Chapter 2: New Friends

AUGUST 2002, FRESHMAN YEAR

Dawn had been my best friend for most of my life; but except for a month at camp every year, she hadn't really functioned as my best friend since my family had left the Bay Area.

That all changed now that we were back at school.

It was like being at camp again. After breakfast the first day of school, Dawn showed up dressed to hike across campus. We said goodbye to Adrienne, who didn't have an 8am class, headed out for our very first day of college, and more or less spent the entire day together. We chatted constantly. We shared witty observations about everything going on around us. And we generally had a good time.

Well... before lunch, that is. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

Dawn and I both were majoring in Business, with a target to get into the Undergraduate Program at Haas School of Business our Junior years. The Undergraduate Program was very highly rated and a pretty small program within the larger University. Even though the total Freshman enrollment at Berkeley was over 9,000, there were less than 125 students per grade in the program. So while not all of those freshman would be applying, Dawn and I would have to be among the best to get in. And part of our planning meant that we would be having a lot of classes together.

"Excited?" Dawn asked me on the way up the hill to Cheit Hall.

"Nervous, more like it," I frowned. "I haven't seriously paid attention in a class since first semester Senior Year."

Dawn laughed and squeezed my shoulder. "Relax. It's just like riding a bike."

Note to self: Studying for business is NOTHING like riding a bike. More to the point, a college lecture is NOTHING like high school. First of all, no high school class lasts for an hour-and-a-half. Especially not at 8am. I'm not a big coffee drinker, but I was thinking I was going to have to become one to survive college.

Dawn did her best to keep me awake, but I rapidly found myself zoning out as my pen began a slow, uncontrolled drift to the right of my notebook. Not the greatest start to my college career if you ask me.

Pain suddenly blossomed in my right hand. I jerked upright in my chair, gritting my teeth as I realized just in time that I probably shouldn't scream in a filled auditorium. With wide eyes, I looked down at my hand, half-expecting to find it severed at the wrist with blood spurting out of it like a fountain.

But my hand was still attached. And there was no blood. There was a little blue ink on the back of my hand, relatively between the third and fourth knuckles. And Dawn was just removing her ball-point pen, the sharp conical metal tip gleaming like a surgical instrument.

I glared at her. 'The fuck?' I mouthed with a hateful look in my eyes.

She smiled prettily. 'You're awake, aren't you?' she mouthed right back.

I grumped and turned back to face the front, ready to take more notes. But soon enough I began fading once again. And there were three ink marks in my hand before class finished.

When the professor finally dismissed us, only then did I really come alive, as if the physical act of standing reminded my entire body that yes, it was daytime and consciousness is the order of the day. I packed my binder and hoisted my backpack over my shoulder, sighing, "Why do I feel like I didn't learn a damn thing? Even when I was paying attention it just seemed like he was talking about the very basics of a company."

Dawn giggled and headed for the door.

The guy to my left piped up while getting up from his seat. "Don't worry. The only thing important on the first day is that you pick up the syllabus and know what your homework is. Nothing in today's lecture will matter in another two weeks."

I turned and arched an eyebrow to the tall but skinny Asian guy with black wire- rimmed glasses and spiked hair while the two of us headed out the door. "Wanna bet on that? My sister tells me some of these professors have a sadistic reputation of throwing the most random crap into the exams later on. What's our reading assignment, the first three chapters? Five bucks says that stuff is on the first midterm."

He grinned. "Ooh, a gambling man. Sure thing." He put his hand out. "Robert Kim. Everyone but my mom calls me 'Bert'."

"Ben. Good to meet you." I shook his hand.

"Dawn Evans. Hi." Dawn had rejoined us and thrust her hand out. But Bert Kim just popped his eyes wide open, gawking rather obviously at the breathtakingly beautiful blonde by my side.

"Uhh ... uhh..." Bert stammered.

I leaned in with a smile. "Shake her hand, dumbass."

"Right." Only now did Bert drag his eyes off her picture perfect face and the swell of her bosom to notice that her hand was out. He grabbed it and shook it a little weakly, clearly still rather overwhelmed by Dawn's beauty.

Feeling just a little smug, I slipped my hand into Dawn's and squeezed before turning back to Bert. "Catch you later."

"Uh, bye..." Bert said, his eyes still on Dawn.

She giggled and then the two of us headed off. Once we were out of earshot, Dawn squeezed my hand and leaned into me. "You enjoyed that."

I shrugged. "What? You didn't?"

Dawn giggled. Like any beautiful girl, she didn't exactly mind having her ego stroked by another dumbstruck boy. "I can't help it if a guy thinks I'm pretty. But it seemed like you were taking ... credit ... or something."

"Sure. Having you next to me is very good for my reputation."

"But I'm not even your girlfriend!"

"I didn't claim you were. We're just friends ... holding hands."

Dawn smirked. "We'll see if you're still holding my hand when Ryan joins us."

I laughed. It was 11am and we'd made plans to rendezvous with Gwen Tannenbaum and Robin Aldrin at a Bongo Burger for lunch. As Dawn's high school friends, they planned to continue the friendship now that they were all going to college together. Yeah, there were a few acquaintances from my old high school attending as well, but no one from my crew except for Adrienne and no one I'd go out of my way to meet up with.

Ryan was going to hustle across campus to join us for lunch, but he'd probably be late since he had a greater distance to cross. Unfortunately, Adrienne had an 11am class and wouldn't be able to meet up with us. She'd made plans to hook up with Dayna and Brandi and some of their friends for lunch, and I'd see my girlfriend again at dinner.

We'd just made it to Bancroft Way when a flirtatious voice called out. "Well, well ... wouldn't Ryan love to see you two now?"

Dawn and I turned at the same time to see Gwen and Robin walking up behind us. Gwen was giggling and pointing at our joined hands. The pretty dirty-blonde was wearing a Cal Bear's football T-shirt and short-shorts with flat white Keds shoes. Robin just rolled her eyes behind her stylishly-retro black plastic glasses, the attractive but aloof brunette in a simple green polo shirt and shorts.

At first, I made to let go of Dawn's hand but she held on firm. "Hey guys." Then she held up our hands together. "This? This is called 'holding hands'. You should try it sometime. It's not like we're fucking."

"Yet..." Gwen giggled.

"Lay off, Gwen," Robin admonished her friend, slapping her friend's arm.

"Seriously," I piped up. "We're just friends. I'm more likely to screw Robin than Dawn."

Robin's eyes flew open, her brown irises going wide. I grinned and now it was Gwen's turn to slap her arm while laughing. Dawn laughed as well as she finally released me and moved between her two school friends and looped her arms through both of theirs. "C'mon, let's go. I'm hungry," Dawn urged.

As a group, we dodged the multitude of people hanging out on Telegraph Ave., ranging from students to tie-dyed hippies to rastas and to the homeless. Growing up in Orange County, I wasn't used to seeing random people looking stoned out of their minds as they literally sat on the sidewalk outside some of the various stores lining both sides of the street. I led the way while the three girls were chatting just behind me, engrossed in their conversation.

We had just reached Channing Way when I glanced down the sidewalk to the right and something caught my attention. There was a group of Residence Halls down that way, and presently I saw what looked like a young schoolgirl being accosted by a pretty scruffy looking guy. "Let go of me you jerk!" the girl yelled in a high-pitched voice.

There were at least ten other people in the vicinity, most of them looking over at the commotion but none of them showing the slightest inclination to get involved.

Dawn and the girls came up behind me. Ordinarily, I would have crossed the street at least fifteen seconds earlier, and Dawn immediately noticed that I wasn't moving. "Ben? What is it?" she asked.

Just then, Scruffy reached out and smacked the little girl, sending her stumbling backwards and holding her own cheek even though he was still gripping her right wrist. "C'mon, bitch. You're fucking asking for it!"

"HEY!" I yelled, belatedly realizing that I'd already taken off running towards them. "Leave her alone!"

"The fuck are you?" Scruffy turned and glared at me.

"Let go of her!" I called while slowing up as I got within twenty feet of them. The guy's posture had changed and I started to relax. No matter how much a bully, almost anyone would back off from doing anything stupid while they had a public audience.

Yeah, well, not this guy. "None of your fucking business, asshole!" Scruffy yelled at me. And then for good measure he turned and slapped the girl again, this time sending her sprawling face-down onto the sidewalk.

"Hey!" I ran forward again, this time reaching the guy just as he turned to take a swing at me. I twisted away from the punch and ran straight into him. It was a pathetic tackle, but one strong enough to send us both to the ground.

I wound up on top of him, pinning the guy down just as I felt a thick boot smack into my ribs from the side, knocking my breath away and rolling me onto my back.

Ah, SHIT. Scruffy had a friend, and Scruffy Two was pulling his leg back for another kick while I desperately looked around to see if anyone else was coming to join in. Ten faces stared back, none of them approaching.

Great. Where the hell were Adrienne and her pointed heels when I needed them?

The second kick exploded agony up my side but I rolled away and got back to my feet, hunched over in pain. Out of the corner of my eye I saw the girl running back down the sidewalk where Dawn was hurriedly gesturing for her to approach. But just as I started to try and back away I saw that Scruffy One was throwing another punch at my head.

I dodged mostly out of the way and managed to land a punch to the guy's kidneys, but he collapsed onto me and sent us both to the ground again. I grunted in pain and annoyance as my back slammed onto the unforgiving concrete. If I was going to keep getting into fights like this, I should probably learn what the hell I was doing. Especially since they always seemed to turn into awkward wrestling matches instead of like in a boxing ring. And especially since I always seemed to be losing. Scruffy One was trying to hold me down with his left arm so he could keep punching me with his right; and I wasn't doing a very good job of fending him off.

"Move outta the way, man," a growling voice said somewhere above me. "Lemme kick him again."

Scruffy One rolled off me, leaving me gasping for air and bracing for another kick to the ribs. It wasn't even Scruffy Two getting ready to kick me, it was a third guy. Ah, DOUBLE SHIT.

But just when I thought I was in for a world of hurt, Scruffy Three's body went flying to my left and Scruffy One turned around just in time to get viciously punched and land on his ass right beside me.

I looked up. "Ryan?" I grunted.

Dawn's muscled 6'2" boyfriend loomed over Scruffy One, kicking him again before leaning over and landing another vicious punch right to the guy's chin. Ryan then pointed at me and said, "Hold him down!"

I nodded and rolled over, putting my knee over the guy's neck and growling at him to stay put. He wasn't going anywhere, dazed as he was from Ryan's last punch.

Meanwhile, Ryan went over to Scruffy Two and started kicking the shit out of him as well.

Two minutes later, a police car screeched to a halt just off the curb and male and female cops ran around with guns drawn. "Back off, boys!" the female barked.

Immediately my hands went up and I backed away, leaving Scruffy One gasping for air on the ground. Scruffy Two had been soundly bruised and battered by Ryan, and he similarly stayed flat on his back with no intention of moving. And Ryan himself put up his hands and backed away.

On the other hand, Scruffy Three chose that moment to try and make a run for it, scrambling to his feet and sprinting down the sidewalk.

"Hey!" the male cop took off after Scruffy Three, yelling, "Stop or I WILL shoot!"

Scruffy Three didn't bother stopping, but he did turn his head around to check if he was being pursued. And then looking the wrong way, he promptly tripped over the next uneven crack in the sidewalk, sprawling flat on his face. The cop was quickly on him, a knee in the back while pulling his hands around to be cuffed.

I sighed and looked back to Dawn, who was holding on to the little schoolgirl. But now that I got a better look at her, she wasn't quite as young as I'd initially thought. 5'2", with dark auburn hair in twin pigtails, she looked very familiar somehow. Her slender face was dominated by deep blue eyes, and her dainty features were accented by elfin-pointed ears. Despite her petite stature, I'd have guessed she was at least a late teen. And her outfit wasn't exactly standard school uniform, either: knee-high socks with black saddle shoes, plaid skirt, white blouse, and black necktie. But she very much seemed ... for lack of a better word ... slutty. This was a college-aged kid dressed up like a Catholic schoolgirl fantasy.

And now that the imminent threat was over, she darted out of Dawn's grasp and went straight to me, flinging her arms around me and crying, "Thank you!"

I moved to hug her back but the idea of a cop with a gun nearby made me hesitate. So I just kept my arms up while the pretty and petite redhead kept holding me.

Oh, this was going to make for quite the story when I told Adrienne.

"You okay?" Ryan looked over from his seat next to me in an interrogation room at the police station. I'd never actually been in an interrogation room and the very concept made me rather nervous. But they hadn't separated us, which I thought was a good sign.

"I think so," I replied. "My ribs are kind of sore, but I think I'll be alright."

"Mind if I take a look?" He pointed.

I arched an eyebrow with a question in my gaze. "You a personal trainer or something?"

He laughed. "No. I've just been in a scrap or two in my life."

"I could tell. You actually seemed like you knew what you were doing." I lifted my shirt and let Ryan poke around my ribs, where the skin had already begun darkening with bruises.

Sometimes his fingers hurt, but he studied me coolly before pulling away. "Should be fine. Nothing's broken. I don't think there's anything wrong internally. You'll be stiff, but okay." He smirked. "Tell Adrienne to take it easy on you for a few days."

I grinned right back, getting the implication. "Or maybe the girlfriend will want to reward the hero."

Ryan chuckled. "I certainly hope so." A gleam came into his eye and then almost immediately he shut it down. "Well, I mean..." he stammered nervously.

"Relax," I waved. "I told you: Dawn and I are friends. Let her reward you all she wants. Besides, you did all the work. I was just a punching bag."

"Maybe..." Ryan raised both eyebrows. "But that little redhead in the schoolgirl outfit certainly gives you all the credit for rescuing her in the first place."

I blushed. But the door opened before I could reply and a man in a suit and tie walked in. "Hello boys. I'm Detective Wallace and I just need to get a statement from you both."

Ryan frowned. "Then what's with the room and the one-way glass?" he asked, pointing to the mirror at the far wall.

Detective Wallace smiled. "Well, the three other men in the fight are trying to claim you made an unprovoked attack on them while they were asking Miss Jacobsen for directions."

"What?" I blurted.

"Relax," Wallace patted his hands downward in the air. "There were several witnesses around who said otherwise, and those three are locals that we've had some trouble with before. But I WILL be recording your statements to see if anything doesn't match up. Shall we begin?"

I glanced at Ryan and almost in unison we sighed and sagged back into our chairs. Then my stomach growled rather loudly. I could really use that Bongo Burger right now.

It didn't take very long. Once Ryan explained he didn't arrive on the scene until after the fight had started, most of the questions got directed to me. I answered them as best I could without rambling and Detective Wallace was pretty assured that everything lined up with what the other witnesses had said. We were released and thanked for our assistance in catching the bad guys.

The girls were all waiting for us when we got out. All of them. Meaning: the little redhead, too.

Dawn took one look at me and smiled warmly before going straight to her boyfriend and giving him a big hug. I was still a little surprised to see the redhead with our friends and even more surprised when she ran straight up and literally launched herself at me. I caught her and staggered as she wrapped her legs around my waist and clutched my neck like her life depended on it. But all I could do was groan in pain as her legs hit my ribs. "Ohh-unnngh!" I gritted my teeth.

"Oh! Sorry! Sorry! Are you hurt?" The girl immediately dropped to the ground and started clucking over my waist, lifting up my shirt while I tried to fend her off in embarrassment.

"Hey! Hey!" I screeched. "I make it a point not to let a girl strip me when I don't even know her name!"

"Oh! Sorry! I'm Paige! And thank-you-thank-you-thank-you for coming to my rescue! Now are you hurt?"

"I'm fine, I'm fine. Just ... try not to hit my ribs again."

"Sorry!" And then the redhead promptly hugged me again, this time trying to reach her arms higher up around my chest, not easy since she was only 5'2". In the end, she still banged against one of my bruises, but I just grimaced and tried not to show that I was in pain.

"You okay?" I asked and patted her back.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm fine." She pulled away and I was able to see that she had a shiner of her own just under her left eye. And now that I got a better look at her face, I was struck again by how familiar she looked.

Holding her at arms length, I studied the deep blue eyes and facial structure while asking softly, "Do I know you from somewhere?"

Now it was her turn to study my face. "Umm, I don't think so." Then she blushed. "Unless we met at a party somewhere," she giggled.

I frowned and shook my head. Then I asked. "So, what happened back there? Why were those guys grabbing you?"

"Ugh!" Paige humphed. "I met one of them at a house party two days ago. I flirted some and he flirted back. When he saw me again today he wanted me to go to his apartment but I refused. He didn't exactly like the way I turned him down."

I arched an eyebrow. "And exactly how was that?" I asked in curiosity.

Paige blushed, her pale skin turning bright pink which only brought out the red in her hair. "I said something on the lines of, 'A flaccid loser like you wouldn't know what to do with me in an apartment.'"

My jaw dropped. That was quite a mouthful to be hearing out of such a young and innocent-looking girl. Then when she giggled cutely I was even more struck by the contrast. Hell, this girl looked younger than Brooke.

My stomach growled again and that got Dawn's attention. "Hungry, boys?" she turned and asked. Both Ryan and I looked at her and nodded. Dawn pointed to where Gwen and Robin were standing five feet away with takeout bags from a taco joint just down the street from the police station.

"It's not Bongo Burger," Dawn shrugged. "But it'll have to do. I think you've both got to get to class in less than twenty minutes."

I checked my watch. Shit. NOT a good start to my college career. I hustled over to Robin and took the nearest bag. I didn't know what was in it but it would have to do. Ryan grabbed a bag from Gwen.

"Wait!" Paige called from behind me. "Before you go, at least gimme your number!" She pulled a slim silver cell phone out of her tiny purse and immediately started tapping keys.

I shrugged halfway to biting into a burrito and rapidly spat out my cell number. She typed it in and then five seconds later, my own cell phone blared to life in my pocket.

Paige grinned. "That's me. Promise me you'll save the number."

"Umm, uh-huh," I managed to mumble around a mouthful of carne asada.

The cute redhead bounced while her blue eyes twinkled. "Great! I'll call you. I'll have to find some way to reward my hero."

My eyes popped open. But the pixie-ish girl already had spun away and run out the door.

Okaaaay...

But I didn't have time to worry about Paige right now. I had to wolf down more food and get to class.

"What happened?" Adrienne looked dismayed as she immediately took notice of the bruises on my face, and my girlfriend jumped off the couch and hustled her way over to me. I barely had time to set my backpack down before she physically yanked me around and onto the couch, no doubt causing even MORE damage, and then started clucking over me like a mother hen.

Dayna just furrowed her eyebrows and looked over at us, her conversation with Adrienne now long forgotten. And Brandi poked her head out of the kitchen where she'd been making dinner for all of us.

"I, uh, got into a fight," I managed to say, wincing more out of fear for Adrienne's reaction than my own physical pain.

"WHAT?" My girlfriend barked. "How?"

I sighed. Brandi quit whatever she was doing in the kitchen, wiping her hands on a dishtowel the same way our mother always did. Dayna just leaned forward and braced her elbows on her knees. And Dawn, who had arrived home along with me, just shrugged and gestured to me. Yeah, nothing was going to happen in this house until I explained.

So I told them the story. You'd think it wouldn't take very long. If I was explaining to guys the whole thing probably would have taken less than five minutes. But with a concerned girlfriend, a concerned big sister, and an older girl who just wanted details, it took FOREVER.

Plus, Dawn started adding her own commentary about what she and the girls were doing at the police station while Ryan and I were giving our statements. But then the girls wanted to start all over from the beginning so they could get Dawn's side of the story, all the way back when I first took off running to stop the scruffy guys in the first place.

My stomach growled again. Note to self: Don't get into fights. Why? Because you never get to eat when you want to.

Eventually, we got to have dinner and then spread out around the house to do our homework and assigned reading. Since it was the first day of class, we were all earnestly dedicated to doing well and studying hard. It remained to be seen just how dedicated we would still be in another couple of months once the novelty of a new class wore off and new motivations would be required. But for now, we all studied hard.

And then around 11pm, I finally finished up and went to take a shower, eager to just crawl into bed and pass out. My body was exhausted from the fight and a full day and my mind was exhausted from the first extended studying I'd done in a LONG time. Adrienne had finished up before me and I was looking forward to just crawling into bed beside her and spooning until the sun came back up.

But my girlfriend had other ideas. I emerged from the bathroom wearing just a towel around my waist and silently headed into my bedroom. Adrienne had been dozing in bed beneath the covers when I left her to shower, and I'd been expecting her in the same position when I returned.

She was still in bed, but she wasn't in the same position. She was fully awake now, sitting up in bed while wearing my black button-down dress shirt with white pinstripes. The long hem covered her hips, teasing me with the possibility that she wasn't wearing any underwear beneath the shirt. And the smile on her face offered a whole world of possibilities.

But I was tired. "Adrienne, I'm exhausted."

"That's okay, Ben. I'm happy to do all the work," she smiled seductively. "Besides, my man deserves a reward for what you did today."

"No reward necessary. I love you, Adrienne," I exhaled.

Her eyes twinkled and a smirk tugged at the right corner of her lips. "Then let me put it this way. Knowing my man got into a fight to protect a young girl's honor is really, really arousing. You've got me horny Ben, and I need you to help me out."

Adrienne knew just how to get to me. If it were just about her offering me pleasure, I could decline and explain that I didn't need it right now. But the instant my girlfriend told me she needed me, my mind was made up. I couldn't let her down.

Nodding, I let my towel drop to the floor, my limp penis half-stuck to my thigh from the shower moisture. I simply moved to the bed and sat up against the headboard while Adrienne first came to me and pressed her lips to mine in our passionate nuclear kiss. And after sending tingles up and down my spine with her tongue lodged into my throat, my girlfriend shifted aside and brushed her golden blonde hair behind her ears. And then the stunningly gorgeous babe knelt beside me, bent at the waist, and slurped my prick into her mouth.

It didn't take long. Tired or not, Adrienne knew just how to suck me and soon my dick was the hardest bone in my body. And then taking me in her right hand to jack me slowly, she tilted her head up to press her lips to mine for a soft, tender kiss. "I love you, Ben."

"I love you too, Adrienne," I replied just as sincerely.

My girlfriend beamed happily and then sat back on her heels, slowly unbuttoning the dress shirt. Even though she was no longer actively stroking my dick, I felt myself getting even harder as inch after inch of creamy skin was revealed, exposing the slopes of her cleavage. Adrienne smiled radiantly as she knew she had my full and undivided attention, and at last she pulled the two halves apart to reveal that she was clad in quite the eye-catching set of lingerie.

The bra was mostly black but with white accents, like the cups themselves and elements of the straps. But those white cups were only half-cups, supporting Adrienne's massive tits but not completely covering them, even leaving the nipples completely exposed. Her breasts were so large that some level of sag was inevitable, but the shelf-bra kept everything so firm, upright, and pressed together that the display was almost overwhelming. Her thong panties were also black with a white upper band, the color almost blending into her pale skin so that the small black triangle appeared to cover even less of her mound than it did. And presently, the statuesque blonde got up on her knees and seductively began sliding the panties down her shapely thighs to expose her freshly-shaven pussy.

My jaw quivered and my mouth watered at the sight of her gorgeous body. All sense of exhaustion was flushed out of me in a sea of adrenaline. How could I possibly think of sleep when I had such a perfect example of female beauty like this before me? Take the face of Aphrodite and place it onto the most incredible Playboy body imaginable, with flat stomach, oversized tits, and boner-inducing shaped hips. Leave that body flushed with sexual desire, wearing only a nipple- exposing shelf-bra, and paired with a face heated in arousal with golden eyes. Picture all that and you just might be able to imagine the situation I found myself in. Even though I'd had sex with Adrienne many, many times, I was still in awe of her stunning magnificence.

I felt in a stupor as she jacked my cock while straddling my hips. And after swiping my engorged mushroom head through her wet labia a few times, Adrienne positioned me at her entrance and then slowly sank down around me.

"Ohhh ... Adrienne..." I groaned as I felt her incredible wetness and tightness surrounding my column of manflesh.

"Do you like that, Ben? Do you love feeling my pussy caressing your cock?" My girlfriend moaned as she began to hump herself up and down on my body.

"Mmm ... Unn-huh..." was all I could moan in response.

"Isn't this so much better than sleep?" she added, putting her hands on my shoulders for leverage and carefully avoiding any of my bruises.

Chapter 3 »