It was quiet in the bar when Rayna met Tally

The doors to the bar seem massive as I stand before them, my hands clasped together to still my anxious heart as I reach to open the door to the beginning of my new life.

Bit dramatic but that’s how it feels.

I send a silent prayer upwards as I push open the door and enter the quaint little bar.

I almost wasn’t expecting it. 

It was dimly lit, with fairy lights draped all over the wood panel ceilings. The bar was lined with bottles I’d never seen other than on TV. The room smelled of apple cider and cigarettes, and there were only a few people.

To the far right, there was a woman on stage strumming the guitar lowly while a few people sat around her. She looked like she was singing right to them which was adorable. 

I turn to the bar once again and take in how massive it is. It stretches at least 10 feet across the space, making it look much bigger than it is. The chairs look comfy and the air is clean.

Much cleaner than the damn office I was just in this time last week.

I look around at the people, mostly white. Some are sitting and talking at tables, a few are slumped at the end of the bar, and a TV is playing a game right in the middle. A few men are sat with their necks turned up.

“You gone stand there or you gonna have a drink?” A pretty voice to my left says and well…fuck.

I really hope this isn’t who I have to work for or I fear I will have to go back to the States tonight to save myself the impending embarrassment.

I giggle because I don’t know what else to do and slide into an empty seat right in front of her, looking around timidly.

“Would you happen to know where I could find Talulla?” I ask the woman.

She does a spin and smiles brightly, showing me how pretty her smile is and how perfect her teeth are.

“That would be me.” She says in a soft voice, her accent so smooth I almost miss it.

I’m officially in trouble.

“Are you Rayna?” She leans on the bar, crossing her arms and resting her head in her palm, still smiling sweetly at me.

I nod, trying not to stare too hard at the way the fairy lights bounce off the gold hues in her warm hazel eyes or how I wanted to spend the rest of the afternoon counting each and every curl that bounced around on her head just to see how many she had.

The pink shirt under the overall set she was wearing was a perfect contrast against her coffee colored skin, I couldn’t take my eyes off her if I wanted to. Quiz me and I could tell you everything she was wearing from memory alone.

She holds out her hand. I shake it, it’s soft in mine.

“Nice to meet you. Did ya not bring ya friend?”
“I–no she’s coming later, she wanted to deep clean the flat and I was eager.”

Talulla smiled wider and I melted like a damn Hershey kiss under direct sunlight.

“Well, I’m eager to have you here darlin’, come lemme show you around a bit here.” She opened up the latch to the bar and let me step through. 

She was taller from this angle and I’m 5’5 so I’m not short by any means.

But the way I have to crane my neck to look up at her is making me feel warm and as much as I enjoy that feeling, I need it to go away right now.

“Also, please call me Tally, that’s the only way I’ll feel like I’m not in trouble around here.”

She was walking in front of me, gesturing with her hands as she talked and I was definitely not looking at the way her pants fit her or with every step she took, her curls bounced and I could see she had a small tattoo on the back of her neck.

She showed me around the back a bit, introducing me to random people who were all very friendly and told me if I needed anything to let them know.

When she stopped, so did I. She turned around with a smile on her face and took a step towards me. I took a step back and she reached over me, holding eye contact with me as she grabbed something from the shelf that magically appeared behind me.

“Here. This is your apron, and a shirt, if you want more let me know. I’ll let you get changed and then I’ll show you a few things at the bar even though you have your own experience. We have a few popular drink specials and I wanna grill you on why you rage quit your job.” She winks at me and turns to go back up front and I breathe for the first time in what feels like a century.

There I was, standing in what seemed to be the breakroom, I didn’t hear a word she said. There were lockers and I was holding a shirt and apron that matched hers.

I can’t do this.

I close the door and quickly fish for my phone, calling Genesis.

“Hello?”

“Gen, let’s go back to America.” I say before I can even think about it. I hear her cut off the vacuum and pull out a chair.

“Ray, we’ve been here for all of…4 hours total if you don’t count the train ride. What the fuck?”

“I…cannot do this.”

“Why? Too many men? Does the bar suck? Does it smell?”

“The opposite actually. It’s more of like a lounge but that doesn’t change the fact that I think this was a bad idea.”

“I disagree but continue,”

“Talulla.” I say into my hands rather than into the phone speaker.

“Oh no…is she hot?”

“I’m afraid that if I speak, I’ll automatically say the wrong fucking thing and ruin everything so I think it’s best we leave now.”

“Did you at least say hello?”

“Are you packing? Because we’re leaving.”

“No, actually we’re not. You’re gonna put on that shirt–”

“How do you know I’m holding a shirt?” I ask, looking up and around for a hidden camera to prove that all of this was fake.

“-and you’re going to go back in there and talk to that hot boss of yours. Oh of mine too, I’ll be there in like an hour so I can rightfully tell you whether or not you’re screwed.”

That’s not encouraging at all but I don’t know what I was expecting.

“Thanks, Gen, you’re my best friend.” I spit sarcastically.

“Aw, you’re getting sentimental on me.”

“Get your ass here now!” I bark, hanging up the phone and taking a few centering breaths.

I put on the shirt, lace up the apron, and opened the door to see Tally standing on the opposite wall, her arms crossed across her chest, lost in thought.

When she saw me, she smiled.

“You alright there?” She asks, leaning up off the wall and standing in front of me.

I swallow because I can smell her perfume.

“Yes, just calling Gen to see when she’ll get here.”

She chuckles, smoothing out the shoulder on my shirt.

“Don’t worry love, I like havin’ ya to myself for a minute.” She tells me, smiling as her eyes dart across my body lightning fast.

If I wasn’t staring at her, I might have missed the smirk.

As it turns out, talking to women is easy. It’s just like talking to a friend except I can’t tell if she’s staring at me because she wants to make sure I’m learning about the lemon sour drop or if it's cause she wants to kiss under moonlight. I’m usually better at reading people.

“So, after Peter, my manager told everyone how I fucked up the evidence by accidentally contradicting the client in court. And even after all my long hours, hard work, and dedication, living solely for the purpose of that firm. I calmly walked into my office, cleared out my desk, and tossed my chair through the glass window of the main meeting room. Gen said she saw it coming from the next state over, I just think I had a Hulk moment.” 

She’s laughing and not even shy about it. It’s a sweet sound, high-pitched and genuine. 

The bar isn’t busy at all, we’re drying some clean glasses and trading stories. 

She’s loosened me up a bit which is a miracle seeing as it took a full year of Gen and I being friends before I even gave her a full body, two armed hug.

I’ve told her about how my family bragged about their lawyer daughter and doctor son, the pressure they put on us as kids to be rich and important like that was everything. How they weren’t speaking to me since I quit the firm. I tell her how sheltered and spoon-fed I’ve always been, the desire to be independent outweighing the responsibility of stability.

She in turn told me about how she never thought she had a passion until she started working at the bar, the many jobs she had from a flight attendant to a nurse, and was never really happy. Even now, she felt like she hadn’t found it.

And what ‘It’ was, she still didn’t know.

I told her I could relate.

She nudged me with her elbow and something in me relaxed a little.

“I honestly feel bad for them, they lost a smart, intelligent woman and they should be begging for you to return.” She tells me, getting up from her stool and forcing me to look up at her. It made me feel vulnerable, I could get into it.

“I’ve gotten a few calls from my boss but I haven’t returned any of them, I haven’t even bothered to check the messages.”

She holds out her hand and I just hand my phone over to her, unlocked.

She could be entering Nuclear Codes and I wouldn’t even care.

“There you go.” She hands it back to me seconds later, my voicemail box is completely empty, staring back at me.

I look up at her, mouth agape at the boldness.

“Now you’re stuck.” She whispers, smirking in a way that makes me want to pin her to the wall and wipe it off her face.

I’m also pretty sure I’m blushing.

Can black people blush? We can today.

She turns and walks into the kitchen and back out with a bottle of liquor that’s not on the shelf.

“This is my uncles, he keeps it for rainy days so we can cheer to not having them after that. I’ve only ever taken one shot, and haven't had a bad day since.” 

I smile and reach under the bar for two shot glasses.

“Fast learner.” She snorts fondly.

I sit back down and let her pour me a shot.

“Cheers to your first day in Dublin, hopefully not your last, and cheers to only having good days while you’re here.” She raises her glass, making eye contact with me as she speaks and clinks our glasses.

The alcohol is hot on my throat but it’s soothed by the relaxed look on her face as she downs her, completely unaffected.

“That’s good stuff huh?” She puts it back in the kitchen.

There’s a warm silence, the noise from the outside drowned out by the bubble we’re in.

“Ya know, some people get here and they never leave.” She tells me, her voice far off in the distance. I slid next to where she was sitting on the bar.

“Have you ever left?”

She shrugs, leaning into my side, feeling lazy from the alcohol.

“Yeah but I always come back.” She says, looking at me like I should remember that.

I lock it away, choosing to nod and change the subject.

Another hour passes and we’re sweeping the lobby as people come in and out and I show her what I’ve learned so far. I make three perfect lemon sour drops and she blows me a kiss that makes me feel like I won something.

When the noise dies down, she tells me about her parents and how they live on a farm and didn’t leave much to be desired in the fun department. They weren’t strict and were very loving and accepting of her.

“Lady-lover, as my brother calls me.” She announces proudly, throwing me a lemon to cut.

I freeze with a knife in my hand.

I’m sure I’m sweating but I don’t let it show.

“My parents are also accepting as long as I don’t really talk about it,”

She raises her eyebrows at me for me to continue.

“Bisexual. Or Bi-Myself as my brother calls me. But he’s married with four children so he doesn’t even have time to really call me.” Fuck, I probably shouldn’t have mentioned that cause now I feel like crying.

It must show because her arm is around me a second later, pulling me in for a hug.

“He’s not like your parents, he’ll call.”

I nod even though she doesn’t know that for sure, it’s nice to hear from someone who doesn’t know the full story. It gives me actual hope.

We move to talk about her brother when the door swings open, revealing Genesis.

“Oh, it is nice here.” She mutters, her eyes searching for me, lighting up when she spots me.

Tally’s arm is still slung around me.

This isn’t what it looks like is what my eyes say.

Genesis’ answering smile shows she doesn’t believe me.

“That’s Gen.” I tell Tally. She nods and smiles, greeting Gen as I figure out how to escape to the back.

Gen is back there with a shirt and apron 3 minutes later, pulling me into the break room and closing the door.

“What the fuck?” She starts and I already know what she means.

“I know!” I whisper yell.

“And she’s–” She raises her hand high.

“I know!” I repeat.

“My God, I’m surprised you’re still standing on both your feet.” Gen exhaled dramatically.

I roll my eyes.

“Get dressed so we can go back out there so she doesn’t think we’re kissing, I talk about you way too much.”

Gen puts her hand over her heart, faking flattery.

“I’m flattered.”

“I’d sell you for a sheep.” I tell her dead seriously.

“You don’t know what to do with a sheep.” She deadpans, putting her shirt on and opening the door.

We go back out there and pretend to be normal.

Gen goes to make a customer something simple while I help Tally refill the sodas.

She’s smiling at me.

“What?”

“You think I’m hot?” She asks me plainly and it’s actually a miracle I didn’t drop the soda box on my foot.

“Well I–” I look over to see Gen giving me the thumbs up and make a mental note to throw her in the river while she sleeps.

“Feelings are mutual, just so you know.” She tells me, nudging my shoulder and attaching the nozzle to the soda.

She leaves me there to collect my jaw from the floor and my dignity from under my shoe and follow her back out to the front.