Love Again

6. An Invitation

As the end of her first semester of law school approached, every waking moment of free time Lane had was spent with her eyes glued to flash cards she had made to study for her final exams. Luckily, the bar had a lot more free time with half of the town population being in study mode, so Lane was able to work in a few terms here and there between customers every now and then. She absolutely could not wait for the fall semester to be over, itching to just lay in bed and cuddle with her cat or be able to go out with friends again. After the week of finals, however, she was guaranteed to do just that. She could pick up a few extra shifts at the bar, have lazy Sundays with Mooch, and she even convinced some friends from college to come crash with her for a few days for New Year's Eve. She just had to make it two more weeks, then the real fun could begin.

As she made her way to the cafe, Lane was fully absorbed reciting terms in her head, almost jumping when Andrew snapped his fingers in front of her face and said, "Lane, hey Lane. Are you okay?"

"Oh, hey Andrew. Sorry, I've been studying for finals and was just thinking about the things that might be on them. How are you doing, today? Brandy sent me a text that said you made mini scones?" Lane laughed off the almost awkward encounter. She appreciated Andrew's kindness and calm demeanor, especially when Brandy tended to be more chaotic in nature.

"No worries. I'm doing okay, I've been working on a new base for the scones and figured I could try more flavors with mini ones. Just a minute, I'll go grab the container I made for you," he said before making his way into the back of the cafe.

While she waited, Lane decided to pull out the flash cards she had stashed in her back pocket. She was in the middle of reciting the definition of criminal negligence when someone cleared their throat behind her, "You know, I knew Andrew for like eight months before he was giving me his pastries in bulk. You're lucky," Theo's voice brought her focus away from the card stock in front of her and to the man clad in all black with a brown jacket over top to keep himself warm from the biting temperatures outside.

"Oh, hey Theo, sorry I can't chat for long. I need to study," she sighed as she put the flash cards back in her pocket, fully turning her attention to him.

"Oh no worries, finals?" he asked, his voice calming Lane down just enough to not worry about missing some time studying.

She smiled, "yeah. I'm really nervous about them and I know I shouldn't be because I've been working my ass off, but I keep worrying I'm going to forget something."

"It's okay to feel that way. Graduate school is way tougher than undergraduate studies. Are you doing okay, though? Getting enough sleep? Eating something other than the creations of Andy?"he asked teasingly towards the end, but Lane didn't miss what looked like genuine concern in his eyes.

She smiled at him once more, "I'm okay. I just get stuck in my own head sometimes when studying, so that's frustrating."

"Do you want some help? I mean, I've been told I'm a good study buddy," he asked, a hint of what sounded like joy in his voice as he spoke.

"Oh, you don't have to do that. I'm okay, really," she chuckled somewhat nervously. As Theo was about to speak, Andrew came waltzing back up to the counter with a container of freshly baked pastries.

"Oh, Theo, mate, you better not be trying to steal these from Lane. I'm under strict orders from Brandy not to let you take them," he chuckled at he looked at the brown haired man best to Lane.

Theo raised his hands in surrender, "I wouldn't dare. But Andy, can you do me a favor? Can I get another coffee and whatever she normally orders?" He handed his card to Andrew as he spoke.

"Theo, you really don't have to do that. I have money," she tried to grab the money from her wallet, but Theo shook her off.

"If I'm going to help you study, you can't be falling asleep while we go over whatever lawyer terms are on those cards," he said, nodding to Andrew to run his card.