Chapter 11

I had meant, of course, that I should buy the round, but somehow it was Kathryn who went to the bar and returned with another glass of wine for herself and another whisky for me.

If I'm honest I was glad of the chance to sit and gather my thoughts - I had always been the type of student who was friendly with tutors and professors in uni and this wasn't the first time I'd been for a drink with a professor or with my boss. Nonetheless it was always a hard line to walk, striking a balance between informal and respectful, and I was keen not to overstep the mark.

At least the conversation had turned out to be less awlward than I had expected; I wasn't really angry with her over it and the praise she had given me had more than made up for my initial annoyance. I couldn't forget what a good opportunity this was, and even if luck and happenstance had gotten me the job it was only skill that would let me keep it.

Kathryn didn't seem particularly interested in talking any further about work, however, as when she sat back down with our drinks she immediately launched into another musing about her sailing holidays, peppering her anecdotes with questions for me about my own experiences.

"When I first began I used to get terribly seasick - I still do sometimes actually," she said, making a face. "Did you?"

I shook my head. "I have a pretty strong stomach - or inner ear, I don't know, whatever it is. Either way I'm always happy on water."

"That's fortunate. I still love it, even when I'm feeling sick. There's just something about the total freedom of it all..."

I found myself nodding enthusiastically. "I did all sorts of stuff in my teens - surfing, kayaking... but I was really only any good at sailing."

"Well then," she said with what could only be described as a conspiratorial grin, "we'll have to get you back out on the water soon. While the weather's still nice, certainly."

I raised my eyebrows doubtfully. "This is 'nice'?"

"Hey, if you want nice we are going to have to go to Chile," Kathryn replied, chuckling.

I grinned. "I was just commenting to Sarah earlier that it was starting to feel distinctly chilly around here thank you very much," I said, waggling my eyebrows at the corny pun.

Luckily it got a laugh from my boss, who seemed about as relaxed now as I had ever seen her. She was only partway through her second glass of wine and I wondered briefly if she had eaten before coming here. "Well, that certainly wasn't very discrete of you," she said, grinning back. Okay, she was definitely a bit tipsy.

I made a face of mock-pain, then asked, "So is the food any good here?" I found myself prompting slightly. "I didn't manage to have dinner..."

"Oh, it's not bad, I suppose... I didn't eat either, come to think of it."

Bingo... "Hm. Maybe I should just head home after this one and stick something in the oven," I mused, hesitant to make any suggestions that Kathryn would find presumptuous or overfamiliar.

"If you like," she said, considering her glass. She glanced up at me then and gave me a smile which shouldn't have been half as charming as it was. "Or you could stay and have dinner with me. My treat."

I think I may have grinned like an idiot. "I'd love to. But you'd better let me get the next round."

"I think that seems fair enough."

The food, it turned out, was more than good enough for my standards although I supposed that Kathryn was perhaps a little pickier about her eateries than I was. She started in enthusiastically enough on her crabcakes, however, chatting animatedly about an upcoming conference she was scheduled to speak at in between bites. I appreciated her habit of peppering her conversation with questions, seeking my opinion about this and that and really listening to the answers I gave, however mundane. It did mean that I found myself holding forth on all sorts of ridiculous subjects, including public speaking, skincare regimes, and somehow hotel bathtowels...

"Oh! There was this one hotel in... God, Singapore, I think it was, with the best towels." Kathryn grinned, gesturing expansively with her glass. "I took them all."

"You stole from the hotel?"

"No, not technically - they charged me an arm and a leg for them on my bill!"

I laughed. "Is that what they do? Wow... I've never stolen anything from... well, almost anywhere, actually."

"If you do, make sure they don't have an imprint of your credit card beforehand, that's all I can say."

"Noted."

"But I still have those towels," she added, laughing. "So it was worth it."

"D'you know, I think some of my towels are still the old ones I took from home when I left for uni. That's pretty pathetic, eh?"

"That depends... do they still match the decor?" I was almost positive that the look she shot me wasn't supposed to be flirtatious.

"Hah, what decor?" I said, chuckling and shaking my head. "My kitchen doesn't even have wallpaper."

"Well, then, I suppose it doesn't matter what your towels look like, does it?"

"Not unless I want to hang them on the wall."

"Now there's an interesting decorating choice. And here I thought you weren't the creative type-- Sorry. Sorry," she said, correcting herself almost immediately. "That came out wrong."

I shook my head, waving my hand and smiling. "No, no, you're actually totally right."

"Am I?"

"I've never been creative. I guess it's why I'm drawn to artists and musicians - romantically, I mean."

"Interesting..." Kathryn leaned forward, raising her eyebrows. "Don't you find them sort of..."

"Flaky? Temperamental? Incredibly sexy?" I nodded cheerfully. "Yep!"

"Huh. Well, to each their own," she replied, shrugging dismissively.

"I mean, you're right, though. That is, what you're thinking," I added. "It never does work out."

"Ah. Well, neither does the other route," Kathryn told me, lifting her glass again. "In my personal experience, at least. So where does that leave us?"

"Bitter and alone?"

"Ah, yes. Thank you for reminding me," she said with a wry smile.

"Oh, no, I'm sorry, I was just-"

"No, no, it's alright, really. That was a joke. Well, mostly. I had forgotten a little bit how bitter and lonely I am - you're good company, Dr Webb."

I think I may have beamed. I do know that I was relieved that it was dark enough that she couldn't see me blush slightly. "You're not so bad yourself, Professor Sinclair," I countered with a raise of my eyebrows, hiding safely beneath the mantle of assumed heterosexuality.

"What can I say?" she asked with a flourish. "I try."

"Oh, I doubt you need to." The comment came naturally - I was on a roll now.

Kathryn grinned, reaching up to run her fingers through her hair, though I couldn't tell if she was playing along or if it was just nerves. "Another drink?"

I blinked in mild surprise. Why not? "Sure."

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