Four exams in 6 days! It seemed cruel to have so much riding on her ability to recall a semester's worth of material in four topics day after day. Julie's mind was exhausted. It seemed like a month since she'd done anything other than read, memorize and recall. Knowing the importance of discipline, she'd forced herself to eat reasonably well and slept (or tried to, through the anxiety), but she hadn't taken the time to work out like she wanted and certainly hadn't cut loose at all. But now that the final test had been taken, she promised one of her study partners that she'd meet her at the Ice House – one of several college town bars where most everyone went after exams to let off steam . . drinking and dancing, washing away the anxiety.
It was dark by the time Julie had stopped by the apartment she shared with three other students and changed before driving to the Ice House. There were pockets of students and a few local businessmen gathered here and there, playing pool, shooting darts . . and the breeze, but not the crowd that Julie expected to see. Thinking that she'd wait to see if her friends showed, she ordered a beer at the bar. Just as it was set down, Julie's phone rang. It was Angela, one of her roommates, telling her that the "gang" had moved on to O'Malleys because everyone was hungry as well as thirsty. Julie promised to meet them there as soon as she finished her beer.
As she sat there drinking, half annoyed for their not calling sooner, and struggling not to think about the last test – she noticed again that one of the "suits" also unwinding at the bar was rather openly admiring her. Early to mid-thirties, tall (though how tall, she couldn't yet tell) she did find him attractive. His frequent smiles were not entirely unwelcome. Julie wasn't one for casual pickups, but against her own will she did enjoy how this guy's eyes made her feel. Almost unconsciously, she slowed the rate at which she drank her beer – suddenly not entirely in a hurry to leave.
After their eyes met two or three times, the "suit" stood up (damn, he's tall) and came towards her. "Good evening . . . I am Cameron. . . may I? " (nodding at the empty stool next to Julie). She nodded and the sat, close enough to for her to catch his cologne, almost close enough for feel his warmth. "Tough day?" he asked.
Smiling, Julie nodded "tough week."
"Must be taking finals . . . and this late in the semester, I'd guess you are a grad student, right?" he asked as he took a drink of his beer.
"Yeah, medical. . . and the last exam, thankfully." Julie admitted. Suddenly, she realized she hadn't talked to someone outside school in weeks. Almost against her will she smiled at him "and what about you? What do you do?"
Cameron laughed "nothing nearly as noble as you – I develop real estate. You know these old buildings around here that are being turned into lofts? Some of them are mine – well, mine and the banks that have loaned me the money. So, Med school, huh? How far along are you?"
"Second year – and its about to do me in" Julie said, for the first time admitting how hard it was to a stranger. She really found it easy to talk to this guy.
"Do you plan to specialize?" he asked, his green eyes holding hers, clearly interested in her answer.
"I don't know – I've thought several things but won't really know until I get into residency. I just know I want to help people."
They talked about school, Cameron shared some about his current projects, and Julie even let him order them another round. In a way, talking with Cameron was more relaxing for Julie than the partying her friends were doing at O'Malleys. Eventually, they both admitted that they were at the Ice House to distract their minds from the intensity of their week. "Ya know" Cameron smiled, resting a hand on her shoulder "there is something I do fairly regularly when I need to clear my mind"
Julie backed a bit, not moving his hand, but expecting him to hit on her now – "what's that" she asked, suspiciously.
A wicked grin broke across Cameron's face – knowing that his teasing flirt has set her alarms off . .intending for it to do so . . "Shoot pool . . . come on, lets go shoot a game" nodding at the table across the room.
"I . . . I don't really shoot pool that much." Julie admitted – feeling suddenly a bit shy.
Cameron squeezed her arm and then took her hand, pulling her toward the table "It's not about being good – it's to relax . . . c'mon – it's on me."
Knowing it would do no good to resist, and not really minding his attention, even his taking charge – Julie let herself be let to the pool table and watched at he racked the balls. "Really, Cameron, I – I've never really shot pool at all"
"I'll tell you what, Julie – I'd enjoy showing you how to shoot a couple of shots, and its got to be different than what you've been doing lately – so the change will do you good – AND . . I'll shoot left-handed, to make it more even . . ok?"
Julie just nodded as Cameron lined up to break the balls, shooting left-handed. When none went in, Cameron handed Julie a cue "your turn."
