It was hard keeping the relationship going but Penny was committed to making it work.
She and her boyfriend Stephen both led busy lives, her with her graduate work and him at his office. And when they did find time to be together they were usually too tired to do much of anything other than watch television and catch up on sleep. When they first started dating the sex had been great. But it'd been over a week now since they'd even fucked. Which is why Penny had been looking forward to seeing Stephen that Friday night and why she was so disappointed when she got his message.
His text read: I'm sorry. They got us working late answering data requests for the audit. I'll see you tomorrow night. Love you.
Finished with lab and teaching for the week, Penny didn't have any other plans and the sudden cancellation had put her in a foul mood, so she decided the perfect solution was to go get a beer or five. She walked several blocks to a dive bar named Robin's. It was a small joint in a rundown old strip mall but she hadn't been here before and Penny liked trying out new bars. That and she didn't feel like going too far for a drink tonight, she just wanted to start drinking and forget about everything for a while.
The interior of Robin's was hardly better than the exterior but Penny decided she liked it. Dim lighting, cheap beers, no loud patrons or music - Penny could see herself coming back here again. She sat at the bar, drinking her beer.
A short while later a young thin woman with short cropped hair sat next to her at the bar. "What are you having?" she asked Penny.
"Stella."
"Two Stellas," the woman told the bartender. She turned back to Penny with a smile. "Haven't seen you here before."
"Trying the place out. Seems pretty nice."
"Yeah, I like coming here. Name's Iona."
"Penny. Thanks for the beer."
The two made small talk while they drank. Iona worked retail at a head shop by the college. She described some of the crazy customers her store got while Penny chuckled. They finished their beers and Iona ordered another round for them both.
Penny talked about her grad work. She found Iona easy to talk to or possibly it was the beers; probably the beers, Penny thought. She talked about surly students and the monotony of grading papers. She talked about the low-level misogyny of a couple of the department's older male professors. She talked about the stress of having to look for a job in her field after graduation and how likely it was she'd spend years in post-doc.
"If you could do anything for work," Iona asked her, "what would you do?"
"Just what I'm doing now," Penny said, "biology."
"But you just got done talking about how much you hate it."
"Don't get me wrong, it's tough as hell. But this is what I want to be doing. And I'm not a quitter. I start something I see it through, career or relationship."
"Is that so?"
"Yup." Penny took a swig of her beer. "What about you? What's your dream job?"
"How do you know working minimum wage retail and putting up with shitty customers isn't my dream job?"
"Har har."
"I want to be a photographer."
"Really? Like, weddings and shit?"
"More artistic stuff than that but whatever pays really. I prefer taking portraits. I've already started; have a little home studio kit at my apartment and I've had a couple of women pose for me already. But I really want to get a studio someday. Hey, why don't you pose for me sometime?
Penny laughed. "Yeah, right," she said.
"I'm being serious."
"I've never modeled."
"So? You just do what I tell you, nothing to it."
"I don't want to be in any photos. You could say I don't have great self-esteem with my body."
"I think you look hot and I'd love for you to pose for me. Hell, I'd love for you to pose nude for me.
