'Right, Kat, are you ready?' The door to Kat's dorm room swooshed open. Afsaneh took in the books spread across the table and the guilty expression on her friend's face and sighed. 'Why am I even surprised? Get up, get changed, we're going out.'

Katrina shook her head and started to protest. 'But I really need to study for this..'

'Kat. It's Friday night. You have all weekend to study, and you promised me you'd come with me tonight.'

'I know but I really..'

'Katrina Cornwell, I swear to god if you back out now, I will send Gabriel Lorca that photo of you snuggled up to him while you were passed out drunk and tell him you're in love with him.'

Kat glared. 'You wouldn't.'

'Try me.' The two glared at each other for a moment more, before Kat relented.

'Ok. But just the play, then I really need to get back. I can't hang around after.'

Five minutes later, Kat had pulled on a black sleeveless shirt and a pair of long denim shorts, and the two women were walking across campus. Afsaneh was considerably more dressed up, in a bright yellow sundress and strappy sandals. It was a warm evening and the campus was busy, with seemingly most of the academy out enjoying the weather.

'Ok, remind me?'

Afsaneh sighed again. 'We are going to see the amateur dramatics society's performance of Twelfth Night, because Chris is playing Orsino and it's either going to be hilarious or the hottest thing I have ever seen.'

'I'm not great with Shakespeare, Afsaneh..' Kat admitted reluctantly as they took their place in the queue outside the small hall that doubled as a theatre. Afsaneh shrugged.

'This one's easy. There's just some twins that get shipwrecked, and one of them dresses up as a boy, and everyone gets confused. It's good.' She played absently with one of her long gold earrings as she scanned the line.

'Right.' They reached the front of the queue, collected their tickets and found their seats. They were good ones, near the front of the hall, and Kat looked around them. 'So how much do you like Pike then?' she asked, and was pleased to see Afsaneh blush slightly. 'Because you know this is verging on stalker like behaviour..'

'It is not! It's totally normal to go and support your boyfriend in his first major role!'

Kat grinned. 'A lot then.' Afsaneh was saved from having to reply by loud music reverberating through the room, signalling the start of the play as the lights dimmed. Kat tried to follow the story, concentrating hard as she tried to get into the swing of the language. She did notice that the woman playing Viola, a petite Asian she didn't think she'd seen before, was very pretty, but was concentrating too hard to fully appreciate her.

That was, until the moment she walked onstage dressed as a man, with a swagger in her walk and her hands thrust carelessly into her pockets. The designer had chosen a twentieth century setting for this production, so the actress was wearing a grey suit, with a starched linen shirt and highly polished black shoes. Katrina swallowed, mouth suddenly dry, and her eyes traced the swell of her breasts under her shirt where her jacket hung open. Katrina was transfixed, and before she knew it, the lights were coming up for the interval and everyone around her was starting to get to their feet.

'I'm boiling, let's get some air,' Afsaneh suggested, and Katrina nodded mutely. She followed her through the crowd, belatedly realising how stuffy the theatre was as they escaped into the slightly fresher air outside. 'Well, what do you think? He's great, isn't he?'

Katrina flailed for a moment, before remembering why they'd come in the first place. 'Uh, yeah! Really good.'

Afsaneh's face fell. 'You're a shit liar Kat. You don't have to stay for the second half if you're having a crap time.'

'No! No, it's not that. Really.' Kat fidgeted, but seeing her friend remained unconvinced, decided to own up. 'It's.. I think I've got a bit of a thing for the girl playing Viola.'

'Philippa?'

'You know her?' said Kat, then cursed herself for sounding like an idiot. Afsaneh grinned.

'Sure, I know her. She's in my xenobotany seminar group.' The grin widened. 'She's nice. I can introduce you if you like, if you hang around afterwards.'

'I, uh, yeah, maybe?' Kat was sure she was blushing and Afsaneh's smug expression was doing nothing to help. 'Should we maybe go back in?'

'Sure. Wouldn't want to miss anything, would we.'

'Fuck off.'

The second half was painful. Kat was now not only struggling to follow the action, she was also hyper aware of not ogling Philippa too obviously, lest she give Afsaneh even more ammunition. It was difficult though; every time she walked onstage, Kat was startled again by just how gorgeous the woman was. She imbued her character with a cockiness combined with a vulnerability that Katrina found adorable. Her costume also seemed to have endless permutations, from fully buttoned formality to more casual arrangements. When in one scene, she removed her jacket and slung it over the back of a chair, before spinning it and sitting astride it whilst leaning on the back, Kat thought she might actually pass out. She was fully aware she was being ridiculous, but it had been a while since she'd had any action and even longer since she'd been this attracted to someone. When the play finished and the cast returned to the stage for the curtain call, she clapped hard enough to hurt her hands, never taking her eyes from Philippa. The lights came back up for the final time, and Kat turned to see Afsaneh beaming next to her.

'That was great! Let's go and congratulate him!' They stood and wended their way through the crowd, sneaking through a side door and round the back to the small room the cast were using as a dressing room.

'Afsaneh! Kat! You made it!' The two girls were engulfed by a very sweaty Chris, grinning from ear to ear and obviously flying high as a kite. 'What did you think?' He released them, allowing Kat to step back but keeping his arm around Afsaneh.

'You were excellent, of course,' answered Afsaneh with a smile, and he responded by kissing her. Kat averted her eyes, not needing to see them snogging at quite such close range, and locked gazes instead with the woman who had just entered the room. Philippa was still in costume and looked just as attractive close to as she did onstage. She had removed her tie and her shirt was unbuttoned slightly at the top, giving Katrina a glimpse of her collarbone before it disappeared under the fabric. Her eyes flickered to where Afsaneh and Chris were still pressed together, and her nose scrunched.

'Eww,' she remarked, crossing the room and indicating with a tilt of her head that Kat should come with her. 'It's bad enough that I have to kiss him onstage, but she does it for fun? And I thought she was intelligent.'

Kat giggled and moved to join her. 'Tell me about it.' Her eyes followed Philippa's movements as she started to remove her jacket, and she hastily looked away. 'I loved the show. You were really good.'

Philippa caught her eye in the mirror and she smiled, giving Kat a funny feeling in her tummy. 'Thanks.' She picked up a wipe and started to remove her makeup as she spoke. 'Are you a fan of Shakespeare?'

Kat felt herself reddening. 'Uh, not really, no. I've never quite got into him before. But Afsaneh wanted me to come with her, and I'm really glad I did. I'm Kat, by the way.'

Philippa quirked her lips. 'Hi, Kat. I'm Philippa.' There was a pause, as she finished wiping her face and turned back around, leaning against the side of the table to look at Kat. She was just as attractive without the stage makeup, and, although shorter than Kat had originally thought, exuded a confidence her character hadn't had. She crossed her arms, still dressed in her man's shirt with the sleeves rolled up. 'So what did you enjoy about it?'

Kat froze. 'Well, I.. I really liked the costumes?' she offered.

Philippa smiled, amused. 'Just the costumes?'

'I thought you were really good too,' Kat said again, mortified at being unable to come up with anything more intelligent. Philippa was still smiling at her, her eyes twinkling, and Kat took a chance. 'Ok, I admit it. I got distracted because I thought you were hot and then I struggled to focus on the rest of it.'

Philippa blinked for a second, then laughed. Kat grinned sheepishly back. 'Wow. I don't think anyone's ever said that to me before. Thank you!' She pushed off from where she had been leaning and stepped towards Kat, looking her up and down as she did so. This close, Kat could see her shirt was sticking to her with sweat, all creased and rumpled where it was half untucked from her trousers. 'How would you like to get a drink once I've got changed?'

'You don't have to get changed,' Kat replied, a little too quickly. Philippa chuckled.

'Yes, I do, I'm sweaty and sticky and horrible. And they'll kill me if I damage the costume. But play your cards right tonight, and I'll take you out somewhere next weekend where you can see me all dressed up again. Deal?'

Kat grinned. 'It's a deal.'