Two Hard

by Amy Brent

  Just when he was about to touch it, a knock on the door awoke me violently from my fantasy.

  'Jasmine, you alive in there?' it was my father. I sat up straight on the edge of my bed, the typical “I wasn't doing anything” pose.

  'Y-Yeah? Come in.' my dad opened the door a little and just peeked through with his head.

  'Just came to say hello. Why are you sitting in the dark?'

  'Oh...uh...I was thinking of going to bed early.'

  'Are you feeling okay?'

  'Yeah.'

  'You sure?'

  'Yeah, one hundred percent sure.'

  'Okay. Let us know if you need anything.' he closed the door and left me in my room, sitting in the dark. That was too close. It would have been embarrassing if he saw me like that, hell, anyone would feel embarrassed if someone saw them like that. Robin was right about the “needs”. I did have them before but I didn't really pay much attention to them. I didn't “take care” of them every time. I mean, that's normal. We're human beings after all. I fell back on the bed and thought about him a bit more before finally tucking myself in and falling asleep.

  Tuesday

  This morning was filled with the usual stuff more or less. I spent the entire bus trip thinking about him and sneaking a peak to look at his marvelous face. They got off at their usual station and I got off at mine. I don't have classes today because today is the day when we go hiking. The group of students who chose hiking met up near the front gate of the college. When I got to the group, I saw the always-cheerful Robin waving right at me. I walked over to her.

  'What are you doing here?' I asked.

  'I chose hiking.'

  'When?'

  'Yesterday.'

  'I didn't think they would put you on the list so quick. I was certain that you would miss the first trip.'

  'Yeah, well, it seems my enthusiasm touched them so they let me go.'

  By “enthusiasm” I think she means that she pestered them until they agreed to let her go.

  The PE professor came up to us and called the names from his list. After that was done, we made our way to the small hill on the outskirts of the city. It took us forty minutes to get there. The PE teacher was already there because he used his car. He told us that he'll be waiting for us at the top. Upon saying that, he sat back in his car and drove to the top of the hill. I don't care if you're the PE teacher or what but that's cheating. With a few displeased grunts, the group began their walk to the top. Walking at on a thirty degree angle is hell of a lot more tiring than I thought it would be. Jasmine, stop whining and get this over with. It's your fault you're out of shape. I took my time to admire the scenery while I walked. Suddenly, Robin passed me by.

  'I'll see you at the top!' she yelled back at me while she ran up the hill. I can't believe it. She did exactly what she said she would. She had strap on weights on her arms and legs and was running up hill while dribbling a basketball. She ain't human. She's an alien. I comforted myself while looking at her go up the hill with lightning speed, showing no signs of stopping. Of course, I wasn't the only one amazed by her stamina. Other members of the group cheered her on while some had the same thought on their mind as I did. “You've got to be kidding me.” It took me a full hour to get up there. When I got there, I saw Robin smiling with a towel around her neck and a bottle of water in her hand. She was showing absolutely no sign of fatigue.

  'How...how is that even possible?' I mouthed the question while trying my best to catch my breath. She handed me the bottle of water.

  'Here, this should lift you up.'

  'Thanks.' I took the bottle and drank it all.

  'Your energy back up?'

  'What do you mean? I just climbed a damn hill. This isn't an RPG game where you drink a potion and you're all healed and good to go.' Although, if it was an RPG game, I bet Robin's using God mode. 'Anyway, where's the teacher?'

  'Over there.' Robin pointed at the nearby coffee shop. Enjoying your coffee? I sure enjoyed my walk up here. Not that you would know. I walked up to him.

  'Name?' he asked while looking at my glorious sweaty face.

  'Jasmine Hays.'

  'Hays...Hays...Found it.' he put a small tick near my name. Just a tick. I did all that just for a tick. 'You're free to go home now.' I better be. I turned on my heel and joined Robin in the descent down. She decided not to do the same thing while going down because “she might fall down”. No kidding.

  'Oh, about Mr. Handsome.' my ears twitched and my mind was fully focused on her now.

  'What about him?'

  'I found out who his girlfriend is. Her name is Audrey Gaines and she's a second year at our college.'

  'That was quick. How did you find out?'

  'I have some friends in the second year so I asked around. She seemed familiar to me so I thought it was worth a shot.'

  'Did you...find out anything about him?'

  'So you finally show your true colors, huh?'

  'Stop teasing me and answer the question, Robin.'

  'No. I didn't find out anything about him. Apparently, she doesn't talk about him at all and she refused to tell anyone his name too.'

  'That's weird. He isn't someone you would want to hide.'

  'That's true. If I had a boyfriend as good looking as that, I would probably staple his photo on my forehead.' I laughed at the image of her with a stapled photo on her forehead.

  Somehow, that wouldn't really surprise me.

  'So I guess we'll have to keep calling him Mr. Handsome then.'

  'OR...you go and ask him his name?'

  'Not a chance.'

  'Why not? You have nothing to lose. What's the worst that could happen?'

  'Well, for starters, I could get embarrassed in front of his girlfriend and the entire bus. Second, he might think I'm some weirdo.'

  'That's not so bad.'

  'Robin!'

  'Alright, alright. You can't approach him in the bus. So how are you gonna meet him then? Over some social network?'

  'Can't do that either. Why would he accept a friend request from someone he doesn't even know?'

  'Maybe he's one of those people who just want to have as many friends as possible on a social network.'

  'Nah, I don't think he's like that. He seems more like someone who keeps to himself.'

  'I don't know then, Jas. You'll have to figure it out on your own.'

  'Yeah. I guess you're right.'

  The rest of our descent was quiet. More because of me being breathless than losing a subject to talk about. After we got to the bottom of the hill, we said goodbye to each other and I went home. My legs hurt like hell by the time I got to my neighborhood. I unlocked the front door of the house and entered. No one was home yet.

  I think I should take a shower first before going to bed. I don't want to be sweaty into bed. I went into the bathroom and took off all of my clothes. I let the water run a bit for the boiler to heat up properly. Don't want to freeze to death in there. I got into the tub and pulled the curtain. The shower head was above me so I just turned up the heat a bit and adjusted it to perfect temperature.

  As water ran down my body, my mind wandered away. Away to him again.

  My imagination took over again. It was almost like he was in the shower with me. He embraced me from behind. My back leaned against his naked chest. I could feel his hands on my hips, going up to my breasts and groping them softly. His strong tattooed arms held me as if they would never let me go. With my eyes closed, I gave in completely to my fantasy. I let him touch my body however he wanted to. I could feel his manhood stirring up, pressed against my ass, the thought of that filled me with lust as I craved for more. He grabbed my ass and played with it like a little child would with a toy. I breathed heavily as my hand caressed my womanhood harder and harder. When he penetrated me in my fantasy, I reached my peak in reality. I leaned my back against the wall, trying to catch my breath. Did I just do THAT? I looked down on my naked body, streams of water passing down between
my breasts. Yes, I did. And it was awesome!

  Satisfied and baffled at the same time of my actions, I finished my shower and retreated to bed.

  Wednesday

  My dreams weren't any different than my fantasies and I woke up with the same craving I had before. It was almost like I didn't do that yesterday. I did my morning routine the same way as always and left the house. I had a happy rhythm in my step as I walked to the bus station, eager to see his face again. The bus came and I entered it.

  Now, where's my lovely hunk?

  I looked at the usual spot but it was...Empty?!

  Maybe they sat elsewhere but as my eyes raced over the bus I realized that they weren't there.

  Where is he? I began to panic a bit inside. You must understand that for a girl like me, this is a big deal.

  I'm sure you've understood by now how my life revolves around an extremely accurate or predictable schedule of events. My only highlight is not there!

  This is beyond the unexpected!

  This completely broke my routine. My cheerfulness died down and I became gloomy.

  Sadder and sadder with every bus station we passed, always hoping that he'll walk in on the next one...but he didn't. My walk to the college was slow and lifeless.

  'Hey, Jas! Good morning!' Robin came up to me as I walked to the college and slapped my shoulder.

  'Good morning.'

  'Hey...what's wrong?'

  'Nothing.'

  'No, really. What's wrong? You're deathly pale. Are you sick or something?'

  'No, no, I'm fine, really.'

  'You're lying, Jasmine.' she grabbed my hand and I shook it off.

  'Look, I'm in a bad mood so just leave me alone, okay?' she didn't say anything after that.

  She just stood there. She looked at me like I disappointed her more than anything in this world and that hurt me.

  Robin passed right past me in a hurry, trying to get away from me. Why did I do that? I just chased away my only friend. And because of what? A couple that didn't show up in the same bus in the morning!

  The more I thought about it, the angrier I got at myself. I was stupid to let my emotions take over me like that.

  I could see it in her eyes, I hurt her.

  Even gloomier than before, I walked through the college entrance.

  Suddenly, a bottle flew towards me. I barely caught it. I'm amazed that my reflexes still work at all considering my lazy behavior. I looked towards the direction of the thrower and it was Robin.

  'Use that to cool your head a bit. We'll talk later.' she said and left. I couldn't believe my ears. She didn't seem mad at all. I spent the entire time thinking about him and where could he have gone. I didn't even take any notes in class, which was unbelievable. After the class, I went in front of the college and saw Robin sitting on a bench nearby. I meekly approached the bench and sat down.

  'So, you gonna tell me what's going on?'

  'You aren't...angry?'

  'Can't say that I'm angry, can't say that I'm not.'

  'Oh.'

  'So?'

  'Well...you know that I saw him every morning in the same bus at the same time for some time now?'

  'Yeah?'

  'He wasn't there today, nor was the girl.'

  'You were in a bad mood because of THAT?! Damn, girl!'

  'I'm sorry.'

  'I know you are. But still, you must be head over heels in love with that guy.'

  'I'm no-'

  'Can't deny it now, Jas.'

  She cut me off but she's right. I am in love with him. I didn't give her an answer but my silence answered for me.

  'That's a dumb reason to get bummed about. They could have went elsewhere this morning.'

  'I know but...I don't know, it's like a feeling in my stomach that won't go away, a feeling telling me that it wasn't just that.'

  'You're creeping me out a bit here.'

  'I know. I'm probably over-thinking it.'

  'Yeah, you are. Like you always do.'

  'Sorry I can't enjoy the moment like you do.'

  'It's not about enjoying the moment, Jasmine. It's about enjoying life.'

  'What do you mean?'

  'What do you mean what do I mean? It's self-explanatory. You have to enjoy life. Every bit of it. Every tear you let, every smile you make, you've got to enjoy it all.'

  'How can one enjoy crying?'

  'You're missing the point, Jasmine. There are good times and there are bad times in life. Think of it as a....as an inflatable speed boat.'

  'What?'

  'You know, an inflatable speed boat, the ones made out of rubber or something?'

  'Yeah, I know what you mean but I don't get what that has got to do with anything.'

  'Well, you see, life is like a speedboat with you on in front. When the speedboat starts speeding and begins jumping and hitting waves, it's gonna be rough for you there. Sure, you can go towards the back and be safer but you'll miss out on all the fun. Now, if you let go, you'll fall into the water but if you hold on, you'll be fine. That's all there is to life. No matter if you're in the back or in the front, that's all you've got to do. Just hold on.'

  She amazes me every time.

  'Wow.'

  'Yeah...life is just one big wow.'

  'Thanks Robin.'

  'Don't mention it. That's what friends are for, right?'

  'And to get you in trouble.'

  'That was ONE time!'

  'We almost got kicked out of the college.'

  'But we didn't!'

  'On the third day.'

  'Trouble doesn't know how to read calendars.' I sighed. Thinking about our mishaps before, it sure was fun. 'Why are you smiling?'

  'No reason.' I stood up.

  'What's so funny, I wanna laugh too!'

  'Nothing, just thinking about stuff.'

  'Which stuff?'

  Thinking about how grateful I am to have you as a friend.

  'See you tomorrow!' I walked away while hearing her yell at me to get back and tell her.

  That made me laugh so hard that I almost missed a step. I wish the happiness I had while talking with Robin had lasted longer but as soon as I sat down in the bus, I remembered why I was sad. He wasn't there. I was feeling better than before, but still I felt like there was something missing.

  Friday

  He wasn't there yesterday too. That's two days now that I haven't seen him. I'm acting like a drug addict. I barely got out of bed this morning, didn't even bother to eat anything or fix my hair before going out. I just went out. It was raining outside and I didn't bring an umbrella. Even though I was still near my house and could have easily gone back and got it, I just didn't feel like it.

  I sat in the bus, my hair already wet a bit and I looked towards his spot. He wasn't there again.

  Three days in a row. I'm missing out on my Mr. Handsome dose. I got lost in my thoughts again and I instinctively went out on the wrong bus stop. His bus stop.

  In front of me was a row of buildings which held nothing of importance to me but looking at them right now, can't help but notice this feeling as if something was creeping in on me. I stood there in the rain with my head held high, looking at the buildings and the sky, lost in my thoughts.

  Where could he be? What happened?

  I closed my eyes for a moment, I felt tired even though I woke up less than an hour ago.

  The rain drops fell on my face, leaving nothing dry. This sensation of rain, which I despised not too long ago, now rests me. It feels like it rejuvenates my strength.

  The rain stopped? I no longer felt rain on my face so I opened my eyes. The rain stopped too suddenly. A red umbrella. That's what I saw. The one holding it lifted my mood by a hundred percent. It was HIM.

  'It's not good to stand in the rain like that. You'll catch a cold.'

  Finally, I hear his voice. My mind suddenly twitched and I realized I was talking to my crush for the first time. Instead of words, only incomprehensible sounds left my mouth.
I wasn't even fit to make a sentence.

  'Listen, let me buy you a drink so you can get warmed up and dried off a bit.' A drink right off the bat!?

  Jasmine, write this day down somewhere, it's your lucky day! I just nodded my response.

  He led me to a nearby coffee shop. It was strange being so close to him now when only a few days ago, I was only able to watch him from a distance. We found a table and sat on the opposite sides of each other. The waitress came and we ordered our drinks.

  'Feeling better now?' he asked and I nodded again. 'My name is Brian.' he reached out his hand across the table. I wiped off mine in an attempt to dry it off a bit and we shook hands.

  'Jasmine.'

  'Jasmine, huh? That's a pretty name.' And that's a corny pick-up line.

  'Thanks.' On which I fell for instantly.

  'I think I've seen you before somewhere.'

  'Well...uh...we take the same bus.'

  'Oh, right, right, right! Now I remember. I also saw you at that fast food restaurant...what was it called again?'

  'Fast and Feisty.'

  'Right. The one who thought that one up should be shot.' I laughed. I didn't know why but I was happy. Strangely happy. If I was even happier than this, I think I would start glowing.

  'So, Jasmine, what do you do in life?'

  'Huh?'

  'I asked, what do you do in life? I mean, we're not going to drink this in silence, right?'

  'Yeah, uh...sure. Um...I'm a college student.'

  'Oh, that's great. Which year?'

  'First.' The waitress brought our drinks.

  'A freshman. Nice.'

  'And you?'

  'Me? I didn't go to college so I work where there's work to be done.'

  'Such as?'

  'Electrical stuff, plumbing, digging, pretty much anything that pays.'

  'Plumbing?'

  'Yeah. What? Do your pipes need cleaning?' Hell yeah.