We spent the whole next day in Brooklyn, walking through neighborhoods I'd become well acquainted with, others that I'd discovered thanks to Sam, and others I'd never even been to.
By then, I'd come to understand that there was a much stronger sense of community in Brooklyn, the city didn't feel so huge and walking through the streets felt more welcoming than in Manhattan, where everything was fast and dynamic. And that wasn't a bad thing, but sometimes it was all a bit too much.
Sam came out for dinner with us in the evening, and I was once again really happy to see her and Vic getting along so well. And also about not having to worry about money. But mostly about them getting along. Maybe.
The weather forecast for the following day showed continuous rain, so we decided to take advantage of my student discount to get cheaper tickets to the Met Museum. We'd both already been there, but it was years before and Vic was convinced that "we'd appreciate it more" than when we were sixteen. I really couldn't complain, I loved any kind of art exhibition and that museum was spectacular.
I was actually with Vic the first time I'd been to a museum of my own accord and not with my parents. We'd just turned fifteen and we wanted to convince our parents that we were old enough to hang out alone in other cities near our town, and we decided to go to this art exhibition in a nearby town to show that we were doing something "useful".
So going to the biggest museum in the whole of the US with her five years later felt like closing some sort of open loop. Most of what we did during those days felt like that, honestly. It was as if we spent our few days together doing the stuff we always wanted to do together but never thought we could.
Unfortunately, I only had three days off from work and I couldn't get around to getting more than that amount of free days. So, on Vic's fourth day of being in the city we only could do something in the morning.
I wanted to show her Prospect park, where Sam had taken me before we even got together and she kind of opened up to me for the first time. It honestly felt crazy to think of everything that happened between then and the present.
My friend had agreed to come to work with me, which would have been a fun experience even if a bit weird, it was as if all of my world were colliding in those days. I was hoping she wouldn't get too bored, but three hours was a reasonable amount of time to spend in a coffee shop keeping your best friend company, considering that three quarters of clients were students who were probably not going to stop by because of spring break.
Luckily my shift that day and the following was with Sarah, the last thing I wanted was Vic sensing the awkwardness between me and Maya and making it worse, since she tended to have some kind of sixth sense for that kind of situation.
"This place is cute, El!" she said as we stepped in the shop. I never usually was the one to open it so it felt strange to see it so empty.
"It is, isn't it?" I smiled, going to the backroom to grab my apron.
"You look just like you did when we worked in the cafè next to our school" she observed as I walked out.
"I'm sorry but this apron is way better than that brown one we had to wear back then" I laughed. "Anyway, Sarah will be here any minute now"
"Didn't you tell me her and Mei had gone somewhere together?"
"Oh, I forgot. Uhm, I don't know, they must have come back because as far as I know she's working today" I said, realizing I hadn't thought of that. "Hang on, Sam's calling me" I added.
"Hi!" Sam said as I picked the call up.
"Hi babe" I smiled to myself. "What's up?"
"I just wanted to let you know I'll be in my office for a while later on, and you told me you're at work, right? I can give you a ride back. Also, I just wanted to hear your voice, honestly"
"I thought you told me you weren't gonna work in these days! But yeah, that'd be nice. Vic's here too"
"I just need to collect some papers and documents baby" she chuckled. "I promise I'm not working too much. How was your day, also?"
"Okay, I believe you. It was fine, we-"
"El, you co-worker's coming" Vic's voice cut me off.
I attempted to continue what I was telling Sam while looking up, but I immediately stopped once I unexpectedly saw Maya walking in.
"You there?" Sam asked.
"Yeah, uhm, sorry" I cleared my throat. "It was okay, I'll tell you more later. There's a...a customer, I gotta go"
"Right, go ahead. See you later then?"
"Yeah, I'll let you know when I'm done" I watched the brunette walk towards the counter I was behind with an amused face.
"Great. Bye, I love you" my girlfriend said.
"I love you too, bye" I replied, wishing I didn't have to put the phone down to not face the comments I knew I was going to hear.
"Uhm, sorry about that" I told Maya, a confused looking Vic in front of me. "I thought Sarah was working today?"
"Hello, it's nice to see you too" she snickered. "I thought you knew her and Mei were not in town in these days"
"Yeah, I did, I just didn't realize... I don't know. Anyway, this is Vic, my best friend from back home" I said, nodding towards her as she sat in front of the counter.
"Nice to meet you Vic. I'm Maya"
"Likewise" Vic said as they shook hands, looking at me as if she was connecting the dots.
I nodded at her as if to confirm what I knew she was thinking, hoping it wouldn't be too evident.
Maya didn't seem quite interested in my friend because she just walked back to me with the same expression.
"It only took her a few months to tell you she loves you, huh?" she said.
"Maya...not now" I sighed.
"What? If she's your best friend you must have told her everything about how I'm allegedly ruining your relationship with a woman who also happens to be your professor"
"Don't make this awkward" I tried to contain myself.
"You know it took her about a year to tell me? I'm really curious about what's so different between us, she seems to be moving much faster with you" she just went on.
"Maybe she doesn't hold grudges and take it out on other people by purposely hurting them, for a start" Vic suddenly intervened.
"Vic!" I almost shouted, caught off guard by her reaction.
"Oh shit" Maya laughed to herself. "She did tell you everything, then"
"I'm aware of enough to know you caused unnecessary problems in her happy relationship and made her feel really bad for at least a week" my friend continued.
"I wouldn't define a relationship with a cheater as a happy one..." the brunette snickered with a challenging tone.
"Don't do this, let's try to maintain a bearable atmosphere for the next three hours" I said as someone walked into the shop.
I glared at Vic as Maya served the customer, earning a confused but resigned expression from her.
"I appreciate you defending me but that was not necessary" I told my friend once my shift was over and we walked out, knowing she'd understand what I was talking about even without any context.
"I cannot keep quiet when someone is making fun of my best friend like that and you know it" she shrugged. "I'm sorry if I made things awkward but I couldn't stand that attitude of hers"
"I think I've kind of gotten used to it by now"
"You shouldn't just accept it, you know. It's not right"
"And what's the alternative, getting into arguments with her? No thanks"
"Maybe she'd stop with the comments, though" Vic suggested.
"I'd rather keep a calm atmosphere between us, working is already stressful enough" I shook my head.
"I don't know how you do it, I would have already kicked her ass" she snickered.
"I know you would have" I laughed. "Luckily for you my shift's later in the afternoon tomorrow, so I'll allow it if you don't wanna come along because you need to pack"
"Yeah, maybe I should avoid having to pack the same morning I'm leaving"
"Understandable. Let's not talk about this anymore, Sam will be joining us in a while and I wouldn't want her to know" I said as we approached the entrance to my college's campus.
It felt extremely weird to see the area not full of students and busy-looking people, as if it was a whole different place.
"This looks definitely better than where I have to spend everyday" Vic observed as we walked in.
"I admit it does look pretty cool here. Even if it's really weird without so many people, the buildings all look bigger than they already did for some reason"
"Yeah, it must be really chaotic during normal circumstances"
"Pretty much. Anyway, I usually meet Sam in the professor's parking lot so that's where we're headed now, I guess"
"So you're usually out here sneaking in forbidden areas and shit?" she jokingly hit me with her elbow.
"I mean, I wouldn't put it in that way...but kind of, I guess?"
"Oh my god, literally sounds so exciting just to hear it"
"Weren't you the one lecturing me about secrecy not being healthy?" I teased her.
"Okay, not everything exciting is necessarily healthy"
"Right...Well, it is exciting" I laughed, sitting on the small brick wall beside the parking lot I'd always sit on while waiting for Sam.
"What if some other professor comes here and wonders why the fuck you're in a professor only area?" my friend sat next to me.
"I've received a few weirded out looks before, but no one has ever explicitly told me something. They all have too much on their minds to think about what I'm doing, I guess. Plus, Sam's smart enough to wait if she sees some other professor walking here" I said as I heard the familiar sound of someone with heels coming from behind us.
I turned around to see Sam walking towards us, holding a folder full of compiled paper sheets, and a smile appearing on her face as soon as my eyes locked with hers.
"Hi girls" she said as she got closer.
"Hi!" I looked around before quickly kissing her.
"Hi Sam" Vic smiled.
"Let's get in before anyone else comes here" she chuckled. "How was work?" she added once we got in the car, placing a hand on my thigh as usual.
"It was fine, not many customers today"
"You sure?" she insisted.
"Huh?"
"About it being fine"
"Yeah. Why?" I asked, confused.
I did sometimes think Sam could read my mind but I doubted she'd sensed the tension from what happened.
"Just asking, you said it with a weird tone" she said.
"Can confirm everything was fine" Vic intervened. "I kept her entertained through the boredom"
"That's good" Sam chuckled. "Tomorrow's your last day here Vic, right?"
"Yeah, unfortunately"
"Do you two have any plans then?"
"Vic wants to act as a tourist and visit the Statue of Liberty" I laughed. "We'll have to leave quite early to avoid crowds"
"Hm, that will be fun. I've only been twice actually. I don't think there'll be many people now anyway"
"You wanna come along?" I asked.
"I'll let you enjoy your last day together" she said with a laugh.
"I wish I didn't have to leave" Vic sighed.
"I'm sure you'll have other opportunities to come back" Sam reassured her.
"Hopefully, I've had a great time these days" she smiled at me.
a/n: i know y'all want sam content, it's coming don't worry hahahaha
(although it might not entirely be the sam content you'd like to to read, no spoilers thoughh)