I didn't know- NaNoWriMo project 2015 - Chapter 10

Ten

The next morning a text alert woke Fey.

~~8:11~~From Lily~~

Hi, I just woke up and found your note. Thank you for coming over yesterday.

--8:13--To Lily--

Anytime! I hope you're feeling better?

~~8:14~~From Lily~~

I am. Listening to you talk about books was very soothing.

--8:16--To Lily--

**voice recording** Good, because I really enjoy it. There's this other book I read a while ago 'Mars in Winter' and it was so fascinating. It starts with the question about seasons on other planets, something I never really thought about, and it explains it really well, but then goes on to answer all these other questions. Some of them aren't really new, like what does the moon and the tides have to do with each other, but others are really cool, like why does the moon always show us the same side? There is so much out there that I don't know and this book captures the fascination of young children with the magnificence of the world and our universe so well. It was a delight. ** end voice recording**

Fey loved that feature in new phones, to be able to send a quick sound recording with so little effort.

~~8:22~~From Lily~~

That sounds really interesting! I wish I had more time to read, you make all the books you read sound so wonderful. I'll listen to your message again tonight, thank you for that.

Fey smiled at that. She'd never been complimented so much on her voice and especially not on her talk about books. To her family her preoccupation with books and reading had always taken up too much time of her day and had left too little for her to pursue 'real' interests, ones that would help her to a 'good' career and a 'respectable' job.

She kept herself busy that Sunday by cleaning a bit and then listening to an audio book about gardening, 'The Butterfly House', while working on embroidering a pillow with a quote. She made herself and Markus dinner and they sat down together.

“You came home early last night. I wasn't even in bed yet. Was the party no fun?”, he asked around a fork full of pasta.

“Uhm, I actually didn't go. I went over to Lily's.”

“Oh, I thought you wanted to go out to dance. You dressed up and everything, didn't you? At least you were in the bathroom long enough to give that impression.”

“Yeah, I wanted to go out, but then Lily called. She wasn't feeling well and I went over to be with her.”

“I'm sorry to hear that. Good of you, though.”

Fey continued eating and didn't elaborate on the subject. She didn't know if Lily would want her to tell others about her panic attack and so Fey rather erred on the side of caution.

After dinner she snuggled into her haven, the lights dimmed, a pot of tea on the little table. Before she would start the new book that was laying by her side she had set herself another task.

She'd written down a few notes about one of her favorite books, 'George and the Mysterious Hole in the Wall', and wanted to record her thoughts and insights for Lily.

It took her quite a while to get it just right, managing to not ramble and jump from one thought to another but to actually tell a coherent story of what the book was about and what she had taken from it. She gnawed her upper lip, her finger hovering over the 'Send' button, but then she remembered how happy and sincere Lily had been about her talking about books, and she pressed the button.

Lily's response was all but ecstatic.

~~20:46~~From Lily~~

Thank you so much! I only started listening to it and then stopped to thank you. That is so sweet of you! I'll sleep very well tonight, I think.

A relieved chuckle escaped Fey and she took up her book and started reading.

* * * *

It became a habit for Fey to record a new audio message about a book every day and send it to Lily. Sometimes she didn't have much time and it was only a few sentences long, but often she prepared well for the recording and sent her long talks about the philosophy behind certain books and why they had been so important for their time or how the significance of certain details had changed a lot through the years.

In the beginning she often felt silly for doing it, but the continued excitement she received for every recording she sent Lily spurred her on. She got better with time and a lot of practice and soon felt more confident about her speaking and presenting skills.

Of course Lily and she still met up to hang out. When the weather and their schedules permitted, they went for walks where Fey could show Lily some new parts of the city and Lily would get the chance to get more practice in talking to strangers, mostly waiters and bus drivers, but sometimes tourists asking for the way or young men (and occasionally women) openly flirting with her. These encounters often left her blushing and struggling for words and she ended up looking to Fey for help every time, who would then come to her rescue.

After one particularly awkward flirtatious talk with a barista at a coffee shop Lily apologized red-faced.

“I'm so sorry. You must be getting so tired of all this.” She stared down at her hot chocolate cup with her name on it. There were three little hearts and a number written alongside the cup as well.

“Whatever are you apologizing for?”

Fey took a long sip of her black coffee and looked over at Lily questioningly as they walked among the tourist masses.

“That I'm not getting better at this talking thing.”

“Bullshit.”, Fey said matter-of-factly.

“What?”

“I said bullshit. You are getting so good with so many things. You didn't even flinch when that one guy asked you for directions the other day and you explained it to him simple and quick. You're making progress in so many areas, I wouldn't worry about still getting a bit flustered in some situations.”

Lily had gotten a bit flustered at the compliments as well.

“That guy was older though and with his wife, that was different. But I don't know exactly how.”

“He wasn't flirting with you like the other guy.”

Lily stopped suddenly and looked positively shocked.

“He was flirting with me?”

Now it was Fey's turn to give her a dumbfounded look.

“I thought you knew that? I would have thought the hearts and the phone number were a dead give-away.”

“No, yes, today I see that, but the others as well? They were all so different and the situations weren't similar and I didn't know why I felt so especially awkward. They were flirting with me?” Lily looked like she'd been just told that the tooth fairy was in fact real and that she'd been sponsoring candy advertisements all along.

“It was so clear to me, I didn't think to mention it specifically, I'm sorry. But don't worry, I understand. It's hard to recognize flirting when it happens to you.”

Lily still hadn't gotten over the fact that people had apparently been flirting with her all along.

“They were flirting with me?”

“To be fair, some of them were also flirting with me. Some of them were just really big flirts, it seems.”

Lilian's head snapped around.

“They were flirting with you as well?”

“Nothing too serious and I wasn't there to flirt, so I shut it down quickly.”

The taller woman shook her head incredibly at her own ignorance.

“I might have to get that 'Flirting 101' book after all. I thought I didn't know how to flirt. But now I find out that I don't even recognize flirting when it's happening right in front of me. Or to me.”

Fey laughed good-naturedly at her.

“It goes against my professional ambition, but please don't buy that book. So you don't know when someone's flirting, that's probably because you haven't seen many people flirt. There's a college party tonight at one of the dormitories near campus, so it's not far from your dorm. Want to go and study the flirting people?”

Lilian blushed and ducked her head.

“I don't know. I've never been to a college party... There will be so many people. And I haven't done any school work today, I should get some stuff done tonight.”

Fey looked at her, trying to suss out if she meant it or if it was a half-hearted attempt to avoid the new challenge a college party would pose. She tried to think of the last time Lily had brought up her school work as a reason for not having time and didn't remember exactly. At the beginning of their friendship, they hadn't met as often as Fey would have liked because of Lilian's studies. But the longer they knew each other the more often Lily proposed meeting and only seldom talked about her workload.

“You haven't worked as much on school as you used to.” Fey observed.

“Yeah, I should really get a bit studying done. I'm so behind.”

“No, I mean, you don't stress out about school so much anymore.”

Lily shrugged non-committally.

“I don't know. I guess I'm more relaxed when I'm spending time with you? School doesn't stress me so much anymore.”

Fey smiled at that, her grin with a sneaky edge to it.

“So how about relaxing some more tonight at the party?”

“You don't give up, do you?”, Lily groaned.

“Almost never. Come on, we'll go early, there won't be that many people there and if you feel crowded or uncomfortable and really want to leave, we'll go.”

Lily rolled her eyes at Fey's insistence. She tried one last defense.

“I don't have anything to wear!”

“Nonsense. It's a college party, it doesn't matter what you wear. Your outfit right now is totally fine!”

Lily looked down at herself in her jeans and dark sweatshirt and then up at Fey sceptically.

“Really?”

“Absolutely. Come on! You already admitted that you don't really have to study. See it as a new challenge. I'll be by your side the whole evening. You said you wanted to get better at this talking thing. You even threatened to buy that darn book again! I think you want to meet someone, flirt a bit, date and everything that comes after, but it's still scary as shit. And you're right, it is scary. So we'll take the first step together and I'll help you every step of the way.”

Lilian considered her words but didn't answer.

“You do want to meet someone though, right? It's okay if you don't. When I first got to know Markus I wanted to set him up, but he told me that he wasn't interested in a relationship so I let him be, because I respect him. I respect you too. I just don't want you to say you don't want something because you're afraid of what it will take to get there. We've never really talked about it openly, have we? Okay, here it goes, I'll say it plain as day: I want to set you up, if you're up for it.”

Lily had blushed during Fey's speech and had tucked her hands in her pockets, hunching her shoulders. She avoided looking directly at Fey, but answered with a quiet, tense voice.

“I am. I do want... well...”

Fey ignored the obvious struggle Lilian had and hugged her tightly.

“Awesome! Oh this is going to be great!”

She let her go, babbling on excitedly, not registering the uneasy look on her friends face.

“This is so exciting! I love setting people up, did I tell you that I'm the one responsible for my brother's marriage? Oh and Meri's as well, that was a tough one, but it turned out so well. Even though she curses me right now because of all the wedding preparations. She constantly whines at me that it's my fault that she has to do all these cake tastings and arguments with her mother and so on and so forth but secretly she is the happiest bride-to-be that there is.”

Fey skipped alongside Lilian, going on about her good track record when it came to match-making when she suddenly stopped mid-sentence as a thought occurred to her and turned with a more serious expression to Lily.

“I never asked you and it hasn't come up, but now that you're officially on board with me setting you up I feel that I have to ask. Are you interested in men or women? Or both?”

Lilian had been walking solemnly alongside her short friend but now stopped as well.

“I... uh...” Her facial coloration had reached new depths of red, her eyes looking around frantically, nowhere resting.

Fey didn't release her from her expectant gaze and waited patiently for her to talk.

“I... uhm... well, I guess I always assumed... but uhm... well, recently... uhm... well, I think either?”

Fey smiled at her encouragingly.

“It's fine, I don't mind! As I said, it's just important for me to know, so I know who might be a good match for you.” She boxed her gently on the arm and said jokingly, “Besides, this gives me twice as many people to work with!”

Lilian smiled and joined Fey in her chuckle, sighing with relief.

* * * *

They had agreed to meet in front of Lily's dorm later that evening. Fey had asked if it would be alright to ask her cousins to join them and Lily had hesitantly agreed. She hadn't met them yet, but Fey had told her about them, retelling the few times she'd already met up with them to go dancing or out for dinner.

Fey called her cousin Diana up.

“Hello Di!”, she greeted her enthusiastically.

“Hey, good to hear from you, how are you?”

“Good, good, how are you? Are you settling into the new place well?”

“I'm good, thanks. Well, I am still getting the hang of the new shower, but other than that, it's great. A bit crowded with my brother here as well, but great.”

“I'm glad to hear it. I'm calling because I thought you might want to go to a party tonight? There's a college party at one of the dormitories near campus, I'm going with my friend Lily.”

“Oh you have no idea how good that sounds. I'm sick of my own four walls and the new profs thinking I'm some sort of prodigy because of the letters of recommendation I got. Some loud music and some booze would be perfect. Did you ask Noah too? He should be on his way home from the clinic now.”

“Awesome! No, I haven't called him yet, gonna ring him up right now. I'll send you the address and time later, okay?”

“Perfect, looking forward to it. And to meeting the mysterious Lily. You've told me so much, I'm glad I'm finally meeting her. Didn't you say that she isn't much of a party person?”

“Yeah, I coaxed her into it. I hope it'll be alright. So be nice to her!”

Diana laughed at her over-protectiveness. “Don't worry, I'll behave. See you later then.”

“Bye!”

Next she called Noah, judging by the background sounds just catching him on the subway.

“Hey Noah!”

“Fey, to what do I owe the pleasure of your call?”

“Well, I thought you might be interested in coming along with your sister and cousin to a party tonight. What do you say? My friend Lily is coming as well, you said you wanted to meet her!”

“Since you've been talking about her so much, it just seemed logical. I actually wanted to turn off my brain and sit on my sister's couch and stare at the blank wall for a while tonight...”

“You can turn your brain off much better with a beer and some dancing!”

She earned a hearty laugh from Noah.

“Well, if you put it that way... alright, I'll come. No fancy clothes, I hope?”

“Yay! No, no, no fancy clothes required. It's a college party, jeans and a tshirt will do. Tell Diana as well, I'm gonna send her the details later. Looking forward to seeing you! Bye”

“Bye Fey, thanks for the invitation. See you.”

* * * *

Fey picked up Lily later that evening. To her surprise, Lily had actually changed and was wearing a – for her – unusually tight dark sweater and a dark jeans. With her slim figure and her long dark hair she looked positively sexy, something she almost negated with her uneasy stance.

“Do I look okay?”

Fey was momentarily at a loss for words, but regained her composure quickly.

“You look amazing! I hope you're up for some flirting tonight because the way you look you'll surely be noticed.”

Lily brushed her hair behind her ear and blushed, laughing.

“Thank you. I'm up for the challenge, so long as you're around. Are your cousins coming? I'm so curious to meet them.”

Fey smiled at the obvious interest.

“Yes, I texted them the address. We'll meet them there, they are coming a bit later. Shall we go?”

The party was only one block over, in the basement of one of the other dormitories. There were rooms for common use in every dormitory and college parties organized by students in them weren't uncommon.

They were rather early, as Fey had promised they would be. After they had payed a small admission fee, they were let into the colorfully lit room. LEDs along the edges of the ceiling switched back and fourth between different colors. There was a bar at the far side of the room and a few small tables and sitting groups near it. The other half of the room had some space intended for later dancing with large sound boxes and a DJ with a laptop in a corner. There weren't many people there yet, a few by the bar and sitting around the low tables, some standing with the DJ discussing their music requests.

Lily looked around interested, not quite sure where to go or what to do first.

Fey surveyed the other patrons, none of them noticing them yet.

“Hey, want to grab something to drink until my cousins come? We can play 'guess the major' while we wait.”

“'Guess the major'?”

Fey ushered her along to the bar.

“You look at people and try to guess what they're studying.” She leaned against the bar and looked around, choosing an example. “Like you see that guy at the other end of the bar?” She gestured sneakily behind her. Lilian nodded. “The way he talks to his friend and the gestures, I'd say he's gonna be a teacher, and then the full beard and long hair... maybe philosophy? Or Latin? Latin's good, I'm sticking with Latin.”

Lilian tried to hide her snickering.

“Ha, you really think so? He might be a biology major. Or Greek. Or art.”

“Alas, we'll never know. Or will we?” Fey turned around and started waving, trying to catch full-beard's eye.

Lilian grabbed her shoulder.

“What are you doing?”, she hissed.

Their object of discussion had finally taken notice of Fey and waved a hand in greeting, excusing himself from the conversation with his friend and moving towards them.

“I'm just saying hi.”

The guy reached them then and to Lilian's utter shock gave Fey a quick hug and extended a hand to her company with a measured gesture. His whole demeanor was somewhat serious, making him seem older than he actually was.

“Fey, haven't seen you in ages.” He shook Lilian's hand. “Hi, I'm Ulf, nice to meet you.”

“I'm Lily.”

“Ulf, this is my friend Lily. Lily, this is Ulf, a friend of Markus' who comes over now and then, but hasn't shown up in ages. Fancy you meeting here, Ulf!”

“Haven't had so much time for video games lately, sorry. I was a bit busy with a project my professor gave to me.”

Lilian slowly came out of her stupor and hit Fey lightly on the arm.

“You played me! You totally knew he's studying Latin!”

Fey laughed.

“ Sorry, I just wanted to light the mood a bit.”

Lily backed down, reluctantly.

“Point.”

Ulf looked between them, confused.

“I actually don't.”

Fey turned to him.

“What?”

“Changed my major last semester. Latin wasn't really for me after all. Didn't Markus tell you? He really is unreliable when it comes to spreading information.” He shook his head.

“So what is your major now?” Lilian asked curiously.

“You probably wouldn't have guessed it, but it's biology now. Plays better to my strengths, I think. Hey, it was nice seeing you, but I better get back to my friend, okay? Have fun!” He walked back to the other side of the bar.

When Fey turned around to Lilian again she was faced with a very smug young woman.

“Told you he looked like a biology major.”

“Oh shush!”, Fey answered, but smiled.

They flagged down the guy behind the bar and ordered, Fey her usual ginger ale, Lily a coke. They continued their game of 'guess the major', though it soon turned into 'guess the most ridiculous course of studies you can think of'.

“She started with French Literature but then took a few art classes as well, along with interpretive dance and her thesis is going to consist of her dancing the major works of Moliere.” Fey proclaimed.

“Oh, good one. Let me see.” Lily scanned the room that was now filling up nicely. “Oh over there by the door. He's in theoretical physics and art history, trying to prove Leonardo da Vinci actually knew way more about physics than he did about art.”

Fey looked for who Lily was describing and couldn't help but laugh out loud.

“I don't think so, actually. He's a med student and right now he's doing an internship at the clinic my brother works as. That's my cousin!” She waved. “Noah! Diana!”

“Oh. Darn, you win again.”, Lily answered with mock-sadness.

“We won't count that round.”, Fey shot back. Her cousins had spotted them and were making their way through the crowd.

Diana managed to get to them first and hugged Fey before stepping back to let her brother into their circle.

“Diana, Noah, this is my friend Lily. Lily, these are my cousins, Diana and Noah.”

Diana moved her hair in front of one shoulder and extended a hand.

“So nice to finally meet you!”

“Me too!”

Noah reached around his sister to shake Lily's hand as well.

“Fey's told us about you, I'm glad we finally managed to meet!”

The newcomers ordered something to drink and they decided to grab one of the last tables.

Noah picked up the conversation.

“So I hear you're a law student, that's impressive!”

Lilian blushed and tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear.

“Thanks. But you're a med student, you have to know so much more, that must be hard!”

Diana chimed in.

“Don't stroke his ego too much, it's big enough as it is.”

Her brother rolled his eyes at her.

“Don't listen to her, my sister tries to undercut me all the time. I think the main reason it comes easy to me is because I find it interesting. Nothing worse than having to learn something you're not interested, and believe me, there were a few classes like that as well, but on the whole, it's been fun. Especially with the patients.”

Fey had been listening to them talk but now joined them.

“So the children haven't eaten you alive as you thought they would?”

“No, it's been great. Sure, there are some doctors and nurses I don't get along, but that's not surprising with such a large team. But working with the children, even though they are often miserable and sick, it's just so rewarding.”

“Children are such a treasure, right?”, Lilian agreed with fervour.

“Yes! The feeling you get when you made them smile, with a little game of peek-a-boo or a sticker, it's indescribable.”

“And how lucky you feel when they're at first skeptical and then start to trust you. They don't even know how vulnerable they are and they put their trust in you.” Lilian was flushed talking about children.

“That's one of the best things. Just yesterday we had this toddler in and he had a high fever and was so cranky. His mom had to get something out of the car and asked me to watch him for just a moment. Of course at first he cried, but I managed to calm him down and then he was snuggled in my arms, playing with my stethoscope, you should have seen it. Absolutely adorable.”

Fey had been watching with fascination as the two were talking and raised an eyebrow at Diana who was similarly occupied.

“I hate to interrupt you two, but I think Diana and I will go dance a bit. Would you mind watching our bags while we're gone?”

The other two merely nodded and barely paused in their lively talk.

Diana and Fey mingled with the students on the dance floor, far away from the speakers so they could still hear each other.

Fey looked back to her cousin and her friend, then turned to Diana.

“So what do you think about Lily?”

“She's really adorable! And not half as shy as you said.”

Fey followed Diana's gaze and saw that Lily and Noah had sidled closer to each other, probably because the music had been turned up. They were leaning closer and Lily was gesticulating wildly. Noah's broad smile mirrored hers.

“I think that's because of the topic. She loves children.”

“Really? I never would have guessed!”, Diana laughed.

“Oh shut up, she's usually not like that. I'm glad she's having a good time, I was worried she might be uncomfortable with people flirting with her.”

“I haven't seen Noah like that in some time. The internship is great, but it's exhausting as well. For the most part he's been laying on my couch when he's home.” She considered the pair at their table from afar once more. “Want another drink?”

“Sure.” They migrated to the bar and continued their talk.

“Bummer, she is really cute, I thought I might have a chance with her.”

Fey almost spit out her drink, so surprised was she at Diana's up-frontness.

“I didn't know you were...”

Diana frowned at her.

“Really? Didn't you know about my ex?”

“I did, you just never mentioned any gender.”

“I'm surprised your mom hasn't made use of this information to bad mouth me.”

“I don't think she'd hold that against you. Besides, you're her go-to-example of how I should live my life.”

“What? I didn't know that. I'm sorry to hear that. For me it was always my brother because he's a med student and stepping into our uncle's and Alex's shoes.”

Fey looked at her sympathetically.

“I guess there is someone like that for all of us, huh?”

“Yeah. It's good to get away from home to not feel that pressure sometimes.”

“You're preaching to the choir, girl. Let's head back to the others, we've neglected them long enough.”

They rejoined the others at their table, interrupting their still going talk about children.

Noah was looking at Lily thoughtfully and asked.

“So how come you're not pursuing a career that has to do with children?”

Fey froze, looking to Lily to see how she would react.

Lily seemed largely unfazed, although she did sober up a bit.

“Uhm, well, law school is a good career. It's not that easy to get a good job working with children. Anyways, I think we've kind of pushed Fey and Diana out of this conversation, I don't want to seem rude.”

Diana picked up on that at once.

“You sure did. I don't blame you, Lily, of course not, but my dear brother, you ought to know better. I barely see you all day and then when you get home you're too tired to talk to me.”

“Alright, 'dear sister'.” He said in a teasing tone. “What would you like to know?”

The siblings continued talking and were momentarily distracted, so Fey had the chance to whisper to Lily.

“You dodged that quite nicely, congrats.”

Lily looked to see if Noah had noticed them talking and when she saw that they hadn't been caught, whispered back a quick 'Thanks.'.

Not quite in a whisper anymore, but still in a quiet voice Fey continued.

“Hey, how are you doing? We've been here far longer than I had anticipated.” Fey liked to check in on how Lily was doing every once in a while whenever they were out in a crowded area.

“I'm fine, mainly I've been distracted by talking to Noah.”

“I'm glad you're getting along so well. So, how about that study session in flirting?”

“Oh, I completely forgot about that. But wouldn't it be rude to your cousins?”

They both looked across the table where the siblings were deep into a retelling of their respective days.

“They have a bit of catching up to do, it seems. Besides, we can easily do it from here. Just look around the room and tell me if you think anyone's currently flirting. First step is just to recognize it when it happens to other people.”

“Okay, I can try.”

She sat up straighter and started scanning the room. The music had grown even louder, the dance floor was flush with people and the barkeeper had his hands full to supply everyone with drinks. The tables were all full and the atmosphere was relaxed.

“What about that guy and girl there by the edge of the bar?”

Fey looked to where she was discreetly pointing. A slim young man with thickly rimmed glasses was handing a woman to his right a beer, smiling at her. She took the offered bottle, making sure to brush her fingers against his and tilted her head as she listened to him.

“Alright, very good. Can you tell me what it is that made you think they were flirting?”

Lilian looked at them intensely, resting a finger against her lips.

“Hmm. He's buying her a drink, it seems.”

“Good, but that could be between friends as well.”

“He's turning towards her, making sure to pay attention to her.”

“Exactly. Remember that one guy when we were walking behind St. Peter last week? He asked you for directions, and he turned his full body towards you, not even looking where you were pointing. I think he was flirting with you.”

Lily blushed at the memory. “That was so awkward.”

“I'm not saying he was very good or even subtle about it. Flirting well also means that you adjust to your partner, see how they respond to you and react. It won't go very well if you make them uncomfortable. Okay, what else?”

“Uhm. She's touching his arm.”

“Yes. What else?”

“She's really laughing quite a bit.”

“Ha, yes. I don't think he's that funny. At least not as funny as she makes it seem. Oh, like that barista the other day. I don't remember exactly what you said, but it was something along the lines of 'getting your daily dose of vegetables because of the cocoa beans'. I thought it was funny, but he just reacted disproportionally.”

“He was flirting with me as well?” Lily looked mortified.

“You don't give yourself enough credit. You're really good at this! Of course it's a bit more difficult when you're involved, but you've sussed out large parts of what happens when people flirt, well done.”

That compliment brought another flush to Lily's cheeks.

“Thanks. You're a good teacher though.”

Fey smiled at the flattery.

“Want to do another?”

“Okay.”

They picked out another couple only a few tables over from them.

“You have the better angle to watch them, Lil, tell me what's going on.”

“He just leaned over to her to say something in her ear. It's not loud enough to make that necessary so he just wanted to get closer, right?”

Fey glanced over her shoulder to look.

“Yes, very good.”

“Now she's handing him her phone.”

“What do you think for?”

Lily watched the pair.

“Looks like she let him type in his number.”

“So what do you think will happen now?”

“I don't know.” She scrunched together her eyebrows in her exerted thinking.

“I think one of them is getting ready to leave so they exchanged numbers. She took his, but hasn't given him hers, so I think she might not know if she really wants to go on a date with him yet.”

“So she'll text him if she wants to go on a date.”

“Probably.”

Lily thought on that before she continued.

“How do you ask someone out?”

If Fey was a bit surprised at the turn of their conversation she tried not to let it show. They were here to learn about the romantic aspects of human social interactions so Fey would teach Lily what she could.

“Well, sometimes it comes up naturally at the end of a conversation. With these two it apparently didn't, so I guess if she wants to pursue the guy, she'd call him or text him. She could start with 'I had fun last night!' and see if he takes the bait. And if she gets a positive response see if he wants to meet again sometimes. The same applies when she calls, but calling can be tricky sometimes. But so can texting.”

“I see.”

“What's happening now, has she left?”

Lily looked at the couple again and started describing what she saw.

“She got up but hasn't left yet, they're still talking. Now he said something in her ear again and got closer to her. She's looking kinda... she's waiting for something. He's leaning in again, probably saying something in her ear ag- oh.” Lily stopped abruptly and blushed, looking away and down.

Fey turned to look at what had surprised and embarrassed Lily so much and saw that the couple she'd watched was now kissing. He'd put a hand to her shoulder and the other to her waist, she had one hand on his arm, the other hanging by her side. They were engaged in what promised to become a heavy make-out-session.

Fey looked at Lily again who still couldn't look at the couple.

“They're making out. Good for them, it looks like fun.”

Lily blushed deeper.

“I don't know...”, she said in a quiet voice.

Fey leaned towards her to lay a hand on her arm to get her attention.

“Is that bothering you?”

Lily fidgeted a bit.

“Well, I don't want it to bother me, but I'm just not used to that degree of publicly shown affection.”

“To be fair, what those two over there are doing is nauseating even to me.” Fey threw another look over to the pair who was now practically trying to swallow each other faces.

“I don't want to tell anyone that how they show that they like someone is wrong. I'd like for me to get used to it.”

Fey leaned back a bit again.

“That'll come with time, don't worry. Want to pick another couple?”

They continued to keep themselves busy with their little game. Finally it was Noah who noticed that he and his sister had ignored Fey and Lily for quite some time.

“Here we are going out together and then I completely take Diana's attention away from you.”

“It's alright. I know you had a bit of catching up to do. Besides, Lily and I weren't terribly bored, were we?”

“No, I totally get it if you two needed time to catch up. I know how it can be between siblings.”

Noah smiled at her and then looked to his sister with affection.

“Thanks. Not to sound too much like the total bore I am, but sis, I'm exhausted. I'm gonna head home.”

“Brother dear, don't be too shocked, but: I'm going to join you. I have a meeting with yet another adviser tomorrow morning. Sorry that we couldn't stay longer. Another time again? Maybe for dinner so we actually get to talk more?”

“You're really going already?” Fey mirrored the siblings in getting up. “Dinner sounds good, write me when you have a date in mind.”

They said their goodbyes. Diana hugged Fey while Noah took his chance to talk to Lily.

“I'm glad we finally met, I really enjoyed talking to you.” He touched her briefly on the shoulder.

She turned to fully face him and smiled, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear.

“Me too, such a pity we haven't done this sooner.”

Noah mirrored her smile.

“Definitely. We'll just have to make sure we come together sometime again soon.”

“I would like that.”

Fey cleared her voice subtly.

“Diana and I will plan something soon. I'll text you!”

Noah nodded.

“That would be great. Alright you two, take care. Bye!”

“Bye Lily, it was nice to meet you, although I didn't get to talk to you very much. We'll make up for that next time.”

With some effort Diana and Noah made their way to the exit through the crowd.

Fey and Lily sat back down, Lily seemingly lost in thought.

Carefully Fey tried to bring her back.

“Everything alright?”

“Huh? Yes, yes.”

“Do you want another drink?”

“No thanks. I think I'm ready to go as well.” Lily replied, abstractedly.

“Alright, then let's go.”

They stood up. Their table was immediately occupied by some students.

“I'll walk you home. Your dorm is on the way to the subway anyways.”

Lily was unusually quiet even for her.

Fey eyed her, worried. Maybe the whole evening had been a bit much.

“Are you sure, you're alright?”

“Yes, yes. It's just...”

Lily threw her a side glance, Fey waiting for her to continue.

“Well, right at the end... do you think Noah was flirting with me? I don't want to seem conceited, I was just... wondering.”

“Oh.”

Fey had noticed that Noah was especially friendly to Lily and all the signs of flirting had been there at the end.

Lily looked at her with large eyes, clearly unsure of what to think. Fey saw that she could easily convince her that it had been merely friendliness on Noah's part if she chose to, even though Lily had proven to be a quick study when it came to spotting flirting once she'd put her mind to it. She still lacked the experience to be confident in her judgment though, so in her uncertainty she turned to Fey's trusted advice. Fey wavered. Did she want her cousin to continue flirting with Lily? They had gotten along very well, she knew Noah to be a caring, reliable, interesting person. On the other hand he was in town for only a few months and preoccupied with doing well at his internship at the moment. Should she let this continue when it was likely that Noah would return to his home town in just a few weeks? But who knew what would happen? People moved because of break ups, they could move because of new relationships as well. And this was yet to be a relationship.

Fey decided to be honest.

“Yes. I think he was flirting with you.”

Lily smiled and sighed with relief.

“So I did get it right, at least.”

Fey studied her. Was her relaxation only because she'd managed to spot someone flirting with her or because it was Noah flirting with her?

“I said you were good at it.” Fey paused, unsure of how exactly to bring up her question. “So, how did it make you feel? Awkward?”

Lily took her time to reflect on what she'd felt.

“Yes, but not as much as these other guys. Weird.”

“Maybe because you'd been talking to him beforehand. Knowing a little bit about him made him less scary, I would wager.”

“Oh, that sounds logical.”

They walked in silence for a few steps until Fey finally just blurted out the question that was bugging her intensely.

“So do you want to see him again?”

Lilian stopped and turned to Fey, who'd halted reflexively. Fey was looking at her expectantly, with a mixture of apprehension and pure curiosity, as well as fidgety nervousness.

The taller woman took her time answering, watching closely for her companion's reaction.

“I... I'm not... I guess so, yes?” Fey's facial muscles didn't move, stuck in what was supposed to be an encouraging facial expression. Lily hurriedly added, “Is that okay?”

Fey thawed out of her pose.

“Of course! I wanted to set you up, didn't I? Why wouldn't it be okay if you showed interest in someone? It's great!”

Lily didn't trust Fey's response.

“Are you sure?”

Fey started walking again. She waved her hand as if to shoo away any last doubts on Lily's part.

“Of course! I just didn't expect you two to hit it off quite so well, although I have to admit it should hardly come as a surprise seeing how good of a match-maker I am.”

They'd reached the entrance to Lily's dorm and stopped. Fey hopped into full match-making mode.

“Do you want to meet him on your own? Or would you rather it be some sort of party or other gathering again? Should I talk to him before giving him your number? I'll give you his number, so if you decide you want to do this a bit on your own, you have everything you need. I'm just here as a help, remember, I'll provide you with as much or as little assistance you want and need.”

Lily chuckled at the frenzy Fey was throwing herself into.

“What about that reading you're hosting next Thursday? I wanted to come anyways, you could invite him as well and we'll sit together in the audience and watch you. Would that be alright?”

“Oh, that's a great idea! I hadn't even thought of that possibility. But I'll be on stage, so to say, just keep in mind I won't be able to interfere. But I think you'll do fine, don't worry.”

“Thanks.” She shivered slightly in the cold night. “I'll go in now and leave you to your planning. To try to sleep and not plan my whole future with your cousin though, alright?”

Fey smiled at her.

“I'll try. Sleep well.” Fey hugged her tightly, breathing in her unique scent that had become so familiar and comforting.

“You too. Text me when you get home.” She disentangled herself.

“Will do. See you! At the latest on Thursday!”

Lily watched Fey trod away, her shoulders slightly hunched, her step lacking her usual verve.