‘I was getting ready. I like to take my time,’ she pouted.
‘So, shall we get breakfast then?’
‘I thought you’d had yours. When I saw you with your friends,’ she faltered.
‘Nope, I waited, I told you I would.’ He closed the distance between them, eased up alongside her and slipped his hand into hers, ‘Do you mind?’
She squeezed her hand gently against his, ‘Not at all.’
Hand in hand, they walked up to the food counter and then let go as they perused the range on offer. Caitlin headed straight for the cereal, poured some muesli in a bowl, and covered it in yoghurt, before helping herself to an orange juice.
‘That’s very healthy – unlike mine,’ Steven noted, as he glanced at his plate of greasy bacon, sausages and fried egg.
‘I’m not a huge breakfast eater. My appetite picks up as the day goes on.’
‘Glad to hear it. Can I get you a tea or coffee?’
‘Tea please.’ She could not believe how civilised things had got.
‘Coming right up,’ he raised his eyebrows.
Trays in hand, they made their way to the table, and sat down to prying eyes.
‘Hi there, I’m Charles. Are you settling into your new room okay?’ he asked, his tone mellow. He wore small rectangular glasses, which he pushed up his nose with his finger. He was the perfect picture of an intellectual. His neatly combed hair only added to the effect.
Caitlin swallowed her mouthful, and replied, ‘Yes, it’s fine.’
‘Good to hear it,’ he added, before he turned to Steven. ‘So, as I was saying earlier, how did you get on with your Contract Law essay? Do you know when we get the results?’
‘It was fine, did most of it on my laptop in the library. I think we don’t get it back until after Christmas.’
‘Really, that long?’ Charles paused and frowned, ‘I was hoping to tell my parents some of my results so far.’
‘I’m not bothered, I’ll just tell my parents that everything’s going fine.’ Steven shrugged his shoulders.
‘Oh, they always want to know. It’s a trifle habit, but they mean well,’ Charles raised his nose in the air in a superior manner to complement his accent.
‘I can imagine,’ Steven added, with a hint of sarcasm.
‘Anyway, must go, I like to be punctual,’ Charles stated. In what looked like a well-practiced manoeuvre, he took his tray and marched off.
‘He’s a bit stiff,’ Caitlin giggled.
‘You can’t help your upbringing. He’s alright. Obsessed with doing well, but he’s okay.’
‘I bet you don’t think badly of anyone do you?’ she challenged.
‘Well,’ he mused, before breaking out into a laugh, ‘no, not usually.’
‘Is there anything about you that’s not to like?’
Steven gulped down his mouthful, and kinked his head to the side. ‘I’ll have to get back to you on that one, but I’m sure I’ve got lots and lots of faults. Just wait till you get to know me better.’
‘I look forward to it.’ As Caitlin stared, she became suspended in space – unable to look away from his eyes, caught in his world of unique amber. She blinked and forced herself to look away as the heat from her cheeks would give her away.
‘Do you have a lot of lectures today?’ he asked casually, as he popped a mouthful of sausage and bacon into his mouth.
‘Today is one of my busiest days, and I have loads of catching up to do, so I think it’s going to be a late one for me in the library.’
He wiped his mouth with a napkin. ‘Poor you, maybe I’ll hang around to check that you’re keeping sane.’
‘I think you would drive me to distraction, I need to concentrate.’
‘Awww, are you saying I’m a bad influence?’
‘No, well, oh, you know what I mean.’ Caitlin put her hands on her face.
Steven took hold of one of her hands, and she tried to relax.
‘Just kidding, I’ll let you work. But, I hope I can see you tonight? I don’t mind meeting you at the library later. We could go for a drink in the union.’
‘That’d be great,’ she smiled, ‘shall I text you when I’m close to finishing?’
‘Sounds good to me,’ he said. ‘I guess we’d better get going or we’ll be late.’
She glanced at her watch, hastily got up and spilt her remaining juice on the table. ‘I am such a klutz,’ she huffed.
‘Don’t worry about it,’ he reassured, as he placed a few napkins on it. ‘Shall we go?’
Caitlin nodded and got her rucksack. After a few strides, he slipped his hand into hers again. It made her shiver involuntarily. She had it bad.
Chapter 14
Dancing
Steven watched Caitlin from a distance. A part of him would have enjoyed staying there for a while to observe. He loved the way she moved her lips as she wrote and fussed with her hair as it fell over her face. All of her little mannerisms were completely engrossing, addictive. He wanted more. This was the reason he had to get closer to her; watching was not enough.
He decided to take her by surprise and placed his hands over her eyes, ‘Time’s up.’
She jumped in her seat, went for his hands, and squealed, ‘Steven, is that you?’
‘Who else are you expecting?’
Conscious of the other people around, she lowered her eyes and gestured for him to sit down next to her.
Once he had sat down, she whispered, ‘I’m still working, you’re early.’
‘I’ll read next to you until you finish.’ He picked up one of her books and feigned interest. When he saw it was a book on algebra, he tossed it back on the table. ‘Then again, maybe not this one.’
‘Something wrong with algebra?’
‘Nope, nothing at all. It’s just I’m allergic to maths.’
‘Allergic?’ she challenged, with the pout he was beginning to love.
‘I come out in a rash if anything number related gets close to me. Trust me; you don’t want to see it. It’s really disgusting.’
She rolled her eyes, ‘I’m not allergic.’ She nudged her shoulder against his, ‘In fact, it seems to take to me very well. Sooo let me get on with it.’
‘Really? Are you still working? Come on, you know you want to take a break,’ he pleaded, doing his best impression of a puppy dog face.
‘I told you you’d be a bad influence,’ she accused, with a wry grin.
‘Not a bad influence, just ensuring your sanity,’ he argued and used his most diplomatic voice.
‘Tell you what, let me finish this up and I’ll meet you downstairs in ten minutes.’
‘Deal,’ he cheered.
Success.
He got up and glanced at her for a few seconds longer.
‘Need to finish,’ she hissed, without looking up.
‘Okay, I’m going. Can’t a guy look?’ He laughed as he walked away.
Steven resumed his original vantage point and stole another glance. Her lips were moving again. This time, however, she knew he was there. She glared and waved him away with her hands. Head slanted, he apologised via a sad pout. A part of him enjoyed getting a rise out of her.
The library entrance was near enough deserted. It was Monday, there were no exams looming and the weather was foul. Most students had, wisely, called it a day. Caitlin had some catching up to do so she had no choice. The last thing Steven wanted was for her to fail and leave. He just wanted to be with her. It was that simple. He found a seat at the entrance and waited, then picked up one of the student flyers, another advert for a student social. Or better said, piss up. He had attended quite a few of those and he was already bored.
He was not interested in the ‘getting drunk or high to be cool’ routine. Perhaps he was pretentious. He just did not need alcohol or drugs to have a good time. He enjoyed a drink just as much as the next person; he just did not understand the point of dousing himself in it.
‘Penny for your thoughts,’ Caitlin c
hirped, coming up alongside him.
‘Hey there, done already?’
‘Yeah, I needed a break. You were right. What’s that then?’ She pointed at the flyer.
‘Nothing much, another social,’ he replied, and then flung it back on the table.
‘I have not had the chance to go to many of those. Are they any good?’
‘Depends.’
‘On what?’
Steven hesitated for a second. Should he be completely open with her? ‘Well, I don’t know you well enough yet. This may be your thing. I just don’t drink a lot. So being in an environment where the challenge is to get as drunk as possible is not my idea of fun. But, if it’s your thing – fair enough.’
Caitlin chuckled, ‘It’s not my thing either. But, if I’m honest, I do like to dance. Nothing wrong with that.’
‘What kind of dancing do you like to do?’ He had actually learnt ballroom dancing at his school.
‘Are you an expert on dance?’ She seemed impressed by the question, yet amused.
Embarrassed, he replied too quickly, ‘No, not at all. Just didn’t know if you were like a professional dancer or something. You could do synchronised swimming for all I know.’
‘Oh, okay. Well in that case, no I’m not a professional. I just like to dance socially, you know going to discos and concerts.’
‘Right.’ He could teach her in time.
‘Do you like dancing? Or, is that below you?’ She batted her eyelids. It was cute.
His teasing the previous night, in relation to singing, had not gone unnoticed. ‘Oh, I’m a pro. I can dance anything,’ he smirked. Then he relaxed his features and mellowed, as he decided to open up, ‘I was forced to learn ballroom dancing at my old school. Don’t tell anyone or I’ll have to kill you.’
‘With death looming, I’ll keep it to myself.’
‘Shall we go then?’
‘Where to?’ She was not making things easy for him.
Why did he feel the need to impress her? As much as he wanted to relax, he could not help being nervous. He did not want to disappoint her. For all he knew, she might have changed her mind and decided he was a dork. Even though she said she liked him, she could go off him. In the last five minutes, all he had managed to do was convince her he was a tea total, ballroom dancing public school boy. Impressive.
‘Students’ union. We can shoot some pool,’ he asserted.
Appearances, it was all about appearances. So long as she thought he was confident, nothing else mattered.
***
Everything about Steven impressed Caitlin. The more she got to know him, the more she liked. Even though, at first, she was convinced he was a super cool tough guy. Now she saw she had got him all wrong. There was a lot more going on behind the smouldering façade. Ballroom dancing. That one definitely topped the lot. She could not wait to see that.
‘Are you sure you want to play against me?’ Caitlin jested, ‘I might make a comeback and thrash you. Or, I might have to kill you if you don’t let me get at least one ball in.’
‘I’ll play nice, I promise,’ Steven reassured.
‘You better. Last time you annihilated me. It was so embarrassing,’ she winced. She still had to get over her defeat.
‘I’m sorry. Was I terrible? Sometimes I can be a bit of a show-off. I told you I had many faults.’
A man who admitted his shortcomings, now this was impressive. ‘I’ll let you off for the last time, just play nice today.’
‘Anything you say.’
The way he said it sounded condescending. She found it so hard to read him. Was he being serious, or teasing again? ‘Promise? Or I won’t play,’ she pouted. She folded her arms and stopped as they reached the entrance, not up for being trumped tonight.
‘Sorry, I did not mean to upset you. I can be very sarcastic too, another of my faults.’
‘They’re all coming out tonight.’ As soon as the words were out of her mouth she wished she could take them back. He was getting a rise out of her and she had no idea why. It was like his whole character excited and at the same time irritated her.
‘Let’s go play, I don’t want to expose myself anymore,’ he joked, and then took her hand in his.
The feel of his hand made her relax. It seemed he really liked her. It was confusing and irrational to Caitlin, who could not understand why he seemed interested in her. She was convinced she was nothing special – there had to be a catch!
*
The student union was not busy, but there were enough students around to make it comfortable. Some students were already playing pool, so Steven slid a few pound coins on the table to hold a place. After sitting down within eyeshot of the pool table, Caitlin started to wonder what she had let herself in for. She barely knew Steven. She had a lot of work to do to catch up, and Christmas was just around the corner. Surely, now was not the time to date. She just knew she could not resist him.
‘So, how have you been anyway? I didn’t know whether to ask, but I don’t want you to think I haven’t thought about what happened,’ Steven asked, then took a sip from his beer.
‘It’s okay; I don’t think I’m going to break down at the moment.’
He waited for her to continue.
‘It’s just, I don’t know. Georgina was,’ she paused, the back of her throat started to constrict.
‘You don’t have to say anything,’ he interrupted, ‘I shouldn’t have asked.’
‘No, it’s okay. I have to deal with what happened. I guess I don’t understand it. Georgina did seem depressed and homesick, but… oh, I don’t know how to explain this. She wasn’t the suicidal type, I just know she wasn’t. I can’t help feeling like something else happened. I just don’t know what else could explain her death.’
‘From what I read, it didn’t seem suspicious. I guess no-one knows why these things happen.’
‘It’s just,’ she paused, unsure whether to continue. She made up her mind, and carried on, ‘I heard she was missing a lot of blood.’
‘Blood?’ The colour seemed to drain from his face.
‘I know, shocking, right?’
Just then, the sound of glass smashing on the floor broke the subdued atmosphere. Caitlin turned to face it and watched in horror as she saw a member of staff had dropped the glasses she was collecting. A shard had accidentally embedded itself, and blood streamed down her lower leg. She took a seat and someone applied pressure to the spot. It was not life-threatening, but it looked and sounded painful.
‘Ouch,’ Caitlin grimaced and turned back to face Steven.
His eyes were fixed on the girl’s legs, the expression slightly scary.
‘Steven?’ Caitlin said, trying to break his trance.
It looked as though he had to force himself to look away from the girl, as he turned to face Caitlin again, ‘I don’t know what came over me. The smell, it’s so strong isn’t it?’
‘Smell, what smell? Are you hallucinating? Are you telling me you can smell the blood from here?’
‘No, no,’ he shook his head and laughed, ‘I can’t smell it. Of course, I can’t. Just a memory. When I was younger I cut my arm really badly when I fell off my bike, and I’ve never forgotten the smell up close.’
‘Oh, right.’ She was unconvinced but he looked spooked, so she wasn’t going to push it. His face had paled. ‘Do you want to go back to Halls? We can play pool another time. You don’t look so good.’
‘You know, I think you’re right, another time.’
Caitlin drained the last of her drink. Steven’s drink was still practically full. ‘Did you want to finish?’
‘No, it’s alright. Like I said, I’m not a big drinker.’
A moment ago, she was vulnerable as she relived the memory of Georgina, now the tables had turned. Caitlin wanted to comfort Steven instead. Something had shaken him, and she had no idea what that was.
Chapter 15
Family Time
‘What’s up with you? Can I take some of
that?’
Caitlin let go of the tinsel and looked up at her older brother, Mark, ‘Sorry, I can’t bottle this.’ She moved to the side to let him pass and continued to twist the gold and green tinsel along the banister. To her annoyance, he stopped and sat down on the step above her.
‘So, are you in love?’ He grabbed the end of the tinsel and wrapped it around her neck. ‘That’s the only thing that makes girls act so silly.’
Caitlin pouted and pulled the tinsel off. ‘You’re just jealous. No-one seems to think you’re much of a catch?’
‘I have to swat them away like flies. They all want me,’ he smirked, as he leant back and flicked his long fringe off his face.
Caitlin knew he was not lying. With his bulging muscles, from his regular workout sessions at the gym, and his natural tan her brother had always been popular with the girls. And she had to admit he had a cracking sense of humour.
‘As if,’ she guffawed, in a bid to peg him down to size. ‘Anyway, love is quite a strong word which you would know nothing about.’ She ran her hands through the tinsel and relished the velvety touch.
‘So, do I get to meet the guy to make sure he meets our standard or is he out of bounds?’ Mark enquired, cocky as usual.
‘Only if you come to see me at uni, but I’m unlikely to invite you.’
‘I knew there was a guy.’ He beamed triumphantly and folded his arms across his chest.
‘Fine, yes, there is someone,’ she huffed.
I’m always right,’ he smirked, as he got up and made his way to the bottom of the steps. I’m happy for you sis, but can you cool it just a tad – some of us have finals to study for.’
‘Hey, I have to work too, you know.’
‘How scary, first year exams – like they count for anything. All you have to do is pass! How difficult can that be?’
She could not help raising her voice, ‘Fine! Whatever! I’ll try and keep my mood down for you, okay.’
‘Thanks, much appreciated.’
Caitlin shook her head in frustration and focused her energy on decorating the staircase. Reluctantly, she acknowledged that Steven would like her brother. They both shared that inner confidence money couldn’t buy.
***
Steven woke up on Christmas day and wondered what his parents had in store for him. His mum had already coerced him into helping to set up the decorations and the Christmas Nativity display. He had only avoided going to Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve by faking a stomach bug. It was the only thing that got on his nerves about his Spanish stepmother – she was an avid Roman Catholic. Even though she would not force him to go to mass, he did not want to hurt her feelings by admitting that he was not into religion. The memory of his Communion would scar him for life – dressed in white, all angelic.