Chapter 447

“Try it again, but this time smooth out the second half,” you suggested. “You’re getting a little too impassioned again. Remember what Garrison said about how the law and the facts are what matters in the case.”

“I know,” Gemma sighed, turning and tapping her script paper on her forehead. “I just get going and I feel like I should be building into it, right? It’s weird to give what amounts to a speech and be trying to just stay almost monotone.”

“You can use inflection,” you said. “You just don’t want to seem like you’re making a speech at all. Conversation, talking about the weather. That’s what we want.”

“Mmm,” Gemma grunted softly, starting to pace again.

Once the round of sex had ended both the girls had headed into the shower to clean up while you had gotten the documents that had been scattered in order. They’d come out squeaky clean and gotten right back to work, and now you were helping Gemma with one last round of prepping her opening statements. Sabrina was back out in the living area poring over the evidence resources looking for more pitfalls or loopholes that had been missed.

Gemma took a breath, preparing to start again, but then let it out and turned, flopping onto the bed next to you heavily. “I don’t want to fuck it up,” she mumbled into the sheets face down.

“You won’t,” you said, rubbing her back. “What makes you think you will?”

“Nothing,” Gemma mumbled. “But nothing makes me think I’ll do really well, either.”

“Please,” you scoffed. “Gemma, you are one of the three smartest people I know that’s our age. Sabrina is number two, and Ollie is number three.”

Gemma snorted and rolled over closer to you, ending up on her back. She took your hand in both of hers and brought it up to her lips, kissing it softly. “How is she?” Gemma asked. “Heard anything lately?”

“They were getting together again back at school,” you said. “But I haven’t heard anything since we said we couldn’t come. It would have been this weekend and obviously that wouldn’t have worked. And I want all the time I can get with you.”

“I wish I could say I’m sorry for messing us up,” Gemma said. “But we knew this would happen going into it.”

“I know, love,” you sighed. “Anyways, I haven’t heard anything from them so I assume they’re hanging out in person and stuff.”

“That’s good,” Gemma said. She’d pulled your hand down to rest over her heart. “Honestly, I can’t wait for you to meet Birdie, love. She’s just fun, and I think you and Sabrina will get along with her heaps.”

“Not afraid she’ll get a little jealous of your time?” you asked.

“No,” Gemma said. “Well, maybe, but that just means she’ll want to come visit us whenever she can. She won’t hold it against you.”

“Speaking of visiting,” you said. “We should talk about where we’re applying. We should be getting our LSAT results back any time now, and need to start getting our shit together.”

Gemma nodded. “That’s a conversation for all three of us though,” she said.

“I know,” you said. “But you’re stressing out and I’m distracting you with something other than my dick.”

Gemma barked a laugh and shook her head. “It makes more sense for me to apply to places here in the States,” she said. “That’s one person going overseas as an international student instead of two.”

“I hear a ‘but’ in there,” you said, and Gemma nodded.

“I love my country, John,” she said. “Australia is ... it’s different from here. The US is great and all, but there’s a different tone. I’d be fine living here, but I want you guys to get a taste of over there for longer than a week or two of visiting. Which isn’t super fair, I guess, but-”