Chapter 4

Paul stepped into his room, a towel around his waist. He spotted Sandy sitting at his desk. "Paul," he said, "do you mind letting me have the room tomorrow evening?"

Paul began pulling on his clothes. "Sure. No problem. If it's a clear night maybe I'll take a walk up the hill. You and Genie got something going midweek?"

"Yeah, since I was tied up all weekend. God, with all that rain I'm surprised I didn't catch pneumonia."

"So, you're doing a make-good tomorrow."

"Yeah. She's probably not staying the night, though."

"Oh, by the way..." Paul handed Sandy the strip of condoms. "I dipped into your supply. I used a couple. I'll replace 'em. I would've bought some but it was kinda ... spontaneous."

Sandy regarded him. "You got lucky ... you stud, you ... Who's the fortunate filly?"

"I don't kiss and tell," Paul replied.

"Then don't tell me..." Sandy regarded Paul. "It was Shy Anne, wasn't it?"

"You guessed it."

"Not a hard guess to make. I see you two together all the time. I figured it wouldn't be long before you started boffing her."

"Truth be told ... I deflowered her."

"Holy shit ... so, another one bites the dust."

"You ever do a virgin, Sandy?"

"Yeah ... once ... prom night. It was not an auspicious occasion. I hoped I'd never have to go through that again. Genie had lost hers by the time we met. I think it's better that way." He looked up at Paul. "How'd it go with you two?"

"Good. Better than I anticipated. There wasn't any bleeding."

"No bleeding?"

"No, and I was glad for that," Paul replied. "She wanted more in the morning."

"That really puts the word more into morning." Sandy stood and gave Paul a punch in the shoulder. "Way to go, bro. You've earned some bragging rights."

"Please don't spread it around," Paul added. "If there's to be any sort of announcement, it should come from her."

"Hey, my lips are sealed. Discretion is the better part of valor."

"She asked me to go to church with her," Paul added.

"Did you go?"

"Yeah."

"Small price to pay. One of those bible-pounding, fire and brimstone fundie places?"

"No. Cheyenne wanted to make a change. She found a small, inter-denominational place ... with a female pastor. It was a big move for her and she said having me with her made her feel better. I agreed to go if I didn't have to sing. It wasn't a bad crowd ... but I'm not buying what they're selling." Paul pulled on a pair of athletic shoes and began tying the laces. "By the way, Sandy ... Since you're using the room tomorrow ... how about if I have it on Friday?"

"It's yours all weekend."

"You have another ROTC thing?" Paul asked.

"No. Genie has some family event she wants to go to. She asked me to drive her and I'll be spending the weekend with her and her folks ... in separate bedrooms, of course."

"Hence the urgency to see her tomorrow night."

"Right."

"What is this?" Paul asked. "Meet the Fockers?"

"I already met the Fockers. This is some reunion or other."

"Have a good time, then ... tomorrow and this weekend."

Paul stood in the lobby of Warren House. A door opened and he saw Cheyenne. She spotted him and sprinted toward him. They embraced and he kissed and nuzzled the top of her head. "Ready?" he asked.

"Ready."

"It's apt to be chilly tonight. Will you be warm enough?"

"I'm wearing layers." Holding hands they headed to the path that led toward Observatory Hill. "So, what are we looking at tonight?" she asked.

"Since you're now a member of the club, I thought I'd show you how to use the Schmidt."

"What's there to look at?"

"Saturn should be visible."

They reached the summit and approached the shed housing the smaller telescope. Paul handed her a slip of paper. "Memorize this and eat it," he said.

She studied it in the dim light. "What is it?"

"It's the combination to the shed."

Cheyenne manipulated the lock and Paul opened the roof. "This is the main power switch. The mount is computer controlled. Let's let this get booted up. In the meantime..." He pointed skyward. "Positions in the sky are measured in right ascension and declination. Right ascension is like longitude and declination is like latitude. The difference is that right ascension is measured in hours, minutes and seconds. It's all programmed into the computer so you really don't need to worry about it too much. Looks like we're booted up."

He approached a mechanic's tool cabinet and opened a drawer. "Here are the eyepieces. The smaller the eyepiece the greater the magnification." He picked up a large lens. "We'll start with this. First thing to do is to calibrate the scope. I like to start with Polaris. You can calibrate on any object but for me Polaris is a tradition. Do you know where Polaris is?"

She looked skyward. "The big dipper ... pointer stars. There." She pointed to a star in the northern sky.

"Right." He beckoned her to the computer screen. "This is a sky map. There are overlays for stars, planets and deep-sky objects. Mouse over Polaris, right click and select, acquire."

Cheyenne manipulated the mouse and the telescope began to slew northward. "Now," he said, "take a look."

She peered into the eyepiece. "I don't see anything."

"Check the spotter 'scope."

She looked through a small telescope attached to the main tube. "I see it."

He handed her a controller. "Use these keys to center Polaris in the crosshairs."

"How's this?"

He looked through the spotter scope. "Looks good. Now look in the main eyepiece. Use the controls to center Polaris in the field."

"Like this?"

"Perfect. Now, mouse over Polaris, right click and select, calibrate." He watched as she manipulated the mouse. "Now, mouse over Saturn..."

She manipulated the mouse and the telescope began to swing toward the southeast. "This is pretty easy."

"Yes, this computer controlled mount makes it easy to find stuff. At home I have a six-inch Newtonian that my dad and I built when I was in high school. It doesn't have a mount nearly as nice as this and finding stuff becomes the challenge ... and, part of the fun."

"How do you find something you can't even see?" she asked.

"You use a technique called star-hopping. It's like navigating a neighborhood by landmarks. The first time I spotted the Ring Nebula with that 'scope I felt like a real scientist."

Cheyenne peered into the eyepiece. "It's beautiful, Paul."

"I never tire of looking at Saturn. let's try a stronger eyepiece."

"That image you made is beautiful but seeing it through the scope..."

"I know. There's an immediacy seeing it with your own eye." He looked up. "Orion is still in the sky. Let's look there, next. There's a very nice nebula."

Cheyenne held Paul's hand as they headed for her dorm. "I had a really nice time, tonight," she said.

"Maybe you want to change your major -- to Astronomy. It's a small department but the guy who runs it is really good ... quite renowned. I've taken a couple of courses from him."

"It's a little late in the game for me to switch majors," she replied.

"Not necessarily. Have a talk with him. He's a good guy."

They reached Warren House and stepped into the lobby. Paul sat on a bench and Cheyenne sat beside him. He checked his watch. "Well ... Sandy and Genie should have things wrapped up about now. He told me he's going out of town this weekend ... spending it with her folks, so I'll have the room to myself. I was wondering if you'd be interested..."

"Are you kidding? I can't get last weekend out of my mind, Paul. I don't think I can get enough of you."

"Then, after dinner on Friday we can figure something out."

"I can't wait."

Paul regarded his room. He had put fresh linens on the bed, straightened up his closet and placed a box of condoms on the table near his bed. He checked the minifridge to make sure it was stocked with bottled water and he had cleared stacks of papers from his desk. He glanced at Sandy's side. Sandy kept his half spotless, his bed tautly made and papers out of sight. It must be the military mentality, Paul thought. Once again he scanned his side. With an approving nod he headed for the cafeteria.

He found Cheyenne waiting for him and carrying a small, soft-sided case. "What's that?" he asked.

"I took the liberty of packing an overnight case," she replied. "You know -- change of clothes, robe, shampoo, hair dryer. That sort of thing."

"I can run it up to my room so it won't be underfoot," he suggested.

"Okay." She handed him the bag and he dashed back to the second floor.

Holding her hand they headed into the cafeteria and went through the line. He sat across from her. She looked up at him and smiled. "You look so much happier than the first time I met you," he remarked.

"Oh, Paul -- I'm on Cloud Nine."

"Did you have a talk with Dr Jones?"

"I did. He suggested I sit in on a couple of his classes."

"Did you?"

"Yes."

"What did you think?"

She shrugged "I'm afraid I don't have enough of a head for math to switch into a pure science major. It's math that's probably second nature to you but baffling to me."

"At least you investigated it." He sipped from a cup of soda. "Ice cream?"

"Sure."

He returned and handed her a bowl.

"So," he said as he scraped the bottom of his bowl, "what do you want to do? We have all night and the night is young. Do you want to go straight to my room? See a movie? Take a walk?"

"Let's go up the hill and watch the sunset. I think that's so romantic."

"Okay." He carried their trays to the trash receptacle and dumped them. Holding hands they made the climb to the top of the hill.

Paul sat on the rock and Cheyenne sat on his lap. He caressed her legs through the denim of her jeans. She slipped off her glasses and they kissed.

"This is my favorite spot on campus," she said.

"Mine, too."

Paul kissed her eyelids, her cheeks, nose and chin. Then he kissed her lips, relaxed his jaw and felt her tongue against his. He drew back, caressing her tongue with his lips.

"Sunset's starting to get good," he remarked.

She slipped on her glasses. "Pretty ... Those clouds look like they've been dipped in raspberry juice."

He held her on his lap as the sky darkened. "Anything we can see through the telescope?" she asked.

He looked up. "I think it's a bit too cloudy ... and the clouds seem to be thickening. That is one of the challenges for an astronomer. Shall we head down?"

Cheyenne hopped off his lap and they held hands. Paul escorted her into his dorm, up the stairs and to his room. He opened the door. Before it closed and latched they were in an embrace.

"I'll want to wash my face and brush my teeth," she said, taking a toiletries case from her bag."

"Fine."

"See you in a bit." She gave him a wave and headed into the corridor.

Paul took a bottle of water from the fridge and set it on his table, along with a clean glass. Hearing a rap on his door he opened it and Cheyenne stepped in. "Shall we get ready?" she asked.

"Like last time? With the big reveal?"

"Yes. I liked that."

She picked up her bag and with a sly smile slipped behind the bedsheet curtain. Paul stripped to his briefs, folded his clothes and put them in his closet.

"I'm ready," she said.

Paul pulled back the sheet. Cheyenne stood before him in a short, sheer, black nightgown and black panties. He let out a whistle. "Where did you get that?"

"I had to go to Smith's for some stuff. I saw this on a sale rack and thought you'd like it. Do you?"

"You look great in it."

She turned around to show the gown's low-cut back. Paul noticed her briefs were actually a thong. "Did I ever tell you that you have a pretty back?" he asked.

"No, I don't think you ever did."

"Well, you do." He embraced her, holding her tight and caressing her back and buttocks. "And, a sexy bottom."

"You mean my bubble butt? How can you like it?"

"Because it's yours."

He sat on his bed and held her on his lap, caressing her thighs and exploring the shapes in her knees with his fingers.

Paul admired how the sheer fabric displayed her breasts. "This gown leaves little to the imagination," he remarked as he began caressing her breasts with the backs of his fingers."

"Are you complaining?"

"Not at all. I don't have a very vivid imagination."

"I thought guys were always undressing girls with their eyes ... imagining what they look like."

"That's more like wishful thinking," he replied. "With this, it's what you see is what you get ... and I like what I see."

Paul splayed his hand and rocked it back and forth across her chest, stroking her right nipple with his thumb and her left with his pinky. With his left hand he held her tightly around her back.

Cheyenne's gaze grew distant and her breathing grew deeper. Her eyelids drooped. "This feels really good," she said softly.