Chapter 2

Shuffling her feet up the stairs took every effort from her exhausted body. She never wanted to get into trouble ever again. Dealing with the police had opened her eyes and burned away many of her long held beliefs. She was angrier at the ivory tower mindset that had kept her naïve of reality than the cops who stripped her of those illusions. She had always been told that the police were your friends and were there to help you. The brutal verbal abuse and outright intimidation they had subjected her to for nearly two hours had been nothing more than a pair of thugs with badges who felt they answered to no higher authority. If real rape victims were subjected to that behavior, no wonder women refused to talk. She remembered the look of disgust and increased suspicion when she had asked for a lawyer, as if that request meant she was guilty of something even more heinous and prodded them to dig further into her private life.

Once inside her room, she realized that her day wasn't over yet. The mess from the night before needed to be cleaned up. She stripped off the sheets and remade the bed. She took out the trash and emptied half a can of air freshener to kill the smell of vomit. Now her room smelled like someone had puked up scented candles. What little appetite she'd gained flew out the window with some of the stench. She flopped down onto the bed and closed her eyes. She really needed a nap.

She woke up ravenous and chilled. Looking at the clock, she groaned in frustration. She had missed dinner at the cafeteria. Now she had to leave campus to get something to eat. Grabbing a light jacket, she tried to think of what to get for dinner. Thinking about how much she had left of her monthly stipend, she chose the tiny Greek eatery just on the other side of the Arts building. They did a two-for-one gyro special on Sundays. Mutton and feta cheese stuffed pita bread sounded like the perfect thing to fill her aching stomach.

An hour later, Kate sat back after stuffing herself. She suppressed a very unladylike belch and looked around to see if anyone she knew had seen her. That brought back the incident and she wondered if anyone had figured out who she was. She hoped not. Rumors spread on campus faster than light traveled. Chances were someone had whipped out their cellphone and filmed it and the whole thing was on YouTube now. Could this day get any worse? Glancing up at the order line, she had her answer. Yes, it could.

For a brief moment, Kate wondered if she had pissed God off with her actions and this was the payback. No, just my crappy luck, she thought. Petite brunette and her psycho friend stood in line. So far, it looked as if they hadn't seen her and Kate hoped it stayed that way. She sank further back into the booth and hunched over to hide behind her extra-large soda. It didn't work. The brunette began to glance around at the occupants and spotted Kate. The surprise was plain to see on her face. What Kate didn't expect was the immediate look of guilt and shame. Brunette turned back to her friend and it looked like the two got into an argument. The psycho friend looked pissed and left in a huff after the brunette said something harsh.

The brunette ordered her food and then tentatively came over to Kate's booth. Kate didn't know what to do but running away seemed like a really bad idea after what happened the last time she tried that trick. The brunette spoke softly as she stood nervously looking into Kate's eyes.

"I'm really sorry for what Julie did to you. She's got ... issues."

Kate hadn't expected this kind of treatment, nor the apology. Saying her friend has issues almost made Kate laugh. No shit, Sherlock. What gave you the first clue? Instead of blurting that thought out loud, Kate decided that the olive branch had been passed and she needed to accept.

"Okay, thanks. Your friend needs to get some help. She didn't need to threaten me. I wouldn't have said anything to anyone, you know. I'm not like that. I don't do rumors, it's mean and it always comes back to bite you later."

She could see the relief and embarrassment on the brunette's face.

"Why are you being so nice? I thought you ran to get away from..."

Kate was shaking her head, the rueful grin plain as day on her face. She noticed the cook placing a tray on the pick-up counter and made a quick decision.

"Your food is ready. How about you sitting with me and we'll talk like civilized people? I'm Kate, by the way."

"Uh ... uh, okay. Anna."

"Thank you, Anna."

Anna's nervous smile helped Kate relax into the situation. She couldn't quite get over why she'd made the offer. After the way she ran the last time, now her hands barely shook. Kate couldn't help but blush as Anna slid into the booth across from her. There was some relief in that Anna had virtually the same blush on her as well. They stared at each other in an awkward silence for a moment before Kate spoke first.

"Go ahead and eat, relax; we'll leave the other stuff for later."

"Okay, thanks. I really am sorry about what happened. I tried to stop Julie, but, well ... when she gets like that she can be scary, ya know?"

"Yeah, I know."

"God. I'm sorry, I'll just—"

"Shhh, it's over with and done. I accepted your apology, okay? Relax, eat. Let's go with the easy stuff for now. I'm a sophomore English Lit major with a minor in Art. I have a full ride scholarship and live in Towers 3 East in a single room."

Kate learned between bites that Anna was a junior in Business Administration with a minor in Computer Science. She was in a sorority but didn't live in the chapter house. Instead, she lived in an off-campus apartment even though she was a local. As Kate had guessed, Anna came from a wealthy family and been part of the upper crust in high school. While she and Julie had gone to the same high school, it wasn't until she became part of the sorority that they met. It was this revelation that brought back the awkward subject of Anna's sex life.

"How did Julie find out about, well, you know?"

"That's a long story and I can't talk about most of it; I promised Julie never to breathe a word. Let's just say it involved lots of alcohol and the aftermath of a mixer party."

"Yeah, okay, I can relate. I know what can happen when too much alcohol is involved."

Kate's voice and expression must have given away more than she thought.

"Oh? I'm pretty sure how you found out about me, but what do you mean by that?"

Kate blushed and looked around. Nobody seemed to be paying any special attention to them; however, there was no way she wanted to discuss this particular subject in a public area.

"I'm going to get a refill. Let's take a walk."

Anna nodded and followed Kate's lead. Once outside, Kate suggested that they head for the fountain where they could be in a well-lighted public area and still have a private discussion. Kate explained how she first suspected something about Anna after overhearing the discussion in the library. Anna learned from Kate about whispering and how ineffective it really was at keeping people from listening in. Once they found a good place to sit, the conversation resumed.

"You're right about how I know. I nearly stumbled into you and Alex in the clearing yesterday. I didn't know it was you, though. If you'd left your hair braided like it is now, I would have."

Anna's blush turned bright enough to see even in the shimmering lights from the fountain.

"I can't leave my hair in braids when I'm with him. He thinks they're chew ropes just like his other toys. He can be such a goof and tug of war is the last thing I want him thinking about when we're together like that."

"Oh! Uhm, yeah, okay. I guess that makes sense."

"So, you know my secret. What's yours?"

Kate nodded with a blush that was every bit as bright as Anna's had been. She stuttered a little at the beginning, but she described how she'd found the lovers and what happened after she left. This led to her reaction when she recognized Anna's voice in the cafeteria and the incident that followed. Anna had tears in her eyes when Kate described how the cops treated her at the hospital.

"Oh, God! I am so sorry! How can you be so nice to me after that?"

"I don't blame you, Anna. Those assholes are to blame. I had my eyes opened yesterday. In more ways than one. I've had a lot to think about and not much time to process everything. Sitting here now, going over things, I guess I can see why you would want to be with Alex. I mean, the way those cops treated me and my own dating history ... like you said; you spent the day being worshipped. I've never had that. Although, the whole, non-human lover aspect is more than a little disconcerting to me."

Anna chuckled as she wiped the tears away. She gazed at the fountain for a moment before speaking.

"Yeah, I know, believe me, I know. I've tried to explain it to my mom and Julie. Julie thinks it's some super-kinky sex thing. My mom is pretty much the same way; she just doesn't understand and probably never will. Sometimes I don't even understand it. I've talked to some who do, or, at least, think they do. Alex is my soul mate. Deep down in my heart, I know that for a fact. Of course, he's a damn sexy beast and he turns me on just looking at him."

"Wow. That is rather profound and, uhm, romantic in a bizarre way. Look, it's getting late and I've had a horrible day. No, don't apologize again; I don't blame you for what happened. I'd like to talk more, but I'm beat and I still have a ton of work to catch up on. Can we get together later on this week? Don't think this is a condition for friendship, but I'd just as soon keep my distance from Julie for now. Okay?"

"I'd like that, yes. I don't blame you about the thing with Julie. I'll try to talk to her and get her to chill out."

"Great, thank you, Anna."

Life Drawing class on Tuesday showed Kate that she still had issues with her curiosity. Kate apologized to Steve for snapping at him over his excitement about an incident on campus over the weekend. Lucky for Kate, nobody seemed to know who the mystery woman was. She desperately needed to keep it that way. To her chagrin, Steve became distracted with Kate's odd fascination with their newest model. She decided that his attention to her discomfort over the model outweighed the risk of attaching her to the incident on the quad.