Wednesday Evening - Chemistry Lab
Isabela extracted the test tubes from the centrifuge, grudgingly placing them in their rack. It was already 4:30 in the afternoon and she had been working on a project for her chemistry course most of the day. She pulled out her notebook, primed to mark down more failed results. 5ml ethanol, no reaction. 5ml ether, no reaction. 5ml… oh! One of the test tubes had turned from clear to an interesting blue color. Not what she was intending, but pretty. That's the color of Hawke's eyes… my new favorite color. Her brain surged of its own accord, running a slideshow of snapshots from the weekend. Hawke's smile. Her dorm room. The face she made when trying rum for the first time. Singing to each other in the Shelby. Hawke's naked body on Isabela's four post bed...
"'Bela?" A finger tapped at her shoulder, catching her attention. She quickly stood up straight, shaking her head and blinking to come down to Earth. Her lab partner, Lyna, looked back at her apprehensively. "Got something?"
Isabela looked down at her hand, wondering when the test tube ended up there. "Oh, no. Just a color change. No precipitate yet." She handed the sample to the other woman and yawned into her hand. This day has gone on far too long.
The pale brunette just stared back at her, paying no attention to the received object. "You alright? You seem kind of… out of it." She placed a concerned hand on the taller woman's elbow, tilting her head curiously. "I've never seen you so unenthusiastic about science before."
"I guess I'm just a little distracted." Understatement of the year. Isabela rubbed her forehead and pulled up a stool. She sunk onto the seat, feeling tired, confused, and just generally shitty.
"What's up?" Lyna pulled up another stool and looked back at her lab partner. Other than casual chatter as fellow students, the two knew very little about each other. The fact that they were practically strangers gave the tanned lady the peace of mind she needed to open up.
She bit her lip and tried to choose her words wisely. "I'm… seeing someone." The words seemed insufficient, but she couldn't think of a better way to explain things. Even at Kirkwall, 'there's this chick I'm banging' would be considered a bit crass.
The younger woman just spoke very calmly, almost like a therapist. "Is this a new relationship?"
"We just started dating this past weekend." Isabela cringed as she said it. It's only been a few days. Why do I feel so useless?
Lyna just nodded, smiling faintly. "That explains why you're sidetracked." Her classmate raised an eyebrow, not really understanding. "When my boyfriend and I first got together, I had a hard time focusing on school work."
The older woman took a deep breath, adjusting the sleeves of her lab coat. "How did you cope? I'm so new to this whole girlfriend thing…"
"Tell you what. I'll play around in here for a bit; you step out for a few, maybe make a phone call…" The other brunette stood and set her stool aside, handing Isabela her purse. "Sometimes you just need to hear their voice." She smiled warmly at the guarded woman, her green eyes glowing with sympathy.
"Oh. Thanks…" The tanned widow pulled out her cell phone and moved to exit the room, but she grew instantly anxious. She stood in the doorway, unsure how to proceed. She turned back to her lab partner, her face clouded in worry. What do I say?
As if reading Isabela's mind, Lyna took the phone from her hand, unlocking the screen for her. "Just say 'I was thinking of you'." She handed the taller woman back her phone, but all it gained her were some intermittent blinks. People actually use that line? "You weren't kidding when you said you were a noob." The younger student exhaled deeply as she shook her head, smirking slightly.
Isabela scrolled through her contacts, quickly finding her girlfriend's number. "Sex, I'm good with; dating, not so much." Her finger loomed over the call button, but she just couldn't close the distance. She could be busy. If she is, do I leave a voicemail? I think I should just send another text. That way I can choose my words… Why am I so nervous?
"If it's not too much to ask, who are you dating?" She looked up at her lab partner, whose eyes were focused on her shaking finger, which was still poised over a now darkened screen.
She cleared her throat. "Cassandra Hawke. A sophomore I met at a kegger." Isabela smiled sheepishly, but once she realized Lyna was just waiting patiently for more information, she kept talking. "Hawke's part of the debate team and women's rugby club. She likes sci-fi, vanilla coke, Disney movies, and classic rock. I think she has a little OCD, too. But she despises Sarah McLachlan… and isn't particularly fond of hard liquor either, come to think of it..."
The other brunette just chuckled at her description, covering her mouth with one hand. "I didn't realize you were into nerds."
She felt the need to argue that her girlfriend was a self-proclaimed geek, but didn't bother to pull semantics on someone who was being so nice to her. "Neither did I." She admitted.
"You said you've only been dating a few days?" Isabela held up one hand, signaling five days. "Wow. You've got it bad." Got… what, love? No! I'm not falling for Hawke. Not this fast. I can't… I won't.
"No, it's just… my sugars are low- Or maybe it was the sex. My hormones must be a little off kilter after all that... I mean, she was really, really good." She rubbed hard at the back of her neck, her eyes focusing on the cell phone. What's wrong with me?
Lyna reached out to her, placing a comprehending hand on her shoulder. "You didn't mention sex a minute ago. In fact, you mentioned everything but sex."
Isabela cleared her throat, briefly pondering why her mouth was suddenly so dry. "Huh… I guess so. I'm just gonna… step out for a sec." She picked up her phone in shaky hands, looking to her partner for approval.
"Good idea, Isabela. You look like you need some fresh air." With that final permission, she retreated to the hallway. You're going to call Hawke. You're going to hear her voice. You're going to make a dirty joke. Then you're going to feel better. No need to get all romantic and sentimental about this. It's just a quick phone call. A creature comfort, really… It's not like you need her, or anything. You've gone over two decades without her presence! But why do the days since last so long…? You know what; you can do this, Isabela. No big deal. You can do this…
Isabela pressed the call button compellingly and held the phone up to her ear. "Here goes nothing!"
Wednesday Evening - Debate Meeting
Hawke strode boldly into the conference room. Where her rugby club had been informed of her relationship against her will, she doubted her debate team had found out about Isabela just yet. Her private life remaining private here, she felt more at ease. Plus, she didn't have to deal with a dozen other women feeling all 'exposed and awkward'. There were only three other members of her debate team, and they were all male.
She threw on her best grin as she greeted her companions. "Good evening, gentlemen."
Anders looked up from a large stack of papers. "What's so good about it?" The ever-emotional conspiracy theorist was dressed in cargo pants, a button-up work shirt, and a black trench coat coated in a thin sheen of white and orange cat hair. His blonde hair was pulled back in a ponytail and he obviously hadn't shaved recently. Although he and Hawke were the same age and shared a history major, they had little else in common and only saw each other at debate functions. I wonder if he lines his coat with tin-foil to keep out 'government signals'…
"God has graced you with breath." Sebastian noted calmly from across the table. Sebastian Vael was a Religious Studies major, and spent nearly all of his time outside of class at church. He was polite and pious, but a little 'holier than thou' for Hawke's taste. She always felt like the 21 year old was secretly judging her and it made her uncomfortable. Either that, or his overabundance of cologne, brown slicked-back hair, thick Scottish accent, and less-than-humble fashion sense. White slacks, a white shirt, and a white vest? Doesn't he know it's past Labor Day?
"Should I send him a thank you card? A teddy bear, perhaps?" Anders retorted with a sneer.
Before the two men could get into another catfight (nearly a weekly occurrence), Cassandra asked the obvious question. "Hey, where are Raj and Sam?" She looked around the room and out of the doorway as she sunk into a chair.
Sebastian cleared his throat. "Professor Nelson is having technical difficulties with the coffee machine, and I believe Rajesh has the flu."
"So it's just us three for a bit?" He nodded solemnly. The young woman couldn't hold back her enthusiasm. "Yay…" She said sarcastically, mockingly throwing up spirit fingers.
"We not good enough for you, Hawke?" The blonde huffed from across the table.
As she was about to make a snarky comment, the rugby player's phone rang in her back pocket. She pulled it out to look at the screen and smiled smugly. "Saved by the bell! Excuse me; I've got to take this." She stood to leave, but couldn't wait to answer, lest it go to voicemail. She clicked 'accept call' before she was even out of the open door. "Hey sexy lady," she answered huskily as she escaped to the hallway.
"Hi Cassandra. Are you busy?" Isabela's voice was like a breath of fresh air to the stressed out winger.
She looked back through the windows of the conference room only to see her two teammates grumbling and bickering amongst themselves. "Not at all. What are you up to?" She leaned her back leisurely against the glass, glad to at least have the semblance of privacy.
"I just stepped out of the Chem lab for a moment. Needed to get away from… fumes."
Something about her tone made Hawke instantly worried and her stomach lurched. "Are you alright?" She asked hastily.
"Yes, I'm fine, sweetness… How are you?"
She still sounded kind of… off, but Cassandra placed a comforting hand on her gut and took a deep breath. She would tell me if she was hurt, wouldn't she? "I'm much better now that you're on the phone."
"Sick of reading my dirty texts?"
The young woman gave a throaty chuckle. That'll be the day. "No. But it's nice to hear your wonderful voice."
"That's very charming, Hawke. I… was thinking of you earlier."
She sounds… nervous? "Yeah? I was thinking about you, too." Her face broke into a huge toothy grin as she was now armed with the knowledge that her sentiments were reciprocated.
"What were you thinking about?"
There are sooo many different answers to that question. Cassandra chose the most wholesome of her options, since she would hear the wheels of a janitor's cart not far down the hall. "I was just sitting in a politics lecture wondering if this weekend was all a dream. It's fortunate that you called me. I was about to have a hacker buddy backtrace my text messages, just in case I was hallucinating everything else." And in truth, she nearly had asked Anders to check out her cell.
"How do you know I'm not an auditory hallucination?"
Isabela's voice was melodious and sexy, causing Hawke to shiver involuntarily. "Baby, if you are a symptom of my schizophrenia, I don't ever want treatment." She bit her lip hard, nervous about how her girlfriend would handle the sudden uncultured remark.
"How is it that you turn everything I say into flattery?" The comment came with only a small dose of sarcasm, and Red took that as a good sign.
"You're just easy to compliment, is all. I mean, have you looked in a mirror? You're the picture of perfection."
Isabela chuckled over the phone. "I don't know about all that. I am pretty hot, though."
Hawke's chest rumbled from somewhere deep. "Hell yeah, you are." The janitor wheeled past her, and she granted the woman a wave before turning to face the conference room window, steadying herself with a hand against the glass. Sebastian and Anders were still shooting each other dirty looks as they sorted through newspapers and political journals. Hawke let out a long sigh, wishing Isabela was there with her. "When can I see you again?" Her words oozed desperation, but she couldn't help it.
"I'm not really sure." Isabela sounded somewhat downtrodden herself, and her girlfriend realized she wasn't the only one who hated the distance between them, even if it was physically just a few blocks.
"What about tomorrow? I have a two hour gap between noon and two. Maybe we can get coffee or something?" Her voice was high-pitched and hopeful. Please, please, please…
There was a long breath exchanged through the line. "You don't drink coffee, Hawke."
Cassandra stuck her other hand in her pocket, turning to pace in the hallway. "No, but I can have hot chocolate or a doughnut… I really want to see you again…" The latter just poured out, and she couldn't stop it if she tried.
"Noon to two?"
Hawke bit her bottom lip anxiously, nodding despite Isabela's inability to see it. "Uh-huh."
"I think I can do that." Hawke actually let out an overzealous squeal as she jumped into the air, fist-bumping an imaginary person. Her girlfriend laughed lightly over the phone, and they silently shared mile-wide smiles. "Where do you want to meet up?"
The rugby player came back to reality and attempted to keep her tone somewhat professionally. It's coffee, not a proposal. You'll frighten her off if you get too excited. "There's a little coffee shop on the first floor of the dining hall we went to on Saturday."
"Sounds good."
It's sounds wayyy more than 'good' to me. Anders stood from his seat and waved at her through the window. Hawke released a sigh. "I've got to go. My debate team is waiting on me."
"I thought you said you weren't busy?" Red could almost hear her companion's eyebrow raise through the line, and she couldn't help but notice the smug tone of her voice.
"I am never too busy to take a call from Isabela Rivaini." She licked her lips lustfully. Why aren't you here so I can kiss you?
"Mm. I've got to get back to my lab. I'll see you tomorrow, Cassandra."
Hawke could imagine Isabela's words being punctuated with a wink, and her heart did a little backflip. "Good night, beautiful." Her girlfriend hung up first, and she immediately took a deep breath. Good God, I'm falling hard! I feel all warm and fuzzy, like a puppy. Yep, that settles it; I'm a lovesick puppy! I hope you're in it for the long haul, Ms. Rivaini, because you're never going to be able to get rid of me. Having caught a chronic case of the smiles, Hawke strolled back into the conference room, sliding coolly into her wheeled desk chair and spinning it about.
"So… who was that?" Anders asked with a smirk.
The winger took a moment to collect herself, trying not to be quite so obvious about her enraptured state. She looked at him directly and politely addressed his query. "If you must know, it was my girlfriend."
"Do you call all of your female friends 'sexy'?" Sebastian curiously tilted his head to her, a single eyebrow arched in judgment.
Cassandra laughed at his misinterpretation and crudely bumped her fists together. "No, Sebastian. She's my girlfriend. As in, intimate." He blushed brightly and became far more interested in the various highlighted and annotated documents in front of him.
"Who are you dating?" The other man asked casually.
Hawke bared her teeth, not wishing to further arm her acquaintances with her personal information. "None of your business, Blondie."
"That ugly, huh?" Anders chuckled from his seat.
Son of a…! She banged her fist on the table, collapsing an unstable stack of papers. "NO!"
"Then why won't you tell me?" He smiled back at her, somehow enjoying her frustration.
Cassandra took a calming breath, realizing that the only way to shut him up was to sate his curiosity. "Fine. Her name is Isabela. She's a chemistry major, and a TA for Anatomy and Physio. And she is far from ugly."
"Oh dear…" Sebastian grumbled as he piled the misplaced papers back together.
Hawke turned her chair toward him, fists clenched in her lap. "What? You gonna give me the whole 'God hates gays' spiel? Because it's a load of crap and I won't stick around to listen."
He cleared his throat and adjusted his vest, avoiding direct eye contact. "It is not for me to judge. I am merely concerned about some things I may have overheard at church."
"Like what?" Anders chimed in.
"I can't speak to any specifics, but some of her students' prayers mention a certain… lust for her." He mumbled quietly, as if speaking too loud about it was a sin.
The rugby player couldn't help but laugh haughtily at the comment. "I don't doubt that. She's the most amazingly gorgeous woman… I've never met anyone quite like Isabela." She settled her jaw in one hand, staring dreamily off into space.
"You love her?" He asked, already assuming as much.
Hawke blinked a few times and dropped her arm on the table, surprised by the comment. "I think it's a bit early to say that for sure…" Liar. You want her face tattooed on your arm and your kids in her belly. Wait a second! Damn, five days in and I'm already thinking about kids? … I need my head checked.
"But you've given her your body." Sebastian noted coldly.
Cassandra shook the cobwebs from her mind, focusing on the present. "We had sex, Sebastian. Say it with me, S.E.X. Sex. Intercourse. Coitus. Bumping uglies. Knocking boots. The horizontal tango. Full contact football. Discovery Channel after dark." She stretched the colloquialisms out, causing the man to cringe and turn away.
Anders sighed loudly, looking over at her. "That's too bad. I was kind of hoping you were straight..."
"Alright, alright. Enough about me." She waved the conversation off, trying not to bite the heads off of the men in the room. "We've got affirmatives to work on, articles to read, and only a few more minutes until Sam's gonna burst through that door, wired on caffeine and raring to go."
"Yes, let's return to the matter at hand." The not-so-humble disciple nodded as he shuffled papers about.
"Hey, Hawke, if you decide to play for the other team…" The blonde smirked brazenly.
The winger just looked him dead in the eye, an amused smile gracing her lips. "Anders?"
"Yeah?" His brown eyes widened in excitement, perceiving his more-than-friendly feelings to be mutual.
"I'm allergic to cats." Cassandra stated with a sad look on her face. It was complete bullshit, of course, but it was the quickest and least insulting way to break ties with the feline-fetishing conspiracy theorist.
Sebastian snickered quietly as Anders cracked his knuckles. "Back to work then!"