"To another season in the bag!" shouted Sarah. A chorus of voices yelled, "cheers" in response. It was the end of the season for Trixi, she was transitioning out of the sport temporarily due to going back to school. Everyone said they were cool and understood, but it wasn't quite the same. After holding up her beer and cheering, she went back to the table that she shared with several of her old teammates. They were all still standing and gabbing about the last game. A loss by the smallest of margins, the team still proud of their work, almost dethroning the champs. She looked at her friends, not having the energy to fake the comradery she no longer felt. No one seemed to know she wasn't amid the celebration, which was fine with her. She just wanted her beer and to relax, plus watching drunk people was fun. Trixi knew that as they lost steam, some would come to sit and chat, that was fine with her as well.
As the night wore on, Trixi ended up talking with everyone on the team, and sent several away in Lyfts. Between "OMG TRIX!" conversations, she would play games on her phone. Sarah had just left to grab them another round of beers, so she went back to her trivia game. She felt her side of the booth move as a someone sat down.
She didn't look up from her phone, "just a sec, Sarah. I have three questions left in this round." She soon felt light breath from someone looking over her shoulder, their side brushing against hers. They smelled cute, like cute boy smell. She slowly looked up at the person sitting next to her.
"The name is Cory, not Sarah, and the answer is pounds per square inch," said the guy, clearly her type.
"Whoops." Trixi replied, "I assumed you were my friend that went to grab another beer." She looked around and saw Sarah flirting with the coach. She had a crush on him the whole season. Cory followed her gaze to Sarah.
"Well, clearly Sarah is occupied. What were you drinking?" Cory asked.
"Yes, she is. No thanks, it's ok. I need to start sobering up anyway." Trixi countered, taking a sip of her water.
"You look very sober to me. You've only had water for the last two hours." Cory offered, he got up, went behind the bar and grabbed them both a beer. It clicked, he was the cute bartender that the team was talking about. She quickly put her phone away as he placed their beers on the table in front of them, taking the seat across from her.
"Thanks so much. I would have asked how did you know, but I saw you go behind the bar. Did you just get off?" Trixi asked. He shifted his eyes to the table, chuckled, and then smiled.
"Yeah, my shift just ended. Your friends have been great tonight. I just thought you might want some company until you've gotten everyone taken care of, right?" Cory asked.
"Sure. And yeah, I am making sure everyone gets back to their hotels. It's the least I can do for letting me come with the team. It's a long story. But thanks for the beer!" Trixi offered.
"Any time. So what sport do ya'll play?" Cory asked. Trixi regaled him with their past roller derby season. On their second beer, she started in on the drama, at his prompting. The third round of beers had Trixi chatting about school and work. They swapped their "going to school while working" horror stories and about life in general. Trixi looked around the still hopping bar for her friends, just two left: Sarah and Dan, their coach.
"I guess I don't have to worry about Sarah, that guy she is macking on is our coach." Trixi said with a sigh.
"That was a big sigh, does that happen a lot?" Cory asked, finishing off his beer.
"Not really. Most of my team is, um, fluid with their sexual preferences, but for Sarah, that has been a season long work in progress. I mean, I get it, he's hot. But I don't shit where I eat. Also, that's why I don't date guys at work," she explained. "Do you date at work?"
"No. Once I saw a smoking hot gal here. I tried to pick her up and chatted with her all night." Cory said.
"How did it go?" She asked.
"You tell me," he answered, learning forward on his elbows and smiling. Trixi's eyes widen and a small smile formed on her lips.
"You are a smooth one, I'm not sure this is your first time picking someone up at work." She countered nonchalantly. Inside, Trixi was hot and bothered and trying to remember how many she had. She felt tipsy, but well within her mind. It was Cory's turn to look at her wide-eyed. He excused himself and went to grab one of the three bartenders working the bar. Trixi did some math problems in her head, all were correct. She wondered how this bar was still open at 3am. Cory returned with an equally cute guy.
"So this is Max." he said.
"Hey Sexy. Are you enjoying the night?" Max asked. Clearly putting on the moves.
"He's the one that picks up patrons nightly." Cory explained. Max feigned hurt, then shrugged and winked.
"No, thank you." Trixi said. Max shrugged again and walked back behind the bar. "You are joking, right?"
"Nope. I don't shit where I eat, but I took a chance. Annnddddd?" He asked.
"So far, so good." Trixi answered, blushing. Cory sat down next to her, smiling. His eyes darted from her eyes to her lips and back. She licked her lips mindlessly. His eyes turned dark.
"Good to know. Would you like to check on Sarah and then walk around? They put the Christmas lights up in the trees last weekend." He prompted.
"Sure." Trixi walked over the Sarah and Dan. "You guy heading back to your hotel or what?"
"TRIX! Ohmygod. I didn't see you. What? No, we're just talking. Right, Dan? Ha ha, I mean, of course we are. Not the hotel, I mean talking..." Sarah answered.
"I would love to." Dan interrupted. "I've been trying to get into your pants all season." Both were clearly drunk.
