3: The passion flower.
The bus pulled into the college stop and I gathered my things together to get off and head in for the first lesson of the week. It was Monday and the first hint of Autumn was in the air.
Despite the bustle of students around me going about their daily routine, I was in a world of my own. Everything seemed different somehow. Everything was different. As if I had stepped through a door into a much larger existence. I stopped, closed my eyes and breathed deeply of the September air.
I opened them to find Sally standing at the college gates waiting for me. She just gave me a look as I came and stood before her. I pursed my lips trying not to grin like a loon. Her smile widened into a pearly white grin as she gave me a huge hug and slipped her arm through mine as we walked together into the building.
*
As we made our way along the corridor to the classroom, I suddenly hesitated as a wave of self-doubt washed over me. Sally turned to me wondering if something was wrong.
"I'm alright," I reassured her. "I just. Would you? Can you see if he's already there?" I asked her weakly.
She gave my arm a squeeze and skipped away as I stood watching and waiting nervously.
My heart was beating so fast in my chest and thundering in my ears. What was I going to say to him? What would he say to me? Do I give him a hug? A peck on the cheek? A proper "oh my god, I want to eat you alive!" kiss? In class? In front of everyone? Maybe I should just smile. Or ignore him.
Oh, good grief.
I looked at Sally who gave me a thumbs up.
Oh hell, here we go.
I entered class walking like I had lead in my boots and was blushing like no tomorrow. As I got to the bottom of the steps, life sort of went into slow motion as I came to a stop. Instinctively, my attention was drawn to where he was sitting.
He was staring at me. His blue-green eyes fixed brazenly on me as I slowly climbed one stair at a time.
I couldn't look away and everything around us just faded away into nothingness. I stopped two steps below where he sat.
He was still looking at me and now that I was closer to him I could see that the same thoughts of our first encounter were on his mind too.
What to say? What to do?
It felt like I was drowning as we continued to look at each other for what felt like an eternity but was probably only a minute or so.
Oh, you sweet man. The taker of my virginity. With that deliciously large appendage of yours. The ache was still there. I could feel it. A dull throbbing in the depths of my sex. For me, there was nothing to say. The love in my eyes said it all.
He suddenly got to his feet and I took an instinctive step back and down in surprise. There was something in the way he was looking at me that made me shiver with unease.
Uh oh. What was he going to do?
I had slipped off my backpack and held it nervously in front of me as he stepped out of his row and slowly came down to stand in front of me as my eyes got wider and wider.
The class was filling up. Most everyone had taken their seats and Miss Elsender was at her desk looking busy.
Then he came to me and I gasped out loud as he drew me to him and placed his lips on mine in a long deep kiss that had me bending back over his arm which held me tightly to him.
I had no idea how long the kiss lasted as he finally lifted his lips from mine and released me from its thrall. My eyes were closed as I swayed back and forth and dropped my bag at my feet in shock.
Unknown to me, he had taken the opportunity to slip something in my pocket.
"Hey you," he smiled as I stood there completely befuddled.
Whu.. what? Did he just do that? Whatever happened to the shrinking violet? The shy guy who wouldn't say boo to a goose? It was then the dream faded and I suddenly realized that everyone EVERYONE was staring at me in total silence.
I reached up and pressed my fingers to my lips. Oh. Uh. Okay. That happened.
Thank God for Sally.
She skipped forward, picked up my bag and dragged me to our seats giving Rick a "what the hell was that?" grin.
She helped me out of my coat as my head still buzzed loudly like it was full of punch-drunk bees. Everyone was still staring until the teacher called for attention. I still felt like I'd been hit with the stupid hammer. Slowly, I came to my senses.
I twisted in my seat to look up at Rick.
He was pretending everything was normal but I could tell he was trying hard to keep a straight face. He was probably more surprised than me that he had done something like that. He glanced down and gave me a knowing smile looking like a ten-year-old who'd been caught doing something he shouldn't.
I just stared at him like he had lost his mind and said - much too loudly - "WHAT?!"
*
I sat and steamed all lesson. Three whole flipping hours of it. What made it worse was Sally who sat beside me full of the joys of Spring and much amused at my reaction.
"What's wrong?" she asked, leaning in so we were touching shoulders. "That was sweet and totally awesome. The looks on everyone's faces!" she grinned.
Debbie on her left nodded enthusiastically.
I took a deep breath. "Listen. Look, I mean, okay, it was nice. But not here. Not in front of the whole class!"
Sally sat chewing her gum occasionally looking up at Rick who was doing whatever it was he was doing. She turned her attention back to me and I could tell what was going through her mind.
"What was it like?" she asked, raising her eyebrows.
Debbie looked puzzled for a second until the penny dropped and her mouth fell open in surprise. Oh, good grief.
I turned pink and started twiddling my pen around my fingers. "Nice," I mumbled. "It was nice."
NICE? It had been WAY more than nice. It had been the best thing ever. I was still feeling him more than twenty-four hours later and it was absolutely divine.
Sally just smiled and gave my hand a squeeze. "Alright, we can take a hint." She looked over at the girl sat to her left. "We'll have to get her drunk and tickle it out of her." Debbie giggled and nodded.
"Ladies," said Miss Elsender who was sat at her desk looking up at us gossiping. "Plenty of time for a chat later. Back to work if you please. Oh, and Miss Hanson," she added. "A word at the end of the lesson."
It was almost a relief to get back stuck into Macbeth.
Almost.
*
The noon bell rang and class evacuated en masse as I packed my things away and went down to see what the teacher wanted.
It turned out it was something to do with my registration that needed to be verified and I needed to confirm a couple of details. No big deal. Behind me, Sally and Debbie were waiting in the corridor. I looked back to see Rick whisper something to Debbie before disappearing.
Once I was done with Miss Elsender, I went out to meet my friends. I glanced down the corridor and tilted my head at Debbie wondering what he had said to her.
"He said he'd see you down in the cafeteria." she said breathlessly.
Oh, he did did he.
"Maybe we should tag along," said Sally enthusiastically. "Just in case."
Debbie was bouncing up and down on the spot like an overexcited Jack in the Box. "Uh huh. We should. We really should!"
As if either of them wouldn't do that anyway. No doubt our little "smooch" earlier was already humming through the college grapevine.
I sighed and nodded. "Don't say a word, OKAY?"
*
He was sat in the far corner away from the main tables where the students and teachers were having their lunches. He was eating a sandwich and drinking a can of coke as he looked up and saw me.
Taking a deep breath and ignoring the looks of the other students, I made my way over to him with Sally and Debbie in tow. When we reached his table I pointed to an empty one in the next row across. "You two," I ordered. "Sit there." Both of them made a face but did as they were told.
Then I pulled out a chair and sat down to face him.
"You look mad." he said suddenly as he sat back in his chair with an amused expression on his face.
I gathered myself up and stared at him. Mad? I wasn't mad. I felt uncomfortable that was all. I had always been the type who liked to know where I was, why I was there, and what was going on.
"Why did you do that?" I blurted out. "In class. In front of everyone?"
He looked unsure of himself suddenly and his eyes dropped to his hands. He gave a slight shrug. "Because I wanted to," he replied simply. "Because I haven't stopped thinking about you since Saturday."
Sally stood up suddenly and looked out of the window towards the road. "Jen, don't you need to go? Your bus is pulling up!"
Damn it. I did have to go. I had promised mom I'd go shopping with her. I turned to him. "Okay, alright. I understand. I was just a little shocked that was all. Look, I need to go and we really REALLY need to talk. Wednesday about twelve thirty in the Library, okay?"
He nodded. "Okay."
Sally and Debbie had already made their way to the college entrance to wait for me. I got up and gave him a slightly awkward wave and ran off feeling his eyes on me as I disappeared. I slipped my backpack over my shoulders as I ran up to my friends.
"Are you alright?" asked Sally.
"Yeah, I just got a bit," I made a face. "You know," The bus had just pulled up to the stop to let the passengers off. Okay, I needed to get going. We'd talk the talk Wednesday.
I gave Sally a hug and was about to do the same with Debbie when she put a hand up to her mouth like something had just occurred to her.
"Oh," she gasped. "Your pocket. He told me he had put something in your coat pocket. I forgot."
My pocket?
I stuck both hands into either one and rummaged around until I pulled a folded slip of paper from the left one. Huh?
I carefully opened it and read what it said.
Suddenly all was right with the world.
*
Rick looked up as I walked through the cafeteria towards him with a determination that matched the rush of desire in my heart.
There was no one else in the place other than him.
Curious glances turned to deliberate staring as I stopped in front of him with my chest heaving. He frowned slightly for the look I gave him would stop most men in their tracks. It had done so many times before. He noticed the other students looking at our little drama and muttered a hesitant "Hey you, I thought,"
I stepped around the table, took a firm grip of his hands and pulled him out of his seat until we were standing face to face.
It felt like my heart was going to burst out of my chest and I was blushing like an early Spring Rose. My eyes fixed on his mouth.
"Hey you," I whispered before slipping both arms around his neck and pulling his surprised face down to mine where I then kissed him so passionately it felt like I was going to faint dead away.
He stood there with his arms slumped down by his side and mumbling a muffled "HHhhhmmfffhh!" as I finally lifted my lips from his.
Panting slightly, I took a moment to calm down before I slowly removed myself from around his neck. Then I did an about turn and walked out of the cafeteria with my head held high and the whole place gawping after me with my boyfriend standing there looking like he'd lost all sense of rhyme and reason.
Sally and Debbie were stood at the exit looking at me with open mouths. "WoooooooW!" gasped Debbie as I walked between the two and out of the college towards the bus stop.
In my pocket was the slip of paper where he had written "I love you too." on it.
*
Wednesday was the talk the talk day.
I was a bundle of nerves as I sat in the Library waiting for him. I kept glancing at my reflection in the window hoping things were going to work out between us.
I had put some serious thought into how I looked and the impression I wanted to make on him. I had dressed to kill. Black from head to toe. Vee necked sweater, black knee length skirt, black stockings and black low-heeled shoes.
My hair was pulled back and bound with a center parting fringe curling back behind my ears which had two small silver studs in them. Yup, I meant business. When I put my mind to it I could stop traffic.
From the moment I had left the house, got on the bus - the driver actually swapped his spectacles when I stepped up and asked for a ticket, got off the bus, and walked into college I was the center of attention. It was like the parting of the red sea as I made my way up to the Library.
To sit twiddling my thumbs. This conversation would have been so different if he hadn't given me that note. I felt hot just thinking about it and what I did after I read it.
The Library was mostly empty. A couple of people sat at terminals and the Librarian was pushing a trolley around and returning books to their correct shelves. I began to feel anxious as I looked at my watch. Where was he?
Then I saw him and my heart flipped over happily. He looked nice. Really nice. My God, I loved looking at him. Just taking him in. The way he moved. The way he carried himself in that slightly deferential shy way he had that was as charming as hell. I raised a hand and he walked over to where I was sitting.
"Hey you," he smiled.
I smiled back. "Hey, you yourself." Oh, those tingly tingles were starting again.
He pulled out a seat and was about to sit opposite me. No, not there. I gave him a "what are you doing?" look and reached for the chair. I pulled it around until it was side by side with mine. "Here, beside me," I said.
"Ah, okay," he said blushing. He dropped his bag on the table and did as he was told, coughing slightly as he shuffled around awkwardly.
I leaned into him and placed my hand on his thigh under the desk. That worked. He sort of turned pink as I gave him a suggestive squeeze.
"We need to talk." I began as I moved closer to him.
He nodded. "Yeah. I know. I just, you know, don't find this easy."
"Well, I'll go first," I replied softly. I took a deep breath. This one was from the heart. "I need you to understand what I'm thinking and how I'm feeling. These past few days have been like an emotional rollercoaster for me. I just need you to,"
My eyes were drawn to his mouth. I couldn't resist no matter how hard I tried. We were so close it was a simple matter of lifting my face to his and kissing him. The kiss was tender and warm. We put our forehead's together, both of us grinning at each other in our own secret world. What I wanted to say came out in a mad rush.
"That day, in my Grandmothers bedroom, I loved what you did to me. The way you made me feel when you.. you," Our eyes met and we both drowned in the memory. "Fucked me. I loved that you took my virginity. I loved everything about what we did. I loved that note. I need you to know that I love you more than words can say and that I need for you to give me more." I whispered as I kissed him again.
He took my hand and, to my surprise, placed a set of keys in the palm before closing my fingers over them. He then lifted my hand to his lips with his other hand reaching up to stroke the side of my face.
"I know," he breathed as he looked at me. "Ditto."
I opened my hand and looked at the keys which were attached to a ring with a red plastic tab. I flipped the tab over and there was a number on it.
"47?" I asked him.
He took my hand and closed my fingers over the keys again.
"The room number," he said, looking at me. He seemed nervous. "I booked a motel room for tomorrow. You have a free day and I'm not at work till late so I thought we could, you know, be together. Just me and you," I could see the rise and fall of his chest as he gripped my hand tighter. "I need to fuck you again, Jennifer. It's all I've been thinking about."
He stopped talking and waited.
I pulled him to me and whispered in his ear. "Ten o'clock sharp. Pick me up here outside the College. I'll be ready for you," I moved my lips until they were nearly touching his. "I need you to fuck me too, Rick. This time we need to do so much more to each other."
True love ways. Never denied.
*
Sweet Dreams Motel - I kid you not - was a two story lump of concrete and drywall on the outskirts of the big city. A traditional piece of Americana with a huge neon sign flickering away telling everyone the place still had vacancies.
We pulled into the lot and parked in the far corner. Rick turned off the engine and undid his seat belt. "Well, here we are."
Here I go again. Round number two. From the moment he had pulled up outside the college, I could already feel that heady sense of electric anticipation beginning to rise inside of me.
I got out of the car and went to stand beside him as he looked up at one of the apartments on the first floor.
"Number 47," he nodded. "I made sure the rooms under us and to each side were empty. Got lucky. Time of year I guess. You okay?" he asked, taking my hand.
I just nodded.
*
Number 47 was as basic as they come.
A double bed. A small table with a cheap alarm clock and a plastic lamp with a Chinese patterned shade on it. An old school tv with a remote in the corner. A couple of wooden chairs. Beige telephone and so on. Fresh bedding and towels were laid out on the bed.
I stood in the middle of the room clutching my bag as I watched him check out the kitchen and bathroom.
"Rick," I said softly as he stopped and looked at me. My libido was having a party inside me and I felt like I was drowning in a sea of pure lust. "I don't think I can wait any longer. I feel like I'm going to pee myself."
No kidding. I could feel my sex beginning to hum and throb as my slot lubricated herself. Good grief, if he so much as breathed on me I'd go off like a firecracker on the Fourth of July. I had been a steaming bag of pent up sexuality for the past couple of days and my whole body was vibrating to the sound of its beat.
He went over to the window, pulled the blinds shut and switched on the light which cast a weird yellowish electric glow in the center of the room above the double bed.
Removing his coat, he tossed it over the back of a chair and came to stand in front of me.