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Chapter 12

Chapter 12

The next month was laden with palpable tension between Delaney and Fin. Life went on. They still studied together, sometimes draining bottles of wine in the process and continued to hang out—however; something fundamental had changed on Thanksgiving night. They had bared their souls to one another and it was nearly impossible to go back to where they were. There was an odd gap between them now, like they were wearing an invisible shield to protect themselves.

The very next time she saw Fin, he greeted her with a beaming grin and a customary kiss on the cheek. His attempt at normalcy seemed forced to her, but she appreciated the gesture all the same. At school they were swamped with end of semester assignments and studying for finals, which no doubt helped to ease some of the discomfort between them. And so, they were back to where they started—friendship with an electrically charged undercurrent residing just below the surface.

"It's a good thing I'm secure with myself," Shane said. His voice echoed out from the front hallway of the apartment. "Otherwise, I shudder to think of the thoughts that could run through my head..."

Fin tensed, the applicator slopping out a glob of dye as he fingers tightened around the bottle. Delaney felt the thick liquid begin to ooze down her forehead.

"...when I come home to find my roommate running his hands through my girlfriend's hair," Shane finished.

"You're more than welcome to take over." Fin said. The irritation in his voice was unmistakable. He held the bottle up to Shane as he walked toward them.

"No thanks," Shane laughed. He bent down and dropped a kiss on Delaney's lips. As he straightened up, he wiped the excess dye off her forehead and walked to the sink where he began washing his hands. "You know, I keep telling you, I'll give you the money to go to the salon." He smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. "Or the twins would be willing to help."

Delaney bristled. "No, Shane. I'm not going to have anyone paying for me to have my hair done, we've already discussed this."

"I'm sure he doesn't like having to do constant touch-ups—you're pretty high maintenance, you know?" Again he laughed to keep it light, but she knew her friendship with Fin was really beginning to be a sore spot in their relationship.

"I don't mind," Fin said. He continued to part the hair strategically, squirting the solution at the roots of her hair.

"And he does a really great job," she said.

"All those years of art school put to good use, eh Gabriel?" Shane said.

Fin ignored him, continuing on with the task at hand.

"How was work today?" she asked in an effort to change the subject. His families business bought up parcels of land and flooded them with small condos complete with lavish pools and to-die-for facilities for the snowbirds and retirees. Shane's long-term career path was to finish his degree in business and eventually take over the company. It was an extremely successful building firm, and Shane made a hearty salary for his part time efforts. Unlike Fin who worked odd jobs that were strategically molded around his studio time, and had no bearing whatsoever on his long-term goals.

"We won the bid on the land I was telling you about, so it's going to be pretty busy for me," he trailed off, appearing thoughtful. "You know, my dad is getting ready to hire someone part time to help maintain the office, you know some filing, talking to customers. Would you be interested?"

"Oh, um," she stalled. "What about my school schedule?"

Fin's fingers seemed to slow, his attention interrupted by Shane's suggestion.