Fair Warning: Very slow (especially for me). No sex in this chapter.
*
"Gretchen? Wendy?" Rian blinked her blue eyes and shook her chestnut tresses, trying to wrap her head around the scene before her. The kind brunette had walked in on her girlfriend of nearly four years being eaten out by their mutual friend. Rian should have been livid and screaming, but stood in a numbed calm instead.
"I'll come back for my stuff tomorrow and leave my key."
Their relationship had suffered over Rian's senior year of college at Arizona State. The pretty coed's preoccupation with school, Gretchen's other "slips" and resentful guilt, and a bad case of LBD all combined into a terrible living situation. Between the crying and yelling, Rian didn't even like the person Gretchen had become. She should have sallied forth months earlier.
Loyal to a fault, the senior told herself to hang in there until graduation to reevaluate. Six weeks early, Rian's decision was made for her. Cheating with a friend in their bed pushed her too far.
Wendy, to her credit, had enough grace to stand silently with cum dripping down her chin. Gretchen shrieked dramatically, following Rian into the hall as she left and shouting, "How can you just throw us away? This is your fault too, you know? You'll never find anyone else who'll love you, and you'll be lonely forever," among other hurtful darts at Rian's retreating back. Sadly, Rian believed most of them.
A wave of relief washed over the beautiful brunette anyway as Rian closed the door to their apartment complex.
She made two phone calls on her way to an extended stay motel. First, to Shauna, Wendy's girlfriend and also a friend, to unfortunately ruin their seemingly happy relationship and leave Shauna a crying mess running to her mother's. Rian realized then that their intimate circle of friends would never recover from the two foundational couples crumbling.
Second, Rian called to accept a previously unthinkable job offer in Oklahoma. Six depressing, rudderless and friendless weeks of college later, she took her last final, skipped the graduation ceremony, and lit out for Podunk, OK.
Rian did well in her new career and joined the company softball team as a kickass third baseman. The feminine tomboy made some guy friends at 3rd & Long - the local sports bar - and eventually convinced them that she really was gay and to stop hitting on her. (Though teasing for being a D-Backs fan remained constant.) The guys were great, but she missed having a circle of female friends.
Loneliness took root beside her Gretchen-induced numbness, but she prided herself on not playing World of Warcraft or adopting a cat with only a cute surname and title. (Sgt. Fuzzyboots and Ms. Fattymagoo both crossed her mind.)
Rian decided not to date either. After only a couple of high school kisses and a few dates in college with other women, she'd u-hauled with her ex as an 18 year-old virgin. At 22, Rian rationalized that she needed to "develop as an individual" on her own. The softhearted girl denied even to herself that she really just feared becoming hopelessly mired for another four soul-crushing years if she dared to go on another date.
There were plenty of opportunities; a gay bar just 30 miles away in the next large town, apparently every citizen of OK has at least one single lesbian cousin, and Rian has the kind of looks and figure that turn heads just walking down the street. Thankfully, Rian's obliviousness, affectionate nature, and lack of gaydar protected her from the more subtle flirting of most southern women, so she only rarely had to reject anyone.
Until Alicia.
Alicia was certainly actively looking for someone to be in a relationship with, but had been too picky to settle of late. None of the blind dates, fix ups, or random encounters led to anything serious (though with her charm and All-American good looks, the statuesque blonde of 25 attracted plenty and dated often.) As a silver lining, her weekends were free for football.
She innocently returned to the sports bar - and its 99% male or married clientele - for the first pregame. Alicia hadn't been to 3rd & Long since the Superbowl and saw a few new faces when she walked back into the bar, Rian's being far and away the most interesting.
"Mikey, Mikey, Mikey," Alicia leaned in and mock-pleaded with the bartender, "Tell me the sexy brunette's gay. Or at least bi?"
"Weeeeeell, I got good news and bad for ya," Mike answered, "Rian claims t' be one of your'n t' all the guys, but we ain't never seen her with a girl neither. She shot down every body hittin' on her, ding dong and hoo hah alike. Says she just wants t' watch the game."
"I can work with that, Mike." Alicia answered and took her Sam Adams with a grin. She walked over to the alluring brunette watching her baseball game, deciding to take a friendly approach rather than using a line and being rebuffed immediately.
"Pretty bold of you to wear a Diamond Backs tee-shirt in Podunk, OK." Alicia joked and turned her grin on Rian.
"Yeah, well," Rian looked up mid-derisive retort, the barb sticking in her throat when she saw the beautiful blonde knockout smiling at her, "they're my team and loyalty's important," she finished lamely.
"So long as you don't wear a Cardinals jersey. You're deep in Cowboy country here." Alicia's smile widened further as she took the barstool next to the slightly-blushing brunette. Alicia recognized the attraction in those big blue eyes, but also recognized Rian's fighting it.
