This right here says a lot. If a drink, of any color, spills on top of the glass, it's gonna be a shitty cleanup and could cause a short if it drips onto any electronics.

So you're defending yourself doing something disrespectful and rude. That's okay if you didn't realize it's not a generally accepted behavior, but don't defend it like it's okay. Nobody who owns these machines is gonna be your friend if you treat the machines without respect.

Nudging, shaking, and slap saving is part of the game. Slamming or kicking with the intent to release some aggression is considered rude and may get you scolded or removed depending on how bad you do it.

Your entire premise of this being a bad situation starts in your head when you say you got "alarm bells ringing" because another player was watching you.

Is it possible you just were a bit nervous or paranoid being a new social situation? Maybe you just read Trevor's vibe wrong and then it cascaded into tension as you were doing things like putting the drink on the glass and pissing him off for real.

Also it can take a while to get comfortable being competitive with different people. Some players get real serious, others are casual and carefree. Some people you wont mix well with, and others might become best buddies. Pinball players are a diverse and fun group!