Chapter 2: First Date

The next morning I toured around the campus trying to find a place I could hang around between my dinner and midnight. I was disappointed. I went back to my room and stayed until it was about time and went to the girls' residence.

There were no girls in the lobby, but I saw a guy. He was a slim guy about my height with brown hair and green eyes. He studied me briefly.

"Are you Juan?" He asked.

"Yeah, I'm Juan. How do you know?"

He reached out his hand. "I'm Morris. We're going to lunch and the game together," he said.

So this was Betty's boyfriend. I shook hands with him and we chatted while waiting for the girls. When they showed up I had a better look at them. Betty was at most 5'3, and from what I saw last time in the dinning hall, she wasn't a swimwear model material. She however had a very delicate face. Denise was almost my height, and even in her jacket, I could see she definitely had long legs. Stephanie was kind of average looking until she widened her eyes or smiled, that's when her glamour shone. They were all wearing turtleneck tops, heavy coats, and jeans. That wasn't a surprise since it was cold even in the day. Both Morris and I were wearing sweaters, jeans, and overcoats.

We went to a deli for our lunch and went to the stadium. Incidentally I found Pete and Macy not far from us and we waved them over to join us. It turned out Morris was the only person he didn't know. I learned that Denise's boyfriend was the right wide receiver but he didn't contribute much to the game. In fact our team didn't contributed much overall and we lost the game 35-17. Pete occasionally filled me in on the game and their game play. After the game the group split up. I was alone with Stephanie.

I didn't have a car and it was impossible to catch a cab at that time so we walked to the restaurant, which was about a fifteen-minute walk.

"First time to a football game?" Stephanie asked me on the way.

"Yeah. In fact first time I watched football."

"I figured that. I saw Pete talking with you on the highlights." Stephanie said, smiling.

I laughed. "Look silly, huh?"

"I don't think so," Stephanie said. "My mom doesn't know much about football although my dad watches a lot."

"I'm not a mom."

Stephanie laughed.

I didn't even bother to look at the menu when we were in the restaurant. Pete had already told me what to pick. He had even suggested a drink for Stephanie and me. He was a great help for a dating virgin. We talked a lot during the dinner. Stephanie smiled and laughed a lot. I knew I liked to have dinner with her. The disappointment came at around nine o'clock when Stephanie suggested that we should go. I still had to find a place to hang around for another three hours. I asked Stephanie about spending some more time at a coffee shop and she agreed. I paid the check and we left the restaurant.

I was again disappointed when we found a coffee shop nearby but it would be closed in an hour's time. Stephanie was puzzled when she saw my expression and hesitation.

"What's the matter?" she asked.

"It's not open until midnight."

"Well, I doubt we should stay out that late anyway." Stephanie said.

"Oh. Okay," I said as I was looking around for another place.

"You want to stay out so late?" Stephanie asked.

"No, but I have to."

"Why?"

"I can't go back before midnight."

"Why?"

"Pete needs the room."

Stephanie burst out laughing. Although I like watching her laugh and smile, I didn't think it was so funny. I swore next time I would use the room whether Stephanie would come over or not. Pete would be able to find a place for him and his girl, but not me.

Stephanie had stopped laughing but she was apparently thinking over something. I didn't bother her. After a long while I saw Stephanie turned to gaze at me without talking. She did this for a moment whiling nibbling her lower lip.

"I'm not sure if I can trust you." Stephanie finally broke the silence.

"Trust me in what?"

"Trust your..." Stephanie said, and blushed, "Okay, Juan, tell me something."

"What?" I said. I had no idea what she was talking about, but I liked watching her blush.

"If we were in a room alone, could you guarantee you would keep your hands off me?" Stephanie asked.

My heart started to pound. I didn't know if she was suggesting anything. I unconsciously looked at my hands. Stephanie laughed when she saw me.

"Okay, Juan, listen," Stephanie said.

"What?"

"Betty isn't coming back tonight. So we can go back to my room to talk and chat. But I am not offering anything beyond that. I'm not that type of person, and I don't expect anything to get out of control. If you think you can go along with my rules, then we can go to my room, otherwise I'll have to say goodnight to you. What do you say?"

Nothing could be worse than spending three hours in the freezing and blustery night waiting for Pete. I promptly agreed to Stephanie's terms.

"No touching, no alcohol, when time's up you will go. Agree?" Stephanie made her points again.

"Agree."

"Okay. Let's go get some refreshments and snacks," Stephanie said and smiled at me.

When we were in the residence lobby, Stephanie asked me again. "Remember?"

"Yep."

Stephanie smiled. "I'm kind of taking a risk. I hope you appreciate my situation." she said softly.

"I think I don't have to worry," I said. "No, no, no. I mean you don't have to worry," I corrected myself.

Stephanie giggled. "Okay. I trust you," she said, and showed me the way to her room on the third floor.

When we went into her room, Stephanie took off her coat and dropped it in a bed, which seemed to be hers. She indicated me to do the same thing, so I dropped my overcoat on her bed as well. I sat in a chair I believed belonged to Betty, as the computer was on that desk. The room's floor plan was exactly the same as mine, except the girls had put up some decorations making it looked more comfortable.

Stephanie got the drinks out and handed me a can. She went over to her bed, hesitated for a second, and went over to sit in the other chair. When she sat down, I got my first good look at her. I couldn't understand why I had never really looked at her during all the time we had spent together at the library. She was wearing a dark turtleneck sweater. She certainly didn't have huge breasts. Or far that matter, she didn't have a big butt either. I realized that the more I looked at her, the more I realized how attractive she really was.

We started talking about everything. Stephanie was very interested to learn everything she could about my past although I didn't think I had a lot to tell her. More than half of my life revolved around computers. The rest wasn't interesting even to a dog. I was, in fact, more interested about her life. I had never talked with a girl in private my entire life.

From what Stephanie told me, she was the only child in her family and her parents expected a lot from her. She had dated very little in high school, and only under close supervision. Most of her time was spent in hitting the books, reading, and playing with her dog. She graduated from her high school with honors and received a full scholarship. Her dad only had to pay for her boarding and sundries. Stephanie had never had any kind of job before. I began to think Stephanie wasn't much more experienced than I was in terms of relationship with the opposite gender.

Stephanie showed me her essay that won the competition. It was a fifteen-page essay about family values in America. I glanced at it and saw some usage of sentences I wasn't familiar with. Stephanie suggested that I take it with me to review and returned to her when I saw her again. Then the talk turned into boys and girls.

"I think Denise is really gorgeous." Stephanie said.

"Yeah, she is pretty. So are you."

Stephanie smiled at me. "Thanks, but I know where I stand," she said.

"I agree that Denise may be better looking, but when you smile or widen your eyes you are charming. And when you blush you are very attractive."

Stephanie blushed. "Thanks. Well, I am glad you look at it that way." Stephanie said, smiling, "At least you look into more than just face and... Well I mean... boobs."

I laughed with a bit of embarrassment. I unconsciously scanned her chest.

"No, I'm not going to show them," Stephanie saw me and said with a smile.

"No, no, no, no, no, no. I didn't mean that. I'm sorry."

Stephanie laughed. "I know that, silly. I was just teasing you. You look cute when you blush."

I knew I had red ears. My neck was probably red as well.

"I've never seen any guy that blushes like you do," Stephanie said, and giggled.

"I guess this is kind of alien characteristic."

Stephanie bent in her chair laughing hard.

"Know what?" Stephanie asked when she could sit straight.

"What?"

"I really like talking with you. You are kind of... Kind of special. I probably wouldn't invite another guy to my room in this situation. I feel I can trust you and feel safe with you," Stephanie said.

"Oh, but you said you were taking a risk."

"I could never tell. Guys are guys," Stephanie said. "I'm glad I haven't bet in the wrong pot."

"Oh." I said. I start to think about Pete and what would he do in such situation. "What about Pete?"

"Hmm. I don't know that much about him. I'm pretty sure I wouldn't trust him," Stephanie said. "Don't tell anyone about this: Macy's roommate slept in this room the day Pete met Macy." She giggled.

I laughed. "Well Pete certainly didn't force Macy," I said.

"Yeah that's right," Stephanie responded. Then she blushed a little before continuing. "Let's change subjects. I don't know where this kind of talk will lead to." She giggled.

I was a bit reluctant to change subjects but I agreed with Stephanie. I already felt a little uneasy in my jeans. "Does Betty always spend her weekend off campus?" I asked.

"Well, Betty's aunt lives in town," Stephanie said. "Hey, Juan. This is an isolated incident. I'm not indicating we'll always talk alone in my room."

I had never thought about it. But now that Stephanie reminded me, it seemed to be an intriguing idea. I had to quickly ban the thought. "I know that. Don't worry," I said.

Stephanie took a look at her watch. I did the same. It was already half past twelve in the morning. I didn't know time would pass so fast. I got up from my chair.

"Juan, I would appreciate you don't tell anyone you've been here," Stephanie said. "Not everyone believes there's nothing between us." She blushed a little.

"Okay. I promise," I said, and went over to her bed to pick up my coat. "Will I see you next week?" I asked when I had put on my coat.

"Sure, if you want," Stephanie said, smiling. "In fact, if you don't mind, I would like to try the extra credit part. I'd like to do everything to raise my grade. It's the worst grade I ever have since grade school."

"Sure. When?"

Stephanie thought for a moment. "What about Tuesday in the library?" She suggested.

"Okay. See you then," I said, as I walked towards the door. "Good night, Stephanie."

"Good night, Juan," Stephanie said, while following me to the door.

When I got outside her room Stephanie leaned forward and planted a kiss on my cheek. She smiled at me and closed the door.

I caressed my cheek all the way back to my room. Pete wasn't there. I took my shower and went to bed.

The next morning when I got up, Pete was in his bed. I started reading Stephanie's essay. I had no idea how good her essay was but I found it very convincing on what she wrote. I had to use a dictionary as she used some words I didn't know. I was halfway through the essay when Pete got up. He cleaned himself up and got something to eat before he came back.

"So how's you first date?" Pete asked.

"I guess it was good. Thanks for all the tips."

"No problem. How good? Did you guys go anywhere after dinner?" Pete asked.

"Well, we had a talk after the dinner."

"That restaurant closes at ten. Where did you go?"

"Well... nowhere."

"Nowhere?"

"Uh... yeah."

Pete had a big smile on his face, and said. "Don't tell me you practiced unsafe sex."

"No, no, no, no, no. Nothing like that. Just talks. Honest."

Pete laughed. "I know bud. Just teasing," He said, and then went over to his desk and got out a couple of condoms from the drawer. "Take some with you whenever you go on date. You never know."

I gave the condoms back to Pete and told him I wouldn't need them. He told me I could get them from his drawer whenever I needed.

When I finished reading Stephanie's essay I asked Pete to take a look. His English was pretty good and he scored high grades in his classes. Pete told me in his opinion that was a great piece of work.

I wonder why two days would seem like two years. I didn't even have my books open when I was waiting for Stephanie to show up in the library on Tuesday. Stephanie smiled sweetly at me when she approached my desk.

"Hi, Juan," she said and leaned toward me. "This is shampoo." She giggled.

I smiled and took a few slow deep breaths fighting my desire of leaning over to smell more. Stephanie showed me her hand written extra credit program with a pencil in her hand. "Go ahead and laugh if you want," she said, and smiled slyly at me.

I almost laughed, not at her program instructions, but at her action. I looked at her paper. Stephanie had pretty good handwriting. "It won't work," I said.

"Why? I read through all the examples in the book and notes," Stephanie asked.

"Because you named your variable 'x' and executed a 'y'," I said and pointed out other mistakes she made.

Stephanie listened carefully. Her head was almost on my shoulder when she looked at her paper. I liked that feeling and scent but it definitely wasn't a good motivation for a tutor. I spent a lot of energy to fight against nuzzling her hair.

"This is a big improvement. You've almost got it," I said after we made the corrections.

Stephanie smiled happily. "Thanks. It's because of you. I'll buy you our next dinner," she said.

That certainly was a huge motivation for me. I wished Stephanie would need me for all her assignments in every subject.

Stephanie showed me her notes from the latest classes and I cleared up her confusion. It was still early for the dinner so we went to the computer room and Stephanie compiled her program without error. We went to dinner together and sat with her friends again. I wasn't teased that much this time. I guessed it was an improvement for myself. Stephanie told me she would call me for my reward -- the dinner she would buy me.

Stephanie called me on Wednesday and suggested we met on Thursday for lunch and check out our Spring Semester registration details. I was having the same idea as I had just received my priority registration form that same day.

When I went to the cafeteria on Thursday, Stephanie was already there. I gave her my tentative schedule before I went to get my food. When I returned with my food, Stephanie was comparing the schedules with a catalog next to them.

"Why are you taking psychology in the evening?" Stephanie asked.

"Because the day time classes conflict with my tutoring schedule."

"Oh," Stephanie said. "I don't feel comfortable taking evening classes."

I was considering cutting down my tutoring hours when Stephanie talked again, "Where's your wellness elective?"

"We don't have to take wellness."

"We don't, but it will make us easier to fill out the requirement since they're mostly one credit courses," Stephanie explained.

"I had never thought about it," I said. In fact I could easily exceed my requirement with advanced computer courses and math courses.

Stephanie scanned my body for a little while. "I think you should take on some exercises," she said. "You've got too much brain and too little muscle."

She didn't have to tell me that, Pete talked about it all the time. In fact I had been considering jogging for some weeks, but it was always just a consideration.

Stephanie wrote something on my schedule with her pencil. She then looked at me and said. "Beginners' Tennis at Eight on Saturday. What do you say?"

"Okay, I guess. Are you taking it as well?"

Stephanie smiled but didn't answer. "Finish your food and let's go to the registration counter," she said.

"I don't have a tennis racquet," I told Stephanie when we were standing in the line in front of the registration counter.

"Me neither, but I've heard that they provide equipment in Beginner Classes," Stephanie said. "Don't tell me you don't even have shorts."

"Of course I have. Do you?"

"Of course I have. Everyone has shorts. Well, I don't have tennis skirts if that's what you mean," Stephanie said and smiled shyly. "I don't have great legs."

I looked down at her jeans. Before I got a good glance I was poked in my stomach.

Stephanie giggled, and said. "Guys are guys."

Eventually it was our turn for the registration. We could have dropped the forms into the drop box but Stephanie wanted to see how it came up. I was already a few minutes late when our registrations were done. I remembered something I thought Stephanie might be able to help.

"Do you have time after classes today?" I asked Stephanie. "I've just finished my English term paper."

Stephanie smiled. "Sure, same time, same place." she said, before disappearing into the crowd.

I was expecting Stephanie to lean forward and tell me whether it was shampoo or perfume when she showed up in the library. She didn't.

"What are you wearing today?" I asked.

Stephanie glanced at her sweater and then had a little blush. "That's not a nice question," she said. But she didn't look annoyed.