"would you look at that"

Ana had always been a sucker for Christmas decorations, and even though she was spending Christmas alone this year, absolutely nothing would change that. The holiday wasn’t necessarily her favorite, but the trees, the bulbs, all of the decor, she loved. While she decorated, she invited Joslyn over for company. She looked over at her friend(?), whatever she was, with a smile and handed her a glass of wine. Moving away, she studied the tree, “I think it’s almost done. I just need to plug the lights in, but I’ll wait ‘til it’s dark.” Ana walked back over to her box of decorations and pulled out the mistletoe. She walked back over to Jos. With a laugh, she held it over their heads and kissed her briefly, smiling into it. Before long, she pulled away and hung up the mistletoe.

“No way. I dated a cop once, but that’s the extent of my time with the police.”

“You’re not an undercover cop, right? This is how people get screwed over and put in jail.”

“Honestly, I’m not sure that I have one. I just take things as they come. Maybe things that are illegal or something? Again, not sure.”

“Um….. well now, that would depend on your definition of different, I suppose.”

“Exactly. It’s a complete mystery. Show me what you know, padawan.”

“So it’s just— magically bruised then? Let me get some ice for it. You’ve taught me a few things on how to deal with ankle injuries.”

“You wish,” Ana said with a laugh. “I guess it depends on what you think virginity is and your sexual orientation, right? God, it feels like I’m being persecuted with everything I do right about now. But today, it was pretty minor. Some old woman just accused me of stealing her water bottle. It was half empty. Why would I do that?”

“Yeah, well how about you suck my dick and at least get me to third base?” He chuckled. “Does that even count? Maybe you lose like a quarter of your virginity that way. Anyways, I actually have no idea what you did. Just knowing you makes you guilty.”

“Do you usually do... different things ‘round town?”

“For once, it wasn’t me either. It’s a bloody miracle.”

“Awe, Griff, congratulations. You know it’s nothing to be ashamed of.”

“Right. And I’m a virgin.”

“Of course not. But if I did, theoretically, would you be mad?” Ana asked, leaning over to kiss her cheek before getting a towel to clean up the mess with. “And I’m not a distraction, I’m here purely for your enjoyment.”

“You mean you didn’t just knock over my favorite mug? And you aren’t distracting me from studyng right now, babe?” 

“Charlotte, why would I, an innocent paramedic, ever trip over her own feet and bruise her own ankle so bad that she could hardly walk? I’d never. I didn’t do it.”

“—- That sounds like exactly what someone who was responsible for whatever just happened would say.” 

“Whatever just happened, wasn’t me.”

I could have sworn I wasn’t alone

A smile crossed her face when she heard Joslyn chuckle, it was close to a laugh. Of course, Ana much preferred seeing her laugh or smile than upset. At her question, she shrugged, “Some guys I worked with wanted to go out. I agreed, and they brought me here. Is that okay?” If it bothered her, she wanted to know about it. Whatever this was, she didn’t want to bother her over something innocent. At her explanation, she nodded and slipped an arm over her shoulders. “As long as it makes you happy...” she trailed off. “That’s what matters.” And that really was all that mattered to her. “How did you get into it?”

Relieved momentarily, her head lolled back with a chuckle. The feeling was however fleeting. “For starters–” she tried her hand at  Ana’s lightheaded approach. “What are you even doing here,” she asked with a raised brow. Clearing her throat, she turned serious. Her head remained bow. “–this is the only place I can do what I love and make money for it. Dancing’s my life– and this shitty little place makes me happy. Most of the time. It’s nothing more than dancing.”

Karla Souza for AppleTea Mexico

“So it’s my turn to guess then?” She replied, trying to lighten the mood slightly. “Whatever it is, I’m sure it’s fine. I’m not going to be mad about it, but it’d be good to know a little more about it, assuming that you’re okay with telling me.”

“Okay, I guess I can’t explain,” she swallowed, instinctively covering her chest. “I didn’t want you to find out like this.” 

Ana chuckled when she heard Astrid mumble under her breath, although she could only make half of it out. “No problem, she replied, returning her smile. She put the chair back where she found it and listened to her friend’s reply. “Sounds exciting, although I gotta admit that I’m a little jealous. Life’s been as dramatic as a soap opera, I think I might audition for one soon or write a screen play based off of the past few weeks. Hey, I go to bed at ten, most the time, it’s nothing to be ashamed of.”

“Can’t understand how I didn’t think of this.” She mumbled to herself, watching as her friend took a chair and hung the mistletoe. Astrid only smiled even more once Ana finished. “Thank you, Ana.” she thanked. “I’ve been well. Been mainly focusing on work, but besides realizing that I might be the only adult in all of Darlington who actually goes to bed at nine, nothing else really. And you?”