“Cheers to the first drink of the night!” Katya chimed as the group of five all downed their shots of tequila.

“Cheers to finally being off work! Damn, what a crazy night.”  Flynn muttered, biting down on a lime, painting a sour expression across his rough face.  “I don’t know what it is about Tuesdays, but it always gets the picky crowd out on the town.” 

I mumbled in agreement with the rest of the group, still grimacing from the unique aftertaste of the tequila.  I didn’t know what it was about tequila; it was great, pretty much the only liquor I could take shots of, but my taste buds still needed to calm down after the overstimulation. Oh damn, am I already feeling a little buzzed? That should probably be my only drink tonight.

My attention was brought back to my coworkers as Maya started going off on a rant about how one of her tables sent back their dish three separate times before grudgingly accepting to eat our “sub-par” pasta sauce. How could anyone send back Jeremy’s pasta sauce? It was fucking delicious! I would eat damn near anything that beautiful man made.  Katya ended up voicing that very same thought, resigned to the audacity of the obviously misguided customer.  Jeremy wore a grin that one might describe as “shit-eating” as he accepted the numerous praises of his magnificent cooking skills.

As my coworkers wound down from their night of service and subsequent start of their revelry, I silently observed as a third party. I had been out with them a few times at this point, though very seldom. Even still, seeing them in normal clothing still felt like a novel event. Flynn wore his typical beanie over his dirty blonde scruff (no difference there), but his cargo pants and tank top certainly harmonized with the hippy vibe that he put off at work. The tank top lent to the fact that he was an avid rock climber, as it showcased his muscular shoulders and prominent veins on his forearms.

Jeremy, on the other hand, dressed much nicer than I always assumed, but his gentleman-like eloquence definitely matched the collared shirt and tie he wore now.  Not to mention, it framed his muscular Latinx body quite well. He was a cook that exuded the grace of a white-collar CEO, without any of the unmindful assholery. 

Maya was, well Maya. One of my best friends. She wore her typical flannel attire with jeans and some punk-rock boots. Her curly, afro-like, jet black hair bounced on her head down around her neck. She was the one who insisted on dragging me out with them after work, saying I needed to “socialize” or something along those lines. I just enjoy the comfort of my own home alright? Though, she was a really thoughtful friend and I appreciated the effort she took to get me out here. Oh, and she also needed a designated driver, of course.

Katya, however, might have been the second reason I accepted coming out tonight. She and I apparently had gone to the same high school together. Though she was the one who made the connection when I was hired at Luigi’s. I couldn’t be bothered to remember much of that dreadful place, but it seems that she saw me enough to remember me. That only further nurtured the growing crush I had on her for the last month or so. She had a natural beauty to her that was almost Fae-like.  Her fashion was impeccable, donning a cute, cream-colored, sleeveless blouse with tight, black leather pants. She wore a gorgeous sliver necklace with a star-shaped pendant that I had never seen her without. Not to mention, she was as much of a science nerd as I was. We both attended the same university together, though I had never had a class with her, unfortunately.

“Hey, it’s not often we get to see you outside of work Jackson!” Jeremy noted after the compliments died down, “Glad you could join us, amigo! Es una buena noche, ahora!”  

I made a smile that really only reached the lower portion of my face, “Thanks, I told Maya and Katya that I’d drive them home so that they could really unwind tonight.  That shot will probably be my only drink tonight, but honestly, I think it’s all I need at the moment.” I said as I gave a small laugh. I lifted a hand to cradle the side of my head as I brushed my fingers through my dark brown hair.

“Oh wow, Maya mentioned you were a lightweight, but damn!” Flynn jabbed as he plopped down his second shot of tequila next to Maya’s and Katya’s. “Still, nice of you to come! Maybe you could drop us off later too!” He turned from the bar, his eyes glanced over to the pool hall at the other side of the bar. I saw his hazel eyes suddenly light up.

“Hey yo, Jeremy,” Flynn called as he stepped back towards the tables. His arms were outstretched in a challenging manner, “Bet you some of your tip money I can whip your ass at a game of pool!” 

Not one to back down from a direct challenge, Jeremy rose in a calm, confident manner. He took off his jacket with a methodical care, an action that intrigued me as he did it, and announced back with his melodious accent “You’re going to regret that bet, Cabron.”

As Jeremy headed over to the pool table, Katya whispered to Maya and me, “Oh my, I can watch him walk away anytime, whatever his workout routine is, it’s working.”

Maya arched a dark eyebrow at Katya, rolling her eyes, “Oy vey girl, you’re preaching to the wrong choir, you know that.” Her eyes lingered, however, obviously appraising his gait, “Though, I can appreciate a nice ass when I see one.”  She turned back to the bar, her tight curls bouncing around at the sudden movement. She tried to signal the bartender for yet another drink while mentioning under her breath, “Now the redhead at the other end of the bar? She’s someone I can admire from afar, what do you think JJ?” The ostensible gleam in her eyes as she ogled the oblivious woman was slightly disconcerting.

I let the woman at the end of the bar enter my vision, making sure not to stare too much.  She was pretty, I could admit that. She had gorgeous red hair, a set of freckles that were cute as hell, a great combo.  That was all though. I didn’t know her at all, she could like Star Trek over Stargate, or just not that into sci-fi at all, or a number of things! I could appreciate her looks, but the attraction just wasn’t there at all. It felt weird to think that, but no, I barely felt a lure to her presence. Would I love to be able to rock those knee-high boots, though… The heat of my face felt obvious as I replied in a timid tone, “I mean, yeah she’s pretty, though I don’t know anything about her, so I couldn’t really say if I would like her or not.”

Maya sighed, a little exasperated at my answer, non-answer antics. “Geez, I’m not asking if you want to date her, just if you find her attractive or not.”

“Well, that’s not really how see people, I guess? I don’t have much of an attraction to people in that sort of way? It’s the personality that I get attracted to… I think. I dunno but it makes dating more than a little frustrating to be honest. First dates at least.”  I realized I was saying way more than I normally would about my sexuality, or lack thereof. Geez, did that one shot really affect me that much? Hopefully they think the red in my face was just due to the alcohol.

Katya nodded with a pensive look, brushing her blonde hair back behind her ear in a manner that was simple, casual, yet very, very attractive, “Oh okay, so your kind of ace then? Or demi? Either is totally fine, there’s a lot of people out there like that.” 

I smiled, glad that she was so accepting of being different. Gosh she was so beautiful; you’d almost think she was elven, the way her face was structured, the slightly angled blue eyes. Her slight Slavic accent gave such a sexy air to her voice as well…

I winced, suddenly realizing my current thoughts were completely contradicting pretty much everything I was saying, “Uhhh, yes and no? I don’t know, it’s all really complicated; I haven’t quite figured it all out yet. I haven’t really been trying to get into a relationship lately anyway; working on finishing my degree and all that.” There we go, just change the subject, let’s not dwell on my sexuality anymore okay?

Maya came to the rescue, blessedly taking the hint, “You’re in your last semester, right? There’s no way I could study something as complicated as biochemistry, you should be proud JJ! You’re going to be editing genes a year from now for all we know!”

“Yeah!” Katya said, getting visibly excited, “Or, when I get my degree in astronomy, we could work together to find life on other planets! I could locate the planets with my telescopes, and you can analyze the data from my high-end machines and see if there’s any bio-stuff going on there!  We could be the first people to discover life on another planet!” 

I couldn’t help but grin at her antics, seeing Katya get excited like that, and about science no less, was enjoyable to watch.  Thinking about working together, doing some important work like discovering new life, with her, sent my mind wheeling into a multitude of romantic scenarios. Though I forced myself to put a stop to it. No, it would never happen like that, it couldn’t… she was into men, not… whatever I was…

“Yeah,” I agreed with a half-hearted smile, trying to break away from my cynical train of thought, “that would be fun wouldn’t it? We could try looking at the spectroscopy data you get back, see if there are any wavelengths indicating the presence of carbon or nitrogen, that’s probably a good sign that there is some sort of chemistry going on.”

After another round and a healthy dose of science nerds being science nerds, we made our way over to the enclosed room that was holding the pool tournament. I claimed the comfy chair, while Maya and Katya took over the couch. Jeremy and Flynn were still competing for the tip money prize pool, though it looked like Flynn was spot on with his bet, Jeremy didn’t look like he was doing too well. Maya and I started talking about the latest episode of Steven Universe I had watched while catching up to her.  It was such a wholesome show; she was excited about a song Garnet sings in the next couple episodes that she couldn’t wait for me to hear. I reassured her that it was the first thing I would do once I got back home.

Soon, however, the social anxiety got the better of me, and I retreated into the safety of my phone. The internet was comforting when I didn’t want to interact at a get together and close friends and coworkers were no exception to that rule… Onward to memes and science articles!

As I finally pulled my head out of my phone a few minutes later, I was greeted by quite the scene.  Obviously, the match was over, as I saw Flynn in a wooden chair that was pulled over to the table.  The two front legs were propped up in the air as he balanced on the back two, using the table to stabilize himself. He was also managing to balance a pool stick on his chin and… Katya, of all people, had climbed onto the table and was trying to balance the chalk on top of the entire balancing act. Maya and Jeremy were off to the side, both had another drink in their hands, and were egging the two of them on! 

“Hey, are we being careful over there? Don’t hurt yourself!” I yelled as I silently berated myself for not keeping an eye on my drunken party.

Katya looked over to me as she posed in quite the precarious position. One knee on the table, the other flagging out for balance as she reached up to the end of the pool stick. Then she just stuck out her tongue at me while yelling, “Okayyy, mom!”

I smiled inwardly at the use of the word, it settled onto me and just felt right, I couldn’t quite describe it, “Yeah well, as your DD, I do believe I have the right to invoke mom-like privileges. Worrying for your safety being one of those.”

Determined concentration splayed over her face as she ignored my comment, “No Flynn, a little to the right… annnnnd there!”

They had done it. Okay, I’ll admit it was actually a little impressive.  However, the display lasted for all of seven seconds before Flynn lost his grip and everything came crashing down. The man toppled over the back of his chair in a heap as everyone rushed to see to his safety.

I flinched at his fall, but knew better than to be concerned for his well-being. I rolled my eyes as I checked to see if the bartender was getting tired of our group’s shenanigans.  Her lips were drawn to a line as she made eye contact with me. As if it was my fault! Still, I mouthed a silent apology to her, hoping we had somehow made it into her good graces tonight. She rolled her eyes and made a motion letting me know we were cut off for the night. Flynn was on the floor and grinning like a mad man, insisting he was alright, as I knew he would be. That man could cheat death and death would never figure out how he did it.

“So that stunt earned you all the pleasure of closing out our chits,” I said over the sounds of laughter and concern. That was something the bartender and I both agreed on, at least.  “How are you all feeling?”  A series of dejected faces looked up at me as they realized they had caused trouble.

Maya had one hand holding onto the side of her head, “Ahh, yeah, I’m pretty toasty right now, probably a good time to calm down anyways. Sorry for encouraging trouble, JJ.” She slapped her face a couple times, and walked off as she muttered something about hydration.

“Hah, yeah, sorry about that guys…” Flynn said. Wow, he actually looked rather embarrassed. Jeremy helped him up. As he stood, Flynn rubbed the wrist that caught his fall. I had climbed with him enough times before that I was pretty sure his humiliation didn’t stem from his recklessness. No, he was just bummed out he couldn’t keep his balance. Typical Flynn.

Water seemed a good idea to everyone else too, after a little bit of encouragement from “mom” of course. A little later on, Katya wandered over to me, placing herself quite close to the side of the couch I had migrated to. I was pretty engulfed in a comment thread detailing the intricacies of wood carving, learning fascinating things about a craft that I would probably never pick up.

“What's got you so en— entron—" She paused as she tried a third time, mouthing the word before she made another attempt, “—entranced over there?”  She beamed at her narrow victory over the English language. Yeah, glad we ended up cutting them off.

“Apparently, there are numerous types of tools used in wood carving.” My eyes were still finishing up the comment I was reading.  “A sharp blade, a gouger, and something called a strop? I’m not really sure I’ve never been into the hob— Oh. Um, hi there…”  Katya was practically on my shoulder when I stopped reading to look up at her. Her face was now mere inches away from mine. She finished looking at my phone as she glanced up at me, also starting to realize the proximity of our faces.

Katya gazed at me with a questioning air to her expression, the closeness seeming not to bother her.

“So, when did Maya start calling you JJ? Not… not that it’s weird or anything, I just… didn’t take you for a nickname kind of person.” Her face looked a little crestfallen, was she… sad? Dejected? What could make her sad about a nickname Maya used for me?

“Oh,” I murmured, embarrassment laced with a trickle of fear welled up in my gut, “w- well my full name is Jackson Joe, if you didn’t know. So, she just decided to shorten my first and middle name together, that’s all.” I made a half grin, knowing that it wasn’t really the whole reason behind the name, but the falsehood was a perfectly reasonable explanation. “She just used it one day, and… I decided I liked it.”  Maya really did come up with an ingenious solution. I could never tell her how much I truly appreciated her thoughtfulness.

“Oh, alright… well then can I use it too? It does actually suit you quite well! It’s a cute name!” She tapped her finger on my nose. “Kinda like you!”  The woman didn’t leave a moment for me to process the event as she quickly stood up, pink colors swirling around her cheeks, “I think I need some more water… pretty sure it got warmer in here? I’ll be right back, JJ!” She winked as she turned away to the bar.

Oh wow, that was… wait, what was that? She thought I was cute? It left me with a mixed feeling of elation and disappointment. After all, she didn’t know what that nickname really meant to me. That would probably change her entire perception of me if she knew… I started to think back to the night I confided in Maya. That was hard enough, how would I be able to tell Katya? Especially now that she might have feelings for me! I glued myself back to my phone, not able to think of anything but the difficult yet delightful night I told Maya everything…