Mild night out

Tanya grabs the beer she has just paid for and turns around. She leans back against the bar counter and looks around.
A typical bar scene plays out in front of her. People are sitting, people are standing, talking, drinking. A few are even dancing. Tanya can't believe it herself. But she is really doing it. She is partying. If you can call it that. But well, she's having a beer in a bar. That's one step in the right direction.

It's been ages since she did this. Maybe two years? She was still dating Kim at that point. Not that they often went out partying together. But they did go out from time to time, mainly to meet friends. They often went to this bar. It's not far from Tanya's apartment, which made it easy to pop in. That's also the reason why Tanya is even here. I'll stay here for at least an hour and try to have fun, Tanya told herself, then I can go home again.
The other reason why she chose this bar is the kind of people here. It's not an official lesbian bar or anything, but there are usually a few queer folks around. It's not like Tanya was planning to hook up or meet anyone today. But if she's being completely honest, she wouldn't mind actually ...

Perhaps ten minutes later:
Somehow Tanya actually ended up in a conversation with a woman. Her name is Helena.
Tanya spends the second round. They drink beer and some disgustingly sweet shot that Helena has insisted on.
Tanya asks: “What do you do for a living?”
Helena waves it off and says, pretending to be serious: “That's boring. Next question!”
Tanya laughs. She likes the game. And she begins to like Helena. She is entertaining.
Tanya is thinking hard.
What should she ask? She wants to be funny. Or flirty. Or ideally both.
What can she say?
She can't think of anything for the life of her.
“Um, do you come here often?”
Helena laughs and pokes her on the arm: “I'll let you get away with that again, but only because you're cute! No, it's my first time here. My friends and I have always wanted to give this bar a try. And tonight, we finally did.”
She gestures to a group of young people standing together at the end of the bar.
Then Helena turns her attention back to Tanya. She touches Tanya's sleeves. She is wearing a dark blue, loose-fitting blouse. Helena: “I like your clothes. Simple, yet cool!”
Tanya laughs and says: “Thank you. And I like your shirt. And your lipstick.”
Helena's eyes sparkle boldly from the alcohol. She leans forward. Her mouth is now practically touching Tanya's ear.
She whispers: “Do you want some of my lipstick?”
And before Tanya knows what's happening, Helena has kissed her on the mouth.

They are now standing in front of Tanya's apartment. Tanya fumbles with the apartment key. She tries to open the door. They are both slightly wobbly from the alcohol and still breathing heavily from climbing the stairs. Tanya lives on the fourth floor, no elevator.
They finally enter Tanya's apartment. Helena takes a look in the kitchen. “Have you just moved in? It's so empty here.”
Tanya laughs and says: “It's called minimalism. I like it neat and uncluttered.”
Helena makes an unfazed aha sound and hangs her jacket on one of the hooks on the wall.
Tanya: “I'll get us some water. There's my bedroom. Make yourself at home.”
Helena has already dropped her handbag and enters the small bedroom. The place looks empty to her. There is a bed with a small bedside table. And a wardrobe. That's pretty much all there is.
Tanya comes back with two large glasses of water. She places them on the bedside table.
She asks Helena: “Is this your first time? I mean, going home with a woman?”
Helena is surprised by the question.
“Mh? No, I've done that a lot. I mean, you party together, you go home with your girl friends ... That's normal. Don't you do that?”
Tanya is confused.
She doesn't know what to say. Are they talking about the same thing?
Helena has kicked off her shoes. She jumps onto the bed. She starts to pull her rings off her fingers.
She asks: “Can I sleep on this side? I'm going to have to pee during the night.”
Tanya just stands there. Staring at this woman she barely knows, who is now on her bed.
Helena catches her expression and gives her a questioning glance.
Helena: “Is everything ok?”
Tanya: “Why are you here? Why did you come with me?”
Helena opens her mouth in surprise. She combs her fingers through her fuzzy hair.
“What do you mean?”
“We're not friends.”
Helena laughs insecurely. She looks up at Tanya, who is standing in the middle of the room with her arms crossed. She can't figure Tanya out.
Helena: “You invited me over, don't you remember? You said that your apartment wasn't far from the bar. And that I could sleep at your place if I wanted to.”
They both stare at each other blankly for a second.
Helena then adds: “Did I say something wrong? Are you angry?”
Tanya shakes her head. She's too wasted for this conversation.
She says: “Never mind. Let's just go to sleep.”
Helena looks at Tanya briefly, then shrugs her shoulders. She slips a purple hair tie off her wrist and forms her hair into an impressive bun, high on top of her head. Then she takes off the rest of her jewelry. Three chunky necklaces land beside the rings. The whole bedside table is now full of Helena's stuff.

Tanya quits watching this accident of a night, sighs and goes into the bathroom.
She tries to ignore the dirt that Helena's shoes have made in front of her bed.

Tanya scrubs her face vigorously with cold water. She feels like an idiot. What was she thinking, taking this person home with her? She wants to get rid of her. She doesn't want to sleep in the same bed with her. But she also doesn't want to seem like an asshole and dump the woman on the street in the middle of the night. That wouldn't feel right.
She should make the best of it. What the hell. Just go to sleep. And get rid of her as soon as she can in the morning.

She hears Helena calling through the wall, her tone is annoyingly sweet:
“Honey, can you bring me my handbag from the hallway? Please?”