Chapter Text
Going to a comedy show was something Beatrice had been looking forward to since she was a child. Yes, maybe she didn't normally struck as someone with an extensive sense of humor, but she absolutely appreciated people capable of being funny on command.
Her whole life was full of moments where she was surrounded by laughter. The only problem was that, in the majority of them, those laughs were addressed to something she definitely didn't mean to be funny. Like the time her cousins laughed at her while playing households because she didn't want to be a stay-at-home mom. Or the time her parents laughed when she told them she didn’t want to be a lawyer (followed by angry shouts and a detailed speech about why she had to pursue law studies by the time they understood she was being serious).
And on top of that, when she intended to be funny, nobody laughed. But maybe that was because her puns were horrible, or at least that's what Lilith told her. Camila, on the other hand, would often tell her that it was not her fault and that the crowd was being tough while locking eyes with Lilith in a threatening way.
So that day, when the waiter brought their salad to their table and Beatrice mocked their years attending boarding school by saying ‘Lettuce pray’ making Lilith and Camila react exactly the way they always did, her heart sank a little. She got lost in her head thinking, and Camila must have noticed because she put a hand on her forearm to catch her attention.
"I was going to wait until Friday, but I think you need to cheer up a little." She grabbed her phone and searched for something on it for a few seconds. She then handed it to Beatrice.
It was a photo of a poster from the street. "Cat’s Cradle?" It was a bar mostly known for their summer parties, so Beatrice grimaced, looking up from the phone.
"Read the info on it!" She leaned into the phone, narrowing her eyes. Under the bar’s logo, it said ’Stand up Mondays’. Beatrice tilted her head, arching a brow.
"It’s a comedy show!" The short girl screamed before she could say a word. "I saw it on my way home the other day and couldn’t resist, so I bought tickets for all of us! Consider it a gift." She said as she reached for her phone from Beatrice.
"Maybe your jokes will improve after hearing professionals." Lilith spat, grinning, while Camila texted them the details. But Beatrice didn't even acknowledge her; she was genuinely excited about the upcoming show.
"Lilith," Camila warned. "be nice. Or you'll be the one paying for the tickets." Lilith's brows furrowed and she gave the short girl a stare, saying 'fine'. Beatrice then wondered how expensive the tickets would have been and if she should let her friend pay the total price, but as Camila had said before, it was a gift, so she sat up straight and put up her best grin.
"Thank you, Camila; I've always wanted to go to a comedy show." And she meant it.
Monday, 20:47 p.m.
The Cat's Cradle was located in the old part of the city, which made it a particularly crowded place in the summer, when tourists crashed in it during the day to have their desired vermouth at noon, and during the night to... drink.
During the slow months of the year, Suzanne, the owner, would give the opportunity to singers, musicians, and even magicians to display their talents on the little stage on the corner of the bar to attract more people and be able to keep the business running while the town was quiet. This was the first time they held a comedy show.
It wasn't the first time Beatrice went to the bar, but she had never seen it prepared to host a show. There were far more tables than in the summer season, displayed around what used to be the dance floor. The light was dim, and a few people were already seated in their spots, which was a bit shocking knowing Beatrice was early. She chose a spot in the second row, close enough to experience the whole show up close but a bit far enough not to be noticed too much. She waited for a few minutes before Camila and Lilith entered the bar together; she assumed they shared a cab since they lived close to each other.
"Bea!" Camila hurried in her direction as soon as she spotted her. Beatrice stood up to hug her briefly. "How are you? Did you watch the TikTok I sent you?" She said, tightening her grip.
"I am well, and sorry about that, Camila; I haven’t yet." They broke the hug, and Lilith reached out her fist to fist bump her. "Lilith." She said as she closed the distance between their fists.
"Beatrice."
"Ugh, you are both so dry... We’ve been friends for more than ten years, and I’ve never seen you hug willingly."
Lilith just huffed. "And we’ve talked about this already. We just don’t work that way." Lilith said, reaching for the chair on the left, leaving Camila in the center and Beatrice on the right of the table.
As much as Beatrice sometimes craves human touch, she’s certain that her interactions with Lilith are good just the way they are. "Yeah, I think it’s for the best." She agreed, returning to her seat.
"Well, since you both are being so boring, I might have to entertain myself with some drinks. Do any of you want anything?" Camila said, leaving her jacket on the chair and reaching inside her purse to get her wallet.
"I’ll have a Margarita, please." Said the tall girl.
Camila smiled and looked over at Beatrice, quirking up her eyebrows. She rarely had any drinks, just because she didn’t enjoy the taste of alcohol very much. Lilith said that’s because she hadn’t tried enough drinks. Today, though, she was feeling a little adventurous—but not so much—, so she went with one of the only alcoholic beverages she knew they rarely messed up. "A Shandy for me, please."
"Okay! I’ll be right back!" Camila walked through the crowd to the bar, and it was at this moment that Beatrice realized how crowded the bar had become in the last few minutes she had been there.
"I didn’t know we were feeling bold tonight." Lilith knocked her elbow against Beatrice’s arm, grinning about her choice.
"Shut up; you and I know you only drink Margaritas when Camila is around because she likes them." She felt Lilith stiffen a bit on her spot before shaking her head.
"I actually enjoy them as well."
Beatrice can’t hold back the laugh. "Yeah, whatever you say."
While they waited for Camila to bring their drinks, she took a moment to look around the stage. It was a quite small stage, but it was evident, considering the size of the bar, that it was the largest they could have gone with. It was square-shaped, and there was a stool in the middle of it and a water bottle right next to it. In front of the stool, there was a microphone resting on its stand, and its wire fell to the ground and exited the stage on the right. The wall behind it was made of bricks, and blue velvet curtains that hung from the ceiling folded to the sides garnished the whole stage. There was also jazz music playing in the background, barely audible because of the people speaking on top of it. As Beatrice eyed the crowd, she came to the conclusion that there must have been at least a hundred people there.
"Here are your drinks!" Camila said as she laid out the drinks on the table. While sitting, she took a sip of her margarita. "And I opened a tab, so if you want another drink, just wave at the bartender, and he’ll make us another round."
"Are we celebrating something?" Asked Lilith. Normally they shared the bill, each paying for what they consumed, so it was a bit weird for Camila to pay for everyone. The short girl set her drink on the table and quirked her head up.
"Maybe I just love you both very much, and I want to treat you to something nice for once."
Lilith scanned her for a few seconds before arching an eyebrow. "Yeah, I'm not buying it."
"Okay…! Maybe, maybe I've been promoted, and maybe you are looking at the new head of cybersecurity at ArqTech." She squealed more than anything. Beatrice smiled at her and gave her a quick hug.
"Oh my god, that’s great, Camila!"
"Thanks Bea." She responded, breaking the hug to look at Lilith, who was smiling proudly.
"I knew there was something you didn’t tell us. Congrats Cam." Camila stood up and hugged her in a quick motion, and Beatrice saw Lilith melt in her arms. They truly weren’t subtle. A change in the music and lights broke the moment, and they turned their attention to the stage.
A middle-aged woman stepped onto the stage and tapped the microphone to make sure it was working, making everyone lower their voice. "Good evening, guys! I'm so glad so many people came to enjoy a bit of comedy tonight. Honestly, if I had known a comedy show would be so successful, I wouldn't have bothered with magicians. Sorry Michael." The woman shrugged, and a few laughs surrounded the place. "Anyway, today we are giving the opportunity to show off her talents to a young lady whose only way of communicating is through puns. Give a warm round of applause to Ava Silva!" The lady pointed to the right of the stage before she got off from the other side. Between cheers, a girl in her early twenties emerged from the right side of the stage, waving her hands and smiling wide. She grabbed the microphone and waited a few seconds for the cheers to end.
"Thank you! Thank you, Suzanne. Wow, there are more people here than I expected…" The girl waited for a few seconds, admiring the crowd, before going on. "Well, I'm going straight to the point because Suzanne’s given me forty minutes and told me to hurry up, which honestly, I don't think is necessary because I talk fast and I talk a lot. I think I might break Trisha Payta’s world record if I tried." She said in a rambling voice that it proved the point she was trying to make. A few polite chuckles echoed from the crowd. "Before I jump into my set, in order for it to make sense, I should tell all of you that when I was seven, I was in a car crash where my mom died and I became paralyzed." There was a bit of an uncomfortable silence while someone whispered oof in the background. "Yeah, great start to a comedy show, Silva." The girl gave herself a pat on the back, and continued. "But don’t worry, I’m totally fine now, as you can see." She walked through the stage in an animated manner, mimicking a cartoon character. "So you can totally laugh at somebody’s past traumas without feeling like absolute assholes about it." A round of laughter submerged the bar, and even Beatrice felt at ease enough to let go of a low chuckle.
"Actually, Suzanne told me not to joke about when I was paralyzed. She said the public would not stand hearing my jokes." The girl grinned hard as the public laughed, and Lilith said 'Oh my god…’ under her breath. "Sorry, but there are so many more where that came from," She sat on the stool and took a sip of the water beside it. "After the accident, I was stuck in a Catholic orphanage, and let me tell you, nuns don’t give a living fuck, dude."
The girl went on for a bit, explaining her early years at the orphanage and how she stayed in bed most of the time. Beatrice was in awe about how she could be laughing so much at such a tragic story, but she was charmed by the girl on stage and her way with words —even though 50% of them were curses—.
"The nuns at the orphanage always laughed at me when I told them I wanted to do stand-up comedy." Laughs submerged the bar again, this time less contained as people were beginning to feel a lot more comfortable. "Luckily, the kids around there were a bit more supportive about my career choice, and I made a few friends. Actually, two other kids who were kind of paralyzed too became sort of my best friends there. We liked to call ourselves the Squadriplegic." Another round of laughter rumbled across the bar. Beatrice was enjoying herself, and by the looks of it, Camila and Lilith were as well. She watched as Lilith gestured to the bartender for another round of drinks, to which he nodded.
"Being unable to move gives you limited options of what to do in your day-to-day life, so I watched a lot of TV. In my early teens, I sort of became obsessed with romantic comedies, and I didn’t know if I wanted to be with the guy or be the guy. I later discovered that was called bisexuality. Or sin, according to the sisters." As the bartender gave them their drinks, Beatrice took a sip of her beer while the comedian kept going about her sexuality. "It sort of became a joke around my friends to call me ‘tomato’, because I was both a vegetable and fruity." She nearly choked on her drink after that joke. She coughed a bit as the rest of the crowd laughed.
"Anyways, we stopped being friends because they said I lied all the time." Beatrice laughed hard but stopped herself, as she was the only one who got the joke, apparently. The comedian looked directly at her and gave her a bright smile. Beatrice felt a heat creep on her cheeks and her ears. "Thank you…" Ava emphasized the u, as if she were asking for her name, but she was stuck and unable to answer.
"Beatrice! Her name’s Beatrice!" Luckily, Camila was fast enough to respond on her behalf. Ava furrowed her eyebrows a bit at the name before smiling at her again.
"Thank you, Beatrice." She looked at the crowd again, and pretending to be angry, she said, "It looks like Beatrice here is the only one that remembers that when you are paralyzed, you have to lie on the bed pretty much all day." Some people finally caught the joke and started laughing. Ava then turned back to Beatrice. "Also, Beatrice? Are you sure your parents even like you?"
"Ha! She got that right!" It was the first time Lilith laughed out loud during the entire show. It had been a fair amount of years since she last spoke to her parents and a couple since she sorted out all her trauma, so she laughed as well. Still, Camilla punched Lilith in the shoulder. "Ouch!"
"I’m joking; I think it’s a beautiful name. It matches you." Ava said as she winked at Beatrice. As if it were possible to blush more, Beatrice’s cheeks were now bright red, and she couldn’t even keep eye contact with the comedian.
"Stop flirting!" Someone shouted through the crowd. The girl squinted her eyes and quirked up one of her eyebrows, as if she finally recognized the source of the voice.
"JC! I thought I was being smooth with it. But that actually reminded me what I was going to say, thanks!"
"You’re welcome!" The same voice responded, and a few people laughed at the interaction.
"Well, as you could imagine, I didn’t have much luck in the dating game as a paralyzed girl, which is pretty fucking ironic because almost everyone is vegan now." A wave of laughter echoed through the bar, filling it entirely. "The least they could have done was give me a chance; it’s not like I was going to walk away." Beatrice laughed too, and she felt like the comedian was only looking at her at the moment. She pointed at her. "Thank God Beatrice laughed; right now I’m just trying to impress the pretty lady." She grabbed the stool and moved it to sit nearly at the edge of the stage, closer to Beatrice. The latter’s eyes just grew larger as the other girl approached her, matching her blushing cheeks. "I’m sorry guys, but I have to skip forward to crowd work. More specifically, Beatrice work." A few whistles and claps went on while Ava took her seat.
It was fair to say that right at that moment, Lilith and Camila were having the time of their lives. Beatrice was barely breathing. "Tell me Beatrice…, Can I call you Bea? As beautiful as Beatrice is, it’s a bit of a mouthful." She just nodded. "Okay, Bea, let’s begin with the basics. Where are you from?"
"I- I’m from the south-east of the UK." She tried to sound as steady as she could manage while Camila bounced on her seat and Lilith looked at her with a devilish grin.
Ava moved the hand with the microphone in front of her mouth and began fanning her face with the other, and after faking a faint, she brought the microphone closer to her mouth and whispered in a high-pitched voice, "Guys… she’s British." A loud laugh absorbed the crowd while the comedian pretended to get hit by a cupid’s arrow right in the heart. Beatrice couldn’t help but laugh. "Okay, Silva, get your shit together. Next question, how old are you, Bea?"
"I’m twenty-five" she said, still laughing.
"She’s twenty-five, people." She spoke into the microphone so everyone could hear the answer. "Well, you are lucky I’m into older women then. I have a bit of mommy issues." Another round of whistles echoed through the bar. It seemed like the whole crowd was rather invested in this. "Oh shit! I almost forgot the most important thing." Ava said, ignoring the last laughs of the crowd and looking a bit nervous. "Are you… straight?" She fired off the question and squinted her eyes, looking away as if she were waiting for a bomb to drop. The bar went silent.
Beatrice braced herself. She’d been out to her friends for a few years now, but was she about to come out to the whole bar? She took a big breath as she opened her mouth to answer. "I’m- I’m a lesbian."
Without waiting for Ava to speak into the microphone, the whole crowd celebrated Beatrice’s answer as if a football team had scored a decisive goal. Ava laughed and raised her arms above her head, celebrating it too. The audio guy must have had really fast hands because seconds later, 'We are the Champions' started playing while the crowd roared still. Ava stood up and paced through the stage with a smile as wide as her face, fisting her hand in the air.
Meanwhile, Beatrice was still, seated with her back straight (unlike her) and her cheeks hot enough to fry an egg on them. Camila was straight up crying from laughing too much, and Lilith was roaring with laughter, using Camila’s shoulder to shield her face from Beatrice in case she came back from the dead and decided she’d had enough. Some people around them began giving Bea some pats at the shoulder and giving her their thumbs up. Ava smiled shyly at her before taking a sip of her water. She then started to gesture to the crowd to calm down a bit. They slowly lowered their cheers, and the music began to fade out.
"Wow, I love you guys, really. But that was A LOT." Ava laughed. She then looked again at Beatrice, who was looking everywhere but at her. "That was really fun, but I have to keep going with my set." Beatrice breathed for the first time in a while. A round of boos surrounded the crowd, and the comedian furrowed her eyebrows while crossing her arms. The boos went on for a few more seconds before she spoke again. "You'd really prefer to watch me flirt with someone other than hear my jokes?" The crowd cheered at the suggestion. Ava could only laugh at that. "Okay, ouch. But I mean, I'd rather do that too." And Beatrice was back to holding her breath. "Suzanne! How much time do I have left?" Ava looked over behind the bar, where Suzanne showed her ten fingers. "OK, I’ll offer you all a deal. I’ll keep the rest of the jokes to myself and flirt if you promise to come back again next week to hear them." Just from hearing the applause and cheers from the audience, you could tell it was a closed deal.
The only one too dazed to clap was Beatrice, and noticing that, Ava jumped off the stage and rushed to her, taking advantage of the fact that the public was distracted cheering. Before she had any time to process it, Ava grabbed her shoulder.
"Hey, I’m sorry about all of this." Ava moved her finger, pointing at the whole crowd. "Are you okay with it? If you are uncomfortable, I’ll stop bothering you right now." She said, with the most comforting smile Beatrice had ever seen.
Bea blinked hard. Ava was waiting for an answer. "I- I don’t…," Ava tilted her head, and Beatrice could swear she saw a flash of sadness in her eyes. "I- Yes. Okay." Camila and Lilith whipped their heads towards Beatrice, with obvious confusion in both their faces.
She then saw the girl’s eyes spark with joy. "Yes, okay, like you are okay with it?" She couldn't dare make that spark go away, so she just nodded. Ava then extended her hand, smiling still, for Beatrice to grab. Some whistles made their appearances while the comedian held her hand out.
It was in that moment that time slowed down. Maybe it was the two beers she just had, but she saw Ava being surrounded by a light, some sort of bright halo pulsing from her back, as if she were almost divine.
She snapped back to reality as she felt a hand against hers. She looked at the point of contact. Her hand somehow found its way up to Ava’s, as the other's hand was still in the same place it was seconds before. She realized in that moment that it was too late. Too late to even think about regretting her decision.
Her head followed the encouraging cheers from Camila as she was tugged to the stage. "YES BEA! THAT'S MY FRIEND RIGHT THERE! GET IT GIRL!" The girl said in a voice that was a little too deep to believe it came out of her body.
Ava led them to the stage, being careful not to let go of Beatrice’s hand in the short walk there, and climbed onto it again. She then sat cross-legged on the edge of the platform and tapped the spot on her left for Beatrice to sit, who followed her instructions immediately and sat next to her with her ankles crossed. Ava seemed excited as she moved her body from side to side as if she were a happy puppy. Next to her, Beatrice’s only task in her head was not to blush too much, which she was totally failing at. They waited a bit for the crowd to shush again —Camila seemed to be responsible for half of the screams— in a comfortable silence between them.
Ava cleared her throat before speaking. "Hi Bea." She said it in a sweet voice as her body tilted towards Beatrice and she approached the microphone to her mouth.
"Hello." A few cheers emerged from the audience, reacting to her accent. The comedian agreed with them, nodding enthusiastically.
"How are you doing?"
"I’m quite alright, thank you." Ava, once again, covered her mouth with her free hand after hearing her speak. She then smacked her own forehead with the palm of her hand.
"Focus, Silva!" A light laugh from the audience gave her time to compose herself. She took a deep breath. "Before going further with whatever this is," She gestured between the two of them. "I need to see the palm of your hand to see if we are compatible or not."
Beatrice, surprised at the request, thought it was a little bizarre but extended her right palm between them anyway. Ava smiled widely and rested her hand on Beatrice’s, interlocking their fingers and moving their clasped hands on top of her knee, in order to keep their hands together. To say Beatrice blushed was an understatement. Her whole chest and ears were bright red, and her hands were starting to sweat, which wasn’t ideal in this situation.
"Sweaty hands too? I knew we bea-long together." Ava said, squeezing her hand tighter, making Beatrice notice that her hand was not the only one sweating. Their hands were lightly wet against each other, and against all odds, it made Beatrice calm down and be more comfortable. "I feel like on a date we would be asking questions to get to know each other, so tell me… What do you do for a living?"
Date? It was the only thing that stuck in Beatrice’s head. How long had it been since she went on a date? The last time she went on what she considered a date was a couple years ago with Lucia, and even though she was really sweet, things didn’t end up escalating. God, she couldn’t even remember what you were supposed to do in one. A cough from the audience pulled her from her thoughts. How much time had passed since Ava asked? "Oh, sorry, I’m one of the sous chefs at a restaurant called La Vasseur."
Ava’s eyes went wide. "You mean La Vasseur, as in the restaurant with two Michelin stars?" Beatrice nodded, smiling shyly. "Wow, that’s so hot– I mean, that’s amazing! I definitely didn’t expect that. You’ll have to teach me, because I don’t even know how to fry an egg." The audience laughed at the confession.
Ava drew the microphone near her, as if waiting for an answer. "Yes. I mean, I could teach you how to fry an egg…" A whistle that rang too familiar made Beatrice take her eyes off Ava, who was now smiling like an idiot after her answer —totally unnoticed by the latter—. She looked over the crowd and located the sound. Camila stood frozen in place with two fingers in her mouth, as Beatrice gave her a menacing look.
Ava’s laugh made her look at her again. "Well, I’ll hold on to that." She said, winking. Why did that wink make Beatrice shudder? Was she in such desperate need of human attention that a simple wink could make her body numb and hypersensitive at the same time? "I feel like I’ve been asking so many questions and I haven’t told you anything about myself; do you want to ask me something?"
Panic. What on earth could she ask that Ava would find enjoyable to answer? Normally, she would fidget with her fingernails while thinking or concentrating on something hard, but this wasn’t possible as the comedian had kidnapped her hand and held it really tight, so, in an attempt to beat her sudden anxiety, she repeated Ava’s last question. "What do you do for a living…?" As she finished talking, she processed what she said, and gave herself an internal facepalm.
Scattered laughs crossed the bar. Ava pretended to be offended, bringing the microphone close to her chest and opening her mouth, gasping. "Are you saying that I’m so bad at comedy that it can't be possible for me to live off it?" A series of laughs and ‘ooohh’s made Beatrice panic again.
She tried to move her arm to get out of the grasp of her hand. "No, no! No, of course not. That’s not- What I meant was that you- I don’t-"
Ava tightened her hold even more. "Bea, relax; I’m totally fucking with you!" She laughed while bringing their hands right on top of her intertwined legs. "Yes, I have my boring day job besides this comedy thing."
"Hey! Do you want me to fire you?" Suzanne spat, making the audience laugh loudly.
"Love you, Sue!" Ava blowed her a kiss. Ava then lingered her eyes for a bit on Beatrice, looking at her like she wanted to unwrap every inch of her. And she might have let her if the dim lights of the bar hadn't come on. Suzanne was holding up a single finger. "Well, everybody, I think that means that's all the time I have for today." She said, pointing at the lights. A series of 'oww's and sad 'boo's circled across the room as Ava stood up and tugged Beatrice with her. Still holding hands, she pointed at her as if she were the main character of this whole show. "Can I have a big round of applause for my girl Beatrice here?"
Cheers filled the bar. Nearly all the audience —minus Lilith— stood up to clap for them. As the clapping went on, Ava bent down to do an exaggerated bow, gesturing for Beatrice to do the same, which she shyly did, smiling fully.
Camila was ecstatic. Her hands hurt from clapping a little too hard, but honestly, she was so happy for her friend. She smiled as she saw Ava accompanying Bea to the edge of the stage, where she abruptly stopped, grabbed the taller girl's wrist, and got close to her ear to whisper something. Camila narrowed her eyes to see that Beatrice was nodding. They looked at each other for a few more seconds before Beatrice turned around and got off stage, going around the tables with her head a little crestfallen from the shyness.
"Beatrice, what the fuck was that?" Lilith didn't even wait for Bea to sit down at her table. But Camila was too eager to reprimand Lilith for her behavior.
"Oh. My. God. Did I just see fireworks and sparkles flying around?" Camila was gesturing big with her arms above her head. Beatrice sat down and took a deep breath, zoning out. "Bea, even I got fireflies in my stomach from just watching you two talk."
"Butterflies." Beatrice corrected still out of it.
The short girl hit the table with her palm while standing up. "Am I the only one who saw the chemistry? Am I crazy?!" She spoke a little higher, earning a few looks from the people who were already walking out.
Beatrice snapped out of her trance and pressed a hand on her forehead. "I... I don't know what to say, Camila. I- I don't know."
"What did she even say to you as you were walking off stage?"
Beatrice looked at Camila with a red face that said 'you saw that?' only with the panic of her eyes. She huffed. She knew she was going to be made fun of for what she said, "Ava asked me if I could wait for her after the show."
Camila, much to her surprise, didn't say another word and started to clear the table and grab her things and some of Lilith's.
As if she took the hint, the tallest girl stood up and put on her leather jacket. "Beatrice, you are the biggest simp I've ever seen."
Camila hugged Beatrice from behind, squeezing her hard. "Text us when you get home!" She said as she backed up and grabbed Lilith's wrist to drag her out of the bar.
Before she could ask them to stay with her because she was terrified to be alone with Ava again, they were out of sight. Beatrice could only tap her feet nervously against the floor and fidget with her hands as she waited for the comedian. Why did she agree? It's not like there's a law stating that if you hold hands for five minutes, you have to say yes to anything the other person says. That would be a stupid law.
Her leg bounced and bounced, and she bit a hangnail on her thumb while waiting, her stomach feeling funnier with each second that passed. ‘This fucking fireflies’ she thought as she cursed Camila under her breath. What did Ava want from her anyway? Surely this was something she must usually do to make her shows more entertaining for the public. ‘The same old thing’, she thought, ’someone laughing at me’. At this point, the fireflies were replaced by a faint stomach ache. How could she have been so stupid to think maybe Ava was different? Nobody had ever been, so it made sense Ava wasn’t either, and she sure wasn't going to come back here to meet her.
With a heavy sigh, she grabbed her phone from the table and stood up to put on her jacket when a hand landed on her shoulder, making her jump.
"Sorry!" Beatrice turned around to see Ava, with the same smile on her face she had while on stage. But it changed to a confused glance when she saw her jacket on her hand. "Are you leaving?" Was that sadness she could see in the girl’s eyes?
"I-" Beatrice sighed again to collect her thoughts. She looked down at her feet. "I thought you were going to stand me up."
"Fuck Beatrice, I would never!" She said, seemingly offended at the mere thought. "I asked you to wait for me, why would I do that?" Ava reached for the back of her hand, trying to comfort her. Feeling the light touch, Beatrice raised her head to look into her eyes. She just shrugged while shaking her head smiling shyly. Ava smiled back. "Come on, I’ll get you a drink."
They walked to the counter, where Ava talked to the bartender for a few seconds before he turned to prepare some drinks. She turned to her again, her face covered in a contagious smile.
"So… that over there was something, huh?" Ava gestured to the stage on the other side of the room. Without a chance to say anything, the bartender handed Ava the drinks. "Thanks Hans." She had a Cuba Libre in one of her hands and a beer in the other.
Ava extended the beer to Beatrice. "How…?"
The comedian just shrugged. "I noticed it when I came to your table." With a smile on her face, she walked past her and led them to a table away from where most of the people were. Beatrice sat and stared at her drink, not daring to make eye contact with Ava, who was playing with the straw in her glass. The silence was too overwhelming, so she decided to go for it.
"Why did you-"
"I’m curious-" They spoke at the same time, and smiling, Beatrice gestured for Ava to continue. "I’m curious about something, and I want you to answer honestly."
A nervous feeling set on her throat. "Okay."
"What do you think of my gig?" Her eyebrows arched up, expecting. If Beatrice was being honest, she absolutely loved it.
"Actually, this is the first comedy show I've attended, and I'm glad to say I enjoyed it."
"You enjoyed it? Just enjoyed it?" Ava said, teasingly.
Beatrice rolled her eyes and decided to tease back. "I mean, you didn't finish it, so I can't form a proper opinion on it."
Ava laughed out loud. "Ohhh, I didn’t know you had it in you." She said it with a mischievous smile on her face. Beatrice couldn't help but laugh. "Well, I guess you'll have to come back next week to give me your feedback."
Beatrice smiled. In any other situation, she would have made up a lie and said she had better things to do on her day off. But something inside her (maybe the fireflies) pulled her towards Ava. "It'll be my job to give you my full opinion."
"Just your job?"
"And my pleasure."
Tuesday, 1:57 a.m.
"You are joking!" One of her hands pushed Beatrice's shoulder.
"I'm not the comedian here, Ava."
Well, for someone who didn't like alcohol very much, she got the hang of lemon drops really quickly. Maybe it was the unexpected sweetness of them that got her to drink more, or maybe it was Ava's puppy eyes.
After their first joke, uncomfortable silences were not a problem for them anymore. They talked a lot. It was mostly Ava, but after a few shots, Beatrice began to talk and loosen up more. That's how she ended up telling the story of how she nearly became a nun because of her parents.
"You should be. You are the funniest person I've ever met." Ava rested her chin on top of her hand, staring fondly at the woman in front of her.
Beatrice found that affirmation ridiculous and huffed. "I'm certain you are the only one who thinks that."
Ava placed her free hand on top of Beatrice's. "If someone thinks you're not funny, maybe they aren't thinking at all." She said, smiling. Her eyes were soft, and her mouth was slightly opened, letting a hint of those perfectly aligned teeth be seen. Beatrice blinked for a second. She had to stop looking at Ava's mouth. She redirected her eyes upwards, just to see Ava look up at her at the same time. 'Was she looking at my li-?'
"Hey girls," A voice interrupted her thoughts. Beatrice looked in that direction to see the bartender standing next to her. "Ava, we are already closing. I'm sorry, but you'll have to leave soon."
Ava tapped the screen of her phone to check the time. "Oh shit, I'm sorry Hans, I didn't know it was so late already, we'll leave now." She said, retrieving her hand and reaching for her tote bag. Beatrice mimicked her and grabbed her phone and jacket. She looked at the bar around her. When had the rest of the people left?
"Don't worry about it, I didn't want to interrupt you." He said wiggling his eyebrows and turning to walk away.
They put their jackets on and exited the bar, the cold air of the night making their noses red. Their breaths condensed between them, and they stood for a few seconds there, not wanting the night to end yet. Beatrice was tipsy, and she only assumed Ava was too, given the number of shots they took. She looked into the night, the sky spinning just enough to make her a bit dizzy.
"Hey, um," Ava's voice made her look down at her, and what a wonderful sight it was. Ava wrapped in her jacket up to her nose, red, matching her cheeks. "Can I use your phone to make a call? Mine's running low on battery."
"Oh, sure, yes." Beatrice grabbed her phone from her back pocket and handed it to Ava, brushing their fingers.
She dialed some number, tapped the call button, and without taking the phone to her ear, she waited for it to connect. Less than a second later, a vibration that came from her tote bag rang twice before she hanged up the phone. "Great, now I have your number and you have mine." She handed the phone back to Beatrice.
She couldn't help but smile. "It appears so." Bea said as she took the phone and put it back in her pocket. "Do you live far from here?"
"Oh, no, it's only a 15-minute walk in that direction." She said pointing behind her. Beatrice couldn't help but look disappointed. "Do you?"
"No, it's also a 15-minute walk, but the other way." Beatrice said, pointing behind her too. Ava scrunched her lips, looking past Beatrice to where her finger pointed. She looked back at her and began to sway on her feet.
"I'm glad you came to watch the show today." Ava blushed.
Beatrice smiled, noticing it. "You'll have to thank my friend for that."
"I'll be sure to thank her, then." Ava moved towards her and gave her a kiss on the cheek that lasted a few seconds. She broke the contact and smiled wide. "I'll see you next week." She said walking backwards.
"I look forward to it." Bea muttered in response.