A/N: I admit, this chapter is quite brief…I've been super-busy with end-of-the-semester prep, so it was all I could manage to squeeze out.
"Devon came by." Bridey chirped to Colleen, who had just walked through the door. It was the middle of a Wednesday, one of the only days that Bridey didn't have a game or practice. Colleen was supposed to have had the day off due to Matthew's dental appointment, but she'd been gone when Bridey woke up, and was now slipping in through the door at 3:15,
"Shoot." Colleen smacked herself in the forehead. "I completely forgot we had plans. Matthew needed some dry cleaning done, and-"
Bridey put her magazine down and looked at Colleen, her face flat. "I know, I know, and you're his trained monkey, so you had to." She smiled. "In any case, Devon bought me the lunch he owed you – why don't you date him again? He's so nice."
The mention of lunch made Colleen's stomach rumble, and she headed to the kitchenette. "Oh, I don't know – maybe because he's gay?" She opened the fridge, which was nearly bare – with their newly busy lifestyles, they rarely ate in the apartment, let alone grocery shopped.
"I'm pretty sure he's bi-sexual." Bridey answered, flicking on the television. "He was totally looking at my boobs." She found a daytime court show and lingered there.
"He was probably just debating if they were real or not." Colleen pulled a frozen meal from the freezer and began heating it. She didn't know why, but she really hated the idea of Devon flirting with Bridey.
Bridey looked down at her nearly-flat chest. "You're kidding, right? Why would I chose to do this to myself?" Complaining about the size of her breasts was a favorite past time, especially when her sister had such a mountainous chest to compare with. Though, she would admit when pressed that her smaller chest made soccer easier – imagine trying to run with two soccer balls bouncing on her chest!
Colleen shrugged. "I'm just saying, Devon is most definitely gay. And even if he wasn't he's my friend, not dating material. And I'm not here to snag a man anyway."
Bridey rolled her eyes. "I know, I know. But boys are fun. You should do that, you know…have fun. It would blow your mind, how fun fun can be."
Colleen glared at her sister. "Bridey, you're a piece of work. What, you want me to be like you, out at all hours of the night, coming home sloppy drunk with hickies on my shoulders?"
Bridey shuddered. The night she'd met the pianist had been both wonderful and terrible. His bright smile, those golden eyes that seemed to glow at her, his smooth voice. She was enchanted, though she hadn't even gotten his name. At the same time, she'd had to drink herself drunk to deal with the hot tub, the way both Big and Richie's hands had been sliding all over her. Moxie allowed it, not only permissive, but participating, kissing both men by turn. But Bridey couldn't seem to get over how slimey their hands felt on her thighs, her back, her shoulders. She allowed it, shaking and nervous, her stomach all in knots, but even know she regretted it. Was this what she had to do, to succeed? Was she really willing to sell herself?
There had to be another way. The next morning, though she could only remember glimpses of the night before, she'd been unable to look at herself in the mirror. She did have a hickey on her shoulder, but she couldn't remember whose lips had put it there, or how she had felt about receiving it. What good would getting the starter position do for her, if she couldn't respect herself? And yet, how would she get the position if Richie decided these things, and Richie was sleeping with Moxie? Would he really chose her over Moxie? Would she even want the position, if she had to lower herself like that to get it?
"Bridey? Earth to Bridey." Colleen waved a hand in front of her sister's eyes.
Bridey snapped too. "Oh, sorry. I was just thinking." Colleen had come into the living area somewhere during her reverie, and now sat next to her on the couch. She'd also managed to usurp the remote control, somehow.
Colleen laughed. "Yeah, thinking? You looked like you were contemplating the meaning of the universe,"
Bridey shrugged. "Yeah, sure. Something like that."