by Nella Tyler
“They practically hand out As on a silver platter for that one,” I told her. “That can be your GPA buffer. Just show up, write the paper at the end of the semester, and you’ll get the A. I promise.”
I found myself slowing down, getting some more food not because I was hungry but because I wanted an excuse to spend more time with Nicole. When I got a refill on my soda I shook my head to myself, looking out through the entryway that led between the serving area and the dining room.
Nicole looked utterly cute and hot at the same time, in a pair of jeans that fit her like a glove, and a t-shirt for a local band. She’d bundled up her hair into a beanie and I wanted to come up behind her and kiss the back of her neck.
I couldn’t stall forever, and I knew that I had to get to studying. When I absolutely couldn’t eat anymore, we all brought our trays to the return hatch. As soon as Nicole’s hands were free I grabbed one of them, giving it a squeeze as we walked across the dining hall to the exit.
Andy and Ashley had gone back to debating their favorite TV show as we walked across campus and back to the dorm buildings. “I think they’re at least going to be show-buddies,” I told Nicole, looking at my roommate and hers with a grin.
“Oh then it’s only a matter of time,” she said in a quiet voice, almost giggling. “They’ll end up making out while they watch a rerun and then it’ll be all over.”
“We can go on real double dates with them, then,” I pointed out. “Not a bad deal.”
No matter how slowly I tried to walk, I couldn’t walk forever; we got to the dorm buildings and Andy and Ashley parted ways with a quick hug. Andy called out that he was going to the Library to pick up some books he’d taken out on Inter-Library Loan. Nicole and I were finally alone for the first time since we’d met up.
“I wish I didn’t have to study,” I told her, shaking my head. “But I have to graduate on time—and if I don’t pass this test I’ll probably end up having to re-take the class.”
“No—it’s fine,” Nicole said, smiling as she looked up at me. “I have to study too.” I hesitated for just a second and then I leaned in, kissing her on the lips.
Nicole wrapped her arms around my shoulders and kissed me back, pressing her body against mine and opening her mouth before I even tested the waters with my tongue. I lost all track of time as we stood there, kissing, and I didn’t even want to be aware of the time—I just wanted to stay there with her, or maybe go up to her room.
But eventually I knew I had to stop. I broke away and smiled down at Nicole. “We have to go out again soon,” I told her, kissing her forehead quickly and letting her go.
“Absolutely,” Nicole agreed. I gave her hand another quick squeeze and then stepped back.
“I’ll text you later, and we’ll see how we’re both doing.” Nicole nodded and I made myself walk away from her in spite of everything in me telling me that I should stay, and keep kissing her.
I walked back to my dorm, trying to focus my mind on the studying I had to do; but I couldn’t wait for our next date.
Chapter Seven
Ashley worked with me for thirty minutes after we got back from lunch, giving me some hints and explanations for what I was trying to understand in Psychology. I started to feel a little bit better about it, and thought that maybe—just maybe—a little more studying would get the material into my head. But I kept thinking about Ty: how cute he was, how sweet he was, and how much I wanted to see him again.
“What do you think of Ty?” Ashley looked up from her own study materials.
“His roommate is kind of cute,” she said, shrugging with a little grin. “And I mean, Ty is totally just—completely into you.”
“Do you think so?” I smiled, blushing.
“Oh yeah. It’s obvious. He wants you bad, girl.” I snorted.
“Should I have let him go ahead last night?” Ashley shrugged.
“If you didn’t feel comfortable with it, then no. You shouldn’t ever do something with a guy just because you think that they expect it from you.” She looked at me more closely. “Did he give you a hard time about it?”
“Oh, no.” I shook my head. “He was really, really sweet about it. He said he never wants me to feel pressured or uncomfortable or anything like that.”
“In that case, he’s golden,” Ashley said. “And going to lunch with you less than a day after the first date is a good sign.” We chatted about lunch for a little while longer, but Ashley had to go off campus to get something for one of her classes. As soon as she was gone, I took my phone out.
I told myself that Ty and I had agreed to check in on each other later; it wouldn’t be a terrible thing if I texted him first. I took a deep breath to steady my nerves and opened up my messenger app, pulling up my conversation from earlier with Ty.
I had no idea why I felt so nervous, but I did; I thought I’d just send a quick little text—something he could ignore if he felt like it, and not too needy.
How’s studying going? I added a book emoji and tapped send. I tried to go back to my own studying but I knew I was just waiting to see if my phone would buzz, if Ty would reply to me quickly or if he was too busy or didn’t care enough.
Just when I was starting to feel stupid about even waiting, my phone buzzed on the table and I snatched it up, almost dropping it in the process.
Slowly! I swear they must make these textbooks boring on purpose. How about you? I thought about the question for a minute. I did feel like I was closer to understanding the material I was supposed to know for the next class—but I was also dreading the possibility that in learning the new material I might have forgotten some of the old stuff. Even worse: I thought I might be totally wrong about understanding it.
Brains are so weird, I wrote back. I now know for sure that I am never going to take another psychology class for the rest of my life. I tapped send, and then immediately wondered if it sounded too much like I was whining. I told myself I couldn’t go back in time and take it back, and if I sent another text it would look weird.
I barely got out of my own psych class alive, so don’t feel bad, Ty wrote back, and I smiled to myself.
How do you get through your studying sessions? Music or TV? Ashley had left NCIS playing on the TV in our room, but I didn’t mind; it was really just background noise.
Either one. I can’t study in a completely quiet room! It drives me crazy. I chuckled, imagining Ty trying to study somewhere like the Library and eventually knocking over bookshelves just to make some noise. I wrote the idea back to him. I totally would! You’re right about that. Are you watching TV?
I told him I was, and he asked what show; I told him what Ashley had put on, and he and I started texting back and forth about the episode, comparing our thoughts. There was a romance scene in the episode and at first we started making fun of it, but then it was like it had been the night before at the fair: we actually started getting into the idea. If I worked in a lab like that, I’d love it if someone surprised me in the middle of the workday with a little picnic in a closet, I wrote to Ty.
I will totally keep that in mind, he wrote back. Let me know when you take Biology and Bio Lab. I snickered at the idea of Ty surprising me with a picnic in the Biology Lab closet; I didn’t think that would go over too well with the administration.
I don’t think they’d let us get away with that. But I’m pretty sure we wouldn’t be the first ones to make out in that closet. I was tingling all over, watching the scene in front of me on the TV and imagining what it would be like if it was Ty and I instead of the actors in the show.
What do you think it would take to get in real trouble? Making out…or would we have to do more? I licked my lips, already starting to get a little turned on.
What did you have in mind? My throat felt tight and dry, and I remembered the way I’d almost given into the temptation to have sex with Ty the night before. I told myself that it would be good to know what he thought about sex before we actually did the deed—I was
just being conscientious.
Well hopefully it wouldn’t be our first time together, Ty wrote. So assuming that it wasn’t, I’d probably text you to tell you to meet me in the closet, and once we were in there, I’d start with kissing you. My heart beat faster in my chest and I could feel my pussy starting to get just a little bit wet, my body heating up bit by bit. I asked him what he’d do after that. I’d hope that you were wearing a skirt or a dress. It’d be a little weird to get totally naked in the closet, right? I giggled at that.
Yeah, it would be kind of bad to get caught with both of us naked, I agreed. Maybe if I knew in advance that you were going to seduce me, I could wear a skirt and no panties underneath. My cheeks burned with a blush but I made myself send the text anyway. My heart pounded in my chest as I waited for his reaction.
Oh god that’s so hot. I grinned at the response I got from Ty. Another text popped up while I was still reacting. One of these days if we ever get around to having sex, we have to do that. God. I’m picturing you in that closet, up against the shelves…you are evil! I giggled again and put my phone aside for a moment, breathing slowly to keep my own arousal from driving me out of my mind. I scrubbed at my face. My body was burning up, I was already so turned on; I wasn’t even pretending to look at my book anymore, and I wasn’t even really paying attention to the TV show. My phone buzzed on my lap and I picked it up, looking down at my screen. Do you want to come over here and study? I’m feeling a bit lonely in spite of the TV and the texts.
I thought about it. Part of my brain screamed out that I would be absolutely stupid if I didn’t take the invitation. But the responsible part of my head told me that I’d be insane if I did take it. There was no way that Ty only had studying in mind, not after the conversation we’d been having. If I went over there, he’d almost certainly make a move on me, and I was pretty sure I’d let him, without even thinking about it. Even if I didn’t want to actually get studying done, I wasn’t sure if I was entirely ready to have sex with him yet.
I cringed as I wrote my response to his question. I know good and damn well that we wouldn’t get any studying done at all! But once I’ve got this all down, I wouldn’t mind coming over to “study” sometimes. I took a deep breath and tapped send, hoping that I wasn’t totally ruining any and all chances I had with Ty. I didn’t want him to think I was some prude who would never put out; but I didn’t want him to think I was easy, either. And I didn’t want to think that of myself.
You’re totally right, Ty wrote me back. Let’s both get really good studying in now so we can fool around later. I smiled with relief at the fact that at least Ty wasn’t offended by me turning down his invitation.
Yes! I bit my lip as I typed out my response, adding, How about on Monday, once you’ve got the test behind you? Ty texted back that he thought that sounded like a great idea, and I set my phone aside. I was hot all over, tingling from head to toe; I was never going to get any studying done when I was distracted like that. I put my books aside and went into my room to grab my towel and bathrobe, and then I stepped into the shower and turned the water on.
The cold water that blasted me was the farthest thing from comfortable that I could imagine, but it did the trick within a few minutes, cooling me off. I was definitely looking forward to my date with Ty, and I thought that maybe—just maybe—I’d give into temptation the next time, if the opportunity came up.
Chapter Eight
Monday afternoon, I got my exam done as quickly as I possibly could; I knew I’d be seeing Nicole again that night, and I wanted to hurry through the day as much as possible, to get to the part of the day where we would be spending time together. I had made plans for us again, and I thought that maybe for the third date—if the second date went well—I’d open it up to Nicole to pick where we went. I’d called a restaurant that I used to work at in my sophomore year and got reservations for us; Monday nights were never all that busy when I was working there, so I figured it would be pretty easy to get a table. I’d been right; they were happy to have me in.
I texted Nicole to make sure she was still going to be able to go out with me that night, and when she sent me a picture of her smiling into the camera in response, I got back to the dorms as quickly as I could and started getting ready to go out. I took a shower and checked on my bank account. Since I’d been to the restaurant before once as a customer, I knew I didn’t have to make myself crazy dressing up—and I texted Nicole to tell her that we would be going to dinner, and that she didn’t have to stress out too much, either.
I changed into a pair of black pants and a dress shirt, and counted down the minutes until I could walk over to Nicole’s dorm to pick her up. I debated getting in my car and driving to the grocery store to buy her flowers; part of me thought it would almost certainly demonstrate how much I liked her and wanted to get even closer to her, but another part thought she would probably think it was hokey and lame. I told myself that I’d find a reason to get her flowers for another date, when I found out if she even liked flowers—and if she did, which ones she liked.
Finally I was able to walk over to her dorm. My heart was pounding in my chest with anticipation of what Nicole would look like, how she’d like the place I was taking her to. Well if she hates it then obviously we won’t be good together, so at least there’s that, I thought as I took the stairs up to her floor of the dorm. I hoped that she had taken my advice—that I wouldn’t see her come to the door having stressed out over how much she should dress up, or that she’d taken me too seriously and would be wearing jeans and a t-shirt and I’d have to tell her that she needed to change.
I shouldn’t have worried. When Nicole came to the door a minute after I’d knocked, she was absolutely stunning. She’d put her dark hair up into some kind of convoluted bun, leaving her neck exposed, and she was wearing a black dress that fit her just perfectly, falling to just above her knees. I was torn between wanting to take it off of her right away and just loving the way it looked on her. “I know I shouldn’t stare, but you are just…” I shook my head. “You’re unbelievably gorgeous.” Nicole blushed, smiling slightly, and stepped out of her room after a quick check of her purse.
“You look really good, too,” she said, looking up into my eyes. “I was so worried that I was going to overdo it or underdo it.” I leaned in and kissed her lightly on the lips—and had to make myself pull back before instinct took over and I went for more.
“You look absolutely perfect,” I told her, taking her hand in mine.
We got into my car and I made my way off campus, checking the time. “Where are we going? You didn’t actually tell me anything specific,” Nicole pointed out.
“We’re going to a place I used to work at,” I told her. “It’s a nice place but not one of those that’s like a million dollars a plate or something.” I grinned at Nicole. “I know it probably totally ruins your image of me to think of me waiting tables.”
“I can picture it,” Nicole said, her lips twitching with the start of a grin. “Why did you stop working there?” I shrugged.
“I stopped when summer break came around, and the next semester I’d gotten more student aid, so I was able to make ends meet better. I still love the place though. I gained weight sophomore year as much because of the free food from there as the dining hall.”
“You gained weight?” Nicole raised an eyebrow, looking me up and down. “That I don’t believe for even a second.” I laughed.
“It wasn’t a lot of weight, but I did put on about ten pounds. It was great.” Nicole snorted and shook her head, still giving me a disbelieving look.
The minute we walked into the restaurant, I was so glad that I’d thought of it; I was so glad that I had Nicole with me. She looked absolutely stunning, and she walked in on my arm as if she went into nice restaurants every day. “Ty! Good to see you, brother,” one of the waiters said, keeping his voice just below a shout.
“Who’s your new girl?” I smiled at the hostess, Emily.
“This is Nicole,” I said, taking in the approving nods of the front-of-house staff who had paused to say hello. As always, the restaurant—called Allegro—smelled amazing, enough to make my mouth water. “I brought her here so I could impress her with all the food knowledge this place hammered into my head.”
“If you really wanted to impress her, you’d have taken her to a place where you wouldn’t get half your ticket comped,” Emily said, giving me a wink.
“Hey! I don’t count on you guys giving me any kind of discount. I have enough money in my account to pay full price.”
“Look at Mr. High Roller here,” Emily said, glancing at one of the other hostesses with a grin as she grabbed two menus. “All right, we won’t sabotage you. We’ve got a table ready for you over in Bryce’s section.”
Emily pulled out Nicole’s seat first and then gave me a look to tell me I was on my own, and handed the menus to us each. Allegro changed its menu seasonally, but since I’d worked there for almost a year, I knew enough to be able to figure out what they’d changed and what would be good to get. “How familiar are you with Italian food?” I looked up from my menu to look at Nicole.
“I know a little bit about it,” Nicole said, shrugging. “My parents like Italian a lot. But I’ve never been to a place quite as nice as this.”
“Most of it’s pretty straightforward,” I told her, looking down at my own menu for a moment. “What kinds of foods do you like? Other than carnival food.” I looked up and grinned at her.
“I like everything,” Nicole said, returning my grin. “That’s part of the problem. Everything on here sounds so good.” I chuckled.
“I know that feeling,” I said. “I definitely always have a tough time choosing when I come in here.”
Bryce finally dropped by the table, pad in hand. “Good to see you in the dining room again, brother,” he said, before glancing at Nicole. “You do me a favor and keep this animal in line, okay? Ever since he got too good to wait tables, he’s a real menace.”