"Cosima?" A voice faintly asked from the real world. Cosima pulled out her earphones and suddenly the heart of the coffee shop erupted into her ears, her senses heightening to include the aromas of freshly ground strong coffee and the sweetness of the bakery selection. Her mass concentration on everything around her swamped her senses, and then she realised something must have caught her attention in the first place. Turning and looking up from her books she caught the eyes of Delphine standing beside her looking down at the coffee table and her work, her arm holding onto the thin strap of her bag on her shoulder.
"Oh!" Cosima grinned, her couldn't help but grin and then she stopped herself looking to her work and back at the woman. Her heart was going crazy! "Hi! Ur, do you want to urr sit?" Cosima was already trying to clear the 4 person coffee table in the sofa lounge of the café that she had taken over for the past hours. Delphine opened her mouth in a slight oh shape, turned to look to the rest of the cafe and then back again with a polite and friendly smile. Cosima stopped clearing, sensing a little awkwardness. God it had been a few days but Cosima just...so frigging into this girl she couldn't get her head around the fact the girl was straight.
"Oh sorry, I..I was just with..." Delphine was looking behind her over her shoulder, Cosima's excitement and heart beat slowed down and she sunk a little in her seat.
"No it's totally cool, go, I've got a tonne of work to do-" Cosima looked back to her work, not really sure what to do with her hands she sorta waved like a surrender and then placed them on her work papers.
"I was just with someone so I am free now, if you want to have some coffee, I can buy?" Delphine lost her awkwardness and her accent was strong and confident. Cosima perked up again, but didn't turned her head straight away, she let the words Delphine said sink into her mush of a brain and then smiled to her. But Delphine was already heading to the counter to order some drinks. Cosima moved her now empty coffee mug looking in to see the small brown ring at the bottom and then put it on the next table over. She quickly covered up what she was actually researching about the DYAD institute and stuffed all the papers she hadn't yet read into her bag and the rest into a bin that was by the table. Destroy the evidence and then there is no case right, Cosima thought. She didn't want to hide it from Delphine but the way Delphine was with Dr Leekie, their contact, closeness and their-
"Here we are." Delphine announced as she moved around the chairs next to Cosima and took a seat on her sofa. Cosima immediately felt warm but tensed up, their kiss it was totally hot but it was so ruined by the rejection. Delphine placed the mug of black coffee in front of her and her own latte off her tray on onto the table. "What are you working on?" Delphine said as she picked up the steaming mug and took a sip. It wasn't the fact the coffee would be amazingly hot and that it would burn her that made her stare, it was the way Delphine licked her lips after she swallowed that enchanted her. Delphine smiled and looked from Cosima's lips and back to her eyes. Cosima felt the same compulsions come over her like they did when they kissed, and then she laughed a little and shook her head looking to her work. Pushing her loose dreds around her neck to her opposite shoulder she picked up some sheets.
"Oh like urm, I am looking at stem cells lines from like-"
"-Cosima I really want to talk." Delphine cut in, Cosima silenced and looked to her, and moved back, moving her body so that she was facing her and pulled her leg up on the sofa. "I have been thinking about that kiss constantly..." Delphine said, she was twisting her body to face Cosima, and took another sip of her freaking hot latte to wait for the words to hit Cosima. Cosima felt something in the words like an edge or a purpose behind just putting that in there. But then she felt this bravado come over her in what Delphine might be meaning?
"Like not in a bad way?" Cosima asked with a restrained grin, trying not to seem desperate but freaking out inside. She moved her hands to her lap and her fingers which were covered in rings were playing with each other. Delphine closed her eyes, holding the mug near her lips. Cosima studied the fascinating way her lips caressed the edge of the mug. Damn she hoped to god that Delphine was not her monitor, if she wasn't then maybe hitting on her wouldn't cause her intense excitement and dread at the same time. Also if she wasn't a monitor they could totally be friends forever and she could always see the Frenchie whenever she wanted.
"Like...I know as a scientist that sexuality is more like a spectrum rather than polar opposites..but I think I am the exception." Delphine said this so apologetically, but in a way that just made Cosima freeze in thought. Suddenly Cosima burst from frozen GIF to video on fast forward, she grinned and frowned and then grinned again her hands coming to her aid waving about even if she wasn't yet talking. She turned to her work, thought for another and then turned back. Had she accidentally affirmed Delphine's heterosexuality? Cosima physically slapped herself in the forehead this time and not mentally. "Non non! No this is not about you, it's just I always find myself attached to people and then I realise that it could be misinterpreted." Delphine was getting all nervous now like Cosima, she put her latte down and then started talking with her hands, a little less frantically though. "No what I am trying to say is..oh...I-"
"Del it's totally cool, I get it. You're straight, I read you wrong and that's that." Cosima was dying inside but totally got it, she couldn't pry as much as she so wanted to. She just kept grinning even though she just wanted to like scream in sexual frustration, but she was bigger than attraction. Stupid chemicals. She turned back and put both of her feet on the floor, looking over her notes and papers to distract herself. Delphine saw the hidden upset that she had caused her new 4 day old friend.
"Yes but..I know I am chemically attracted to men, but I mean...you are different." Delphine tried to defend herself. Cosima knew she should probably take this as a Beth and Paul scene, she loved him and he wouldn't love her back but wouldn't leave. Cosima wanted Delphine but Delphine didn't want her back in the same way. If this was some monitor bullshit Cosima would take it any day over not having this smoking hot French woman in her life. Sure it had taken her until 28 and her PhD to find her, but she wouldn't give her up.
"Different?" Cosima asked hopeful in the response, her voice cracked a little but she was so intent on finding out how, scientific curiosity of course. For the first time she picked up her own mug and sipped on the black liquid. There was something in it that she had not expected, it was spiced pumpkin syrup. It was her favourite..how did Delphine know? Delphine saw the smile that Cosima expressed by instinct when she tasted the spice.
"Oui. I can't put my finger on it, but you are a...you're a-" Delphine squinted her eyes in thought, looking from Cosima's eyes to her mouth then her body and back again. Cosima's heart was fluttering from the masses of blood rushing to her cheeks. "..a cheeky woman Cosima." Delphine took a sip of her latte and smiled as she did, liking her lips. Cosima was going wild again. Delphine was so into her she could freaking tell, but making a move wouldn't do any good, so she just winked liking her own lips and looked down to her hands. She saw Delphine put her drink down after taking another sip, then her hands disappeared and there was a sudden anticipating silence. Cosima looked up and saw Delphine transfixed on her. Cosima stopped smirking, she could see the curious desire in Delphine's eyes and how her hands was slowly coming up to her face. Cosima took a deep breath and exhaled, biting her lip and worrying about what she should do, should she kiss her again, let her make the first move or ignore it because obviously she is super bad at jumping to conclusions.
"Delphine Beraud, what am I going to do with you?" Cosima whispered and bit her lip again. There was a flicker of something over Delphine's face and then it vanished. It was enough to make Cosima loose her train of thought only for half a second before it turned to tunnel vision on Delphine's face.
"Be my friend?" Delphine offered, turning and picking up her latte once more, looking over it to the sheets of paper on the table. Cosima sighed silently, rolled her eyes and chewed her lip. She was so falling for this girl and it was clouding what was actually going on. Delphine was probably just looking at her and saying that she liked Cosima as a friend, but because she didn't say those exact words straight away she assumed the best.
"Sure." Cosima replied with a helpless enthusiasm, Delphine knew she had hurt the girl but ignored it for the better.
"Great, now please walk me through this maybe I could help?" Delphine picked up some paper and briefly scanned it before moving on. Cosima let all the sexual tension and stress out of her and pushed her glasses up her face to look down on the words.
"Sure." Cosima again stated, this time more matter of factly the allure and confidence shot down slightly. Cosima picked up some of her initial notes on stem cells and began to talk about it. All the while she avoided Delphine's eyes and knew they were looking at her in such a way that would make her melt and forget. So she chose not to look.
One thing was for sure, Delphine was playing with her...and to be honest she liked it.