Chapter Text
Kris sat by the bar, scanning the room for a pretty woman, when Shasha slid onto the stool beside her.
"Hey, where's your girl?" Kris asked, glancing behind Shasha.
"Why are you looking for my girl?" Shasha asked with a smirk.
"I just thought it'd be nice to have someone gorgeous to look at."
Shasha snorted. "And I'm not?"
Kris finally looked at her and grinned. "You're alright."
"So, no girls tonight?"
"It's still early, Shasha. Besides, pretty girls always arrive late." Kris twirled the glass of her martini, watching the olive spin.
Shasha shrugged. "Maybe you could try dating one woman, Kris. It's not that bad. In fact, it's more fulfilling."
Kris finally looked at her ex-girlfriend-slash-friend. "Why have one when I can have ten or more? Isn't that more fulfilling?"
Shasha rolled her eyes. "You're exhausting."
"Hey, we're one and the same, ex-girlfriend. You just happened to meet the love of your life," Kris muttered.
Shasha smirked. "What if you meet yours? Will you finally leave this phase behind?" She was already scanning the bar, looking for someone.
"Oh please. It's not possible."
"Why not?"
Kris shrugged. "Because she doesn't exist. And if she does, she's smart enough to stay away from me."
Shasha finally looked at her. "That's the saddest thing you've ever said."
Kris raised her glass before drinking. "I prefer 'realistic.'"
Shasha leaned in. "Hey, what if you go on ten dates with a woman? Ten dates. And if you really can't fall in love, then I'll be your wingwoman for the rest of your sad, pathetic life."
Kris set down her glass. "Ten dates?"
"Ten dates."
"With the same woman?"
"The same woman."
Kris laughed. "That's boring, Sha. Why would I go on ten dates with the same woman?"
Shasha shrugged. "It'd be fun. A nice change of environment, Kris."
"Yeah, but with the same woman? Are you insane? I can't even fathom about having two dates with the same girl. And now you want me to go on ten?"
"Scared?" Shasha taunted.
Kris snorted, then gestured at the bartender for another drink. She stood up and leaned on the bar counter instead, eyes already scanning for the poor woman she'd be playing with.
"No. I'm just bored thinking about it, Shasha."
"Then prove it's boring." Shasha leaned back. "Ten dates. Don't fall in love. Easy."
"Easy," Kris repeated, finally looking at her. "Who's the poor girl?"
Shasha smiled. "Funny you ask. You already know her."
Kris raised an eyebrow. "I do?"
"Baipor."
Kris's eyebrows shot up. "Ah! The poor girl who had a crush on you? Don't you think you're being cruel, Shasha? She even helped you with Gorya too." She pressed a hand to her chest, feigning concern, but the smirk on her face said otherwise.
She found it amusing, really. And fun. And God, Kris liked to have fun.
"Please." Shasha waved a hand. "If I am being cruel, it's with you, Kris. Baipor… is interesting. Besides, I saw the way you two looked at each other when I first introduced you."
Kris's smirk faltered. "What way?"
"The way that says 'I want to ruin you and thank you for it after.'"
Kris tilted her head, considering. "Well, the woman is gorgeous, Shasha. I would really let her ruin me and thank her for it. I'm surprised you never dated her."
"It's because I was with you then, Kris."
"Oh, now I'm the reason?" Kris pressed a hand to her chest, mock-offended. "Damn, girl."
Shasha scoffed. "So? Do we have a deal or what?"
Kris looked at Shasha's outstretched hand. Then at the bar. Then at the door.
Baipor walked in with that easy grin she was always wearing. The one that seemed so innocent, but wasn't. The one that said she knew something you didn't. The one that made you want to find out what it was.
Kris watched her slide onto a stool at the end of the bar. Ordered something without looking at the menu. The bartender knew her. Of course the bartender knew her.
Kris smirked.
"Fine," she said, shaking Shasha's hand. "Ten dates. No falling in love."
Shasha grinned. "That's my girl."
"I'm not your girl."
"You're no one's girl. That's the point."
Kris's eyes were still on Baipor. Baipor hadn't seen her yet. She was talking to the bartender, laughing at something, tossing her hair over her shoulder.
"Ten dates," Kris murmured.
"Ten dates," Shasha confirmed.
"And when I don't fall in love?"
Shasha picked up her drink. "Then I'm your wingwoman forever."
Kris finally looked away from Baipor and met Shasha's eyes. "You're on."
Baipor walked inside Blossom with the same confidence she always exuded. It wasn't her first time at a lesbian bar. She was young, not a tortured artist, and she knew exactly what she wanted.
"One Cosmopolitan, please," she said to the bartender.
Her sister, Prim, had ditched her again for Bambi. Not that it surprised her.
She looked around and spotted Shasha with her friend Kris on the other side of the bar. She hummed. Kris was already looking at her. Of course she was.
Baipor isn’t stupid. She knew she was Kris’s type. And Kris was hers (which was a secret).
Baipor didn't look away. Didn't smile. Just held her gaze for a second too long, then turned back to the bartender.
She felt Kris's eyes on her back.
She didn't mind it.
She knew what type of woman Kris was. Someone who couldn't be tied down. Someone who liked women and couldn't fathom the idea of only having one.
A womanizer.
Baipor knew better than to mingle with such a woman. She'd had a crush on Shasha once. She knew better than to have her heart broken twice by the same type.
So when Kris slid onto the stool next to her, all easy smiles and martini glass, Baipor didn't turn.
"Long time no see, Baipor," Kris said.
Baipor hummed. "Long time no see, Kris."
"Hey, am I not older than you? You call Shasha Phi, and me just Kris?" Kris leaned in way too closely.
Baipor finally turned her head. Kris's face was inches from hers. She could smell the martini on her breath. Something citrusy. Something expensive.
"You want me to call you Phi?" Baipor asked, voice flat.
"I want you to call me something."
Baipor blinked. Slow. Deliberate. "How about annoying?"
Kris grinned but didn't move away. She gestured at the bartender for another round—one Cosmopolitan for Baipor, one martini for herself.
"You think I'm annoying?"
“Yes, I do.”
The drinks arrived. Kris pushed the Cosmo toward Baipor. Their fingers almost touched. Baipor pulled her hand back first.
"So," Kris said, stirring her martini with the little plastic sword, "what's someone like you doing in a place like this?"
Baipor stared at her. "Did you just unironically use a pick-up line from 2005?"
"Did it work?"
"No."
Kris sipped her drink. "Damn. Why were you more flirty and open when we first met?"
"Might be because I didn't know how annoying you were."
"Oh please, Baipor. We haven't even hung out alone." Kris wiggled her eyebrows.
Baipor didn't laugh. Didn't smile. Just looked at her with those quiet, unreadable eyes.
"And we never will."
"Now, let's not get ahead of ourselves. Go on a date with me," Kris said.
Baipor squinted at the older woman.
Kris? Date?
That didn't make any sense.
Because Baipor knew Kris. They viewed love the same. Love was just a fleeting feeling, something that wasn't or shouldn't be taken seriously. She saw what love did to people. She saw it with her mom and her dad. With her older sister, Prim, and her girlfriend, Bambi.
Being in love meant being dependent on each other. Being dependent meant having no life outside of each other. And if Baipor could hate anything other than love, it was codependency.
Besides, Kris wasn't the type to date around.
So something was definitely up. And Baipor was bored enough to be a willing victim.
"Fine. But I want more dates with you. Let's make it five," Baipor said.
Kris smirked and shrugged. She leaned in closer, her hand starting to rub Baipor's on the counter.
"Let's make it ten, Baipor."
"Seven, and that's it."
Kris suddenly pulled her closer. Their faces so close that Baipor could see the tiny moles scattered across Kris's face.
"Ten dates, Baipor."
Baipor didn't pull away. Didn't blink. Just held her ground.
"Fine. But I want to film the whole thing."
Kris's eyes flickered. Confusion. Curiosity. Something else Baipor couldn't name.
"Film it?"
"Every date. Every conversation. Every annoying thing you say."
"You think I'm annoying?"
"I know you are."
Kris laughed. Still didn't move away. "And you want to document that?"
"Someone has to."
"For what? Blackmail?"
Baipor finally allowed the smallest smirk. "Maybe. Or maybe I'll release a documentary. Make this worthwhile."
Kris stared at her. Baipor stared back.
"You're intriguing, Baipor."
"I'll take that as a compliment."
They stared at each other. Neither willing to look away first. Then Kris smiled.
"We have a deal, then."
"Yeah. Ten dates, and we go our separate ways." Baipor said as their faces started inching closer.
"We have to seal the deal, don't you think?" Kris asked, eyes dropping to Baipor's lips.
Baipor didn't answer. Instead, she put her hand on Kris's waist and pulled her in for a kiss.
It wasn't soft. It wasn't gentle. It was a challenge wrapped in a promise neither of them intended to keep.
Kris kissed her back. Hand sliding into Baipor's hair. The bar disappeared. The music faded. There was only this. Only them.
When they finally pulled apart, both were breathing harder than either would admit.
"Well," Kris said, voice lower than before. "That's one way to seal a deal."
Baipor licked her lips. Tasted martini and something else. Something that was just Kris.
"Don't fall in love with me, Kris."
Kris laughed. Short. Sharp. "Don't worry. I won't."
"Good.”
"Good."
If Kris was going to play with her, well, thank God Baipor knew how to play too. She knows how to play well too.
She picked up her Cosmo, finished the last sip, and set the glass down with a soft clink.
"Tomorrow. Seven o'clock. I'll send you the address."
Kris raised an eyebrow. "You're planning the first date?"
"You have a problem with that?"
"Not at all." Kris leaned back, arms crossing over her chest. "I like a woman who takes charge."
Baipor stood up. Sling her bag over her shoulder.
"Don't be late."
"I'm never late."
Baipor looked down at her. Just looked. Then smiled. Small. Secret.
"There's a first time for everything."
She walked away and didn't look back. She felt Kris's eyes on her the whole way to the door.
Outside, the night air hit her face. She exhaled.
Ten dates.
She pulled out her phone. Opened a new note and typed quickly.
Ten ways to make Kris run for the hills.
She smiled to herself.
This was going to be fun.