starter for: @kitcastellanos location: golden hour beach bar
It had been a week, that was for sure. Val might have bitten off a bit more than she could chew, taking on extra classes at the rec center during the same week she’d packed her schedule with appointments to view rental spaces downtown.
By the time Saturday night rolled around, it felt like she was running on fumes. And while her first choice would have been to head home, cuddle up on the couch and watch a movie with Leyla and Billie, she had promised a coworker that she would come out for her birthday. At least said birthday celebration was at Golden Hour, one of Val's favorite places in Briar Ridge.
She was already struggling with a tension headache by the time she got to the bar, so trying to distinguish the voices of her friends over the pulsing music proved extra difficult and she found herself wishing she could turn off her cochlear implant and just use sign language instead.
After a while, she found herself drifting inch by inch away from the center of the party, toward a familiar spot out on the deck. She’d discovered long ago that the walls there blocked just enough of the music to make it bearable.
When she reached the railing, she leaned into it, savoring the small reprieve the quieter air offered. She rolled her shoulders back and extended her arms to stretch, trying to ease some of the tension in her neck, only to accidentally brush her hand against someone beside her.
“Mierda!” she muttered under her breath, spinning toward them. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to burst your personal space bubble!”
It was only after the apology left her mouth that she realized she knew them. “Hey—Kit, right?”
