Some Nights

three

"...first night that we met, i flagged you down, i told you, 'hit my line'..."

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"OH!" MAE YELPED, JERKING AWAY. It was cold and sticky, sloshing over the edge of the glass and drenching her black shirt. As she stumbled back, her fingers tightened around her drink. "Really?"

Even if she had seen it coming from a million miles away, Mae still felt the urge to cry.

"Oh damn," he slurred, steadying himself from the collision. His glazed eyes widened as they drifted down the fabric clinging to her skin. "That... that was uh..."

Mae scowled. One of his friends. "It's okay."

Patting and plucking at the material, she shook her head. Of course. This was just her luck. The one night she decided to come out to surprise him.

"Really. I'm sorry. I— let me... um, let me buy you another drink?"

His gaze didn't stray; it lingered on her chest. A disgruntled sound unraveled in her throat, but she simply rolled her eyes. "No. It's okay," she huffed. "Really."

Their shoulders clipped as Mae passed him, still clutching her half-empty glass. Grinding her teeth, she stormed to the end of the bar and slammed the glass down.

"Such an asshole."

"Yeah," a girl snickered beside her. "I saw that."

Mae's cheeks burned. "Pretend you didn't?"

"Only if you let me buy you that drink you turned down."

Surprised, Mae turned to look at her, and something held her hostage. In the dim light of the bar, there was a perfectly innocent invitation in her expression—dark lashes fluttering and a timid smile flirting at her lips.

She was cute.

"Okay," Mae squeaked breathlessly. "I'm Mae."

"Imani."

In a silent signal and a hushed voice, Imani ordered a drink from the bartender. Another Guinness was pushed in front of them within moments. When Imani nudged it over, Mae smiled. "Thanks."

"Pretty name, by the way," Imani said, her lips twitching into a smirk, mildly teasing and flirty. "I've never met a Mae before."

Another wave of heat flooded up Mae's cheeks. Why was it so hot in here?

"So Mae," Imani drawled her name slowly. "Are you with the group of guys over there?"

The lie came out without hesitation: "No."

Imani's brows rose. "No?"

Technically, Mae wasn't. Not at the moment. Right now, she was sitting in the opposite corner of the bar; she was with her.

Probably smelling like warm beer.

Mae cringed. Maybe she should just get up and leave. Forget that she came to the bar to surprise him and just... go home. Shower.

Yeah. It was a good idea, but there was something tempting in Imani's smile that told her to stay.

So she stayed.

Minutes ticked by slowly, wasted with the faint, soundtrack of The Rolling Stones tangling their soft conversation into a casual chatter. A million random musings.

"On a scale of 1 to 10, how fake do you think the moon landing is?"

"Basketball is the only sport I watch."

"Wait, so you moved here from Pennsylvania?"

"Oh, I'm Haitian and Jamaican."

"I'm in love with The Ramones."

"Aren't turtles kind of amazing?"

"Low-key, I'm afraid of birds."

"We're all going to die in ten years, don't you know?"

As the air got heavier and the space between them got hazier, everything seemed to get hotter.

With every drink that disappeared, their conversation dipped further and further. From conspiracies to calm contact. Imani draped a hand over Mae's wrist, inching closer. "So you work in a studio?"

It took Mae a moment to catch up. Her heart hammered; her breathing hitched. "Yeah." She swallowed. "In a studio in Chelsea. Motion Graphics. Lots of... commercial work."

Imani smiled, leaning back to watch her eyes darken. "Are you still in school?"

"Mmm. My last year at the New School. What about you?"

"FIT," Imani snickered. "Working on something with RuPaul's design team right now."

"Whoa." Mae blinked in surprise. "That's so cool."

There was this dazed look about Mae—flushed cheeks, wide eyes, parted lips. If Imani closed the gap between them, she could easily kiss her.

Fuck. Imani hadn't been expecting to meet someone tonight, but Mae had just... kind of... stumbled into her, smelling like an intoxicating mix of cinnamon and beer, something that reminded her of falling leaves and crisp air. Like autumn.

"Is there beer in your hair?" she asked, biting back a laugh.

Another blush flooded through Mae's cheeks. "Sorry."

"I think I can look past it," Imani snickered. "You're still insanely cute."

Oh.

Oh.

Mae felt her heart hiccup. A little tipsy and a little weak, she peered up at Imani to find a smile toying at her lips, all soft edges, tracing something sensually secretive.

"I..." Her throat tightened. "I think you're cute too."

Though the words fumbled free with an awkwardness that made Mae wince, Imani didn't seem to care. Lazily, she reached past Mae to steal her phone from the bar. "Here."

"What?"

Her fingers flew across the screen, swiping it open without a passcode, and then swiftly sneaking to her contacts. Imani typed her number in and saved it. "I put my number in."

Mae bit into her bottom lip. "Oh. Okay."

"Hit me up," Imani offered softly, taking in the glazed look in Mae's dark eyes. Hell yes, she wanted to see her again. "Maybe we can go out."