Page 29 of Study You

“Not bad. I’m enjoying it more than last semester. The modules this year are right up my street. I…noticed you crack on with your assignments like the world is going to end. What’s up with that?”

“Oh, I have a lot of time at home. I care for my mum, so once she’s settled, I tend to just get on with what I need to do. Then I’m not worrying about how I’m going to spend my weekends, you know? Or if I have a job on, I don’t have to split my time…or myself…a million different ways.”

Deena tipped her beer towards Finn. “That’s dedication.”

“I’ve been wanting to enrol for a long time now. Since I have the chance, I’m going to get those decent grades at the end of it all.” Finn was proud of the dedication she’d put into studying so far. She had no plans to lessen that, even if Gillian had made her question whether being in her classes was the right idea this week. “And it’s nice to have another mature student on my course. I was worried I’d be the odd one out before it began.”

“Yeah, I worried about that, too.” Deena lifted her phone when it started to ring again and groaned. “Right, give me two minutes, and I’ll be back. If I don’t answer, they won’t stop calling.”

“You got it.” Finn nodded.

As Deena turned to walk away, Gillian stepped into the bar. Deena stopped, said something to her, and then weaved around Gillian until she was outside.

Finn lowered her eyes and toyed with her pint of beer. If she’d known this would become a place Gillian enjoyed, Finn would have found somewhere else to drink. She didn’t want outside of campus to become an issue for either of them. She wasn’t into all that drama and upheaval.

“Happy Birthday, Finn.” Gillian’s gentle voice sent the hairs on Finn’s arms upright. “I shouldn’t be here, but I wanted to see you.”

Finn swallowed as she lifted her gaze to Gillian. She refused to admire her tonight. What good would it do? Finn was trying to move past all of this. If she entertained Gillian for a second, it would undo the work she’d done since Wednesday. “Yeah. Thanks.”

Deena came back in, a scowl on her face. “Will I ever get to have a night out?”

“Everything okay?” Finn eyed Gillian briefly as she stepped away and made her way to the bar. Deena sunk down in her seat, sighing. “Hey, what’s going on?”

“I have to leave in a few minutes. I’m just waiting for a cab.”

“Oh. I’m…sorry to hear that.”

Deena shrugged. “I should have known it would happen. I’ll explain everything some other time.” Deena glanced over at Gillian. “Didn’t expect to see any lecturers in here.”

“No, I know. Can’t say I’ve ever seen her in here before.” Finn hated lying, but she had no choice. She had put herself in this position.

“Should you…invite her over for a drink? Would that be weird?”

Oh, if only Deena had any idea what had been going on here. A social drink with Gillian Masters was the least weird thing to happen lately. “Nah. She’s probably meeting people. And if you’re leaving, I’m going to head off too. No use sitting around here on my own.”

“I’m so sorry, Finn.” Deena placed her hand over Finn’s, regarding her with an apologetic smile. “I hate to let you down.”

“Hey,” Finn said, turning her hand over and squeezing Deena’s. “Don’t even worry about it. You have things going on, and I get that. Completely. I’m just grateful that you showed up at all.”

Deena’s phone pinged, alerting her to the taxi waiting outside. “I’ll see you Monday, yeah?”

“Yeah.” Finn got to her feet and pulled Deena into a hug. She turned her face to Deena’s ear as she said, “Look, I don’t know what’s going on, but I’m always here if you need to talk or vent, okay?”

Deena pulled back, holding Finn at arm’s length. “I appreciate that. You be careful getting home.”

“I will. See you Monday.”

Finn watched Deena as she left and got into her taxi. She turned back, moved towards the bar, and caught Morgan’s attention. “I’m headed off. Could I get the bill, please?”

“Sure. Early night for a reason, or…?” Morgan frowned. “The night is only just beginning, and your date has already left. Even I know you can make women swoon in seconds, so something happened.”

“She had to leave. And she wasn’t my date.” Finn felt Gillian’s presence beside her, where she sat on a stool. “Just the bill, please, Morgan.”

“Alright, alright. Give me a few minutes.” Morgan held up her hands and served the guy who was waiting further down the bar.

Finn tapped her fingers against the bar, puffing out her cheeks. She didn’t do awkward very well, and this was a reminder of that.

“Please don’t leave because of me,” Gillian said, her voice small and non-commanding. She sounded entirely different to how she usually did. “I’ll leave.”

---