Crossed Lines

Eli

The Den was packed, as expected for trivia night. The air buzzed with laughter, team debates, and the occasional burst of cheers from the tables already deep in competition. Our crew claimed our usual spot near the back, but before joining them, I had to make a stop at the bar. Honestly, I wasn't going to go but I passed by Hannah on campus and she told me that Mina picked up a shift tonight. Plus, the team wanted to go anyways so it was an easy decision for me.

Mina was already there, in her element. She moved with this practiced ease—pouring drinks, joking with customers, handling orders like she'd been doing it for years. She look exhausted behind that smile.

When she finally noticed me, her eyes narrowed, but a small smile tugged at her lips. We had our usual banter or what Noah calls it, flirting, before she got whisked away to work.

As I walked away, I glanced back to see her dive right back into the chaos, juggling drink orders and team scorecards like a pro. That was Mina—always working, always handling her stuff, even when she didn't have to.

I joined the guys at our table. Levi and Noah were already arguing about one of the questions, 

"No you fuck nugget." Noah directs at Levi.

Levi lightly punches his shoulder, "Bro are you shitting me right now. You literally play the sport."

 While Connor and Alex looked like they were placing bets on who would screw up our score.

"Noah?" Connor looks at Alex.

"Noah." And of course, Alex agrees.

I shake my head at the chaos happening on this tiny table. Is it too late to hang with Mina the whole night?

"Bout time you got here," Noah said, noticing me standing in front of the table. Too late.

He pats me on the back as I sat down. "We need your brainpower for the sports round."

"Or at least your wild guesses," Connor added, smirking.

I shook my head. "You guys can't handle one round without me?"

"Not if we wanna win," Levi said, raising an eyebrow.

"What's our team name?"

"Hoop There It Is." Levi smiles widely at me.

My smile turns into a straight line. "Seriously?"

"Yeah." Alex, Connor, and Noah says in unison. And defeat.

I stole one more glance at the bar. Mina caught me looking and rolled her eyes before turning back to her customers. I chuckled, grabbing the trivia sheet.

"Alright, let's do this," I said, but part of my mind stayed at the bar, thinking about the girl who made it all look easy, even when I knew it wasn't.

___________________

We were down to the final round of trivia, and our team wasn't doing half bad—thanks to Levi's obscure sports knowledge and Connor's uncanny ability to remember random pop culture facts. The vibe was competitive but fun, just like always.

Across the room, Mina was still at the bar, her ponytail swaying as she dodged between customers. Every so often, she'd glance at the trivia stage, probably overhearing snippets of questions, but she didn't slow down. And of course she's wearing the shorts that curves her hips and ass perfectly. It's like torture. 

As the announcer rattled off the last question, Noah nudged me with his elbow.

"Dude, you've been zoning out half the night. What's up?"

I shook my head, playing it off. "Just thinking about the game. Blood, Sweat, & Beers team is no joke."

Noah didn't buy it. Of course he didn't since that was the first group I saw. He gave me that knowing smirk. "Uh-huh. Sure it's the frat boys and not someone standing about twenty feet that way?" He tilted his head toward the bar, where Lia was mixing a cocktail with that focus she always had.

I glared at him, but it wasn't exactly threatening. "Shut up, man."

He laughed, leaning back in his chair. "Hey, I'm just saying. You've been doing this whole lovesick puppy routine for years. Maybe you should, I don't know, do something about it?" He downs his second beer. 

"Not the time," I muttered, scribbling down our team's answer for the last question: What year did the NBA officially merge with the ABA? (Levi was convinced it was 1976).

"Fine, fine. But don't wait too long," Noah said, his tone teasing but with an edge of seriousness. "She's got options, you know."

That part wasn't exactly news, but hearing it out loud stung a little. I glanced back at Mina, who was now laughing at something one of the customers said, her whole face lighting up.

"Alright, folks, that's the end of trivia night!" the announcer called, cutting through the noise. "Hand in those answer sheets, and we'll tally up the scores!"

Levi grabbed our sheet and sprinted to the stage like it was the NBA finals. Connor and Alex started debating what prize they'd pick if we somehow won, while Noah just shook his head.

I used the chaos as an excuse to head back to the bar. Mina was wiping down the counter when I walked up, and she gave me a tired but genuine smile. 

"Back already? What, did your team choke?"

"Not yet," I said, sliding my empty glass toward her. "Just thought I'd check in. How's it going over here?"

She sighed, propping her elbow on the counter. "Same as usual. Tired feet, pretty good tips, and trivia questions I can't answer because I'm stuck working."

"Should've joined our team. We're unstoppable tonight."

"Oh, really?" She raised an eyebrow. "Let me guess—Levi carried you guys?"

"Hey, I contributed," I said, pretending to be offended. "And for the record, we're totally taking first place."

Her laugh was soft but real. "Well, I'll cheer for you guys from over here. As long as you don't make me clean up your victory celebration."

I grinned, tapping the counter. "Deal. But if we win, I'm bringing you a slice of that free pizza."

"Shit, free pizza, huh?" she said, shaking her head. "That's the big prize?"

"Hey, free food is free food."

Before she could respond, the announcer's voice boomed again. "And the winners of tonight's trivia are... drumroll, please... Hoop There It Is!"

Our table erupted in cheers. Levi and Connor were already high-fiving, and even Alex and Noah looked impressed.

"Told you," I said, giving Mina a smug smile.

"Congrats," she said, rolling her eyes but smiling anyway. "Go enjoy your pizza, champ."

"Don't worry, I'll save you a slice," I said before heading back to the table.

The night wrapped up with our team celebrating way too hard for a trivia win, but I couldn't stop thinking about her laugh, her smile, the way she made even a crazy, loud night at The Den feel... normal.

And as I walked back to my dorm later, I couldn't help but wonder if Noah was right—if maybe it was time to stop being a coward and finally tell Mina how I felt.