“Really? Not even after Homecoming?” I winced, because I knew the whole campus thought Vanessa and I had totally had sex that weekend if we hadn’t before, and she did try everything under the sun to get me to fuck her. Admittedly, I didn’t stop her from blowing me that night. I’d had a few beers, and I was horny and flying from the win that night. But Vanessa had really been drinking, and once she’d finished me off, she was done. I wasn’t proud of any of it, including how relieved I felt at having avoided intercourse with her once again.
“Not even after Homecoming,” I said, and hoped to leave it at that.
“Wow… okay… but, can I ask why?” Man, she was going to make me work to connect this pass. We started walking again and I continued my explanation.
“Well, it wasn’t like I wasn’t aroused by her at all—like I said, we fooled around plenty. But the way she threw herself at me and clung to me all the damn time like I was some kind of conquest was a real turn-off after a while.”
“Now you know how girls feel sometimes. Not that I was ever anyone’s conquest.”
“Touché. And be glad no one treated you that way—like some kind of object or prize. And fyi, kissing Vanessa could be like kissing a Saint Bernard. Too much slobber in that lip lock.” That made her laugh.
“Whoa! Okay, so if kissing her was like kissing a Saint Bernard, then what’s kissing me like?”
“Now, you’re just fishing,” I said as I stopped again and grabbed her. She squealed, and I realized that we were at the exact spot we’d been on the path in front of her dorm not that many hours ago, which was kind of cool. I just hoped Vanessa didn’t run out like the last time we were in that spot. “Shhh! Somebody will think I’m attacking you. Now you know damn well what kissing you is like for me.”
“Not in so many words, I don’t,” she laughed. “I mean, am I a chihuahua? A poodle? A golden retriever?”
And then there are times, I thought, when a man just has to shut down the defensive line on his own. I did what I do best when it comes to Keira. I answered her with a kiss. Of the long, slow, deep kind. This confirmed what I already suspected, that kissing her this way was just as hot as the way I had back in the Crow’s Nest. When she sighed and melted into my arms, I felt a stirring in my cock again. I also felt something churning in my core that I didn’t quite understand and wasn’t sure I was ready for. But this goodnight kiss sure as hell felt good, and I didn’t regret it. Apparently, neither did Keira.
I finally pulled back, and I had to smile to myself at the dreamy look in her eyes. I’d seen it before with other girls, but I was actually glad this time, and I didn’t want to take that look for granted.
“Thank you, Keira. For helping me, and for… everything. I don’t mean to sound like an idiot, thanking you for sex. I just mean that I really enjoyed being with you tonight.”
“I know what you mean, Nate. Thank you for saying that. I enjoyed it too. Thank you for answering all of my dumb questions, and for walking me home.”
“They weren’t dumb. I was my pleasure.”
“Well,” she said. “I better get inside. I’ll, um, talk to you soon.”
“Yeah. Sleep well. Talk to you soon.”
I thought about kissing her again, but she turned and walked the rest of the way to her dorm. I headed off in the opposite direction. My mind swirled with all kinds of shit as I walked back to my own dorm. Part of me felt that old inner swagger I’d always felt after great sex. Another part of me felt goofy, like I used to feel when I had my first crush on Jenny Hanover in the sixth grade. What the fuck was that about?
When I got back to my room, Tank and Kirby were still up playing video games.
“So, how’d it go with Keira?” Asked Kirby.
“You told him?” I said to Tank.
“Look, we saw her in the lobby looking for the Crow’s Nest. We were on our way to the pool hall. Kirby asked me what she was doing over here, and I wasn’t going to lie.”
“Besides,” Kirby said. “I overheard you guys talking about how you were going to ask her to tutor you the other night when you thought I was asleep.”
“Great,” I said. “It was fine. She mapped out a plan of attack for my stats class. I’m gonna ask the prof if there’s any extra credit I can do to bring my grade up, and she’s gonna put together some scenarios that will help me with the final.”
“Most excellent!” said Tank.
“But did you get any?” quipped Kirby.
I knew that was coming, but I really hadn’t wanted to deal with having to discuss any of this with the guys that night. I wished to hell they’d already been asleep. I might not have been so annoyed if it was just Tank. But Kirby could be such an asshole.
“None of your business, man.” Tank eyed me curiously, and Kirby gave me an all-knowing smirk.
“I knew it!” He said, and jumped up from his seat on the floor in front of the tv monitor. Apparently, their game of Call of Duty had come to a screeching halt. “So, tell us—Is nerd pussy as good as hoe pussy?” I was on him like lightning.
“You shut your fucking mouth!” I had him by the collar of his jersey.
“Chill out, man! What the fuck is wrong with you? I don’t know why you’re worried about either of those dumb bitches anyway!”
I felt like I was watching myself from the other side of the room. I didn’t think, I just threw my fist into the side of Kirby’s face. He stumbled back and roared in pain, and I felt Tank pulling me off of him.
“Fuck you, man!” Kirby scrambled to get his footing again, and reached for his jacket. “I’ll go crash with Tina. She’d been dying for me to fuck her all semester. You know, you used to be a pretty cool dude, Nate. But lately? Just… what the fuck, man.”
I sat down on the beanbag chair and wiped my hand over my face as Kirby stormed out. What the fuck, indeed?
“Jesus, Nate, what were you thinking, man?” Tank looked down at me with a look of both concern and reproach.
“I’m sorry. I know I overreacted. It’s just that when Kirby started talking that way about Keira, like she was just some piece of ass, I lost it—“
“I know why you got pissed at Kirby. Guy’s an asshole sometimes. Okay, most of the time. What I don’t understand is why you hit him. Your hand, Nate.”
Of course. My hand. Fuck. All that time and energy I’d spent getting Keira to help me so I could keep my grades up, and I’d still almost ruined my career, or at least the rest of the season, by plowing my throwing hand into Kirby’s face. I looked down at my hand and flexed it. I throbbed, but if I had broken any bones, I wouldn’t have been able to move it at all. My knuckles were red, and I knew a bruise would soon spread over the backs of my fingers.
“Shit,” I said remorsefully.
“Come on. This is an athlete’s dorm. The third freezer in the common kitchen is full of ice packs. Let’s get one on your hand pronto.”
Thankfully, not many people were awake and we only passed a few guys on the way to the kitchen. It was empty, and we grabbed an ice pack that I could put on immediately, and another one I could put in our own little fridge to switch it out with. I hoped Kirby would be okay too, and that he’d accept my apology the next time I saw him.