Chapter 35

The next morning, Ally ran around the room like a mad woman trying to get ready. If she hurried, she'd have enough time to grab breakfast and stop by the English Department before her 10:00 calculus class. And somewhere along the line, she needed to go see Ben. Kaija was right; he really was a keeper. Even if he did leave her sexually frustrated at times!

For once, Ally's trip to the dining commons was fairly uneventful. No Barclay hitting on her; no Erica dropping bombshells; and not even much of a line to speak of. Of course Monday mornings were always like that. No one ever wanted to get up and face the new week any earlier than they had to.

With a full, content belly, she headed across campus toward the English building. Ally decided to use that time to work on her apology to Ben. But how in the heck could she even begin to explain her selfish sex-crazed behavior? She had to admit that it even caught her off guard a bit. Even thinking about it now got her all hot and bothered. She wondered how big he was, and how far inside her he'd reach. And would it hurt? Who cared! Was he a fast and furious lover, or a slow and easy kind of guy? Maybe he could be both! And the feel of his tongue on her-

"Hey, watch it, bimbo!"

Ally had run right into a six foot wall! She blushed and looked down at her feet in embarrassment. "Sorry," she mumbled, not wanting to get the guy more pissed at her than he already was.

"Watch where you're going, man!" And with that he was gone. Mercifully headed in the opposite direction she was.

Ally, if you don't get your mind out of the gutter soon, something really bad's gonna happen! Her conscience was absolutely right, too. One steamy kiss with Ben opened the floodgates to insanity it seemed. She was forgetting things like her schoolwork; found herself swearing in frustration; throwing things; running into strangers-literally; and seeing signs of sex everywhere she looked.

She blew out a frustrated sigh as she yanked open the door to the English building and mounted the stairs to the main office. The room was bustling with activity as professors milled about checking their mailboxes, making photocopies, and such. Professor Salinger, however, was not among them.

As Ally tried to make her way to the front desk, she overhead two of the faculty members talking.

"That was one hell of an accident," the male professor whistled. "I heard that it was such a fiery crash, the body was too charred to identify."

Allison felt like she was going to lose her breakfast, but she needed to hear the rest of the conversation.

The female professor covered her mouth in horror as her face turned a few shades lighter. "Then how did they figure out who it was?"

"Dental records," the man responded as he tossed a pile of junk mail into the trashcan nearby. "That's why his name wasn't released right away."

The woman nodded. "It's so sad... I mean, he was always so alone."

"Maybe he wanted it that way," the guy speculated.

"Nah. Nobody wants to be alone." The woman shifted her weight and tucked a pile of manila folders under her arm. "I wonder how they plan to cover his classes? I'd offer to take on the daytime classes, but..."

"Yeah, you and everyone else. I have to admit the department's really pulling together for once. Six people already volunteered to help out with his classes. But it's the night class that's going to be a bitch to deal with..."

Ally glanced at her watch. It was later than she thought; she needed to run across campus for her calculus class. There was a quiz she had to take, so skipping it wasn't an option.

As she hustled to the other side of campus, she found herself wanting to cry all over again for Professor Salinger. She didn't care what the guy did or didn't do to Gina, he didn't deserve to end his life as a human roasted marshmallow! The whole thing made her wonder if the crash was an accident, or if it was a plan to take his life. But burning to death? There were dozens of less painful ways to go, not that Ally had given it a lot of thought herself. He could have easily had too much to drink and simply lost control of his car. But how he died was a moot point. The fact was he was gone.

Calculus class was positively painful. As Ally tried to focus on her quiz, she found her mind wandering back to the professor. Then, somewhere between problems 10 and 11, it hit her. Could she have done something to prevent this from happening? She knew Salinger had been drinking a lot. In fact she discussed that with him the night Erica and Mandy ditched her after class. Unfortunately he didn't seem to see it as a problem. But he was so sad and lonely... Maybe if she had opened herself up to him more, he would have found life worth living...

Ally couldn't wait for class to be over. The calculus professor no sooner clicked the overhead projector light off, and Ally was out the door, dashing for the campus phone in the building's lobby. She needed to talk to Ben. Desperately. Ally knew trying to reach him at his dorm during a week day was a long shot, but she had to try anyway.

As the noisy crowd of students swirled around her, she punched in Ben's number. He picked up the receiver on the second ring. She had never been so happy to hear a voice in her life!

"Ben, it's Ally," she said, sticking a finger in the ear opposite the receiver to block out the noise. "Please don't hang up!"

"I wouldn't dream of it," he responded, his voice sending chills down her spine. "What's up?"

"Can we meet for lunch in the Student Union? I have psych class at 1:15, but I really want to fill you in on some stuff I heard this morning at the English Department."

"Sure, I can do that. Minute Burgers okay with you? It's not quite as crowded as the food court."

Ally smiled. "Sounds great. See you in ten?"

"See you in ten," Ben repeated.

Even though Ally's morning had been far from good, just knowing that she was going to be seeing Ben soon was enough to lighten her step. Sure she still wanted to jump his amazing bones, but if she had to play it his way, then that's what she'd do. She'd just pray she wouldn't die of frustration before she had the chance to indulge in the pleasures of his flesh!

The trip to the Student Union was a quick one for Ally-just two buildings over. And when she made her way through the underground tunnels to Minute Burgers, she immediately knew that Ben had made a great choice. The tiny hideaway wasn't crowded in the least, and the mouthwatering smell of grilled hamburgers and greasy onion rings made her want to spend the afternoon there.

Without warning, a pair of muscular hands grabbed her by the shoulders from behind. "Put your hands up," a scratchy male voice sneered into her ear. "NOW!"

Ally wasted no time dropping her backpack and throwing her hands up in the air. "P-please don't h-hurt me," she begged, her lips and knees both quivering masses of Jello. "T-take whatever you want," she whispered.

"That's okay," the voice said, sounding a bit more normal. Almost familiar. "I just wanted to make sure you weren't carrying any hard, breakable objects!"

Suddenly, Ally's trembling lips formed a grin as she whirled around to face her 'attacker'. "Ben!" she cried out. "You are SO dead!" She threw her arms around him and was rewarded with a quick kiss that lingered just long enough to include a brief meeting of the tongues. The intimate public display of affection literally made Ally's toes curl inside her tightly laced New Balance shoes. And while she certainly wasn't in a position to verify it, she'd've bet money that her panties were damp, too.

Holding the embrace, she moved her mouth close to his ear and whispered, "You know, if you expect me to wait for you, you'd better stop pulling stunts like that. I don't like being teased, Mr. Pruett," she said, slipping her hand between them just long enough to brush against his twitching organ. She pulled back and smiled sweetly.

"Point taken," Ben said with a blush.

"By the way... I want to apologize for yesterday." Ally looked down at her feet, more than a little embarrassed by her juvenile temper tantrum from the day before. "Kaija talked to me, and after a few hours I saw what a total moron I had been." She hoped he'd stop her so she wouldn't have to continue with the apology, but apparently he wanted to see her pay for what she'd done. That was fine. He was worth it! "And for what it's worth, I lost a whole pound of my favorite jelly beans in the process, too." She grinned sheepishly, trying her hardest to make light of an awkward situation.