I sat there at our table in the lounge, listening to Shanna order some specialty off-menu cocktail, and thought about everything that had happened between us in that dorm room four years ago.Once she was finished, I told the waiter, “Just a glass of merlot, please.”“Jeez, you’re a cheap date,” Shanna said as the waiter walked off.“I don’t have as much money as you.”“I told you, I’m buyin’ first round. You shoulda got champagne to celebrate. Maybe not Cristal, but…”“Mm.”Life had gone well for Shanna over the last four years. Her parents hadn’t let her go back to UGA, so she’d gone to community college, just like she’d predicted. And then she’d flunked out of there, too. Too much partying, too much living life like it was her last day on earth.However, her other… skills had led to more interesting prospects. She slept with an up-and-coming (pun intended) fashion photographer and ended up in a relationship with him. Because she didn’t have anything else going on, he took her on as
A couple hours after Shanna and I made up, the company that rented us our tiny dorm refrigerator came by and picked it up. There were two guys, and they went from room to room wheeling out the fridges on hand trucks as people packed up to go home.Then, an hour after that, Derek stopped by with Ryan in tow.“Oh my God!” Shanna squealed, and pushed a lock of her hair back flirtatiously. “It’s so good to see you!”“Good to see you, too,” Ryan said nervously, then looked at me. “Hi, Kaitlyn.”“Hey, Ryan.” I turned to Derek. “What are you two doing here?”“Well… I knew you were leaving after your exam, and I knew that was this morning, so… how’d it go, by the way?”“I think I did pretty well, actually. I think.”“Good.” He smiled, and his eyes twinkled. “So all that studying last night paid off.”Shanna snorted.I blushed.Ryan looked around, confused. “What’s… what’s the joke?”“No joke,” I said quickly. “There’s no joke. Soooo… did you come by to – ”“When are you leaving?” Derek interr
Two more rounds later, we stepped tipsily out of the Forum. Shanna immediately began scanning for taxis. One came down the street and she hailed it.“You comin’ with me?” she asked.“No, I’m going to take the subway back.”“I can give you a ride – ”“Naah, it’s just a couple blocks that way.”The taxi drove up to the curb in front of her.“So, are you going to go do it?” Shanna called out as she opened the rear door.“…yeah,” I said grudgingly.She threw her arms up in the air in a giant ‘V’.“YES! Shanna Williams for the win!” she yelled to all of New York City, then turned back to me. “Let me know how it goes!”“Yeah, yeah,” I grinned, and started off down the street.She started to get in, then stopped and hollered, “Hey – wait – I know you didn’t sleep with him, but you never told me what happened after I left that day!”I turned around and yelled, “Read the fuckin’ article!”“You bitch!” she laughed, then got in the taxi and sped away.I called Rolling Stone the next morning. The
Derek walked me back to my room. Neither of us said much on the way up the stairs. I was seriously nervous; he was Mr. Calm, Cool, and Unruffled.“You need help packing?” he asked.“Um… I guess…”I unlocked the door and we stepped inside. Shanna’s half of the room was stripped bare – metal-frame bed, old mattress, empty wooden desk. I felt lonelier just looking at it.“Can I ask you a favor?” Derek asked.“Um… depends on what the favor is…”“Can you not leave today, and just stay one more night?” he asked, staring into my eyes.“I… I told my parents I’d be back today…”“I’m probably never going to see you again once you leave. Could you please, please just stick around one more night and give me some more time with you?”One more night.The phrase made me weak in the knees.Maybe from how many times I’d heard it in love songs.“…please,” he whispered.All the little voices in my head were screaming, No! Don’t! Bad idea!But the feelings in my body were saying something else entirely.
I sat across from him as he cut the foil off the wine bottle with one of those combination knives/corkscrews.“How’d you get all this stuff up here?” I asked.“Ryan. He snuck the picnic basket up here when he disappeared.”“Ahhhh.” I looked around at the plates and silverware and glasses. It was pretty damn nice for a picnic basket. I probably would have gone with plastic plates and cutlery. “Did you buy this?”“No, it’s Ryan’s parents’. He kind of borrowed it for me.”“Kind of?”“Ahh, they never use it.”Derek pulled out the cork, then poured us each a glass. He clinked his against mine.“To you… and to your brilliant future as a world-famous journalist.”“And to your brilliant future as a world-famous rock star.”“I’ll drink to that,” he said, and we both took a sip.I had only tasted wine at a wedding before, and I was expecting not to like it – but I did. It was a lot sweeter and mellower than the sour stuff at my cousin’s reception, and a hundred times better than the crappy beer
I stood up gracelessly, plopped down on the bed, and removed my shoes and socks.He moved the dishes over to Shanna’s side and put up the picnic basket.“…wow… a guy who makes me dinner, and cleans up…” I giggled as I stretched out on top of the covers.“Damn straight.”He started blowing out the tea lights.“…no… leave them… they’re pretty…”“Okay,” he agreed, but moved the ones on the floor over to the window ledge. Then he kicked off his clunky boots, pulled off his socks, and laid down next to me on the bed.The weight of his body next to mine sent another jolt through my lower extremities.“Turn over on your side,” he commanded me gently. “I want to spoon you.”“…oh…” I said, catching my breath. “…okay… but no forking…”He frowned. “Forking?”“…joke… sounds like…” and I silently mouthed ‘fucking.’He burst out laughing. “Okay – no ‘forking.’”“…okay…”I turned over onto my side and he snuggled up against me.Sweet baby Jesus.As soon as I felt him against me, I was wide awake, an
He didn’t need to be told twice.He rolled off the bed and stood up – “Slowly,” I whispered. “I want to watch.”He stopped and stared down at me in the candlelight, then nodded like he was dazed.You know how hot guys in the movies take off their shirts? They reach up behind their backs and grab the fabric and pull it over their heads, and the whole shirt lifts up from their abs, and it looks really sexy?Derek did that, and it was even hotter.He did it slowly, just like I told him to.He reached behind him and began to pull his shirt over his head.I watched in silent awe as the fabric slid up over his stomach, revealing his abs. They were amazing. Like a real-life Calvin Klein underwear ad, but better. Deep shadows ran between the muscles, outlining him like some sort of Rembrandt or Caravaggio painting. (Thank you, Art History 101.)I couldn’t help myself. I had to reach out and touch them.My fingers glided over his flawless skin, and I could feel the ridges of his muscles benea
I grabbed a couple of Kleenexes and wiped off my hand and then his stomach and cock. I loved the weight of it lolling there in my hand, not fully erect, but still thick and long and beautiful.Then he pulled me down next to him on the bed and we kissed again. He pressed his body against mine, muscular and hot and slightly damp from where he had come. We lay there like that for four or five minutes, just kissing and making out and touching each other in the afterglow.But when I felt him growing hard again, pressing against my stomach… when I felt his hand travel down to my thighs and touch me on my lips… I put my hand against his and broke away.I shook my head ‘no.’He stared at me. “What’s wrong?”The buzz from the wine was gone. The flood of hormones had temporarily abated. And I wasn’t turned on enough – not yet, at least – to ignore what I was doing. Not a second time.“I can’t,” I whispered.“What’s wrong?” he repeated, more insistent this time.It was like I hadn’t been think