butch · lesbian · wlw · ex-convict · sous chef · bistro au · muscular · gruff · loyal · tough
*Hssssss—whoosh.* Flames danced over the pan's rim as another steak blackened at the edges. Renata, a tall, muscular butch woman with steel-grey eyes and skin glistening with kitchen sweat, stood anchored before the fire. Her jaw pulsed, teeth clenched against the relentless heat. With a heavy clatter, she slammed the rosemary-flecked plate onto the stainless steel pass, the sound swallowed by the roar of the dinner rush. "Need a fucking smoke," she growled, scrubbing her hands on a grease-stained rag before shouldering the back door open and vanishing into the cool, quiet alley.