─────── II ───────

WEEKS PASSED AND NOTHING CHANGED for Esmeralda. Life stayed monotonous, the same routine of late nights reading and writing followed by days of working the same dead-end job that was only tolerable because of Tom.

She had spoken to Benny Watts precisely twice since having met him at work. He was busy, as ever, with chess tournaments. This meant he was hardly at home to call, and they'd postponed their 'drinks' until he was next back in New York.

She didn't know he carried her curled up note in his pocket, nor that he contemplated calling her often. But what would he talk about when he was busier than ever with chess and knew she so disdained discussing it?

And he didn't know that something in his cocky smile made her less inclined to snap at him for talking about it than she usually would with people.

She sat at her desk, tapping her nails on a copy of her most recently published book. At 25, to have three books published seemed accomplished, but whilst Esmeralda was proud of herself, she was also weary of the attention the books brought her.

Her father had been a world-champion chess player, deemed the best-of-the-best by all in the game. It was inevitable that she would be immersed in all things chess from practically birth. She went everywhere with him, every tournament, every open, every single game.

Homeschooling with her mother gave her few friends but the other players' children she'd meet, but she was clever. Oh so clever. And that was how she'd picked up chess so fast.

She watched her father's every move intently, drawing out his game later that evening with a near-photographic memory. She would note every comment he made regarding what he could have done better, too.

And then, he died.

A heart attack in 1959, when Esme was just 16, had almost made her step back from the world of chess.

She had nobody to follow round to tournaments anymore. Nothing to fall back on but her love for her father and the abundance of notebooks she'd amassed, filled with chess rules and games and tips from both her father and her own observations.

Her mother had fallen short of money and thus came about the idea of publishing all of the chess knowledge she seemed bursting with.

She'd been reluctant, but she loved her parents dearly and wanted to do all she could to help keep her mother afloat.

Now, 9 years later, she was 25 years old and had published three books chronicling her father's chess success and preferred methods of play.

The chess world had wondered why, then, she had never played a physical game of chess in her life.

But she was a young woman and, having never seen any of her own sex succeed like any men had, she had never previously played a game even in jest.

And when her father died, she didn't want to play.

Writing about the way her father played made her feel close to him. Playing chess herself was too much pressure; How on earth would she ever live up to him when the odds were stacked against her as a woman and as the daughter of a chess great?

She didn't even own a chess board, too scared to collect her father's from her parents house even though her mother insisted. It was his. Nobody else could play like him, so why should anyone be able to use his board?

"So this Beth Harmon girl," Tom clicked his tongue, slumped on the edge of Esmeralda's bed with a copy of Chess Review in his hands, "She's good, then?"

"Incredible," Esmeralda replied, turning to face her friend. He'd come over to force her out of her apartment, to take her on a night out, "People are saying she might almost be as good as my father. And I can't say I disagree."

Tom scoffed, "I told 'ya you should've just started playing, Es. You're incredible. Better than her, I'm sure. You probably inspired her to play anyway."

Esme sighed, fingers anxiously twiddling with the hem of the slightly short dress she was donning.

"It's not just about being a girl, Tommy. There's too much to live up to, I'll always just be Arthur Fisher's daughter. Besides, I never got to play chess with my dad, I don't want to play it without him," she pouted, picking up her lipstick to finish applying it.

"He'd be proud of you, Es."

"I hope so," she smiled for a moment, slipping on her shoes as they prepared to leave. "But yeah, Harmon has said that once she started playing she was introduced to my books."

She paused, chin in her palm, "She's said a lot about me, actually. Never makes it about gender though, I think she's incredible."

———

"I always regret saying yes to coming out, it's much easier getting drunk in my room," Esmeralda whined, arm linked with Tommy's as they followed a group of his friends through the bar, "A double whiskey, a good book... the life."

Tommy scoffed, "Boring!"

He bought them both a drink, sliding a whiskey on the rocks in his friend's direction. She smiled, taking a sip and kissing her teeth as it burned down her throat.

They turned to walk over to the booth his friends had situated themselves in, sitting down and immersing themselves in the dull conversation.

Esmeralda, however, had zoned out.

"Is that Beth Harmon?" Tommy nudged her after a few minutes, eyes fixated on a table close to theirs, "And that hot guy from work. The one with the cowboy hat?"

This drew Esme's attention further, her eyes snapping up to see that sure enough, Benny Watts and Beth Harmon were sat at a table with a few other people just a few metres from them.

"It is."

"And you're not gonna go say hello?"

"I'm comfortable here, thanks Tommy."

Tom rolled his eyes, "You've been waiting to see him again and now you have the chance, you're chickening out."

Esme huffed, just as Benny's eyes conveniently looked up to meet hers. He smiled, nodding his head to gesture for her to come over. She shook her head, but he silently insisted further, nodding towards Beth who was looking at Esme now too.

Beth looked starstruck, Benny gesturing with his hands now for Esme to come over to their table as his entire group looked up to see who he was communicating with.

Esme sighed, standing up much to Tom's entertainment, and slowly edging over to Benny Watts' side, whiskey in hand.

"Hi."

Benny smiled, wide and genuine, "Beth Harmon... this is Esmeralda Fisher."

"Wow. I'm—."

"Please, I— can we not talk about chess? I'm out to get away." Esme was less firm with Beth, she couldn't help it. She felt compelled to be soft with her, unlike how she'd been with Benny.

"No, of course. That's fine," Beth smiled nervously down at her drink, "It's nice to meet you though."

"Whiskey?" Esme grinned, nodding towards the glass Beth was toying with, "A girl after my own heart."

Beth blushed, tucking her hair behind her ear and lifting her drink to take a swig. She shuffled over, gesturing for Esmeralda to sit beside her in their booth.

"You didn't tell me you were back in town, Watts?" Esme mumbled, tight-lipped as she took a seat and a sip of her drink, "Congratulations, by the way. And sorry, Beth. But you kick ass. I love your outfit, by the way."

She tried to detract from the chess discussion immediately, knowing she'd had to make some kind of comment but didn't want to dwell.

She practically ignored Benny now, enthralled by the beautiful chess prodigy beside him.

She couldn't help but notice how close they were sat even before she'd joined, though, and though she barely knew Benny she couldn't help being a little jealous.

She'd thought he was attracted to her, but it seemed now that this wasn't the case. Maybe that's why he'd not told her he was back in New York. He probably didn't want to talk to her if not about her father, and he'd surely only invited her over because he felt he had to.

As usual her anxious thoughts ran away with her.

"Oh, thank you," Beth smiled, glancing down at her clothing. She felt uncomfortable, tension between the pair on either side of her seeming to bubble all of a sudden.

Benny leaned forward to interject, swirling his drink round in its glass, "We only got back to New York a few days ago. We've been training... I did mean to call."

"It's fine," Esmeralda shrugged, "I just wondered."

She was embarrassed that she cared at all, especially when it was her who'd been initially cold to him. But she had tried to fix that in their correspondence since. And he'd seemed so keen to talk to her on the phone at first, so she felt embarrassed that she'd gotten things wrong, above all else.

"You... uh, you been busy? Training?" she asked, frustrated that she was so nervous right now, "I know I said I hate talking about chess but, I've gotta say I'm curious."

Beth laughed, "Oh yeah, Benny is pretty much wired to obsess over chess all-day-every-day, isn't he?" Esmeralda nodded, eyes meeting Benny's as she felt the small pang hit her chest because that isn't he implied Beth believed she knew him well.

"Assumed as much from the day we met," she chuckled, taking another sip of her drink, "Kind of lucky I've not seen him since."

The comment wasn't malicious or intent on making Benny feel guilty, and she hoped that he knew this.

Beth furrowed her brows, "Oh," she looked at Benny as though confused, "The way he's talked about you I'd have assumed different."

Esmeralda laughed as she saw Benny blush ever so slightly, placing a small piece of broken off ice from her drink onto the tip of her tongue. She said nothing, waiting for Benny to speak but instead he just stared at her.

When the ice in her mouth completely melted, Esme glanced down at her near-empty drink, "Well I should probably get another drink and get back to my friends."

She smiled sincerely, knocking back the last of the drink and rising to her feet as she tapped her long nails against the rim of the whiskey glass.

Beth pouted, "We've only just met— I— can I have your number?"

"Benny's got it," she shot her a toothy grin, despite the small irrational irritation at knowing Beth would be going home with Benny tonight, not her, "Have a good night you guys. Lovely meeting you Beth, I hope it's not the last time while you're here. Catch ya later."

With that she sauntered away from the table back over to Tom, confused at her sudden increase in attraction to a man who she'd met only once, and at the time been an asshole to.

"Are they..?" Tom started as soon as she got back to her seat, eyeing Benny and Beth who were talking to each other but both sneaking glances in her direction.

Esmeralda chuckled, "Who knows. But I need another drink. Sharp-ish."

──── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ────
thanks for reading, i hope you
liked this (and that everyone had
a lovely christmas if they celebrate!)

i know her reaction to benny/beth
seems silly but she's quite lonely
and has attachment/trust issues as
you'll come to learn more about —
she's initially attracted to benny &
feels awk that she believes he may
not reciprocate after seeming eager
before. some of her characterisation
is v much personal to me so i'll be
making sure you get a better picture
of her as a person in upcoming chapters.

there'll be more of the actual tqg
storyline threaded in soon, too, just
needed to set the scene!

let me know what you think :-)
—lou. x
──── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ────