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It was quiet and comfortable with just the two women. Jackie laid on the bed, eyes closed, savoring the calm moment. Her blonde bangs slightly covered her face. Catherine sat propped up on her side, admiring her. Slowly, her slender hand tucked a loose blonde strand behind her ear. The younger girl stirred, causing her to smile warmly.
“You know,” Catherine started, “I’ve wanted you from the first time I saw you in Hecht’s office?”
Jackie’s eyes opened, looking back at her. She recalled that first day on campus, sitting in that tiny chair being handed her schedule; a brand new life.
“And the first time you came over here I remember thinking,” she continued, “oh my god! She’s gonna have a heart attack and die.”
A deeper, more genuine laugh emerged from her throat this time, “what?”
“Oh come on–” Catherine teased, “I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone that scared in my entire life.”
Jackie shifted herself up, now looking down at Catherine.
“I wasn’t scared,” she protested.
“Really?” she questioned, “so you were just what– faking it for my benefit?”
There was a brief moment of silence between the two, before Jackie smiled wide.
“Okay,” she admitted, “maybe I was a little scared.”
The older woman snorted, shifting herself to lay on her back. She didn’t say anything beyond a powerful stare into her eyes.
“Okay maybe I was a little terrified,” Jackie corrected herself, “but you can’t tell me you don’t know that everyone around here is afraid of you.”
Catherine scooched closer to her, lessening the gap between them on the bed.
“I can’t do anything about that!” she protested.
“You’re intimidating.”
“What did you think I was gonna do?” Catherine whispered quietly now.
“How would I know?” Jackie replied, looking at her.
“Right… right…” her gaze shifted downward, “cause, I’m a vampire. I totally forget that sometimes.”
“You’re old enough…” the younger woman teased.
Catherine replied immediately with a quick slap of her arm playfully.
“Ouch,” Jackie faked a flinch.
There was a small moment where the two maintained eye contact, both wishing it could stay like this. That was until the actor was promptly reminded of her future away in L.A.
“I should get going…” she sheepishly admitted, “I gotta get some sleep.”
Jackie pulled the silk cover off of herself, getting out of her bed.
“Really?” the older woman protested, voice wavering, “I thought your flight wasn’t until tomorrow night.”
“It’s not but I have an interview in the morning…” she sheepishly admitted, “with some stupid magazine show. They wanna get footage of me walking around campus or something– I don’t know.”
Jackie was now fully stood up, leaving Catherine sitting on her now empty bed.
“Do you want a ride back to your dorm?” she suggested, hoping to lengthen their time together.
“No–” she replied, “it’s cool. I’ll walk.”
Jackie found herself not wanting to leave yet. She returned to sit back by the other woman on the bed when a thought popped into her mind.
“What are you going to do now?” she asked, not daring to make eye contact.
“I don’t know…” Catherine admitted.
The professor thought of her future, one without Jackie. She had no future job lined up, no close friends to confide in, only her studies. It made her thoughts waver.
Jackie swiftly looked up at Catherine, a woman she never thought in a million years she would have ever been with. But, she loved it. She loved her. She loved being with her over the course of the semester despite what others had said.
“Come with me.”
Catherine shifted, her posture more straight now.
Tears started to form in both of their eyes.
“I’ll be okay–” the older woman attempted to deflect.
“I heard you that night Catherine.”
She uncomfortably laughed, attempting to play dumb “what night?”
“The night of your birthday,” Jackie told her.
“Oh.”
“Yeah, oh.”
Catherine was completely silent. She replayed that night in her head, the night she let herself slip too close to loving Jackie.
“I thought you were asleep…” she looked down at her hands that sat in her lap.
“I wanted to say something but–” Jackie started, “I was too scared. Scared of what that would make us.”
Catherine bit her lip, choking back tears.
“But I love you too.”
Jackie caressed her face softly, forcing her to look up at her.
“Sell your house. Come live with me in L.A. The movie pays me enough for us to get a two bedroom apartment together– and you can teach at one of the universities in California like you used to,” she begged her, tears now spilling from her eyes as well.
“I can’t– we can’t be public like that,” Catherine told her.
“Why not?” Jackie used her thumb to wipe a stray tear from her face.
“The press–” she choked out, “they came to my house. What will they think of a student being with her professor?”
“You’re the love of my life Catherine. I’m gonna tell them all myself, I don’t care what they’ll think–” she explained.
“Like how you told everyone at that party I’m your friend?” she reminded her.
Jackie wavered, regretting her choice that night. Then, a thought popped in her mind.
“Watch me do my interview tomorrow. I’ll prove it to you,” she replied.
“What does that mean?” Catherine questioned her.
Jackie stood up, grabbing her belongings and heading towards the door of the bedroom.
“You’ll see. Sit at one of the benches nearby,” she explained, before promptly shutting the door behind her.
Before the older woman could dig further, she was gone. Anxiously, she bit at her knuckle.
~
“So Jackie, did you find it hard to adjust to college life after working for so long?” The interviewer asked, walking along the sidewalk.
She replied with her rehearsed answer, “Actually I think it was harder for them to have me here. But, I found my little space eventually.”
Jackie and the interviewer sat down on one of the nearby benches, the camera focused on the both of them. Students walked by as the birds chirped in the background.
“I heard you have like– three majors or something?” he asked.
Jackie laughed, “no. Just one actually. I’m trying to double-major, thinking of going to law school, maybe.”
The man gestured around the open area, “anything you’ll find hard to leave behind?”
Jackie was silent for a moment, looking around the quad. Her eyes scanned the area, until they landed on an older blond woman sitting on the bench next to hers. Catherine appeared to be reading some sort of book, but snuck a quick glance at Jackie next to her.
The younger girl stopped for a moment before mustering up enough courage to reply.
“My girlfriend.”
The interviewer leaned back a bit, “oh really? Romance already budding between you and your classmates? Who is the lucky girl?”
Jackie smiled, like, actually smiled.
“Actually,” she started, "she's not my classmate. She’s one of the professors.”
His smile dropped, looking back between the camera-man and Jackie.
Catherine sat up straighter now, completely shocked by her confession.
“Hey– I know we didn’t rehearse this so if you want us to cut this out we can– we won’t say anything,” he whispered.
“No,” Jackie corrected him, “I don’t want this cut out. I’m not embarrassed of who I love anymore.”
Catherine bit her lip, attempting to suppress any reaction coming out of her body.
“Okay uh– sorry,” he awkwardly laughed, rubbing his arm.
“I’m glad I came here. I’m glad I went through this,” Jackie explained.
“But you’re going right back to where you came from,” he told her.
“Well,” she thought, “there’s no place like home! As they say in the movies.”
He nodded, looking at the crew, “okay. I think that’s all we need. Thank you so much.”
Jackie met him in a firm handshake, “thank you.”
“It’s a uh– pleasure as always,” he smiled, “ready guys?”
The interviewer and cast packed up their equipment and left. Jackie now stood alone in the middle of campus. Her gaze shifted to the blonde woman next to her, who was now standing up looking right back at her.
Catherine slowly walked towards her, a soft click of her heels following. Jackie met her in the middle, staring up at her.
“Porcupine you’re absolutely crazy,” she shook her head, looking down at her.
“I love you,” she whispered, “I want us to have a future together, one where we don’t have to hide it.”
Jackie took hold of her hands, looking up expectantly at her.
“I love you too.”
The shorter girl beamed. She leaned up to grab Catherine’s face to pull her down into a familiar and comforting kiss, not caring who was around to see.
“Come with me?” she asked between kisses.
“Of course,” Catherine replied, warmly kissing her back.