Chapter 3: How soon is now?

After spending a ridiculous amount of time rummaging through her closet in a desperate attempt to find something that could be considered suitable for going out, Hunnigan was on the verge of giving up after realizing how little casual clothing she owned.

Or maybe it's just me, I turn everything I wear into a business-look somehow. Talk about a useless superpower, she thought as she stared at her reflection in the mirror. She was wearing a white sleeveless collared shirt and denim jeans, and somehow she still thought she looked like she was on her way to the office.

"Screw it, it's not like I'm going to a damn fashion show... or even if I end up at one, I sure as hell won't be modeling," she muttered, discarted the collared shirt and pulled on a black T-shirt instead. She then finished the outfit with a cropped leather jacket (she hadn't even remembered she owned until she'd seen it in the back of the closet). She shrugged it on and looked at herself again. Better, but she still wasn't sure. She felt awkward. There was a knock on the door and she went to answer it. She'd been expecting Helena, but was instead greeted by Leon.

"Well, look at you, you stylish fella, you!" she commented at the sight of him in black jeans and a deep red collared shirt that hugged his figure tightly, complimenting and bringing out his broad shoulders and chest, the outfit completed by the black fedora with a red band decorating it resting somewhat crookedly on his head.

"Why, thank you Ms. Hunnigan, lookin' mighty fine yourself, if I may say so," he responded, took the hat off and bowed his head a little, eliciting a soft chuckle from Hunnigan.
"You're a shameless liar, I feel like a librarian pushing sixty, desperately trying to pass for a twenty-something."

"I don't agree," Leon shook his head.
"I'm beginning to consider not going at all," she sighed then.

"Aw, come on, it'll be fun."
"I know it won't be."

"Don't be so negative, give it a chance, you never know..." Leon began when his argument was interrupted by Helena's voice as she made her way across the hallway and toward Hunnigan's door.
"Geez, and I thought I was slow, what's taking you two so long?" she inquired, her unsually cheerful tone implying she already had a couple of drinks in her.

"Hunnigan's planning on bailing out on us," Leon tattled.
"Thanks a lot, Leona," Hunnigan narrowed her eyes, using a feminine version of his name to taunt him for being such a bitch. Instead of being offended, he burst out laughing at that.

"Oh, no you don't. Got your essentials like keys and wallet on you?"
"Yes..."

"Excellent," Helena said and without further warning, grabbed Hunnigan by the arm and yanked hard, pulling the woman out of the apartment and kicking the door shut behind her and began dragging Hunnigan with her toward the exit. Hunnigan groaned in exasperation and followed reluctantly.

"How blind are you without your glasses?" Helena then asked once they were seated in the backseat of the cab that had been waiting for them.
"Pretty blind, the glasses stay on," Hunnigan said sternly.

"Fine, but the hair comes down," Helena decided for her and without waiting for permission, she leaned over Leon, who was stuck in the middle seat inbetween the two women, doing his best to flatten himself against the back of the seat as Helena reached to undo the French twist Hunnigan had tied her hair up to earlier.

"Much better," Helena smiled, pleased with her handiwork as she ran her fingers through the other woman's hair and mussed it a little. Had it been anyone other than Helena, Hunnigan would've swatted the hands away in annoyance; if she'd wanted her hair down, she would've left it down, damn it.

"You're already regretting this, aren't you?" Helena jested.
"Deeply."
"You're so serious it's funny."
"Well, I'm glad one of us is entertained," Hunnigan commented dryly.

"We gotta get her drunk," Helena commented to Leon and he nodded.
"Now, Hunnigan drunk... that's something I'm willing to pay to see," he grinned.
"Great, drinks are on you then!"
"Hey, I didn't mean... Aw, crap. Fine, first round's on me, then you're on your own," Leon chuckled.

Women.

"Oh, I have a present for you to get you in the mood," Helena began suddenly.
"Uuhh... what are you..? That's..." Hunnigan stuttered when Helena undid a couple of buttons of her shirt and revealed an unnecessarily generous view of her cleavage. Even Leon cleared his throat awkwardly at the young woman's antics as he turned to stare intensely at the back of the driver's head. The driver on the other hand seemed to have no problem staring at Helena through the rear view mirror.

"Here!" she said and dug out a glow stick from her cleavage.
"...you carry glow sticks in your bra?" Hunnigan quirked an eyebrow in disbelief.

"Only on special occasions," Helena teased and put the item in question into Hunnigan's hand. It was still warm from having been pressed snugly between Helena's breasts. Hunnigan had to almost shake her head as she tried to get rid of the idea and not to think about it... but her mind was already wandering, stubbornly conjuring up mental images of naked smooth skin, the soft curves in just the right places alternating with the solid muscles in others. She bit on her tongue and the inside of her cheek as she wondered what Helena's skin would taste like, what it would feel like. What her fingernails would feel like digging into Hunnigan's shoulders, would she arch her back, would she moan or would she groan, all those questions and every possible answer just as good as the other.

I'm making a huge mistake, Hunnigan thought grimly and swallowed hard.

"You hear that, Leon? I'm a special occasion," she jested out loud then.
"Well, you gotta admit, this is certainly one for the history books," Leon chuckled as they arrived at their destination.
"Ladies. Shall we?" he grinned, put his arms around the women's shoulders and began walking toward the club like he was the king of the world. Helena and Hunnigan chuckled softly at his antics and exchanged a knowing glance.

The loud music ensured no one was having any kind of a decent conversation... not that there was much to converse about anyway. Hunnigan sipped her drink slowly as she watched the people in the crowded room. The majority of them looked like they weren't even old enough to drink. A few people had approached her and asked her if she wanted to dance. She didn't. She preferred watching from the sidelines. It was far more entertaining.

She took a moment to take advantage of being able to watch Helena outside the usual situations they were used to interacting in. The younger woman was busy on the dance floor, her body moving like it was semi-liquid, her motions in flawless sync with the Korean pop song's beat, lights washing over her as she danced smoothly, the fog on the dance floor swirling around her and her moves. Hunnigan's eyebrow quirked when she noticed a tall guy make his way to Helena and nod at her, as if silently requesting to join her. She didn't appear to react to him, but he didn't take that as a no. Hunnigan laughed out loud when Helena ducked the guy's attempt at slipping his arms over her shoulders. She then drove her elbow up, letting it smash into his chest hard, disguising the assault as an accidental dance move gone wrong. Had he not been so tall, she would've ended up smashing his jaw. Helena shrugged and mouthed an insincere apology before leaving the scene of her crime, disappearing into the cloud of smoke and other dancers.

Hunnigan turned her attention elsewhere and focused on watching the guy with the ball-crushing skinny jeans and a muscle shirt –sans the muscles– trying to pick up a cute Asian girl. She was practically rolling her eyes at the dude who seemed completely oblivious to this and kept trying... until Leon went over to the lady's rescue. Hunnigan chuckled at the outraged and disappointed look the skinny jean-dude got on his face when he contemplated on maybe punching Leon.

Now that would be interesting. Go on, dude, throw a punch. Just for the hell of it, Hunnigan mentally encouraged him, knowing Leon would undoubtedly manage to dodge it easily, and probably impress the woman standing next to him by doing so. The skinny jean-dude didn't go for it though, instead he swiveled around and headed to the bar as the woman turned her attention to Leon and practically flattened herself against his body.

"You look like you'll murder anyone if they have the audacity to approach you," Helena said into Hunnigan's ear, interrupting her intense studying of the scene unfolding a few tables away –a woman literally throwing herself at an unfortunate man who wasn't prepared or a willing participant in the act. Hunnigan shivered at the feel of Helena's breath in her ear, the younger woman was still out of breath from having spent the past few minutes on the dance floor.

"Maybe I will," Hunnigan jested and Helena rolled her eyes as she leaned against the small table and sipped her drink.
"You're not even trying!"

"Trying what? To hook up with a random stranger?" Hunnigan quirked an eyebrow.
"Getting laid once a decade ain't gonna kill you. Well, provided you use protection at least," Helena laughed.

"Not interested," Hunnigan shook her head.

"Well, why not?" Helena interrogated, sucking on the straw hard enough to dent her cheeks as she finished her drink. Hunnigan took a sip of her own drink, the single one she'd been nursing the entire time they'd been here. The copious amount of ice had melted long ago, diluting the drink into barely more than water, but she didn't mind, she was intentionally avoiding intoxication to ensure she wouldn't make any drunken mistakes... like confess to having developed feelings for Helena.

"Why should I be?" Hunnigan questioned back. While she wasn't the type to judge anyone else should they be inclined to enjoy casual sex over long-term relationships, she also knew one night stands weren't for her. Frankly, the mere idea of waking up in a stranger's bed (or worse, waking up with a stranger in her bed) was just upsetting to her.

"Because your pet snake isn't gonna keep you warm at night."
"I've got blankets to keep me warm at night," Hunnigan responded dryly and Helena burst out laughing.
"You are impossible," she shook her head, still chuckling, "Okay, so what is it that you're looking for?"

"I don't recall ever saying I was looking for anything, it's everyone else who seems convinced that I can't possibly be happy by myself," Hunnigan answered, getting a bit frustrated with this line of questioning. She'd had to repeat it all to her parents countless of times, she didn't need this crap from her co-workers or friends as well. Why was it so difficult to accept that some people genuinely were happier alone?

"Fair enough," Helena gave in, "Come on, let's dance!"
"I do not dance!" Hunnigan protested, but Helena wasn't about to take no for an answer.

"You do now!" she said, gripping the other woman's arm and dragging her toward the dance floor, "Keep me safe, it's like swimming in dick soup if I'm alone," she laughed then.

"Gross," Hunnigan groaned. Luckily for her, their trip to the dance floor was interrupted by Leon who stumbled into them.
"Save me," he pleaded, moving to stand behind Hunnigan.

"Why do I always gotta save you two?" Hunnigan scoffed.
"What the hell did you do?" Helena quirked an eyebrow at Leon.

"She looks harmless, but she's a bit too intense," Leon muttered, nodding discreetly toward the woman he'd chatted with earlier. Helena rolled her eyes and went to get another drink, deciding she wanted nothing to do with Leon's drama.
"Seriously, Leon? You're scared of her?" Hunnigan taunted.

"She made a pretty violent grab at my boy parts, that's a deal breaker," he defended himself, "If she asks, I'm with you," he then said, wrapping his arms around Hunnigan's waist from behind, essentially using her as a human shield.

"My hero," Hunnigan rolled her eyes.
"Screw that, you be my hero," he grinned, tugging her into an awkward dance of sorts.

"Fine, but if you even attempt to grind against me, I will do worse things to your boy parts than make a grab for them," she threatened, easing into his movements, having to admit he was a pretty good dancer.

"It's a risk I gotta take, isn't it," Leon grinned, twirling her around before pulling her to himself. Hunnigan chuckled at him, arching her back a little as he insisted on dipping her, proceeding on with dance moves that were impressive but not exactly suited for the music playing at the club.

Oh, crap, Hunnigan then thought when she saw the woman notice them and begin making a beeline for Leon. This would undoubtedly end up in a bitch slapping contest. And for what, a misunderstanding.

I should've stayed at home.

For the first time the entire night, Hunnigan was glad the music was turned up at a ridiculous volume, she couldn't hear a word of what the agitated woman was saying. Her body language and the hostile finger pointing certainly made her point even if her words were unintelligible. Hunnigan didn't even bother trying to explain that she wasn't interested in Leon in that way.

"You're on your own," she told Leon and turned to leave, but the agitated woman obviously wasn't finished arguing, too drunk and furious to realize her opponent wasn't even genuinely paying attention.

Here we go, Hunnigan sighed when she felt the fingernails dig into her arm (if the woman had grabbed at Leon in a similar manner earlier, Hunnigan couldn't blame him for running away) and yank her back. She was expecting a bitch slap or at the very least to get a drink thrown into her face, but didn't receive either, thanks to Helena who returned from the bar just in time to intercept. She reached to break the woman's grip on Hunnigan's arm and to prove a point, pulled Hunnigan to herself and planted a passionate kiss onto her lips. Everyone froze, especially Hunnigan.

Helena laughed devilishly at the blank expression on Leon and the other woman's faces before firmly wrapping her arm around Hunnigan's waist and nudging her to move, escaping the scene and pulling Hunnigan with her, leaving Leon to fend for himself.

"Why did you do that!"
"It worked, didn't it?" Helena chuckled breathlessly after they'd made it across the club, safely lost in the crowd.

A little too well, Hunnigan thought, inhaling deeply as she tried smothering the flames in the pit of her stomach and the sweet ache that blossomed between her legs thanks to the kiss.

"I'm gonna go home now," she said then, trying to stubbornly forget the what the kiss had felt and tasted like... and realizing that the harder she tried, the more persistent the memory became. Soft, warm, demanding, somewhat slick... leaving behind a bittersweet after taste of strawberry, kiwi and vodka.

"Wait for me!" Helena requested, hastily finishing her drink in a couple of hurried gulps, and then following Hunnigan.

They shared a cab and sat in silence until they got to Hunnigan's apartment building. She quirked an eyebrow when Helena got out as well, she'd assumed the younger woman would continue on for a few more blocks to her own apartment. Instead, she dismissed the cab after getting out.

"Look... about the comment I made at work... I really didn't mean to offend you," Helena then apologized once more as they stood by the entrance to the building.
"It's fine," Hunnigan shrugged.

"No, it's not. I know you value your privacy and you're right, it's not anyone's business. I shouldn't have said anything."
"Apology accepted. Besides, I'm sure there are worse things being said about me on a regular basis," Hunnigan said, fully aware that her desire for privacy did indeed leave a lot of room for gossip... and that a surprisingly large amount of the people at the office enjoyed engaging in idle gossip.

"I wouldn't know, I don't pay much attention honestly. But... is it true though? That you prefer women?"
"What difference does it make?" Hunnigan snapped.

"There's no need to get so defensive, I'm not asking because..."
"I'm not getting defensive, I just don't see the point of this line of questioning," Hunnigan interrupted impatiently.

"You know, you're making it really difficult to get to know you," Helena quirked an eyebrow.
"What's there to know?" the older woman inquired and Helena sighed deeply.

"I try to chat with you, but you deflect everything with sarcasm or answer my questions with questions. I'd want to know you, I'd want us to be friends."
"You must be truly desperate for friendship if you want to be friends with me," Hunnigan said with a tiny smirk.

"See, this is exactly what I mean," Helena muttered, shaking her head a little.
"Well, I'm sorry, I guess I'm not exactly friend-material."

"You're not even trying, instead you seem determined to just brush everything off. It's a two-way street, you know. Unless, of course, the reason you're not putting any effort into this is because you don't want to be my friend," Helena then said slowly when she realized that.

"That's not it," Hunnigan denied quickly, "I... I'm just not good at it, I'm too used to being by myself so devoting attention and energy to friends is... challenging. Plus, frankly, who I am isn't really all that interesting," she said.

"Who you are isn't the problem; the problem is that no one knows who you really are," Helena reasoned.

They stood in silence for a moment after that, neither one really knowing what to add to what had been said. The cool September evening wind lured a tiny shudder from Helena and she sighed, knowing she should just give up for tonight and head home, but she didn't really want to. It was relatively early, she was still kind of buzzed and would've wanted to prolong the evening. She doubted Hunnigan shared her enthusiasm.

"Do you smoke?" Helena broke the silence, offering her pack to Hunnigan after digging out a cigarette for herself.
"Not since my dad caught me once upon a time and used the good old 'you want to smoke, then smoke an entire damn pack'-method of punishment," Hunnigan shook her head. She'd never been as sick in her life as she had been after that. Granted, it had worked, she'd never smoked a single cigarette since then and to this day, the mere thought made her cringe.

"Wow. Imagine if you came out from the closet to him, he'd probably make you sleep with every lesbian in town," Helena vexed and lit the cigarette hanging between her lips.

"Who said I'm in the closet?" Hunnigan quirked an eyebrow.
"Your behavior," Helena chuckled, blowing out a cloud of gray smoke.
"Fair enough I suppose," the older woman shrugged then.

"Look, about the kiss... I'm sorry. I didn't think... well, evidently I don't think a lot of things through these days..." Helena then apologized again.
"It's okay," Hunnigan said, hoping to sound nonchalant about it and to hide the fact that it was the first kiss she'd had in years, literally. And that it hadn't been an unpleasant kiss either if she was honest.

"So we're good? You're not gonna assign me for shit-jobs to get back at me?" Helena teased.

"As if I were childish enough to do something like that," Hunnigan smirked and they both chuckled. Helena then glanced at her watch and Hunnigan mimicked the gesture, for different reasons. Helena had done it to see if it was too late to head to the liquor store, Hunnigan did it to see if it was too early to go to bed.

"I don't wanna go home. Let's buy a bottle of whiskey and hang out," Helena said, her tone making it more a statement than a request.
"I'm too old for such shenanigans," Hunnigan shook her head.

"Pfft, you're too young to say that you're too old for something. Come on!" Helena said, gripped Hunnigan by the wrist and began pulling her with her once again. Hunnigan sighed and followed reluctantly, wishing she would've had the willpower to genuinely resist Helena.