Tara smoothed her black uniform apron self-consciously, wishing she had worn a less… comfortable outfit beneath. Her pink denim pinafore dress reached her knees and then her legs were bare to her ankles, where her frilled pink socks lead into her trainers. The long sleeves of her thick, white sweater had been folded tightly up to her elbows to free her hands and lower arms for her duties.

A few minutes prior, Ava had walked into Jessi’s Java, Tara and Shawn’s workplace. Tara knew it was not coincidence, she had never seen Ava in the coffee house before the party. She would have remembered a woman like that - would have memorised her order to heart. When Shawn had interrogated her that morning for details on her night of passion with his friend, he had been very pushy in his opinion that Tara should follow up the encounter. Tara had countered this view over and over with the simple fact that she didn’t have Ava’s number and knew nothing of her but her address - and she was no stalker.

Tara had no doubt that Shawn was behind Ava’s sudden craving for a cup of joe.

Shawn chatted with her cheerfully as he took her order, laughing at his own jokes as he always did. Ava cracked a few grins though, and her smile had an edge to it that Shawn’s didn’t.

The order ticket popped up and Tara snatched it a little too excitedly, ripping the bottom of the paper in a wonky line. She kept her eyes on her work as she made the simple drink: a flat black coffee. She had heard Shawn attempting to convince her into adding some syrup flavouring but Ava had firmly refused.

Once the take-out cup was sealed, Tara placed it on the collection counter with a napkin and gave Ava a small wave to let her know it was ready. The woman wrapped up her conversation with Shawn and strode over smoothly.

“Hey, Ava,” Tara said, hating herself for how overly chirpy she sounded.

“Hey,” Ava replied with a barely-there smile and a nod.

Shawn’s eyes were burning into her, urging her not to let the conversation die before its time.

“How’ve you been?”

She took a long sip of her scalding coffee without registering any discomfort on her face. “Good, you?” she asked pleasantly.

“Yeah,” Tara answered slowly. “Fully recovered from the weekend.” She laughed awkwardly

Ava’s hands paused as she brought the cup to her lips again, leaving it hovering just below the dip of her chin. “I hope I wasn’t too rough,” she said a small smirk. Tara couldn’t tell if she was flirting or genuinely laughing at her.

“N-no, I had a lot of fun,” she mumbled.

Ava nodded and took another deep drink. “Good.”

The crunch of the cardboard cup being crushed in Ava’s palm made Tara jolt. It landed in their recycling bin with an easy flick of her palm, despite its location on the other side of the room. Tara would never even attempt such a long shot. A huff of laughter from the direction of the till reminded her of Shawn’s presence, apparently he wasn’t as impressed as Tara was at the display of athleticism.

Ava turned to leave and Tara’s heart jumped into her throat.

“W-wait!” she blurted. “I… I wanted to ask you, um-”

“I don’t do relationships,” Ava advised monotonously.

“Oh.”

“Sorry, kid.”

Tara flushed, she was not a kid!

“That was not what I was going to ask!” She huffed.

A few beats of tense silence passed between them.

“Well?” Ava said dully.

Tara folded her arms over her chest and tilted her face away. “Perhaps I don’t want to ask now.”

With jarring speed, Ava leant in, caught her chin between two fingers and dragged her line of sight back to meet her sharp eyes. “Oh, come on, don’t tease me.” Her voice had turned sultry and it sent a shiver along the skin of Tara’s back.

Suddenly, trapped in Ava’s gaze, Tara didn’t seem to have the choice to stay silent, she was already answering obediently. “I was going to ask if you wanted to do what we did again.”

“Fuck?”

The expletive surprised Tara, she jerked her face out of Ava’s hand and looked away awkwardly, when it was said so bluntly it made her feel embarrassed for talking about sex in her place of work.

“I wasn’t planning to ask to be your girlfriend,” Tara lied sulkily, hoping to get through this awkward conversation far more quickly than they currently were. “I was going to ask to be friends… with benefits.”

“That’s more interesting,”Ava murmured. She observed Tara for a moment, black eyes roaming over her slowly and the slightest smirk tugging at the corner of her mouth. “Give me your phone,” she ordered with her hand out.

Tara placed her phone in the woman’s palm, it unlocked to the home screen without her putting in the pin-code, but she assumed it was a glitch, it wasn’t exactly the latest model.

Ava added herself as a contact and handed it back. Without another word she turned, nodded to Shawn who gave her a cheeky salute in return, and left the coffee house. She didn’t look back.

“She gave you her number?!” Shawn asked incredulously. He was at her side in an instant.

“Why do you sound so surprised?” Tara asked suspiciously.

“Ava is… not the type to try the same flavour of ice cream twice… if you get my drift.”

“Then why did you encourage me to try to talk to her again?”

Shawn had the grace to turn his grin into an apologetic one. “I was hoping she would give you a chance because I think you would make a cute couple,” he explained. “You’re so sweet and cute, I’m hoping you can soften her up a little.” The complimentary addition sent a flush to Tara’s cheeks.

“We’re not going to be a couple, we’re just gonna… maybe…”

“Oh?”

Tara floundered for the right words for a few moments. When she couldn’t find any, she decided to pass the responsibility to Ava instead. “You’re her friend, ask her.”

Quietly, Shawn said, “I don’t judge people for their sex lives, Tara.”

“Thanks.”

“I do judge them for not doing their bathroom check on time though,” he added cheerfully.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m going.”

~

The back door of Jessi’s Java shuddered open as always, requiring Tara to throw her full weight against it in order to go home for the day. She was on the closing shift for the next few days and she would certainly feel it in her biceps by the end of the week. The back of the coffee house led into a tight alleyway that held a scattering of cardboard boxes and chunks of who-knew-what that had fallen from the local business’ bins when they were collected each week. Tara trotted around the debris carefully, but was not quite as eagle-eyed when she stepped out into the main road that the alleyway was connected to.

Technically, and she held on to this technicality for many years to come, she would not have been in any danger crossing the road if it weren’t for the careless driver. She was halfway to the other side when the headlights appeared, rounding the corner at break-neck speed and barrelling towards her. For some reason, they did not slow. Even when she turned to face the car head-on in the brief moment before it reached her.

At a loss for how to protect herself, Tara squeezed her eyes shut.

Miraculously, it seemed to work. The sensation of a large drop on a roller-coaster, loud disgruntled honking, and the squeeze of strong hands around her waist and hips all occurred simultaneously. Still, she did not open her eyes. She was probably dead, that was why it didn’t hurt.

“Are you going to vomit?” a familiar voice asked. Tara could hear the smirk without needing her eyes open. “I don’t mean to sound insensitive but these are new shoes.”

Tara groaned in embarrassment. “I’m not going to be sick,” she said quietly as she finally peeled her eyes open. She had reached the side of the road she had been aiming for. “What the-” Ava’s hands were holding her firmly. The car was gone. She was fairly sure she was still alive. Ava’s body was overly warm against her own despite the cool temperature of the air around them. The night was dark and quiet. She was still alive. “How did-”

“I was on this side already,” Ava supplied quickly, “I saw that maniac speeding down the road towards you and gave your sweater a yank.” Tara was fairly sure she heard her mutter, “fucking drunk drivers,” as well but ignored that last part, there was no way for them to know if the driver was drunk or not.

“Thank you,” Tara breathed sincerely. As she stared into Ava’s black eyes she hoped that in some way she could communicate the gratitude she felt. “You saved my life.”

A short and quiet laugh rumbled in Ava’s throat, there was a dark edge to it that made Tara shiver. As though the situation amused her in some twisted way. “Don’t thank me,” she said sternly. “In fact, I’d appreciate it if you told no one about this.” She pushed Tara away as she spoke to hold her at arms-length.

“Um, sure,” Tara agreed, at a loss for what else she could say to that strange request. Perhaps Ava was simply incredibly modest? Maybe she wasn’t supposed to be here tonight… Why was she walking past the back of the coffee house at this time at night? Tara decided it was best not to ask. “Will you let me pay you back though? I can’t afford a life, but maybe dinner?”

Ava’s eyes had turned a flat black, no emotion to be found as she mulled over the offer. It was incredibly disconcerting and Tara found herself squirming under the steady gaze.

“Fine, but not tonight,” she said darkly.

“Okay… I’ll text you?”

“You do that.”

They separated quickly, Tara walking in one direction and Ava taking the opposite. After counting out fifty steps, Tara paused and pulled out her phone.

Tomorrow night? She texted to Ava’s number.

A distant chuckle reached her ears, sending a flush to her cheeks. Tara stood still as she awaited the reply.

Ava: Sure.