Alexa had been in St. Paul, Minnesota for too long. The case that was supposed to be a run-of-the-mill haunting turned out to be a vengeful spirit that wouldn't quit. She was running out of money for the ratty motel room she'd been staying in.
The thought of calling up Debbie and asking for some help crossed her mind quickly before she shoved it in the deep, dark depths of her pride. If Debbie knew she needed help, she'd never be able to go hunting on her own again.
A quick Google search for local dive bars brought her to a place called Half Time Rec. A local, rowdy sports bar. She usually likes a quieter setting, but the business helps with maintaining her anonymity. Walking in, she tried her best not to wrinkle her nose at the overwhelming scent of old, sweaty men. She snuck past the bar and toward the bathroom, getting a quick layout of the pub on the way. She spotted a set of dart boards on far side on the room; BINGO.
She wasn't much of a pool player, though she had tried in the past. It's just not her thing. She never got very good at it, and it would be useless for hustling, in that case. Darts, on the other hand, were her strong suit.
Her aim was sharp, sharper since she started training with Debbie. A gun is a bit different to shoot than a dart, but she saved up the little money she got here and there for holidays and gifts from Debbie and the odd card from Castiel, knowing she'd need to fend for herself someday, and bought a board to practice on at home.
She picked a spot at the bar, and scoped the place for an unsuspecting fool. The bartender eyed her from the register as she rang up a guy's tab. Alexa felt fear creep up the back of her neck. She didn't need to be kicked out just as soon as she got there. Alexa squared her jaw, feigned confidence, and raised a hand to call her over for an order.
The bartender gave a lazy smile, giving the man on the other side of the register his change before striding over to Alexa.
"Can I help you, hon?" She smiled, a glint in her eye that gave Alexa a shiver down her spine. This woman couldn’t be that much older than herself, tall, dark brown hair that was tied back into a low ponytail. Her eyes dark but inviting. Alexa felt a need to impress her that went beyond her desire to stay in the bar to hustle.
"Vodka tonic." She stated, boldly, gaze steady. She used to be terrible at this; incredibly nervous and self-conscious. She second guessed every move she made and every word she uttered, but she's gotten better at it; had to get better at it.
There was a moment, though, where Alexa thought she'd been figured out. The answer hung in the balance and she felt a bead of sweat starting to form, felt the bartender size her up, give her a once over.
But then, "Comin' right up."
Alexa waited until she turned around to grab that bottle of vodka to breath in relief. Then she watched as the bartender made her drink. "What's your name, darlin'?" She asked, handing the drink to Alexa and leaning on the bar.
Distracted by the sweet scent rolling off of her, the alias fell out of her memory, "Alexa."
The bartender hummed, biting her lip, Alexa watched the movement, the deep red of her lipstick taunting her, making her wish she could be the one take that lip between her teeth. "Well, Alexa. I'm Dani. If you get in any trouble tonight, just give me a holler, ya hear me?"
Alexa nodded, taking a sip of her drink, shocked at how easy it went down.
"Enjoy, sweetie." Dani said, winking, before walking down to another patron a few seats down from her. Alexa caught herself watching Dani walk, she took her time, valued her own pace. Alexa was mesmerized by her presence, her demeanor.
She shook her head slightly, bringing herself back to the moment, the mission at hand: she needed money, she needed to find a poor doof to trick into gambling some money on a game of darts.
The bar formed a square in the middle of the room, and on the other side, there was a man nursing a whiskey. He was alone, so that was a plus, but more than that he looked lonely, despite the wedding ring on his hand. He stared into his drink, a dejected look on his face, and she watched him as he turned toward the dart boards to watch a couple of guys play a game.
This was her in. She got up from her seat, taking her drink with her, and made her way to the boards, grabbing the darts from where they were stuck into the target. She made a show of not being able to even hit the board for a bit, sighing and huffing, and groaning until she got the man's attention.
"Need some help?" The man offered, a tilt to his smile – there always was.
Alexa laughed, "Yes, please. I've always wanted to learn. I thought maybe I'd have some... natural talent, but... I guess that's not how it works."
The man took a dart from her, lined it up, and shot. He landed in the 20-point range. Alexa inwardly rolled her eyes. She could hit the center of the bullseye every time, but it was too early to show her abilities. She took his place, tried to mimic his shooting style, but fell short, landing in the 6 point section, giving a convincing groan in frustration.
"Aw, it's okay, darlin'. You'll learn. Here, lemme help you." The man drawled, taking a step too close to Alexa, invading her space. She braced herself for his hands touching her, moving her into the correct stance as he crowded around her, his breath in her ear, "Like that."
The position he put her in was not really helpful in any way, but she knew she had to make this shot. Make him believe she helped him. The man took a step back, after a too-long moment where she swore she could hear him sniffing her neck. She pushed down the revolution at the thought, steadied her gaze and shot, her dart hitting the outer bullseye zone.
She forced a breathy bit of laughter, feigning shock. "Woah. Did you see that?!"
The man smirked, "That's right, sweetheart. You did great."
Alexa smiled, a twinkle in her eye, "Bet you I can do it again. Five bucks."
The man raised an eyebrow, nodding his head in affirmation.
Alexa made a show of recreating the stance that he put her in, but changing the position of her shoulder so it was just out of line, and shot again, landing in the 11 point spot.
"Damn it!" She cursed, going into her pocket to pay the man his due.
He stopped her, putting a hand on her arm, "Don't worry about it. How about you just buy me a drink?"
She smiled, and she was in.
At the bar, Dani raised her eyebrow at her when she sat down next to the man. She let him into her personal space, but he didn't make any overt moves, thankfully. He ordered his drink, and she ordered another vodka tonic. He talked and talked about useless information, about how shitty his life is, about how beautiful Alexa was. She smiled and nodded, ordering more drinks. The drunker he was, the easier it would be to swindle him.
In the end, she was right; she won, and he was too drunk to care, gave her the money and then some.
"How's 'bout you come on home wi'me, priddy lady?" He slurred, the whiskey rolling off of him in waves.
Stunned, Alexa didn't know how to proceed.
"How about you take the cab waiting outside for you and go home to your wife, Ed?" Dani offered in lieu of Alexa's silence.
"Come on, Dani. Don't spoil m'fun!"
Dani leveled him with a hard glare. "You've had enough fun for tonight."
He looked like he was going to argue, so she raised an eyebrow at him. Grumbling under his breath, he got off of the bar stool and sauntered unevenly outside.
Alexa waited, watched through the window as he got into the cab and it drove away, before she took a breath. Turning back to the bar, she smiled softly at Dani, "Thanks. That guy was a total creep."
Dani laughed, "Yeah, he's a regular. Knows not to mess with me or I call the cops on him." She paused, using a towel to wipe down the bar between them. "Speaking of, that was a swift hustle you did there."
Alexa's eyes widened, "I- I don’t know what you-"
Dani laughed, "Oh honey, please. I've seen it all in this dive. And don't worry, I won't tattle on ya."
Alexa relaxed, a lazy grin appearing on her face, "Then maybe I should celebrate my winnings with another vodka tonic."
"A tonic, you mean." Dani responded, "That's what I've been givin' ya all night."
Alexa's jaw dropped, "What! No, I saw you-"
"I have a special bottle, empty vodka bottle filled with tonic water. I give it to all the younger girls who look like they got cornered by a creep. Keep their head clear, which is the opposite of what the creep wants, get it?"
Alexa nodded, "Alright, but he's gone now."
Dani smirked, "And you're still underage. I didn't kick you out because, well, you're distractingly cute." Alexa felt her cheeks warm. "Then I wanted to see how you worked."
"Yeah?" Alexa said, gaining confidence, "What's the verdict?"
"Pretty impressive." She looked at Alexa, "But not as good as me."
Alexa snorted, "You wanna put money on it?" It was a bad idea, she just won this money, and she really needed it to stay in town for the next couple of days.
Dani checked her watch, "Last call!" She yelled, getting a collective groan from the last patrons of the night in response. "I'm not a betting woman, especially when I know you didn't hustle for no reason."
A jolt of disappointed seeped into Alexa, deflating her.
"But stick around a bit and I'll play you for fun, how's that sound?"
Alexa beamed, and Dani mirrored it before she headed over to the register to close out the tabs for the night. Alexa watched Dani dancing around the tables, picking up empty bottles and glasses. Fascinated by her movement, her eyes tracked the way she kept the tray steady when she bent to push in a chair. Alexa didn’t know how long she spent just watching Dani, but she noticed that they were the only ones left in the bar and felt slightly guilty that she didn't at least offer to help clean up.
The sound of glasses clinking together woke Alexa out of her stupor as Dani placed the glasses in the dishwasher and shut it. "Ya ready to get your ass handed to ya?"
"We'll see about that." Alexa winked before striding over to the boards.
It turned out they are pretty evenly matched. Dani got a bullseye, and shouted, "Now what'd I tell ya!"
Alexa laughed, getting up to take her turn. "Can I ask – your accent. It's not stereotypical of the area."
"Naw... I grew up in Texas. Moved here a couple years ago when I turned 18. Parents booted me when I told them I bat for the other team."
Alexa frowned, getting closer to Dani, placing a hand on her arm, "I'm sorry that happened."
Dani looked into Alexa's eyes, and it was the first time she'd seen her let her guard down all night. The vulnerability was striking but fleeting.
"S'alright. Coulda been worse." There was a pause, and Dani turned to take her shot, "Anyway, I had a cousin out here in St. Paul, helped me out until I found my footing." Alexa stayed silent, playing with a dart between her fingers. "What about you? You don't exactly sound like a local either."
Alexa cleared her throat, it was dangerous to give personal information, but she felt safe with Dani. Safer than she had in a while. "I'm from Illinois. My dad..." She paused and Dani turned all of her attention to Alexa, "He died... when I was younger. My mom kind of, went off the rails after that. I bounced around for a while. Got lost. Got back in touch with my mom just in time for her to die... but uh – now I have family in South Dakota. I guess that's where home is for me now."
Dani's expression was soft, "I'm sorry ya went through all that."
Alexa met Dani's gaze, saw the genuine concern in her eyes, felt the heat of her hand where it was holding Alexa's wrist.
"Thanks." She breathed, "I guess we both went through some shit, huh?"
Dani laughed, "Yeah... yeah, guess we did."
"Sometimes, I wonder... if- if my dad were still here. Would he... he was, super religious, like – heaven, angels, all that. Sometimes I wonder if he'd have-"
"Rejected you?" Dani filled in the blanks.
Alexa felt he resolve break, her eyes stung; she nodded, looking at the floor.
"Baby, you can't think about that. Believe me, I know how hard it is – I lived it."
"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean-"
"That's not what I'm sayin'. I mean, you shouldn't be wonderin' whether the worst coulda happened when it ain't possible. Maybe your daddy woulda shut you out, maybe he woulda loved the shit outta you, or maybe it woulda been that awkward middle where they don't know what to do with ya. It's all hypothetical shoulda coulda woulda shit that won't get you nowhere." Dani caressed Alexa's arms with her hands, holding her up, keeping her strong.
Alexa took a shuddering breath, "You're right," she shook her head, "Sorry. This was- I feel so stupid."
"You're not stupid, sweetie." She said, pulling her into an embrace, "I know I just met you and all, but I can tell, you're a smart one. Fine as hell, too."
Alexa laughed, a soggy, wet sound, pulling back, "You're one to talk."
"Hey, no one's saying we both can't be tens." She smirked, leaning her forehead on Alexa's.
"Well, where's the fairness in that? For the rest of the world, I mean." She leaned in, gaze moving from Dani's eyes to those lips that she'd been thinking about all night.
"Fuck 'em." She answered, closing the gap between them.
Their lips met, softly at first, the solemnness of the moments before hanging over them briefly, but as Alexa's hand made its steady way up Dani's back, setting at the base of her neck, Dani surged forward with a passion. All the looks, the winks, the banter of the night leading up to this searing melding of their mouths. Alexa's tongue swiped at Dani's bottom lip, tasting the lipstick there, and Dani opened her mouth in response.
Alexa let out a muffled groan when Dani pushed her back against the wall. They kissed, and their hands roamed, and grasped and they breathed together, harshly until the sound of the bar's telephone broke them apart. They stayed in their spot a moment, breathing, as the incessant sound continued.
"I should-" Dani said.
"Yeah, of course. I have to- I should get going anyway."
Dani hesitated, "Ya don't have to-"
"No, it's-" The phone rang again, they looked at each other, while Dani's hand hovered over the phone., Alexa nodded.
Dani picked up the receiver, "Half Time Rec – After hours."
Alexa dug in her pocket for a piece of receipt paper, grabbing a pen from the cup by the register.
"Yeah, Boss, I'm almost finished up here." Dani responded to the caller, looking up at Alexa when she stood in front of her.
Call me. Alexa mouthed, placing the receipt paper with her number written on it on the bar.
Dani looked at it, then back at her, and smiled. Alexa took that as a signal to go and heard her explaining some customer count and inventory nonsense to her boss as she left.
She was a couple blocks away from her motel when her phone buzzed in her pocket.
Heya, 10. Had a nice time tonight. Hope ya come back soon.
Alexa giggled as she typed out her reply: Well you've got the best Tonics in town, how can I resist?
Not sure ya can.
Tomorrow. And this time we'll finish that game.
Which one? ;}
Alexa bit her lip. Both.
Lookin forward to it.