear.
"Now," Kate said, "don't think about what I might do, just tell me what you feel."
"Ok…"
"What do you feel?" Kate asked, extending her hand to grab Sophie's right wrist.
"Your hand gripping my arm."
"Ok," Kate continued. "What else?"
"I… I don't know. You might be getting ready to pivot and twist or pull and use my weight against me, and then that would mean you'll-"
"Stop. No," Kate said, releasing her hand. "Try again. What do you feel?"
This happened a handful of times, Sophie getting more and more frustrated at her failing such a simple task.
"Sophie, it's not rocket science. Just tell me what you feel," Kate said with the same patience. She reached out and grabbed Sophie's wrist again.
"I feel…" Sophie began with an air of frustration.
"Just take a breath, Soph," Kate said. "What do you feel?"
"I feel… your thumb is against the inside face of my wrist and your fingers are on the outside. It's not fully closed."
"Good. What else?"
"Your grip is… it's twisting slightly…"
"How?"
"You're twisting... clockwise - clockwise for you anyway. You're twisting away from my center."
"Yes, good. Now tell me what you feel now," Kate said, and she shifted her grip slightly.
"Now your hand is closed around my wrist. It's not spread out like before."
"And?"
"You're pulling."
"What way?"
"Straight to you; up but only slightly."
"Good."
"What's the point of this?" Sophie asked, opening her eyes.
"When you see me go for your wrist, how many different scenarios are you thinking about?"
"I… all of them," Sophie confessed.
"Exactly, which means you aren't reacting to what I'm actually doing, you're reacting to some master flowchart in your brain. By the time you deduce what's happening, it's too late. But, if my hand grips you like this," Kate continued, reverting to her first grip, "there's really only two or three things I'd do with that."
Kate watched as her words sank in, and Sophie nodded in understanding.
"So, stop thinking. Start feeling," Kate said. "Now, let's try again."
The weeks began flying for Kate. Not that they hadn't been for the first half of the semester, but with the warming weather and chance to mix things up with the drill sessions, the added variety was making the days feel less monotonous. Melvin was picking up all the right habits, and Reyes approved handing over two of the first year groups to him citing that, if Melvin messed anything up, they'd still have three years to fix it. While Melvin took this personally, Kate laughed at the way Reyes was able to give such a backhanded compliment.
"Why are you being so mopy? He's letting you run the sessions," she encouraged.
"Yea, but with a built-in insurance clause," he pouted.
"Sure, but this is when they're at their most malleable. The third years talk back, but the first years are too terrified to challenge authority."
"That's true," he sighed, trying to decide how much more of a tantrum to throw.
With these eight extra hours in her schedule, Kate was finally able to feel like she was managing her studies. She wasn't on top of them like previous semesters, but at least she showed up to Chambers' class having read the right material.
Tuesday evenings were spent in town with Veronica and the girls. There was a bittersweetness about the second half of term: most of the group saw the light at the end of the tunnel and were excited to get out into the world after graduation. Since that meant only Kate and Sarah would remain, it had the foreboding quality of the weekly get togethers dissolving entirely come the following fall semester. It had become an escape for Kate over the last few weeks, and she was worried that, come the end of the year, it would be gone for good.
That concern was shelved slightly when Sarah showed up one recent Tuesday with a noob. She proudly displayed her to the group as a new member.
"Look what I found!" she exclaimed, gesturing at the timid girl. "A third year and everything."
"Sarah, just… you really lack tact," Jess sighed.
"I can vouch for that. You should see her on the course," Kate smirked.
"Do you have a name?" Rory asked after the chuckles died down.
"Michelle," she said, her fingers gripped tightly around a sweating pint of beer.
"And did you come here voluntarily, or did Sarah throw a bag over your head and kidnap you?" Veronica chimed in.
"A bit of both?"
"Hey!" Sarah pouted.
"Oh, that was good. You can stay," Veronica laughed.
The new addition breathed life into the group, and Sarah in particular was ecstatic. As the weeks grew closer to the end of term, the nights went longer. Kate learned the barkeep's son "was their kind" as he put it. It was about as obvious a statement as anything and, while apparently the rest of the group already knew this, it explained the relaxed protocol when it came to closing up.
On one particular night, the owner slipped the key onto the table and asked that they lock up when they were finished. It was a gesture that didn't go unrecognized, and, whenever the opportunity arose, they tipped a little extra.
"So when are you bringing Sophie around?" Veronica asked the following week as they exited the bar. They were the last two, and Veronica was too tipsy to be responsible with the keys.
"You're drunk," Kate deflected, engaging the first lock with a click.
"But she's gay," Veronica explained away.
"I'm not having this conversation."
"She checks all the boxes. It's actually a pretty easy test. Probably for the better… if we had any other standards, Sarah would never have been let in."
"Which way are you going?" Kate asked, latching the final lock and pocketing the keys.
"Home," Veronica sighed.
"Really?" Kate asked, surprised by the answer.
"Oh, don't give me that."
"What? I'm just… it's been a while."
"I've been trying out the new girl," Veronica winked.
"Ouch."
"Relax, you're still the best of the group. She's... fine - definitely inexperienced."
"I didn't realize you were a monogamous player," Kate scowled. "It's both progressive and incredibly traditional of you. A bit of an oxymoron really. Like jumbo shrimp."
"Me? Never. I think we both know it's for the best though," Veronica replied in reference to Kate's proposal. "The sun has set and all that crap. Don't you agree?"
Kate's scowl deepened.
"You'll thank me one day."
"I really doubt that."
"Only because you never learned how," Veronica chuckled. "Bring her by one of these weeks."
"That's never going to happen."
"Look, if you don't, I will, and I always get first taste of unclaimed fresh blood," she winked.
Kate would never admit it, but Veronica's remark caused an irrational surge of jealousy through her. For one thing, it would mean admitting to something she'd been fighting all term and for another, because she knew that was exactly what Veronica was fishing for.
They hadn't discussed the night in March. Kate knew Veronica was waiting, somewhat impatiently based on the more and more blatant proddings, for Kate to make the first move, but she wasn't sure how to broach the topic because she still wasn't sure how she felt about what happened. No part of her faulted Veronica for reaching out to Sophie, that much was for certain, but a part of her did wonder what compelled her to do it at all.
More than Veronica's involvement though, Kate was struggling to understand what had occurred between her and Sophie that night. Added to that, as much as she initially fought it, Thursday was quickly becoming her favorite day of the week. Even as she walked away from Veronica that night, stunned by both the rejection and the suggestion, she found herself excited by the prospect that Thursday evening was now only two days away.
It wasn't that things between her and Sophie were rainbows and butterflies, but it didn't take long for Kate to realize she preferred the confusion of having Sophie back in her life than nothing at all. This first admission was key to their Thursday night sessions, and it changed their dynamic completely. But it also left Kate walking on eggshells; not with Sophie - with herself. As much as she enjoyed having a relationship with Sophie, she was still sensitive to the pain it had caused last time. She didn't trust herself or Sophie at risk of getting hurt again. Which is why she established rules as a way to negotiate this new territory: no casual conversations lasting longer than three minutes; no walking back to the dorms together; no watching Sophie in the locker room; no laughing at her jokes; no extended eye contact; the list went on and on.
They seemed simple - child's play, and yet Kate was struggling not to break each and every one of them as the weeks progressed. They had been easy enough to follow when she was filled with anger and resented Sophie, but now that those feelings had faded, she was left falling into old habits; habits that sent her into fits of uncontrolled laughter, that challenged her wit, that left her speechless, that made her happy. The only saving grace was that their sessions were confined to a sixty minute window, and Kate credited this as the only reason she hadn't done something foolish and drastic. She didn't have a tolerance to withstand anymore.
"Wh-," Sophie froze, her finger raised toward Kate's side. They had just finished up a session and Kate had broken her tenth rule of the night by picking a locker near Sophie. While Sophie arrived at the gym long after her, Kate knew well enough what zone of the locker room Sophie gravitated toward and had selected a spot that, as luck would have it, turned out to be four down from her.
"Did… did I do that to you?" she asked, startled by the deep purples of a bruise forming. Sophie had been improving quickly. This was in large part due to that fact Kate's training strategy had pivoted drastically. Sophie was normally a quick enough learner, but these sessions had been her downfall. It was obvious after just the first week that having Kate's critical eye as direction was the necessary variable that led to her improvement.
"You have surprisingly pointy elbows," Kate dismissed lightly.
"Why didn't you say something?" Sophie asked, her gaze interrogating the grizzly colors contrasting against Kate's pale skin.
"Because at least it wasn't my face this time," Kate smirked back.
"Does it hurt?" Sophie asked, extending her hand to run her fingers over it.
"Ow, yes, it does now," Kate hissed in surprise. "And why are your hands always so cold?"
"They aren't broken, right?" Sophie asked, ignoring Kate's outcry.
"Don't flatter yourself. You aren't that good," Kate smirked.
"Only because I've been holding back," Sophie retorted easily. "Maybe you should start wearing the dopey pads."
"Is that a challenge Sophie Moore?" Kate asked, her eyebrows raised in surprise.
"No," Sophie chuckled. "I know better than that."
"Uh," Kate began hesitantly, "you - you can let go."
A mortified expression struck Sophie like lightning as she realized her hand was still securely on Kate's skin. She retracted it while muttering a string of incoherent apologies that only made more obvious the shock and embarrassment she felt.
"It's ok," Kate replied without emotion which only made the entire exchange worse as Sophie fell into a sea of overthinking to what extent she'd made things uncomfortable.
Things hadn't been perfect, but they were getting better. Most of their interaction was still limited exclusively to the training sessions, but those had evolved to include lingering conversations after their ten o'clock cut off. Sophie did not take this for granted. It was more than she imagined when term started, but she constantly found herself second guessing or holding back for fear even that development would regress. This was the most egregious act to date, and the awkwardness she felt reflected that.
It had been nearly four weeks since the night in Kate's room, and while they hadn't talked directly about it, they both recognized the shift that came from it. For Sophie, that was monumental. While a piece of her craved a genuine and serious conversation, she knew that kind of thing was a big ask, and, based on how skittish Kate was, a long way off.
They finished changing in silence, both pretending a line hadn't been crossed moments earlier. Sophie lingered a minute longer to give Kate the chance to duck out before her. For as much as small moments existed between them, they were contained to the training session. It was for the best, Sophie reasoned away; while she longed for the isolation of these hour long periods to spill out into their everyday life, she took Kate's lead when establishing the new boundaries.
That's why she was surprised when Kate went against the norm and didn't immediately leave. Sophie caught the apprehension out of the corner of her eye and glanced over to see Kate caught in negotiations with herself.
"I'm almost done if you want to, uh, I just mean - if you're walking back to the dorms," Sophie offered, relieving Kate of the task and instead giving her the chance to reject.
Kate glanced over in surprise and looked like she might accept when her rules caught up with her. "Uh, maybe another time."
"Sure," Sophie nodded in understanding. "Have a good night."
"Yea, uh, you too."
"I see you left your better half at home again."
"When are you going to drop this?" Kate asked in frustration. It was becoming too frequent an occurrence for Veronica to nosily interject this conversation on the weekly nights out.
"Oh Kate, you know me better than that. I'll never drop this," Veronica smirked, locking the door behind her. "So?"
"No."
"Oh come on."
"I'm leaving, and from the looks of it, Michelle is less than subtly waiting at the end of the block," Kate said, already heading in the direction of the dorms.
"So she is," Veronica said, glancing behind her.
"Night Nicky," Kate said, taking the opportunity to bail entirely.
"Fine. Hater."
"Hey."
"Sophie, uh, hi," Kate said in surprise. She was nearly neck deep next to a stack of books.
"What are you doing?" Sophie asked, surveying the warzone around Kate.
"Well, it's a library, and this is a school, so… studying?"
"I didn't know you did that anymore," Sophie remarked lightly, noting Kate's tone was strained with sardonic frustration: an obvious symptom of her studying for too long with subjects she couldn't care less about.
"Yea, but, it's a full moon and Mercury isn't in retrograde, so, life is aligned."
"Makes sense," Sophie smirked at the continued sarcasm. "What are you working on?"
"Everything."
"Not quite: I don't see a dictionary or a telephone book in your little fortress."
"Only because it's all online now."
"Mind if I join?"
"If you can find a spot," Kate sighed.
"Really?" Sophie said in obvious surprise.
Over the last few weeks, Sophie had gotten used to being rejected by Kate. She wasn't dissuaded by it the same way she had been at the beginning of term and, at this point, she saw it more as a gauge of Kate's mood - a game of sorts. Generally the denial would come as a swift, blunt retort, but on the rare occasion Kate would hesitate before turning Sophie down. Those were the moments she was playing for because it meant some day Kate might finally warm and say yes. That 'yes' came unexpectedly just now, and Sophie wasn't remotely unprepared for it. By her math, she had another three months and a miracle to get there.
Her question was answered when Kate slid a stack of books aside to give Sophie a surface to work with.
"The sun is still up; I figured you'd be at one of your sessions," Sophie said, taking the seat across from Kate before digging into her bag.
"Melvin has them this week."
"Aw, shared custody. Do you miss them?"
"Hardly," Kate groaned. "They're first years and beyond exhausting."
"You should get more Melvins," Sophie replied thoughtfully.
"Melvin has been trying to plant that seed in Reyes' ear for the last month."
"And?"
"Reyes isn't dumb. He knows it would make more sense spreading the workload."
"You think he's doing this on purpose?"
"Oh, definitely," Kate answered.
"Why? I mean, this feels a bit excessive."
"I think Jacob put him up to it."
"Really?"
"That's my working theory, and before you ask, no, I have literally no proof they're colluding."
"That's very 'conspiracy theory' of you."
"But," Kate continued. "I learned they were in the Academy together; a year apart but both were part of the boxing team."
"Well if that tiny shred of proof doesn't make it an inside job, I don't know what does," Sophie smirked.
"I said it's a working theory," Kate scowled.
"What did you do to your dad?" Sophie asked, surprised by two things: that Kate's father would make her miserable all semester and that Kate was being so forthcoming about all of it. While she didn't want to jinx it by thinking too much into it, she couldn't help but wonder if Kate was using the conversation as a way to indirectly let off steam and take a break from whatever workload was surrounding her.
"I didn't do anything. At least I don't think so," Kate said, pondering for a moment. "Yea, no, I'm a pain in the ass, but nothing out of the ordinary."
"Is this about the Crows?" Sophie asked, beginning to piece the bits together. A nod of confirmation from Kate meant she was on the right track.
"My guess is that he's worried when I apply to the Crows it'll seem like I'm only getting the job because I'm a Kane, so something like this will help."
"That… that makes sense but is still kind of messed up," Sophie replied, making a mental note of Kate's word choice. "I mean, I've never met the guy, but knowing he's related to you makes it make sense..."
"We Kanes are a breed unto our own."
"That's for sure," Sophie chuckled, noting the way Kate's attention eased back toward her notes, indicating the conversation was nearing its end. Taking that as her cue, Sophie quietly settled into her own work.
"Is this for Chambers?" Sophie asked after thirty minutes of silence. Although silence wasn't completely true: the soft murmuring of Kate had appeared fifteen minutes in.
"Yea."
Sophie nodded in understanding, reading Kate's succinct reply as direction to remain quiet.
"Can you…" Kate began hesitantly after a moment. "Do you understand the Operation Bodyguard stuff?"
"From the Normandy landings?" Sophie asked lightly.
Kate nodded.
"Wow, you really are studying everything."
"Yea… I am... I'm so behind," Kate admitted. "And my notes are a mess and incomplete so I can't even use th-"
"What part are you confused about?" Sophie asked, slipping out another notebook from her bag.
"Well, I guess it's more about the landings themselves. They delayed the operation twenty four hours because of the weather."
"Right."
"But my notes say even then the weather wasn't ideal."
"Accurate."
"But then why didn't they just wait a bit longer?"
"Oh. It was linked to the phases of the moon," Sophie replied easily.
"I'm being serious," Kate scowled in frustration.
"I am too," Sophie grinned. "It was linked to the tides. Because of that they were limited to certain windows of time to land. If they didn't attack when they did it would have delayed the entire operation by a couple weeks."
"Really?"
"That and Mercury would have been in retrograde, so you know communication would have gone off the rails," Sophie said with a smirk earning a much deserved eye roll from Kate.
"How do you know all of this?" Kate asked, quickly jotting down Sophie's comment. "I mean… I've literally been sifting through book after book for the last hour."
Sophie shrugged. "What can I say; I guess I'm just better than the library."
"Your modesty has deteriorated severely," Kate laughed.
The conversation progressed like this as Kate peppered Sophie with questions about Operation Neptune who answered them with relative ease. At one point she needed to reference her notes for accuracy:
"Juno, Sword, Omaha, Utah, and… and…"
"What are you doing?"
"I can't remember the fifth sector," Sophie replied, leafing through her notebook.
"If this were a gameshow you'd have just lost," Kate teased.
"What does that make you? Besides, don't I get three lifelines?" Sophie shot back as she found the page. "Gold; that was the fifth."
"Only two lifelines left."
"Which was this one?"
"Phone a friend," Kate explained.
"My notebook is a friend?"
"Isn't it?" Kate asked dryly.
"Yea, well I'd say my 'friend' is far more reliable than asking the audience," Sophie smirked.
"Touche," Kate chuckled.
The next hour played out like this, fading into periods of silence before Kate inevitably posed another question that sent them down a familiar road of bantering back and forth. Before long a buzzing on the table returned Kate to reality. She dismissed the alarm she had set on her phone and began packing up with a sigh.
"Evening session?" Sophie asked.
"Yea," Kate replied as she picked up a stack of the books and moved them to the return cart.
"I thought you said Melvin had them."
"Those are the first years. The second and third years are still all mine."
Sophie nodded in understanding while Kate cleared the table and slipped her work into her bag.
"If you're free tonight, I'll probably still be here when you're done," Sophie offered.
"Oh. Uhm, that… I… not tonight."
"Yea, not a problem," Sophie smiled, unphased by the norm of Kate's rejection.
"Thanks for the help though. It… you just saved me hours of floundering."
"Good word."
A small grin of pride flashed across Kate's face as she turned to leave. She was all of three steps away before pausing.
"Uh, what… what are you doing Saturday night?"
A small spark of excitement rushed through Sophie as she tried to maintain a tone of casual indifference. "Still up in the air, although I was thinking about going on a self-destructive bender."
"Interesting. You haven't done that in a few months," Kate said with a small grin of satisfaction at the surprise on Sophie's face. "What? You started it," she shrugged.
"That… is true," Sophie replied after a moment's consideration.
"Well, if those plans fall through, Melvin and I are going into town. There's a bar that has a couple pool tables. It's all pretty chill."
"Oh," Sophie said, her discomfort showing. "Uh, yea, I'm not sure if… after January and Reyes-"
"That's... right, sure. I didn't think..." Kate said, realizing a moment too late what she was proposing. "Just, if you're worried, that's... you'll be in safe company," she clarified, sensing Sophie's hesitation. "No one's going to rat you out or anything. You can even be designated walker if you want."
"I… I'm just…"
"Think about it?" Kate asked.
"Ok."
"Oh good, you're here," Melvin said from the lounge threshold.
"Where else would I be?" Kate asked from a war torn couch. "Didn't I say we'd meet here?"
"Well, yea," Melvin said anxiously.
"Your excitement is showing," Kate observed with a smirk with half of her attention on her phone.
"Am I not allowed to be? After the week I've had, I need a break from this campus."
"You just want to play pool."
"So? Is that a crime?" Melvin scowled grumpily as Kate remained unmoving from the couch. "Uh… we going or what?"
"In a bit."
"What? In a bit?" Melvin asked in obvious disappointment.
"Yea."
"But why can't we go now?" he asked with the patience of a toddler.
"Sophie's coming."
Melvin gaped unabashedly for a moment before recovering a handful of words: "So-Sophie? Sophie Moore?"
"Do we know another Sophie?"
"I- I don't… no. Do you?"
"No."
"So it is? She is? How… how?"
"How what?"
"How did this happen?"
"The same way it did for you?" Kate deflected.
"You asked her?"
"Yes."
"And she said yes?"
"That is why we're still waiting."
"But…" Melvin faltered. For the entire semester it had been taboo to bring either party up to the other at risk of having his head chewed off. Over the last few weeks he had taken up the practice of avoiding the topic altogether. Now he was regretting that. "Are you two… like…"
"No."
"But friends?"
Kate shrugged. "Why does it need a label?"
"I don't know. I'm just trying to understand," Melvin said, collapsing onto the seat next to Kate. "So are you two good?"
"Sure," Kate replied with a tone of ambiguity.
"You sure?"
"What's your real question?"
"I… I don't know. I'm surprised; last we talked about this, things weren't… that great," Melvin said, "and now… I don't know. How long do we have?"
"Till what?"
"Until she gets here."
"I don't know; she's finishing something across campus. Maybe ten-fifteen minutes?"
"Ok, so enough time…"
"For what?"
"For you to lose your temper and cool off."
"What are y-"
"Are you guys getting back together?"
"That is- no," Kate scowled, understanding Melvin's motives.
"Why not?"
"Are you serious?" Kate gaped. "Are you… what? Absolutely nothing has changed."
"What are you talking about? A month ago I couldn't say Sophie's name without being burned to a crisp and now she's going out with us?"
"I mean nothing has changed from November," Kate clarified.
"So you still love her."
"That is not what I said," Kate replied, feeling her temper flare.
"Mmm," Melvin smirked, "technically you did in a roundabout way."
"I mean nothing about Sophie has changed from November," she clarified, her frustration now carrying into her voice.
"But if it had?"
"Why are you doing this?" Kate shot back while swallowing down a pang of hurt at Melvin's teasing. "Nothing has changed. Don't be an ass."
"Kate, I wasn't trying to…" Melvin said, recognizing he'd just overstepped. "I'm sorry. I wasn't trying to open up old wounds."
"Drop it, then."
"Ok, but-"
"Melvin."
"Ok, ok, I… just one last thing, and then I promise I'll drop it forever and ever."
Melvin paused, waiting for Kate to reject him. When she didn't, he continued:
"You're both chicken shit about this whole thing. I press her just as much as I press you because you two won't ever do it on your own. As charming as your stubborn streaks are, they're going to be the death of you."
"That it?" Kate asked impatiently.
"Yea," Melvin said defeatedly.
"Ok, because Sophie is downstairs. You ready?"
From the moment they entered the bar, Sophie was quickly engulfed by the energy of the fourth years who quickly made introductions and, surprisingly, ushered her in as an old friend. She knew a few from the scholars program and Veronica from, well, their previous encounters, but she was quickly losing track of all the names being lobbed her way. Somehow though, that didn't make her feel insecure. If anything, the relaxed atmosphere was exactly what she was hoping for. Even Veronica being around didn't impact her the way she thought it would. Sophie quickly realized the temperament she showed Sophie weeks back was just who she was, and that relieved Sophie in an unexpected way.
She'd spent the afternoon second guessing her decision to join Kate and Melvin for a night out. The thinking side of her was terrified of risking another tick against her record for underage drinking, but that was pushed aside by Kate's assurances it was a safe space. The feeling side of her was equally terrified but for different reasons: she enjoyed every minute of Kate she could get but still found herself doubting the progress they were making. For that reason, she let conservative logic rule when negotiating this.
They'd barely been there ten minutes before the reason for Melvin's attendance arrived:
"You two are up," Jess announced, pointing at Kate and Sophie.
"What?"
"Oh, no-"
"No, that's-"
"-I'm good-"
"-totally ok-"
"It's not up for debate," Veronica finally interrupted with a sigh. "Noob vs reigning champ to start. Have you ever played?" she asked Sophie.
"Maybe three times in my life."
"Perfect, so it'll be a quick death. Kate, you rack'em," Veronica directed, sliding the frame across the table at her. Kate shot her a quick scowl of annoyance before setting to work.
"Who has pens?" Tim called out.
"We're not betting," Kate chimed in.
"Nope. We always bet. Bar rules," Alex scowled, slapping a napkin next to Kate.
"What are we betting?" Sophie asked, scanning the new faces for direction.
"Whatever you want," Veronica smirked.
"Not true," Kate called back.
"Don't worry, I'll help her," Veronica said lightly, putting a reassuring arm around Sophie.
"Don't bend the rules," Kate threatened.
"You deal with yours, I'll deal with mine," she teased back.
"That doesn't even make sense."
"I'm two beers in. What do you expect," Veronica shrugged.
Much to Melvin's dismay, Kate quickly scribbled on her napkin, vying for her go-to bet before slipping off to the bar to order a drink. Sophie, on the other hand, was being monologued into the world of pool-betting. The skepticism on her face made Melvin wonder what Veronica and company were feeding her when Kate returned with three glasses.
"Time's up," Kate called, sliding a beer to Melvin before taking a sip of her own. "Sophie, you break."
"Remember when I said I've played all of three times in my life?"
"Yea, so?"
Sophie rolled her eyes, taking the cue stick Kate offered.
"I figured you should go first so you can say I didn't completely sweep you," Kate smirked.
"So modest. I assume this is how you've been making your millions lately," Sophie replied before scowling in concentration at the table.
"Do you need help?" Kate joked as Sophie fumbled with the grip on the cue.
"And let you sabotage my self-sabotage? No thanks," Sophie shot back before letting the stick strike the cue ball.
While it wasn't the greatest break in the world, it was far better than the scratch Sophie imagined. None of the balls went in, but a decent scattering provided options to play, and Kate quickly surveyed the table before setting up her first shot.
"You've probably got about… four minutes left," Veronica sidled up to Sophie. "It's weird how good she is."
"It's just math," Kate called from across the table. "I tell you this every time."
"No, I'm convinced you sold your soul."
"I didn't realize we were in Georgia," Sophie chimed in. The comment earned a scowl of confusion from the listening parties but earned a grin from Kate.
"I don't get it," Melvin admitted.
"Devil went down to Georgia?" Sophie explained, looking for recognition.
"Come on you guys. Charlie Daniels; it's a classic," Kate scowled as she sank her third straight solid.
"I grew up on the west coast."
"We know, V. We all know," Jess sighed.
"I'm just saying, songs about Georgia weren't on my radar."
"You're up," Kate called as she missed her first of the game. "Should I take a seat?"
"Ha, ha," Sophie said as she reviewed the chaotic table.
"You're stripes, by the way."
"Not solids? I thought you were giving me a handicap."
"This isn't golf, Soph," Kate shot back as Sophie lined up her shot.
"Soph?" Veronica muttered. "That's cute."
"Shut up," Kate said, her cheeks warming. Kate heard her slip-up, alright, but she'd hoped the background noise would have made anyone else miss it.
"Your turn."
"Well, that didn't take long," Kate replied, easily falling back into the banter from a moment earlier.
"You're welcome to volunteer your next two turns to me," Sophie grinned.
"I would, but it'd only delay the inevitable, and there's a whole night of match-ups to get through."
"So what'd you bet?"
"Nope, she can't tell," Tim chimed in from the other side of the popcorn gallery.
"You say that like it's going to be anything other than a-"
"No, no, no!" Tim interrupted Melvin. "Even if you know, you can't say. It takes away from the excitement."
"But Kate does that with her lack of imagination," Melvin scowled.
"What do you mean?" Sophie asked.
"She bets the same thing every time," Melvin muttered. "It's the most boring th-"
"Sophie, you're up," Kate called.
"Well, that didn't take long," Sophie mimed.
"Whatever," Kate said, grabbing her drink. "This one's yours, by the way," she said, gesturing at the full one next to it.
"Maybe after. I need all the edge I can get."
"I swear, if you two don't end up fucking tonight-"
"Would you drop it, V?" Kate hissed quietly.
"You can't seriously tell me this is platonic."
"It is."
"Sure," Veronica replied dryly. "And I'm a monogamous player."
"You mind shelving your commentary for the night?" Kate scowled.
"So testy," Veronica teased. "I'm just curious."
"No, you're instigating."
"Aren't they the same?" Veronica smirked back.
"Hey Kate?" Sophie called.
"What?" she asked, her voice carrying her scowl.
"Uh, your turn," Sophie continued hesitantly, reading the tension between Kate and Veronica. "But take your time-"
"No, I'm good."
"Ok," Sophie said, posting up next to Melvin.
"Woa, Sophie; did you actually get one in?" Kate asked as she surveyed the remaining balls.
"No need to act so surprised." Sophie sighed. "You're still three ahead of me."
"It'll make me feel better when I finish the game on this turn," Kate said before making quick work of the fifth, sixth, and seventh solid.
"Well, it was fun while it lasted," Sophie smirked next to Melvin.
"Don't take it too hard. I've literally never beaten her," Melvin replied lightly. "The closest I ever got was-"
"Shit," Kate muttered as the sound of a second ball fell into the pocket. Sophie glanced at the table and noted that, while the eight ball had disappeared from the table, so had the cue ball.
"No way," Alex called out.
"Ohhhh! Did she just lose?" Jess called from the bar.
"That's game. The noob, wins!" Tim called.
"What?" Sophie said in surprise. "No."
"Damn, you just took down the Kandy Kane on your first go-"
"Hold on. Yes she won, but I beat myself. Sophie still has six of her balls in play," Kate clarified.
"-and did what few mortals have accomplished in the last two months," Tim continued, unphased by Kate's disclaimer.
"Wait, no, no, Kate's right, how about double or nothing?" Sophie offered.
"What?" Alex dismissed over the others exclaiming surprise. "That's not how this works."
"Relax Sophie, you won fair and square," Kate said with a grin. "What'd she bet?"
"I don't want it. Can I just.. Let's call it a draw."
"Nope. Rules are rules," Veronica chimed in from behind her. Sophie glanced back and saw the same mischievous glimmer in her eye from before the game.
"Ok, I won, but let's scrap the bet."
"Is she always like this?" Alex asked.
"No, normally she's a pretty sore winner," Melvin smirked. "Won't shut up about it. No one will play Scrabble with her anymore."
"Who has the bets?" Tim called out.
"I do," Veronica smirked, pulling out the folded up napkins.
"Ok, let's hear it," Kate said.
"It's really ok," Sophie chimed in.
"Not a chance. Do you know how many bets have been lost on her?" Alex waved off.
"Oh, I can't wait. I hope it's good," Jess grinned.
"Drumroll anyone?" Veronica asked.
"On it," Tim said, beginning a terrible version on the side of the table.
"Kate, you owe Sophie…" Veronica began, taking her sweet time unfolding the square.
"V, wait-" Sophie pleaded.
"A kiss."
The rowdiness of the moment collapsed, engulfing it into a shocked sea of silence. All faces turned to Kate whose smile from moments earlier slowly dissolved into a blank expression.
"What?" she asked to no one in particular, her voice was layered with three parts confusion, one part shock, and two parts betrayal.
Her eyes were latched on the napkin held limp in Veronica's hand. She stared, as though waiting for it to announce the punchline. When none came, she glanced up at Veronica who was offering a smirk that directly challenged the shock coursing through Kate's veins. When the silence didn't end, her gaze turned to Melvin who was conspicuously focused on the beer in his hand. A brief survey of the group included a similar mix of shy or shocked responses among the sea of faces. All remained mum, unable or unwilling to break the tension.
Then her eyes settled on Sophie, and she felt every brick that had come loose get replaced, every crack in her walls get mortared up, and every section in between get fortified. And with a force that surprised everyone in the room she uttered one word:
"No."