New connections

Pouring herself a mug of coffee and topping it with some oatmilk, Lily sat down, trying to still her racing heart. She didn’t want to be rude, but she was strangely overwhelmed to be in this woman’s presence. They chatted a bit, Quinn was in a fairly popular local band as the singer/bassist and had just gotten back from a couple week tour around New England. Conveniently enough, she lived just up the road and loved to visit JP’s when she was in town. Lily shared her backstory, trying to avoid the piercing eye contact to no avail. After what felt like an inordinate amount of time, Teddy returned from the back reeking of weed. With bloodshot eyes he stretched and yawned “Lil, just called Diana and told her how dead it is today. Said we could take off early and she’d pay us for a full shift under the table. It’s gonna be dead till after Thanksgiving anyways, hasn’t been enough snow for the ski fuckers to come north.”

With that, Teddy pecked Quinn on the cheek and hugged her, promising they’d catch up soon and went to do the meager cleanup needed to close down. They’d had maybe three customers all day, and other than a quick wipe of the espresso machine there wasn’t really anything to do. Lily glanced at her phone, it was barely 1PM and now she had the rest of her day back. Looking back up, she noticed Quinn giving her a curious expression. “So, Lily, any plans for your newly liberated afternoon?” Lily shrugged, truly having nothing to do with her time.

Smiling, Quinn stood and slapped her thigh “Well then, let’s hit up the record store a block up the street! I’ve got nothing to do and always like sifting through vinyl.” Looking at Teddy who waved her off, Lily shrugged again and grabbed her coat. Quinn grabbed Lily by the hand and near on dragged her to Tune Town, the record/cd/defunct media shop kept in business by snooty hipsters. It turned out to be a ton of fun, Quinn excitedly pulled Lily from row to row and giving reviews and recommendations and fascinating music trivia. Holding up a weathered Bowie album “Did you know Bowie changed his name from David Jones so he wouldn’t be confused with Davy Jones of the Monkees? Plus, lot of controversy around him- played with gender in ways the world wasn’t ready for, a true Bi-Icon.” Lily was overwhelmed in a good way by the massive influx of information and energy, eventually getting talked into buying a handful of records from artists she’d never heard of. They paid and stepped back out onto the street, Quinn’s hand slyly on her shoulder. Lily suddenly paused and slapped a hand to her forehead “Oh my god Quinn, I don’t even own a record player.”

Musical laughter sprang from the punk rock beauty “Don’t sweat it Lils, I’ve got a spare you can have. Wanna come up to mine and listen to a couple of those and then take it home with you?” Red tinged Lily’s cheeks for a moment before she nodded, thanking Quinn for her generosity. Quinn lived in the adjacent building on Main Street, leading Lily up the narrow staircase to her third-floor apartment.

Lily took in the living room; a jumbled chaotic mess of band posters and merch lay strewn across the apartment. Draping her jacket over the back of a chair, Quinn reached out and took Lily’s heavy flannel, helping the shorter woman pull it off her. Lily removed her beanie, placing it on the table. Quinn did a double take at her auburn locks, moving closer and running a hand along the side of Lily’s head “Lily you have beautiful hair! Love this look on you babes.” Lily smiled and flushed from the compliment and the feeling of Quinn’s shirt clipped fingernails running through her hair.

Smiling, Quinn ambled over to the kitchen and shouted, “Want a beer?”, returning with two before Lily even answered. Cracking them open, Quinn handed one to Lily and rummaged around a shelf grabbing a cord.

They moved into a cozy living room, just as disorganized but home to a loveseat and battered sofa. Lily sat on a corner of the couch as Quinn set up the record player and turned on some indie band Lily had never heard before. Rather than taking the loveseat, Quinn dropped on to the couch next to Lily, their legs touching at the knees. Lily sipped her beer, splitting her attention between the music and Quinn’s deep dive into the band’s history. Her eyes wandered around the room before landing on a large poster of a pinup mechanic sitting on a plane wearing a rainbow coverall. Noticing where Lily was staring Quinn chuckled “1940’s pinup girls have massive queer energy don’t you think?” Lily mumbled in agreement noncommittally, her eyes turning back to the gorgeous woman sharing the couch with her. In just her ripped jeans and tanktop, Lily could see more of Quinn’s tattoos- flowers and birds were haphazardly arrayed over her exposed skin, with skulls and random designs peppered throughout. Some looked professionally done, while others were decidedly amateur.

Quinn smiled and walked Lily through a number of the tattoos and their significance “This one I got on a bet with an ex- this one because the artist wanted to try a new gun, this one because I love flowers” She paused, looking mischievously at Lily “Really just a huge fan of all sorts of flowers…” Lily flushed, her mouth going dry and a cough springing unbidden from her mouth. She took a big sip of her beer, hoping to mask whatever that reaction had just been.