Routes to Romance Read online

  So, given that, she had her pick of the city to choose to drink at, handing the cab driver a few dollars and telling them to drive to the closest bar there was. If she was going to do this, she'd prefer to start as soon as she could.

  The closest, it turned out, was some dive bar shitshack by the name of The Watering Hole, a name that she had to fight not to roll her eyes into the back of her skull at. Still, she did say closest, and appearances could be deceiving. It had been a few years, but she remembered she had had some fun times back in college at the local dives. Besides, she'd met her ex-wife in a bar that could be described as "Upscale", so the dive bars had that going for them at least.

  She stepped through the door, and suddenly the memories came flooding back. Watered down beers that kept on flowing, games of pool that inevitably ended up in a fight when they found out she'd been hustling them, the many, many bar fights that she had both broken up and been an enthusiastic participant of... She grinned, it was like coming home.

  She walked over to the bartender, the same crotchety old man that you only ever found either behind the counter of a bar or in a Sam Peckinpah film looking up at her with barely restrained hostility. "Yeah? Whattaya want?"

  Anna slapped a five dollar note on the counter, pointing at whatever was on tap, his face morphing from hostile to simple annoyance. "One beer on the way, don't cause any trouble."

  "I won't, scouts honor." She held her arms up, grinning when he grunted and slid a beer her way. The glass was brought to her lips, eagerly drinking down the amber liquid and sighing in satisfaction. "Ahh... Just as shitty as I remember." She turned back and looked over the floor of the bar, the only current occupants either fifty years old or passed out. And unfortunately for her, all of them were very, very male. She shrugged, there was bound to be someone else coming in that night, it wasn't like dive bars just lost their appeal overnight. There was a certain feeling you couldn't get anywhere else, like the outside world just stopped spinning around and there was nothing there except you, the other occupants and the smoke drifting up to the ceiling.

  Plus, there was a pool table, it'd been a while since she had the chance to show off.

  She set her glass down on the side of the table, clicking lightly against the lacquered wood that bore the scars of thousands of cigarette burns, before snatching up the stick. Looking around, she spotted her first victim, some forty-five-year-old looking bus driver who hadn't stopped staring at her ass since she had walked in. Smirking to herself, she crooked her finger over at him, gesturing for him to come over and join her. He wasted no time in obeying, grinning goofily, seemingly not able to believe his luck as he sauntered over, desperately trying to straighten his back and make himself look more impressive than he was.

  He was not very successful.

  "Well hello there little lady, finally come to your senses and reached out for my attention I see."

  She gagged inwardly. "Oh," She thought, "He was one of those." Outwardly however, she covered her mouth and giggled, making sure she looked as coy as she could. "I just couldn't help it, you really are something else."

  He grunted happily, stretching his shoulders as his shirt struggled to contain him. "Well you know, a lot of women are interested in me. But only you've caught my attention tonight."

  "Oh, I'm so lucky." She flipped the stick into her other hand. "But how about we make things a little interesting..."

  "I'm listening..."

  "We play a game of pool. If I beat you, you have to cover the rest of my drinks for the night." She could barely contain herself, this was where she always hooked them.

  "That's a pretty steep order." He leaned over the table, eyebrow raised. "And what exactly do I get if I win?"

  "If you win..." A cocking of her hip there, a flip of her hair there, and she had him. "I go home with you." She smirked as she saw his eyes go wide, his breath catching and his fists tightening as he gripped the table.

  Jackpot.

  "You got yourself a deal missy. Gotta warn you though, I play rough..." He almost licked his lips, and once more she thanked her instincts for picking someone she didn't have to feel bad about. It didn't matter anyway, in a few minutes he would go back to the bar dejected and she would order something off the top shelf to celebrate getting back into the swing of things. It was how things used to be, and it was how they were going to continue to be. It was the last step she needed to fulfill to be fully confident in herself: if she could pick up the con again, then surely she could pick up someone to take home. As soon as she struck the cue ball and sent two of her own rolling into the holes, her mark's eyes going wide at the sight, she knew that she'd made the right choice by coming out tonight.

  He put up a valiant effort, he really did, but she had been doing this to help pay her bills back in college, she was no amateur when it came to the ways of pool. He managed to sink four of his own balls, more than most other opponents before him, but in the end, she came out on top. Good for her, not so good for his wallet, but it wasn't like this bar was in the Marriot, he'd recover.

  To his credit, he accepted defeat rather gracefully; whether he knew he'd been played she would never know, but he walked off after a quick bow and a "Congratulations", going back to sit and stare into his beer. Now that that had been taken care of, she leaned back against the pool table, shifting happily from side to side as that familiar feeling of triumph washed over her, patting herself on the back for a job well done. So caught up in her moment of victory was she, that she didn't even notice the person who had just walked in until they thumped themselves down right next to her on the table.

  She barely resisted shrieking and jumping into the air, giving instead the tiniest of squeaks as she tightened her grip on the stick, head shooting to the side to get a good look at her unexpected guest. What she saw left her quite breathless.

  Anna always considered herself to be kind of a punk back in high school, and that had lasted all the way through college. Nowadays it wasn't as apparent, but she still thought she carried the attitude quite well.

  Well, Anna knew she had nothing on the woman who had just plopped herself next to her. One side of her hair had been cut short while the other draped lazily over her eye, her roots purple and going red the further down it went. Her jeans were almost more hole than fabric, tucked securely into a pair of boots that had been polished almost to a mirror sheen, a Dead Kennedys T-shirt topping off what could only be described as the most natural punk getup that Anna had seen in the last few years.

  If she couldn't help the fact that her heart had started racing at the sight of her, she wasn't alone, given that the entire bar had gone silent for a second as she walked in. Her new friend obviously wasn't concerned with any of them, pulling out an earbud and a pack of cigarettes as she looked over at Anna. "What's up, want a smoke?"

  Anna almost couldn't respond, simply taking one of the offered sticks and waiting for a light. Her neighbor leaned over, lighting her cigarette before lighting her own. "So, you already have someone buying you drinks?"

  Anna nodded, gesturing over to the man now leaning over the counter. "Yeah, I beat him in pool, now he has to cover my tab."

  "Well..." She smiled around her cigarette, holding her hand out. "Why don't you get us both a drink and we'll say I bought you one?"

  Anna snorted, smirking as she took her hand and led her over to the bar. "I think that sounds alright."

  Sitting down and gesturing for two beers to the obviously disinterested bartender, she turned to her new drinking partner, regarding her with a raised eyebrow. "So what made you come over to me hmm?"

  "You mean aside from the fact you're the only one here under forty?" Anna rolled her eyes, she smirked. "Probably because you're the only woman here."

  Anna tilted her head, crossing her legs as she cooed, "Oooo, lucky me." She took a sip of her beer, licking her lips. "So, do you have a name?"

  "Skylar." She tossed her head back as she swallowed half her drink in one gulp. "What abo
ut you? Is your name as pretty as the rest of you?"

  "A charmer I see. My name's Anna," She held out her hand, Skylar taking it with a grin. "It's nice to meet you."

  Skylar laughed, "You don't have to be so formal, it's not like we're in some big uptown restaurant. This is a shit dive bar in the shit area of town," She turned to the bartender. "No offense."

  "None taken, you're right." He went back to wiping out the glasses. "Don't have to remind me though..."

  "Well then, what is someone like you doing out tonight Anna? You look a bit too pretty to be planning on drinking alone."

  Anna giggled into her drink, "Honestly? I was hoping to find someone interesting to drink with, then see where things went from there. Do you think you're interesting enough for that?"

  Skylar grinned, leaning in. "I think that apart from you I might just be the most interesting person here, so you're in luck." She held her hand up for another beer, taking this one slower. "So what do you do for a living? Let me guess... Model?"

  "Oh please..." Anna rolled her eyes, though she had a smile on her face. "You don't have to flatter me like some boy in college. I run a coffee house, a few blocks from here."

  "You run it?" Skylar looked skeptical, Anna understood why. "You're what? Twenty-five or something? How'd you manage that?"

  Anna held up her hand, the line on her ring finger fading but still visible. "I had help. I... Don't have that help anymore."

  "Oh." Skylar winced, rubbing the back of her neck. "Sorry I... That was a real dick move of me, sorry about that, I didn't mean..."

  "Don't worry about it." Anna waved her off. "Worse things have happened."

  "Still, doesn't mean that you should have to talk about it all the time. Not when you're trying to have a good night out at least." Skylar looked down, seemingly looking for an answer in the grain of the wooden counter top when she snapped her fingers suddenly. "I've got it! A few friends of mine have a gig not too long from now at a club on the other side of town. To make up for being an ass I could get you some last-minute tickets..."

  Anna looked over her glass. "Skylar... Are you asking me on a date?"

  "Maybe I am, maybe I'm not..." Skylar grinned, standing up and holding her hand out once more. "You'll just have to follow me and find out."

  It only took a few seconds of thought before Anna made her decision, happily grasping her hand and hauling herself to her feet. With a laugh she threw her drink back before walking out the front door with her new companion, ready for their maybe-maybe-not date, feeling more alive than she had in months.

  Six

  —

  Anna and Skylar

  Free spirit though she was, Skylar was not a drunk driver, so it was a few minutes before a cab came by to pick them up, giving them ample opportunity to find out more about each other. Seeing as how Anna had agreed to more or less run through the night with her, it was probably a good idea for them to not be strangers.

  "So, you know what I do for a living, how about you?" She smirked. "Oh no wait, let me guess..." She put her hand on her chin, striking an exaggerated thinking pose as she tapped her foot. "You run an underground fight club. No, you're the head of a motorcycle gang."

  Skylar rolled her eyes. "You're not thinking cliché enough. Where would someone like me possibly work? What place would hire me?"

  "Hmm... A music store?"

  Skylar's eyes widened. "Oh wow, got it in one. Nowhere near as impressive as what you do I suppose."

  "Do you like what you do?"

  She looked sideways at Anna. "I... Suppose? I get to stand around and listen to music all day, so it's pretty good."

  Anna nodded. "Then I'd say that's a pretty good job. Just because you don't own a business doesn't mean I'm somehow better than you, I still wake up and make coffee all day, it's not as glamorous as you'd think."

  "Well, I'm also in a band, but that pays fuck all honestly." Skylar grinned. "Fun though, and I usually get all the free drinks I like. Turns out most bartenders go wild for a chick who can play drums, all I have to do is wink and that's that."

  Anna chuckled, saying mainly to herself, "Sure worked on me I guess."

  Their cab appeared suddenly, Skylar's arm shooting out to wave it down before it passed them by. Clambering in, she directed them towards the other side of town, to some club that even Anna had never heard of, and she thought she'd hit them all back in her college days. Either these new clubs were popping up by the day now, or she was nowhere near as punk as she thought she'd been. She hoped to god it was the former.

  When they arrived, she saw that it was no wonder she had never heard of the club. Its entrance was little more than a door set into the wall of an alley, less a club so much as a cellar that had been re-purposed no more than a month ago. Her first thought was that it was a very Skylar place to take her to, her second was wondering just what she had signed up for.

  "Come on nerd! We're gonna miss the show!" Skylar grabbed her hand and dragged her out of the cab, throwing a handful of notes back at the driver. They half jogged, half ran towards the door, an impatient looking bouncer watching them with barely distinguishable amusement. "Hey Pete, what's up?"

  "Not much Sky, what are you doing back here?"

  "What do you mean?" She gestured to Anna. "Just bringing a lady friend out for a night on the town."

  He huffed. "Well, not tonight you're not. You're banned, remember?"

  "Oh, come on! That wasn't even my fault! That dickhead came at me!" She stomped her foot. "It's bullshit is what it is."

  "Whether he came at you or not, there are better places to throw someone than into the liquor shelf." Pete shook his head. "Just be glad that you didn't have to cover the bill for that."

  "Fine, fine, I get it." She turned to Anna, a downcast look on her face. "Sorry for dragging you out here, I should have remembered. We can find something else to do if you want." She turned and started to walk off. Anna shook her head.

  Walking up to the bouncer, she said, "Excuse me, Pete, wasn't it?"

  "That's me." He tilted his head at her. "What can I do for you?"

  "Well it's just... Skylar saved me from a very awkward encounter earlier tonight, and she was just so desperate to show me this club." She rubbed the back of her neck. "I just feel so bad right now, isn't there some way that you could just... Relax her ban for the night? We won't be seen by anyone we swear!"

  He looked between the two of them, clearly weighing up the pros and cons before he sighed, his shoulders relaxing visibly. "One night, and one night only. The boss is out tonight so you're in luck there, just don't make a scene and you'll be fine." He rolled his eyes at Skylar. "Richie at the bar'll be glad to see you, he's missed having you around."

  "Thanks Pete!" She grinned up at him, wrapping her arms around his chest. "I owe you big time for this!"

  "Damn right you do, you're gonna go up to Ritchie and tell him that you're buying me at least three drinks, it's only fair."

  "Sure thing big guy, the usual?"

  He laughed, his large chest heaving with the movement. "When do I ever change my drink order?"

  They stepped past him, walking slowly down the rickety wooden stairs, graffiti and red tinted lights marking their way deeper down into the cellar. They opened the door at the end of the hallway, immediately being assaulted by a wall of sound, harsh guitar and wild drums thrumming their way into their chests. Anna turned to Skylar with a raised eyebrow, only to see her with a wide grin as she looked around the club, seeking out the bar.

  Anna was hauled along, just noticing now that their hands had never separated since they stepped out of the cab, but she was too comfortable to say anything. Even when they stepped up to the bar and she came face to face with a familiar face.

  "Anna? What are you doing here?"

  She turned to the side, eyes widening as she finally saw Dave, arms filled with drinks as he leaned on the bar, clearly just as surprised as her to find her in a place like this. "Dave? What are you doing out
here tonight?"

  "Aisha is playing tonight, we came out to show our support." He jerked his head over his shoulder, Chris waving in response from one of the tables when he saw them. "But that's why I'm here, I don't know why you'd..." He trailed off as he saw her hand still linked with Skylar, who was engaged in a conversation with the bartender.

  When Anna began to go red, he smirked. "Oh, I see. Well... I'll leave you to it then." He leaned in, whispering, "Good catch by the way."

  He was gone before she could respond, merely staring after him as she saw Chris begin to crack up. Skylar turned to her, freezing when she saw how red she was. "Yo, Anna. You alright?"

  "Hmm?" She waved her off. "Yeah, yeah I'm fine. Just saw a friend of mine." Something about what Dave had said stuck out to her, she furrowed her brow. "Do you know Aisha?"

  "Aisha? Yeah, she's the friend I was telling you about, why's that? How do you know her?"

  "She comes into the coffee house a lot with her two friends Dave and Chris, I didn't even know she was in a band."

  Skylar made a little noise of recognition as they both sat down on their stools. "It's a really recent thing, took a lot of convincing to even get her to consider it, but she got there in the end."

  Anna frowned, there was a lot she didn't know about her friends. She would have to fix that. "How long have you known her?"

  "Aisha? We've known each other... I dunno, four or five years now?" She shuffled a little. "We dated for a little, is that gonna be awkward?"

  Anna held up her hand. "Is it gonna be awkward that I've been married before?"

  "No? Why would it?"

  "Well, there's your answer." She chuckled. "People date, simple as that. It's natural, just because I know one of them doesn't mean it's the end of the world."

  "That's good then." She giggled, and Anna was struck by how adorable she found it. "After you saved my ass with Pete I figure that's the last thing that either of us want."