Chapter 16: Homework

Labor Day Monday, a National Holiday. Around here it seems more like National Hangover Day. A lot of aching heads and churning stomachs stumbling around. I’m glad the only night I got drunk on was Friday. I like a good party as much as the next guy, but that was enough for me for the long weekend.

At noon today, the Everett Hall Management and all the RAs are putting on a bar-b-que in the outdoor Common Space for us residents. That’s a nice thing for them to do.

After my work-out and shower, I climb up to relax on my bed. It’s time to answer some text messages that have been piling up in my phone.

Jeff says everything is going good back home. He and Bethany have settled into their routine at the Community College. He told me that he took the stock-boy job at Laske’s Hardware, Marc’s old position. He also finally got his own car and is happy not to have to borrow his mother’s anymore, even though it is his mother’s old car, she bought a new one.

Marc is doing well at State and spending time with Melissa, they’ve taken quite a liking to one another and are starting to date. Good for him. He says it’s nice to have a down-to-earth girlfriend and not one with her head in the clouds like Veronica Palermo was.

Tiffany is doing great at the University of North Carolina, she likes her roommate and all her classes. She did tell me it’s been ungodly hot there though, but having the Atlantic Ocean and beaches nearby make it bearable.

Mom texted me some pictures from the Smoky Mountains. They are having a good time, but she said Luke is bored and complains a lot, driving her and Dad crazy. Big shocker there...

As I’m answering texts, Renee chimes in to see how I’m doing. She’s wore out and spending the day laying-low, she partied all weekend at CMU. She asked me how the parties were around here. I told her I was only out on Friday night, she replied with a goofy-face emoji and called me a light-weight.

She told me her dad went to the doctor for his yearly check-up and they found out he has a high blood pressure issue. His doctor wants him to take some breaks from working so much. Bill has always been a driven man and a bit of a work-a-holic, but at his age, he needs to keep an eye that and take care of his health.

She told me her parents will be spending several weekends at Seney Lake to give her dad a break while the weather is still nice. If we go up there later this month, like we talked about, we probably won’t have the place to ourselves. I don’t mind if they’re there, but it would put a big damper on any sexy fun. Swimming out to the raft naked would definitely be out. Renee suggested we could visit them for a day and then go find a little hidden-away motel somewhere to ... We’ll figure something out.

Alex’s phone pings from a text, this wakes him up from his dead sleep immediately. He flies out of bed and grabs for it, “It’s Gail!” he shouts, “She wants to talk!”

“See, told you everything will fine.”

Alex looks nervous, “Oh, man, what should I say?”

“Just hear her out. The rest, I’ll leave up to you.”

“Think, Alex, think...” he tells himself.

“Tell you what, I’m gonna go down and see if they need any help setting up for the bar-b-que and give you privacy. Come down later and find me.”

“Okay, thanks, Kyle.”

Outside, I find Adam by a large charcoal grill, loaded with sizzling hot dogs and hamburgers. “Hey Adam, need any help with anything?”

“Oh, hey Kyle. Thanks, but you really don’t have to, this one is for you guys.”

“It’s okay, I need something to do.”

“Well, alright. Grab those buns and start laying them out in the trays. I’ll put the grilled dogs and burgers in them.”

At noon, the area is filling up with hungry student residents. I see Zach and Connor and wave. Adam tells me, “Thanks for your help Kyle, go on and eat with your friends.”

We load up our plates and find a place to sit. There are reps from all the fraternities and sororities weaving their way through the crowd, passing out flyers to check out their upcoming Rush-Week parties.

Sigma-this, Alpha-that, Kappa, Beta, Lambda, Pi, who in the hell can keep all these obscure Greek acronyms straight? Why not just use simple names like, “The Kegger-Brothers Cave”, or “The Easy-Sisters House”?

This one guy, who looks like he just got out of bed two minutes ago and smells like he hasn’t showered in a week, sits down with us, “Hey, guys! Now, you look like the type that like to party and have a good time.”

“Yeah, sure,” we shrug.

“Then you gotta come check out the Delta Tau Chi house, that’s what we’re all about, man!” He hands us a tattered flyer that looks like it’s left-over from the early 1960s.

“Uh, yeah..., sure, okay.” We say, just to get this dude to move along. He smells like his primary diet of old stale beer and cigarettes.

“Just look for the DTX House, can’t miss it, at the far end of Chatsford.”

DTX? Sounds like an acronym for ‘detox’, which I suspect all those ‘brothers’ will need to do following their college years...

I see Alex is down from the room, he’s getting his food. I wave him over to sit with us.

“How did it go with Gail?” I ask.

“Oh, she was pissed alright, but she told she was mad at all of the guys. She said we left her behind that night. I honestly don’t remember everything that happened, but I think we did look for her and didn’t see her. Do you remember Zach?”

“Nah, I came back here after that first party, remember? I didn’t go on to that second one with you guys.”

“Anyhow, I told her it would never happen again and that I/we are very sorry.”

“We live and learn...” I tell him.

Later that day, I heard that the Universities’ Pool Building is open for anyone to swim, sounds good to me. As I’m getting changed into my swimsuit in the locker room, Chad sees me and comes over. He’s definitely sporting a few scrapes and bruises as Rachel told me about.

“I suppose you heard about Friday night, huh?” he says to me.

“Yeah ... What happened, Dude?”

“Got drunk and hit on the wrong girl.”

“But, what about Suzy?”

“She was pretty drunk and half passed out. I don’t know why I did it...”

“I know you like your easy pussy and all, but come on, you gotta draw the line somewhere.”

“I know ... Suzy is pretty pissed at me about it.”

“Do you blame her?” I ask.

“No, I guess I can’t...” he sighs, “But, enough about me. So, did you end up gettin’ any this weekend?”

“I could have, but I didn’t think it would have been right at the time.”

“Wow, Kyle, you sure have some will-power there, my friend.”

“Just a little thinking before acting, that’s all.”

“So, are you seeing this girl again?”

“Yeah, we went out yesterday and I’m seeing her again tomorrow.”

“Well, good for you,” he high-fives me.

Back to the grind on Tuesday morning. Professor Havelina, in Economics, is sure in a bitchy mood today. She chewed a girl out for checking her phone while she was lecturing. Normally she doesn’t even seem to notice that sort of thing, or care much one way or another what we do. We paid for the class, it’s up to us to get the most out of it. I mean, I can understand how it’s rude to incessantly play on your phone during class, but the girl she embarrassed doesn’t normally do that. Maybe Mrs. Havelina is a closet-partier for all we know and recovering from the weekend herself.

Outside the Halsig Center, I text Abby to see if she would like to join me for lunch. I made sure to do this away from class, I don’t need to face the wrath of Havelina over it. Abby replied right away that she would, “Love to.”

Five minutes later, she sees me, runs up and gives me a big hug, “I’m so happy you invited me to lunch!” then, she steps back, “I’m sorry, was that hug too much?”

“No, it’s fine.”

“I was just thinking about you and then my phone went off and it was you.”

“Just thought if you were free, you might want to grab something to eat with me.” I tell her.

“Well, you thought right!”

We get our lunch and find a table by the window. I tell her, “I come here often. I like the Study Area over there for getting work done before my afternoon class.”

“This is a cool place.”

“Yeah, I like it,” then I add, “Oh, watch out, Havelina is in a nasty mood today. She laid into some girl for texting.”

“Really? What a bitch! I like the class and all, but that Mrs. Havelina can be such a ... such a cunt!”

In a quiet voice, I tell her, “Okay Abby, a little overkill there. Use cunt very rarely and only when you really, really despise someone, it’s a pretty strong word.”

“Should I have used pussy in its place?”

“No, one bitch in the statement works.”

“Okay, Kyle.”

After we eat, we move over to the Study Area to work on some of our assignments. I notice Abby looking at me often and smiling, I smile back. I guess I really did make her day by asking her to join me. Back in high-school, she only hung out with one or two of her awkward friends at a corner table in the lunchroom.

At quarter to 1:00, I gather-up my laptop and books, “I need to get to going to Philosophy. Are we still on this afternoon at your place?”

“Oh, yes, we are! Can you come over about 6:30?”

“Sure, I’ll grab dinner with the guys and see you then.”

At dinner in the cafeteria, Connor tells us, “Okay guys, so I checked the door of Room 408 this morning and it was open. Can you believe that? They still leave it unlocked after the shredded paper prank.”

“Okay, then are we tentatively on for this Friday?” I ask. “I’m working Thursday, so I can get the bucket and all the cups.”

“Sure,” Alex says, “This is going to be epic!”

Zach adds, “Guys, this is going to take some time to accomplish, I’m sure people passing in the hall will see what we’re doing.”

“So, what if they do? The guys in 408 are gonna know it was us anyway, it’s no secret. Shit, we might even be able to recruit some help,” I tell them.

Connor says, “Yeah, I’m sure they’ve pissed off more than a few people in our wing.”

Back in our room, Alex hands me $80, “My money from home came today, I think this is everything I owe you.”

“Looks right to me, thanks Alex.”

“Man, I really need to find a job, I don’t think I’m ever going to hear back from the Game and Card Shop.”

“Maybe try looking for jobs on-campus? I seen postings on the bulletin board downstairs. Sometimes they need help in the cafeterias or you might be able to make some side-money with grounds-keeping.”

“Yeah ... I’ll take a look, I need to find something. Where are you heading off too?”

“I’m going over to Abby’s, we’re working on Economics homework.”

“Okay, I’m gonna get my laundry caught up, I’m sure you’re sick of looking at my mountain.”

I give him a thumbs-up as I head out the door. I thought about telling him to check under his bed for his dirty undies, but I let it go. Alex hasn’t been leaving his clothes thrown around the room quite as often these days. All steps in the right direction and I’m happy he made good on paying me back.

At Abby’s place, I park my bike, sling off my backpack and knock on the door. From inside, I hear a loud, “Hey Abs, get the door!” Abs? That must be Belinda...

From how Abby described this person, I’ll bet she is laying on the couch, four-steps from the door, but too lazy to get up and answer it herself.

“Hi Kyle, come in.”

I step in and see a rather masculine-looking woman sprawled on the couch, engaged in her TV show. I guess, I won that little bet with myself...

“Kyle, this is Belinda. Belinda, this is Kyle. We’re going to study together.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, just keep it down. I’m trying to watch Housewives here.”

“Come on, Kyle, we can work in my room.”

Abby’s room is at the end of the short hallway. Once we’re both inside, she shuts the door. I have to laugh, “Wow, she’s a bit on the manly-side, huh?”

“I know, right? She’s on the Women’s Wrestling Team.”

“They have such a team here? I can see why she intimidates you. Hell, she even intimidates me!”

I can see Abby is fighting to keep from laughing too loud. “See, I wasn’t lying to you.”

“Nope, you sure weren’t. She seems a little on the dyky-side, is she like, into girls, or something?” I snicker.

“You would think so, but no. She has this brain-dead, boyfriend, Patrick. He’s just like her, all muscular, a total jock. You should hear the two of them when they’re in her room, it’s sounds like they’re throwing the furniture around in there or something, all this loud banging and crashing.”

“Some girls like it rough,” I say, then add, “Or maybe it’s the other way around, he likes her to throw him around?”

Abby giggles, “Who knows ... Have you ever done it rough like that?”

“No, not like that. I mean, I’ve had some lively fun, but never, like, breaking shit or anything.”

“That’s good. I can’t see you getting like that...”

Two minutes in and we’re already the subject of sex, “Maybe we should get started on our homework?” I ask.

“Yup! Oh, and you were right, Mrs. Havelina was pretty bitchin’ with our class too.”

“I think you mean, pretty bitchy.”

“Oh, yes. Did I say that wrong?”

“Yeah kinda, I don’t mean to be the correcting-language-police type, but bitchin’ is an older term referring to something being cool.”

“Oh, that’s fine. You correct me when you need to.”

“Oh, here’s your book you left in my room.” I hand her ‘The Two towers’.

“Oh, thank you for remembering.” She puts it on her small bookcase with other similar books. “I only need one more, an illustrated copy of ‘The Return of the King’.”

We get started on our work, Abby shows me a lot of neat little tricks she uses to make this easier. She really does have a head for this, I can see why she’s going for an Accounting and Business Degree.

After about an hour, she asks, “Hey, would you like some ice cream or something?”

“Sure! That sounds great.”

“Be right back,” she goes to the kitchen and comes back. “We’re out. I’m gonna run to the store and get some more, it won’t take long.”

“Do you want me to come with you?”

“Only if you want to, I’ll only be a minute.”

“On second thought, maybe I’ll just stay here and keep working.”

“That’s fine, see you in a few.” Abby grabs her keys and gives me a little wave as she leaves.

I go back to reading the assigned chapter, god, this is some awful boring stuff. Do you know that weird feeling when your being watched? I don’t know how that works, but it’s uncanny. I turn around and Belinda is standing in the doorway, staring at me.

“Uh ... Hi?” I say.

“So ... are you, like, her boyfriend?”

“We’re friends,” I shrug.

“Look,” she says, “You seem like a normal guy and all, but just so you know, Abby is one strange girl.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Come on, you haven’t noticed how clingy she is? She has no guts, no backbone, no self-esteem, no confidence.”

Wow, I think to myself, what a nice way to talk about your roommate. I know I should probably keep my mouth shut right now, but I can’t. “Is that why you push her around?” I ask.

“Is that what she told you?” Belinda rolls her eyes, “Look, I’m just trying to toughen her up. In case you haven’t noticed she needs to grow a pair, learn to stick-up for herself.”

“A pair? A pair of what?” I ask, “Balls?” I felt like adding, Why, so you can show her yours and compare? But, I let my mouth-governor do its job. Instead I say, “I think she’s just fine the way she is.”

Belinda shakes her head, “I’m sure she’s already whined to you about how nasty I am, or what a bitch I can be, or whatever. I’m just trying to teach her a few things, a few useful life-skills.”

“Is that how you teach, by being a bully?”

“Yeah, if that’s what it takes.”

“You know, Abby’s going through a lot of changes in her life right now. I knew her back in high-school and she’s trying the best she can. Why don’t you lay-off her?”

Belinda looks down and shakes her head again, “I can see why she likes you so much.”

“Oh? Because I treat her like a human being?”

“Whatever...” Belinda rolls her eyes again and returns to the living room. I hear Abby coming in the back door.

A few minutes later she comes in the room with two bowls of ice cream, “I hope you like mint chocolate-chip. I forgot to ask what your favorite is before I left.”

“It’s fine, I like mint chocolate-chip. That roommate of yours is something else.”

“Did something happen when I was gone?”

“Nah, it’s nothing...”

We dive back into our work for another good hour. I still can’t believe what a total fucking bitch that Belinda is. Part of me really wants to go back in that living room and chew that manly-cunt out, and I don’t mean that literally. But, it’s not my place, I don’t want to make things worse for Abby than they already are.

“What are you thinking about?” Abby asks me.

“Oh, nothing. My brain is starting to get fried.”

Abby nods, “Yeah, mine too...” then after moment, she asks, “Do you like me, Kyle?”

“Yeah, sure. I think you’re great.”

“I’ve never spent as much time with a boy as I have with you these last few days. I’m liking this.”

“See, we aren’t all that bad, are we?”

“Not you, that’s for sure.”

“Well, thank you, Abby.”

She goes off into thought again. After a little while, she asks, “Kyle?”

“Yeah?”

“I’ve never kissed a boy before. Do you think ... think I could I kiss you?” Then she goes into one of her little flusters, “I promise won’t do anything crazy, no grabbing, no squeezing, no-”

I scoot closer to her on the bed, “Yes Abby, you can kiss me.”

Her eyes light up, then she takes on a look of dread, “Wh-What if I do it wrong?”

“It’s okay,” I tell her, “You won’t...”

We lean in and our lips touch for quick peck. We both nervously smile. Keeping eye contact, I reach up and put my hand on the back of her neck and gently pull her closer. Again, our lips meet and we kiss for a sweetly longer time, this is nice.

She pulls back a bit and looks up at me, “Oh, this is wonderful!” She takes my hand and places it on her upper chest, “Can you feel my heart pounding?”

“Yes, I do.”

“Did I do okay?”

“You were perfect.” I whisper.

“I like kissing you. It made my stomach get all fluttery, but in a good way! Not in a pukey way, I don’t want you to think that kissing you would make me wanna ... oh gawd! Here I go again, rambling on and on-”

“I know what you’re trying to say, I understand...”

“I even felt all warm and tingly, like, you know ... down there,” she points between her legs.

Some people might be like, “Okay, too much information,” but Abby will tell me anything and everything. Like I said, understanding her is understanding where she’s coming from. She is so uniquely herself ... and I like that.

“Pretty cool, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, it is!” she makes one of her little laugh-snorts, “Oh, sorry...”

“It’s okay.”

We lean in and kiss once more. This time, we close our eyes, both relaxing and enjoying this for what it is, two people becoming comfortable with closer contact.

She smiles and pulls back a bit taking a moment to process. Looking down, she seems a little uncomfortable. “Is everything okay?” I gently ask.

“I have something I need to tell you about,” she says.

“What is it?”

“Okay, so there’s this guy I know, and he likes me, as in, like-likes me, but I only see him as a friend. At first, I wasn’t sure how I felt about him, but I thought I would give it some time to, you know, see how it goes. But, now, I know I only want to be just friends with him.”

“Abby, I don’t want to come between you and another guy.”

“Oh, you aren’t. I had my mind made up about just being friends with him before I met you.”

“Are you sure?”

She looks down, nervously twisting her fingers together. “I don’t know what I should do. I know he really likes me, but I really like you, Kyle. You’re all I think about anymore; it seems...”

I sit back, “Then you’ll need to let this guy know that you want to be friends only. The last thing you want to do is lead him on and let him continue to think you’re interested.”

“Okay, I will. I’ll talk to him the next time I see him. Part of me feels bad, he really is a nice guy, I’m just worried he’s going to be mad at me.”

“Well, that’s always a possibility, but if he’s a nice guy as you said, then he should understand. Trust me, it’s better for you to be up-front and honest with him.”

She sighs, “I’ve never had to break anyone’s heart before ... this is all so new to me.”

“Welcome to the world of having guys take notice of you, Abby.”

“Yeah ... but, I only want one guy to notice me right now.”

I smile, “Trust me, he does...”

We tried to do more homework, but neither of us were into concentrating. We ended up laying on her bed, watching some funny videos on my laptop that we found on YouTube.

Around 10:00, I find myself yawning, I should get going back to the dorm. Abby helped me gather my things and put them in my backpack. On our way out, I see Belinda still camped out on the couch, she made sure to shoot me a dirty look before we went out the door. I had to restrain myself from nonchalantly flipping her off in return, obnoxious bitch!

Abby held my back-pack while I get on my bike. Once I’m situated, she reaches her hand around the back of my neck and pulls me to her. We enjoy kissing some more and I put my arm around the small of her back to hold her close. For her first times kissing a guy, she’s doing just fine. And yeah, I get that tingly feeling down in my area too...

“Call or text me, okay?”

“I will.” I tell her as I peddle out onto the street.

It’s a nice evening, I can hear the crickets chirping their night songs all around me. At the end of her street, I lean into a wide left turn taking me back towards Everett Hall.

While I’m riding, I got to thinking about something, something maybe Renee can help me with. Outside of the dorm, I lock-up my bike and find a bench to sit down., I would rather make this call when no-one is in ear-shot.

I text her, “You still up?”

“Hey Sport! Sure, I’m up.”

“Can I call?”

“Sure!”

I hit call and she answers, “What’s up?”

“I have a question maybe you can help me with. If it’s too awkward, that’s okay, I understand...”

“Okay, somethings up. What’s going on?”

“I have this friend, a girl and I’m pretty sure she’s a virgin–”

Renee already knows where I’m going with this, “Ahh ... gotcha. You want to know what to do and not to do, right?”

“Yeah...” I sigh.

“Look at you! Three weeks at school and already your looking to tap a virgin!” she laughs. I had a feeling Renee would be cool with me about this. “Okay, let me ask. Is it you who’s initiating sex with her, or is she showing interest in doing it with you?”

“We’ve seen each other a few times and she’s been dropping hints she wants to. I do like her and want to see her some more, but I have a feeling that things may progress in that direction before too long.”

“Okay, so that makes your part easier, you already know she wants it.”

“Pretty much.”

“Okay, first thing, slow and easy! I can’t stress this enough. She’s never had a guy inside her before, it’s going to feel very awkward for her at first, just take your time, no rushing, let her get used to you.”

“Okay, slow and easy.” Mental note taken...

“For a girl, the first time a guy enters her is a big deal, even a small to an average guy will feel humongous.”

“What about my size? I’m not like huge or anything, but I don’t think I’m small either.”

“No, Sport, you’re not small, your size is perfect, exactly what girls like. All I’m saying is that her first time might not exactly be stellar sex, just be patient, okay? It will get better for her as time goes on.”

“Is that how it was for you?”

“Yeah, it took me a few times before it started feeling really good. But, remember, every girl is different. You may luck out and her first time will be fantastic, you never know.”

“What about bleeding? I’ve heard that can happen.”

“It can, I didn’t bleed very much. Again, every girl is different. A virgin has what’s called a hymen, do you know what I’m talking about?”

“Yeah, a layer of skin partially covering her opening?”

“Exactly. Some have little more, some have little less. Although, a lot of girls have already broken their own experimenting with a toy of some sort before they even get with a guy.”

“That’s what concerns me, having it hurt for her.”

“Like I said, slow and easy. Start off with some sexy touching, get her warmed up. If she’s okay with you doing so, check her out down there with your fingers, or give her a really special treat and use that magical tongue of yours. See what she’s got going on; you like exploring pussy anyway.”

“Yeah, I sure do,” I snicker.

“If there’s one thing I know about you Kyle, it’s that you’re definitely a pussy-guy,” she laughs.

“What next?”

“When she’s ready, ease it in real slow. Pay attention to her signals and be sure to use lube, like coconut oil. Oh, and more than likely, she probably isn’t on the pill or anything, so unless you want to risk being a father at 18, make sure you wear a condom.”

“I will.”

“You’ll be fine Sport, you got this.”

“Okay, maybe I was overthinking it?”

“No, not at all, you’re doing your homework and you did the right thing by calling, shows you care. Everyone remembers their first time, make it extra-special for her. Knowing you, I’m 100% confident that you will.”

“Thanks, Renee.”

“Anytime, Sport. Don’t sweat it, okay?”

“I’ll try. How’s your dad doing?”

“Oh, he’s fine, taking it easy. He’s having a hard time not working whenever he wants, but he’s going to have get used to that.”

“Tell him I said, Hi, okay?”

“I will. And Kyle?”

“Yeah?”

“Call me anytime you need to talk, ... about anything, I mean that.”

“Thank you.”

Talking to Renee helped me put my mind at ease, I feel a little better about this now. I know Abby is wanting to explore things with me at some point, it’s obvious. I’m okay with that, when the time comes. We started kissing today and we all know kissing leads to touching, touching leads to groping, groping leads to ... I just want it to be right for her.

Everyone remembers their first time. No pressure, huh?