Routes to Romance Read online

  "Clearly this place is important enough to you to want to drag me out in the middle of the night, I couldn't let you not be able to." She smiled. "Besides, you should have seen your face. I bet Pete was two seconds away from letting you in anyway when he saw those puppy dog eyes."

  Skylar gasped dramatically, "I do not have puppy dog eyes!"

  "You do so! Like the little lost runt in the shelter, it's so sad!"

  "Alright, you know what?" Skylar picked up the drink that had just been placed in front of Anna. "I'm taking this back, you don't deserve it."

  "No, come on! I didn't mean it!" She giggled, trying to wrestle the drink back. "I was just playing around, I swear!"

  "Nope, feelings are hurt, not doing it!" Skylar was trying and failing to contain her laughter, "You're gonna have to try harder than that!"

  "You're so beautiful I could cry!" Anna watched as Skylar momentarily froze, seizing her moment and grabbing the drink back. She threw her head back and drank the entire thing in one gulp, slamming the glass down triumphantly. "I win!"

  "Do... Do you really mean that?" Skylar was uncharacteristically shy, her cheeks blooming brightly as she tapped her fingers together. "I mean, it's fine if you didn't, I just..."

  "I wouldn't lie about something like that." Anna smiled, all teeth and bright eyes as she laid her hand over the other woman's. "Have you looked in a mirror tonight? You're wild, you're free, you're everything I was looking for." She raised her hand for another glass. "I'm glad I let you fake-buy me that drink."

  "Me too..." She trailed off, looking at the hand covering her own. "Me too."

  The lights began to dim, the stage brightening as a bunch of people dressed in leather began to walk out, Aisha leading the group with a wide smile on her face. "Oh, it's starting!" Skylar grinned, starting to bounce in her seat as Aisha took her place at the microphone. "If it's anything like rehearsal she's gonna rock the shit tonight!"

  "Someone sounds confident..."

  "I mean, have you heard her perform?" Anna shook her head. "Well you're in for a treat, she was made for this!"

  "Are you sure you're not biased?" She grinned when Skylar sighed. "I've heard of past relationships coloring your perception of people, it's not out of the realm of possibility that it's happening here..."

  "That's a nice drink." Sky said, looking at the bourbon she was carefully cradling. "How would you like to wear it?"

  Anna snickered, "Point taken."

  The first riff of the guitar rang through the now silent club, Aisha beginning to sing into the microphone. Her voice was confident and steady,

  Efficiency and progress is ours once more,

  Now that we have the Neutron bomb,

  It's nice and quick and clean and gets things done...

  "Oh my god!" Skylar almost shrieked, "I can't believe she's starting with this one!"

  Anna was dumbstruck, not only never knowing that Aisha was evidently a big Dead Kennedys fan, but had such a strong, natural voice. She'd known her for years, how had that never come up?

  "Though," she thought "that's a conversation for another time." Right now she could focus only on the sight of Aisha thrashing on the stage, her guitar swinging wildly as she lost herself to the music. She felt a squeeze around her hand, looking to the side and seeing Skylar giving her a wide smile full of teeth and mischief. Skylar tugged lightly and Anna found herself on her feet, being led towards the dense crowd of people thrashing and dancing in front of the stage, all of them putty in Aisha's hands.

  "Oh my god, it's been so long since I've been to something like this!" Despite her considerable adrenaline and her usual bravado, Anna was quite nervous at the prospect of stepping into the middle of the crowd - something that Skylar picked up on easily.

  "Hey, I'm here, don't worry!" She planted a kiss on her cheek, before leading her further into the fray. "I've got you, seriously, anyone tries anything I'll kick their ass!"

  They had picked the exact moment that Aisha began the chorus, the already ravenous crowd whipping into a frenzy as she began to scream,

  Kill kill kill kill kill the poor,

  Kill kill kill kill kill the poor,

  Kill kill kill kill kill the poor,

  Tonight!

  Anna was bounced from person to person as they moved and gyrated, certain that her shoulders and hips were going to be bruised when she got home. She never lost her grip on Skylar's hand, following her closely as they moved ever nearer to the stage, wanting to show Aisha that they were there supporting her, not wanting to take a chance on her not knowing. The crowd got thicker as they walked further in, reduced to almost a crawl as they began to push their way to the front, but eventually they made it, almost bursting through and just narrowly avoiding hitting their heads on the edge of the stage.

  Aisha smiled as soon as she saw them, tilting her head slightly at the sight of their hands interlinked but grinning even wider once she understood. She had just finished their first song, which gave her ample opportunity to do something that Anna would honestly hate her a little forever for doing. She grabbed the mic, breathing hard as she grinned over the crowd. "What's up guys! You out here having a good time?" A delighted roar greeted her, especially from her friends both in the back and front. "Well tough shit, we're here to have a bad time!" The cheers increased tenfold, some overzealous punter even tossing their shirt on stage.

  Aisha looked down at the two of them, and though Anna was learning new things about her by the second, she recognized that look in her eyes from her worst nightmares. She didn't get a chance to protest before Aisha said, "But first, this is dedicated to two of my very close friends, I hope that they're happy together!"

  She started strumming frenziedly, Anna's eyes going wide with horror as she realized exactly what song she was singing. Skylar on the other hand began to cackle like a madwoman.

  You spurn my natural emotions,

  You make me feel I'm dirt and I'm hurt,

  And if I start a commotion,

  I run the risk of losing you and that's worse!

  Anna prayed for the ground to rise up and swallow her whole, her cheeks blooming bright red as she began to squeeze Skylar's hand for dear life. She almost yelped with surprise when Skylar threaded her arm over her shoulder, turning her so that they were face to face, their hips lightly swinging side to side at complete odds with the rest of the pit. They were so lost in their own little world, a world contained only in each other's eyes, that they almost missed Aisha nearly breaking down in hysterics in the middle of the chorus.

  Ever fallen in love with someone,

  Ever fallen in love, in love with someone,

  Ever fallen in love, in love with someone,

  You shouldn't've fallen in love with?

  They both started to giggle, the most perfect moment for one of them to make a move and they couldn't contain themselves long enough to be able to. Nor would they be able to, given the harsh shove that was just planted in Skylar's back.

  She turned, snarling, "Who the fuck-" Her eyes narrowed as she saw who had pushed her, noting very familiar features that she remembered vividly. "You! I'm banned 'cause of you!"

  "You think that's bad? I had to shell out four hundred dollars you bitch!" He surged forward. "You owe me!"

  "The fuck I do!" She planted her hands into his chest, shoving him backwards against the stage. He bounced back, swinging his fist wildly in a haymaker that just clipped her cheek. Skylar growled, flinging her forehead forward into his nose and sending him whipping back into the stage, arm connecting with a half empty bottle of beer. He grabbed the neck of the bottle, smashing it against the stage and pointing the jagged edges at her. Skylar's first act was to sweep Anna behind her, but her act of protection it turned out would not be needed.

  "Oi!" All eyes including his turned to the stage, just in time to see Aisha leaping into the air and shooting her legs out, catching him right in the chest and bringing him down to the ground with a scream. She turned to the two of
them, yelling, "Run!" before kneeling and beginning to pound the attacker, who was busy trying to block the onslaught. The band on stage continued to play, and the crowd was in even more of a frenzy.

  "We need to help her! We can't just leave her there!" Anna shouted as she was being dragged away, Skylar in front of her shoving people out of the way.

  Skylar shook her head. "No need! I've seen her fight before, she's a scrapper! And besides..." They watched as Dave and Chris shouldered their way through, murder in their eyes. Anna suddenly almost felt bad for the poor fool she was fighting. "She has all the help she could need."

  They ran up the stairs, shouldering open the door and making a very surprised Pete almost jump into the air. "What the fu-" He trailed off as he looked at Skylar's bleeding cheek. "What did you do this time?"

  "It wasn't my fault! That prick from last time came up and started swinging! Why wasn't he banned?" He started to open his mouth, but she held her hand up. "It doesn't matter, the lead act tonight started beating the shit out of him, you need to get down there!"

  He stood at attention, suddenly all business as he heard someone was in danger. "Say no more, I'll take care of it. I won't tell anyone you were here tonight, and I'll make sure that he's never here again." Pete threw the door open, shoulders squared as he prepared himself for a fight. Between the four people out for his blood, Anna wasn't sure there was going to be much of him to throw out.

  "Jesus Christ..." Skylar propped herself up against the wall, running her hands down her face and groaning. "I am so sorry about tonight, everything was going fine and then... God, I'm such a fuck up."

  Anna walked over, not quite putting her arm out just yet. "I wouldn't say that..."

  "How could you not say it?" She put her fingers to the cut on her cheek, wincing when it stung. "Fuck..."

  "Up until the end there this has been one of the best nights I've ever had..." Anna walked up to her, taking her head in her hands and making her look into her eyes. "Thank you for a wonderful night." They started to move closer together, their eyes closing gently and their lips mere centimeters from each other, before her thumb accidentally scraped over the cut, Skylar hissing in pain and breaking the spell they were under.

  Anna sighed, "We're gonna have to take care of that cut. Come on." She grabbed Skylar's hand, pulling her towards the street.

  Skylar was confused. "Wait, where are we going?"

  "Back to my place," Anna said, hailing a cab. "It'll be no trouble at all."

  "I... Alright." Skylar was blushing but smiling uncontrollably. "If you say so."

  • • •

  They walked up the stairs slowly, exhaustion from the events of the night finally starting to hit them. Anna almost slumped against her door as she tried to unlock it, only managing not to collapse because she was leaning on Skylar. Once they were inside she led her to the bed, leaving her sitting on the side while she looked for the medical kit in her bathroom.

  "Why do you even have a medical kit?" Skylar said, looking around the room. "Is the world of coffee making a violent one?"

  "Har har smartass." Anna let out a noise of triumph as she opened the right cabinet. "I still work with hot shit all the time, if I didn't know how to treat a burn or a cut I wouldn't have made it very far."

  "That's fair, that's fair." Skylar looked to the side as she set the medical kit down, letting Anna get a good look at the injury.

  "Hmm, it's looking alright. Should be fine with some disinfectant and a little cover." She wet a cotton ball with disinfectant, dabbing at the cut as Skylar hissed. "Oh, don't be a baby."

  "Can't say this is how most of my dates end..." Skylar chuckled, "I mean something is usually wet but not like this."

  "So, this was a date then? I thought you were going to leave me guessing all night."

  "Well... I was trying to drop some hints..." She looked back at Anna, the cotton ball falling to the bed forgotten. "Did it work?"

  Anna brushed her hand through the short side of Skylar's hair, gripping the back of her neck lightly. "Yeah... It did." She leaned in, her lips brushing against Skylar's before they both began to move in harmony, moans falling freely into the silent air as they began to fall back to the covers, Anna moving to straddle Skylar's lap.

  Anna ran her hands up her sides, delighting in the soft curves she found underneath her, moving down to kiss and bite at her neck as the other woman gasped lightly. "Mm," Anna mumbled into her skin. "Best night in a long time."

  • • •

  The both of them woke at near the same time, tangled up in the sheets and each other. Skylar looked back at her nervously, biting her lip and not able to look her in the eye. Anna furrowed her brow, concerned as she brushed her hand over her cheek. "Hey, what's going on? Are you ok?"

  "I really like you. Like, really like you." Skylar laughed anxiously, "I mean, if you just want this to be a one-time thing then I guess I can deal with that but-"

  Anna cut her off as she pressed her lips against hers, their teeth clacking together awkwardly as she took Skylar by surprise. Despite that, it was still one of the sweetest kisses Skylar had ever experienced.

  "How's that for an answer?" Anna brushed her hair back, looking at her with a fond smile. "You idiot."

  Skylar beamed, lunging forward to capture her lips once more. "I'd say it was just the one I was looking for."

  Seven

  —

  Aisha, Chris, and Dave

  The first thing that Aisha thought as she flew through the air was, "Oh, Chris and Dave are going to kill me."

  Her feet impacted with the drunk who was attempting to harm her friend, feeling something crack underneath her as they both tumbled to the ground. She knocked the bottle out of his hand, slamming her fist down into his nose and turning to yell at Skylar and Anna.

  "Run!"

  She threw her hands down a few more times, striking against his guarding forearms as he tried to shuffle away from her. All around her, the crowd was in a wild frenzy, her band deciding it was a good idea to start playing even harder rather than jump in and end the fight.

  "Whatever," She thought, "More fun this way."

  Her opponent finally got it in his mind to try something other than blocking, reaching up and grabbing her arms, pushing her back and attempting to get on top of her. He grabbed for the bottle, swinging wildly down at her. The bottle scored across her forearm as she brought it up to block him, screaming through clenched teeth as her vision went red with rage. "You fucker!"

  He didn't get a chance to swing again before a fist collided with his cheek, a furious Chris stepping in and grabbing him by his collar, pulling him in for another punch. Dave stepped behind and grabbed his arms, holding him back so that Chris could wind up for one last hit, a devastating uppercut that knocked him out clean, the two of them letting him drop limp to the ground.

  Chris looked down at Aisha, eyes going wide when he saw the blood dripping from her arm. "Aish!" He knelt down, getting a close look at her arm and wincing at the sight. "We've gotta get you to a hospital, come on!"

  He hauled her to her feet, Aisha keeping her arm close to her chest as she tried to stem the bleeding. Dave shoved a path clear for the two of them, though he was clearly panicking as he did so. The thought of it brought a smile to Aisha's face, though with the pain in her arm it likely looked more like a grimace. When they burst out of the crowd, those still seated looked at them with great concern, horror written quite plainly on their faces as they saw her jacket arm soaked in blood. Pete came sprinting up to them, his own eyes wide as he took the three of them in.

  "What the fuck happened here?"

  Chris pointed back at the stage, anger coating his words, "The guys back there in front of the stage." He pulled Pete close, who was too shocked to do anything about it. "Get him. The fuck. Out of here."

  Pete pushed his own way into the crowd, on his way to do exactly that. They'd had problems with him before, but now that those problems had actually drawn blood he was
more than done here.

  At least it would make getting Skylar's ban overturned easy.

  • • •

  On their way out, Aisha swiped an abandoned beer off a table, gulping it down as they made their way up the stairs to the outside, tossing it over her head as they emerged into the alley.

  "Alright, you two wait here, I'm gonna go get the car." Dave ran out to the back of the alley, looking for where they had stored their car for the night. Chris looked down at Aisha, seeing that the bleeding had started to slow.

  "Jesus Aisha..." He shook his head. "What the hell were you thinking?"

  "I was thinking that he was going to hurt our friends, and that I needed to kick his ass." She shifted her arm, giving a sharp hiss of pain when her jacket rubbed over the gash. "Don't know how well I did though."

  "Given that kick from the stage?" He whistled, "I'd say at least a broken rib or two. What the hell did you do to his nose?"

  "Oh, that was Skylar, courtesy of her forehead." Slowly, she pulled off her jacket, gasping as it pulled off of her forearm, sticking with blood.

  "Of course it was." Chris chuckled, "She always took 'using your head' to a real extreme, didn't she?"

  They both chuckled, before Aisha put a finger to her chin. "So... Her and Anna huh?"

  "I know! Who could have seen that coming?" He looked over at her. "It doesn't bother you does it?"

  "Nah, we were better as friends honestly. It was fun while it lasted but that's about it."

  "Good, good." Chris put his arm around her shoulders. "I'd hate to see you upset by that on top of everything else."

  Aisha rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I think this gash in my arm is more than enough to deal with right now. Speaking of, where the hell is Dave?"

  Their answer came in the form of a car sliding around the corner, knocking a trash can to the ground and scattering its contents as it skidded to a halt in front of them. Dave leaned over, throwing the front door open. "Get in!"