11. Grape Juice
Cosima was indeed speechless, as was Delphine. Cosima raised her hand and gave a small wave, cellphone just now beeping in her other hand from the text Delphine sent. Shay didn't seem to notice the awkwardness and tension in the room, walking over to Cosima and dragging her back toward the door. "Okay, babe, only a couple other people left, and then you can go do whatever you were planning on tonight. Sorry, again, I have to work, you know your way out of the…"
Shay's voice trailed off as she pulled a still-paralyzed Cosima into the hallway. Scott had already gone back to his notes and forgotten the interruption. Delphine felt her face getting hot. She turned back to her own work, covering her cheeks with her cool hands and closing her eyes. Why was she freaking out? She stared at her notes blankly for a few minutes, calming down, when a tap on the shoulder made her jump.
"Whoa, hey Delphine," Scott said, taking a step back, "Didn't mean to scare you. Just wanted to say I was heading out. See you tomorrow?"
Delphine nodded, unable to find her voice. He left with a look of confusion but said nothing. Soon, Delphine was left to the silence of the room by herself. She knew she wouldn't be able to get any work done for the evening, so she started to slowly pack her things and clear her area. A couple minutes passed, and she still felt dazed.
"Hi," a timid voice came from behind her. Delphine turned abruptly and confirmed the voice she recognized.
"Hi," Delphine said back just as quiet. "Where, ehm, where is…Shay?" Delphine was having a hard time putting Shay and girlfriend together.
Cosima looked a bit confused at the greeting but answered. "She went to the uh…Carlton building? I think?"
"Oh, Carlson, oui," Delphine verified awkwardly, "On the West Bank. Shay is over there often". She, herself, was feeling uneasy at the surprise, but she wasn't quite sure why Cosima wore a guilty expression.
"It's so weird hearing her name coming from you…not that it's bad, or good, I don't know, you know? I had no idea you…I guess I didn't connect you going to school and…like, I didn't know that…"
"Cosima," Delphine still couldn't help but grin at her adorable rambling, though it was cut short. She stopped her in time for once.
"Sorry," Cosima breathed out, rubbing the back of her neck. "Are you mad?"
Delphine had to think about it – why would she be mad? "No, I don't think so. Should I be?"
"Well, I don't know. I feel like I lied to you, but I guess I didn't. Not directly at least. I don't know," Cosima clasped her hands together nervously, keeping a safe gaze set on her feet. "Do you still, like, want to hang out or whatever? I get it if you don't want to, you know, after –"
"I'd love to," Delphine smiled warmly, attempting to calm the woman, "Just give me a minute to put my things away and pack up". Delphine continued to gather her items as Cosima shuffled her feet a bit and looked around the lab.
"So," Cosima started, still avoiding Delphine's eyes as she examined every insignificant detail of the room, "I guess this explains why you know so much science-y stuff".
"Oui, I'm studying Immunology," Delphine looked over her shoulder at Cosima where she was walking past the many tables and desks. "What is your excuse, then, for knowing science-y stuff?"
"Well, I have a science-y degree from San Fran, and uh," Cosima hesitated a moment, "I will be studying science-y stuff here. Starting in the summer I'll be working on my Ph. D. in Evo-Devo".
Delphine was impressed, she didn't expect such high accomplishments. Not that she thought Cosima wasn't intelligent – she obviously was, based on the conversations they'd had. "That's really amazing, Cosima. I would ask why you never told me, but I guess I can't really do that". She turned around to face Cosima, leaning on the counter behind her.
"Yeah," Cosima finally made eye-contact, a sly smile spreading over her face as she sauntered over to the blond. "Like, what the hell?" she reprimanded playfully, stopping right in front of Delphine, grasping the lapels of her white garment, "…Miss Lab Coat".
Delphine resisted the urge to pull Cosima in by her waist, just a bit closer. Her hands gripped the edge of the counter-top behind her, teeth nearly drawing blood from her lip as she bit down to release some of the energy that was building inside of her. She was probably just still shocked at the discovery – and did she hear that Cosima would be attending classes in the summer? "W-what is your schedule for the summer?" she managed to distract both Cosima and herself.
"Uh…independent project, I think?" Cosima turned and went back to inspecting the lab, allowing Delphine to finish up.
"That doesn't sound like a very confident answer," Delphine teased as she removed her lab coat and slung her bag over her shoulder.
"Yeah, well, it's not very confident answer".
"Cosima, how do you not know your own schedule?"
They started to make their way out of the building, taking their time through the now empty hallways, as Cosima dug through her pockets and pulled out a crumpled piece of paper. "Let's see," she said, unfolding it carefully, "I was very close. Independent Study Lab. I think it was called Independent Project in San Fran. Then in the fall I know I'll be taking Microbiology II and an elective of my choice," she announced with her best radio-personality-voice and finished with a smile.
"How did you manage to skip past Microbiology I?" Delphine asked, confused.
Cosima stuffed the paper back in her pocket. "I didn't, I already took it. Did most of my grad program before coming here, so I have, like, two or three semesters left".
"Oh, wow," Delphine lead them through the main entrance, opening her umbrella once they exited the building, "You're almost finished then?"
"Almost," Cosima looped her arm around the one Delphine was using to hold the umbrella, "What about you?"
"I'm taking a summer course but will be done after fall semester if I get enough credits in," the two women huddled under the umbrella as they waited for the pedestrian light to grant them permission to cross the nearly vacant street. "Hey," Delphine shouted in realization, startling Cosima, "Oh, sorry. I just – you are taking lab, non? This summer?"
"…Yes?" Cosima answered cautiously as they crossed to the next sidewalk, both heading toward their unspoken destination.
"I am taking an Independent Study Lab this summer also," Delphine's wide grin fell slightly. "I wish you had come sooner – you would've gotten to pick your own partner". Delphine's smile disappeared completely as she reminded herself that Cosima probably would have chosen Shay. It shouldn't make her mad, but it did. Not at Cosima – at Shay for some reason.
"Whose lucky ass did you pick?" Cosima chuckled, though there was a flicker of disappointment in her eyes.
"Well, I was going to partner with Scott, but then…there was just this awkward moment before Spring Break, so I chose different lab days. Now I'm working with…" Delphine froze for a moment, "…euh, I'll be working with Shay for the summer". Cosima nodded and they continued their polite conversation as they made their way to Delphine's apartment. Delphine spent a moment wondering why Shay hadn't chosen to wait and partner with Cosima – somehow make it work with her schedule since she knew Cosima would be arriving.
"I don't want to go back out," Cosima whined. "Don't you have anything here?"
Delphine's eyes didn't move from her laptop, scrolling through movie possibilities, "Feel free to search the kitchen, but I know I have no popcorn".
Cosima skipped over to the refrigerator, staring at its contents for a while, apparently finding nothing appealing. "Why are you so healthy?" Cosima asked, moving a bag of carrots to the side as she searched deeper.
"Because I'm not from here," she teased back.
"Ouch," Cosima winced dramatically, turning her head to stick her tongue out at the blond. "It's sickening," she continued, moving on to the freezer, then cupboards. "Oh, would you look at that," Cosima reached to a rack in a corner of the kitchen, "Do you always have alcohol, Delphine?"
She finally looked up from her computer, Cosima was holding up two unopened bottles of red wine. "Usually just wine, chérie. Would you like some?"
"Oh," Cosima set one bottle back on its rack, "Well, if you insist…I suppose we could have a bottle or three". Delphine giggled and shook her head.
Delphine chose a horror movie – one of the older one's that were low quality enough to see through the undeveloped special effects. She wasn't necessarily a big horror fan, she didn't mind it, but typically wouldn't go out of her way to watch one. She wasn't entirely sure of Cosima's cinematic taste, aside from Hallmark, but the girl who was cuddled up next to her seemed to be enjoying it just fine.
They were both curled up on one end of the couch, Delphine's laptop was hooked up to her television, and a large bag of carrots had been squeezed between their bodies. The brunette gave up on her search for a greasy, sugary, or processed snack. Every time Cosima began a new carrot, she would take a loud bite, facing Delphine, staring at her and making the disgruntlement she had for Delphine's dietary decisions known. The Frenchwoman always kept her eyes on the screen, only seeing the act from the corner of her eye, but she couldn't help her muffled giggles as they slipped through the efforts of her stiffened, smiling lips.
Despite Delphine's best efforts, they finished the entire bottle of wine before the movie had ended and were a third of the way through the second bottle by the time the credits started rolling. "Cosima, if we keep doing this, I think I will be an alcoholic before the summer is over". Delphine hiccupped, giggled and brought the back of her hand up to cover her mouth, "You are a bad influence".
"Hey," Cosima slurred, "I'm not the one who stocked up your kitchen, I'm simply enjoying your goods". Cosima's eyes widened slightly as she thought about what she said, but her intoxication flushed all the energy she would have used to backtrack, so she opted for laughter.
Delphine joined her, and they laughed lazily together for a moment until their muscles ached from the strain. Delphine couldn't remember the last time she laughed so hard at anything, it had been a long time since she'd had a friend at all. She never had too many close friends when she was younger, but she was starting to realize how much she missed it. Cosima was different than her childhood friends. She wasn't quiet and polite, she loved to hold hands and be close. It must be a cultural behavior, Delphine reasoned, although she had never experienced that from any other American she'd met.
Perhaps Cosima's physical closeness was what prompted Delphine to change her own cultural behaviors. She was never taught to kiss directly on the cheek. She'd always press her cheek to the receiver's cheek, like everyone else, maybe make the tsk noise of a kiss. With Cosima, though, she loved to feel the warm skin touch her lips. She loved how her kisses always landed on the very edge of Cosima's lips. She marveled at how naturally her hands landed on any part of Cosima – neck, stomach, face, waist.
Maybe she needed to try to find a boyfriend. She liked touching Cosima more than she should and surely having someone else to touch would dim that fire. She didn't know any of the boys from her department, but Shay would most likely know someone and be willing to help. She wished she could take back choosing Shay as a project partner instead of Scott. She would have liked to work with Cosima even more. Experience the scientist side of her. She would have the chance when they were both in Microbiology. Did I tell Cosima I'm also taking Microbiology?
"Who do you have for Microbiology this fall?" Delphine turned her body slightly to face Cosima.
"Oh, easy. I got Mike," Cosima turned as well. She was speaking relatively casual for referencing a professor.
"Mike?"
"Professor Mayer," Cosima explained. The same professor she first saw at the department party before Spring break. "We go way back".
"Oh?" Delphine was curious as to what kind of relationship Cosima had with this teacher she had known separately for several years.
"He's from San Fran, too. He and my mom worked together at the university there. I never had the chance to have him as a teacher, but he was always at the events the department put on and would make sure there was grape juice there for me. I was probably, like, eleven or twelve."
"So that's where you get your wine taste from?" she nudged Cosima lazily as the woman rolled her eyes.
Delphine told Cosima about her fall schedule, about also having Professor Mayer for Microbiology II. They continued talking for a while, slowly finishing the second bottle of wine. Delphine registered that they hadn't really talked about Shay or the whole situation, and for that she was grateful. She wasn't ready for it yet. Maybe it was the dissonance between her acquaintanceship with Shay and the awful partner of Cosima she despised so much that was putting her off emotionally.
Around midnight Cosima finally decided she should get home, which was Shay's apartment at the moment, before she got a flurry of obscene texts again. Delphine gave Cosima a dulled expression of knowing, but Cosima waved it off. When they got to the main entrance, where Delphine usually saw her off, Cosima bravely tilted Delphine's head down so she could kiss her cheeks instead of the Frenchwoman this time. She chuckled at a wobbling Delphine as she pulled back, seemingly satisfied with making her aware of the intimate contact's effect. The blond had to will herself to let go of the grasp she had on the side of Cosima's shirt. Cosima wouldn't be on campus the next day, but she promised to text Delphine. She was mildly aware of her attachment growing for Cosima, and fully aware of the lack of care she had for addressing it.