Chapter 2: Chapter 2
“Really crowded in here today, isn’t it?” Liz glanced up, so Andrea quickly added “Hi, I’m Andrea.” She offered a handshake, suddenly wondering if someone had sucked the air from the library, and with no idea why she was so nervous.
Liz smiled and accepted the handshake, only to find herself shocked to the core by the surge of some unnamed feeling she got from it. She pulled her hand back slowly, curious and confused. “Hi Andrea. I’m Liz. And yeah, it’s packed. Thanks for letting me join you here.”
“No problem,” Andrea shrugged as she glanced around the table. “Oh, Anthropology, huh?” she gestured toward the stack of books. “Is that your focus of study?”
“Hmm? Oh, no, at least not yet. I actually studied theatre when I went to college before, but I’ve only just returned to take a few classes and see if I want to pursue any of them further. It’s funny, when I first started in January, my dad and my best friend both asked what made me think to do this and I honestly couldn’t tell them. I chalk it up to being at a bit of a crossroads in my life, I suppose. That, and now my son’s older, I feel like I can spend some time on things for me, you know?”
Liz really couldn’t say why she was opening up so quickly and completely, but she couldn’t deny that in her gut, she felt safe. Like she had with Michael. She hadn’t thought of him this much in a while, not this directly, anyway. But before she could get lost in those thoughts, Andrea was talking again.
“Oh, how old is he?”
She smiled. “Lucas is almost eleven. I’m planning to surprise him with a Lord of the Rings birthday party in July. We’re big fans, and he wants to visit the real Hobbiton in New Zealand someday. But for now, I’m hoping to put together some fun themed activities and snacks. He has no clue.”
“Oh, that sounds fun. If I ever have kids, I hope to do stuff like that with them,” Andrea said.
Liz watched her new acquaintance curiously. It had been a long time since someone had just struck up a conversation with her, without a trigger like a class project or a shared break at work. More than that, she felt a kinship of some sort with this young woman. She smiled again, more genuinely this time. “I’m sure you will.” She couldn’t quite read Andrea’s expression, but they quickly returned to their individual studies.
It wasn’t until the next day when Liz had another study break that she found the note from Andrea with her phone number carefully printed under her name and the message “drinks to celebrate when finals are over?” She blinked at it, wondering if it really was what it looked like. Had Andrea asked her out? Should she call her, or maybe text her? She hadn’t dated a woman since before marrying Kevin (not that being married had deterred Kevin). She suspected there was a fairly large age gap, though, which made her wonder what they might have in common.
* * * *
Andrea couldn’t get Liz out of her head for days. She’d sat there quietly, pretending to study for another hour or so. When Liz excused herself to the restroom, Andrea took the chance and left a note with her number. She couldn’t explain it, but Andrea felt drawn to Liz, like she needed to talk to her more and desperately wanted to spend some time with her in a more relaxed and intimate setting. Andrea hoped Liz would find the note, hoped she would actually hear from her, but she was so busy with typical end of semester crap that she couldn’t dwell on it, which Andrea had to admit was probably a good thing. Andrea thought Liz had to be just as busy with her own classes and finals, and that’s why she wasn’t calling. Never mind that she really had no reason to call a complete stranger.
Oh geez, what am I doing? Andrea thought.Was I too pushy, like an entitled dude-bro or something? I mean, she might not even be into women. Is this all ridiculous? What if she just thinks I’m a kid? Not that it’ll matter if she never calls.
Almost a week after their first meeting, Andrea was trying to focus on history and stop daydreaming. She thought coffee might help, and then decided the universe must sometimes like her when she saw Liz ahead of her in the coffee line. She tried not to watch too obviously as Liz flipped through some flash cards while she waited. Andrea was still wondering how to approach her when Liz grabbed her coffee and walked right by on the way out. Andrea felt her heart drop a little when she thought Liz didn’t recognize her.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone