Jenn waited for the lights to change. Out of the corner of her eye she watched Kathryn leaning against the wall of the streetcar. She’d just finished explaining all of the training she had gone through in order to become a qualified streetcar operator. Kathryn seemed suitably impressed.
The lights changed, and they started moving again. A couple of drunk young men wolf-whistled at them as the streetcar rattled by. Jenn shook her head and chuckled at their childishness.
“You have to admit, this city is obsessed with alcohol.” Kathryn grinned. She’d been playfully trying to poke holes in Jenn’s love affair with New Orleans for a while now.
“No more so than other places, we just have more relaxed rules.” Jenn shrugged.
“But those slushie machines…” Kathryn laughed.
Jenn smiled. “Hey, it gets hot, what can I say? Some people just feel more refreshed after a frozen mojito!”
“Uh-huh.”
“Don’t knock it until you’ve tried one.” Jenn gently elbowed Kathryn.
The streetcar came to a stop in front of another set of traffic lights. The junction was particularly busy, so Jenn picked up her water bottle and took a few long sips.
She felt Kathryn tapping her on the shoulder.
“Open the door,” she commanded.
“What?” Jenn frowned.
“Open the door,” Kathryn repeated.
Jenn turned to see Kathryn engaged in some silent conversation through hand gestures with a bartender in a run-down old bar across the street.
She laughed and opened the door. “I won’t wait for you,” she warned.
Kathryn took off quickly across the thankfully empty road. The bartender was already pouring her an alcoholic slushie as Kathryn waved some dollar bills in his direction.
Jenn’s eyes switched from the red light in front of her to the exchange taking place at the bar. She watched as Kathryn looked both ways before running back towards the streetcar. She jumped up the steps just as the lights changed to green.
Jenn burst out laughing and closed the doors. She pulled the bell and took off the brake, causing the streetcar to start moving again. The passengers who had been watching Kathryn’s alcohol dash burst into spontaneous applause. Kathryn curtsied and held her drink aloft to them.
“I would have got you one, but you’re driving,” Kathryn explained. “And I was against the clock.”
“No problem,” Jenn said. “What did you get?”
Kathryn regarded the icy drink with a frown before sniffing the top. “Red?”
Jenn kept an eye on the road as she reached up and pulled Kathryn’s hand down. She took a small sip of the drink through the bright green straw.
“Mmm, strawberry daiquiri! Good choice!”
Kathryn took a sip herself and winced. “Ugh, sugar and food colouring.”
“Yeah, never seen a strawberry in its life,” Jenn admitted.
The trip raced by and Jenn found herself hoping more passengers wanted to board on the journey back towards Canal Street, just so they could spend some more time together. They laughed until they cried, and Jenn felt her breath restrict in her throat each time Kathryn placed her hand on her arm or shoulder when she spoke.
“Is that a casino down there?” Kathryn asked as they turned back onto Canal Street.
“Yep.” Jenn nodded as she carefully navigated around the traffic and tourists on the busy street.
“Suppose you work there, too?” Kathryn laughed at her joke.
Jenn remained silent. She knew a blush was taking over her cheeks.
Kathryn stared at her. “Seriously? How many jobs do you have?”
“A few.” Jenn shrugged.
“But you do work at the casino?” Kathryn pressed.
“Yeah, I’m not on shift for another week, though.”
“Okay, I’ve consumed half of the world’s worst strawberry daiquiri, so you’ll have to bear with me here.” Kathryn placed her arm around Jenn’s shoulder as she drove up the busy street. “A bartender, a marshal, a tour guide, a streetcar driver, a water aerobics instructor, and a casino employee?”
Jenn chuckled. It was amusing to listen to Kathryn listing the jobs she knew about on her fingers.
“Yep, there’s more, but you’ll have to wait to see what they are,” she added flirtatiously.
“Oh, will I now?” Kathryn laughed.
A few short minutes later and the journey and Jenn’s shift were finished. Jenn picked up her rucksack and handed the streetcar over to her co-worker. Both she and Kathryn exited the streetcar and stood in the large central reservation on Canal Street, the streetcar tracks on either side of them and the main road on either side of that.
“I had a great time this evening,” Jenn said. She leaned casually against a lamppost.
“So did I,” Kathryn confessed. “Except that drink. I thought this place was famous for its cocktails?”
“You need to let me make you one,” Jenn explained. “Not buy one for three bucks.”
“Oh, do you charge more?” Kathryn raised her eyebrow.
“I think you can afford me,” Jenn said. She quickly took a step forward to place a kiss on Kathryn’s lips.
Kathryn jumped back, startled. “What are you doing?!”
Jenn’s eyes widened as she took in Kathryn’s shocked and horrified expression. Her hand covered her mouth. “Oh my god, I’m so, so sorry.”
“I’m not gay!” Kathryn hissed at her. She looked around to see if anyone had been watching the scene unfold. “What… why… why did you kiss me?”
“Well… duh,” Jenn said. She immediately wished she had come up with something better.
“You’re… oh…” Kathryn took a deep breath. “I’m… flattered, really I am, but I’m straight. I’m sorry if I gave you the wrong impression.”
Jenn swallowed. She attempted to look casual as she shook her head and held up a hand.
“It’s fine, no problem… I’m the one who’s sorry.”
Kathryn stared wordlessly at her before finally nodding her head. “Thank you… for a lovely evening. I really did enjoy the sights. I’ll… well… I… should be going.”
Jenn nodded. “Okay, do you know your way back?”
Kathryn nodded, the earlier smile gone from her face and replaced with a serious expression. “I do. Good night, Jenn.”
“’Night, Kathryn,” Jenn said as she watched her turn and walk away.
She watched until Kathryn was out of sight and then leaned back against the lamppost and sighed to herself.
“Jenn, you idiot…”