Chapter 27

I worked harder than ever for finals. I might as well. Jeff was completely immersed in studying.

Of course we were sleeping together so I did get in some nice cuddle time.

Sometimes we stayed awake together and that was pretty special too.

But what really stands out about the time is how hard we worked. And even though so much of our time was spent preparing, we were doing it together.

We had our individual books and papers and downloads but, somehow, we were a team. We prepared meals together; cleaned up together; rubbed each others' backs when they were getting tight; sat with his arms around me on the sofa when we took breaks together.

It was a revelation that we could build our togetherness while spending most of our time apart.

And then finals were upon us.

If I thought it was difficult for me, and I did, I can't even begin to imagine what it was like for Jeff.

Since he was lucky enough to have four courses in which the final was a paper he could write before finals week, he only had nineteen finals.

The school made special arrangements since some of his finals were as long as three hours and he needed time to eat and crisscross the campus.

I got to prepare some of my specialties that week for dinner - take out.

I was deliberately vague with my parents about when I finished and stayed at the apartment until Jeff finished his finals, and a few days beyond. Both of us needed the time to recuperate.

More important, I wanted to spend the time with him.

I don't know how he had found the time to do it, but he surprised me with tickets to a Broadway show. I protested his paying for them.

"You deserve it. You're the best girlfriend I've ever had," he said.

"I'm the only girlfriend you ever had."

"Q.E.D."

"What?"

"Quod erat demonstrandum. Sorry, it's Latin. It's typically used at the end of a mathematical proof. It means 'as it was to be demonstrated or proved.' As my only girlfriend, you're clearly the best."

He took my hands in his.

"But just like a geometric postulate, it's clear to me I would come to the same conclusion no matter how many girlfriends I'd had, and no one could hope to do better than I have with you."

"Again, very romantic in the nerdiest way possible. How do you do it?"

"It's just how I feel. It comes -"

"I was joking. It's actually very endearing. Maybe I'm just learning to speak Nerd."

He took me to dinner before the show. He assured me he could afford it on what they were paying him for the summer.

We got back from New York pretty late and, young as we were, we were wiped. We started with a little bit of kissing but then we both fell asleep.

In the morning we were refreshed and he greeted me with that biological imperative we women have grown so fond of. God, I'm starting to sound like him.

We built it up nice and slow. There was still technique involved. But, mostly, it was wonderful because it was the two of us and how we felt about each other. Then he suggested I go cowgirl.

"It's a peculiar situation," he said. "Almost anything you do to a guy is great. It's really hard to mess it up. But girls are much more complicated.

"When we're in charge, we can make a pretty good guess at what will please you and usually do a pretty fair job. But we'll always make mistakes.

"However, when you're in charge, you can feel exactly what is working and make adjustments as they're needed. It's a lot like riding a horse in a race where the jockey has to make constant adjustments."

"How many horses have you ridden in races?" I asked.

"I read a book."

"Oh, you read a book. Who could possibly doubt your analogy? You did read that book on sex."

"Well, you know, there's -"

"Shut up! This is not a particularly arousing conversation. We can talk horse racing later."

Dr. Goldberg bowed to my superior logic. He let me take the reins. I rode him hard and put him away wet.

I wanted just a few more days before summer break. I couldn't exactly smuggle Jeff into my room and have him live at my house.

Could I?

My parents didn't take much notice of me, but they probably did take that much.

My reverie came to an abrupt end with a phone call from my Father. He knew my semester was over and expected me home. Then he dropped the bombshell. Well, it shouldn't have been a bombshell. I had just forgotten.