Chapter 6

I found myself seated in a computer lab at the registrar's office, armed with a course catalog. I decided to knock out some of the general education requirements to assuage my mother’s objections to my deviation from the nursing track but my encounter at the study abroad table reignited my interest in art. I signed up for an intro to graphic design course and added beginner’s yoga as my physical education requirement. I left feeling excited about the future, rather than burdened with the weight of fulfilling a dream that wasn’t my own.

On my way out, I spotted Alexis from the night before hanging out with one of Luke's football teammates and one of my friends from high school, Ryan. 

"What happened to you last night?" Alexis asked, "I should have followed you, I got a fucking ticket for underage possession." Having no explanation for what could have compelled me to run, I just told her I had stomach problems and needed to book it back to my dorm. 

"Heard you dumped Luke so you could bang a bunch of dudes here at school," Ryan laughed. Word travels fast.

"Ugh, I dumped him because doing long distance at 18 is stupid," I said, rolling my eyes. Alexis nodded in agreement.

"I dunno, he was pretty pissed about it. Sorry, but bros before hoes, ya know?" I raised my eyebrows at him while pulling out my phone. Not saying a word, I showed him the texts Luke had sent me earlier. "Nevermind, fuck that guy." 

"Ohh, single Cabrey on the prowl!" Alexis laughed, "Wanna prowl at Walmart with me tomorrow?" I jumped at the opportunity to go shopping for essentials. I surveyed what I had bought with me to Wexford earlier and realized that I had packed like I was going to a sleep away camp with booze. 

"If you're not doing anything later, we're headed to Colin Mill’s apartment for a little sesh. You're welcome to join." The mere thought of seeing Colin made me giddy. I made plans to meet them later that night.

The apartment was a typical boy apartment of a college sophomore. Colin was a year ahead of me in high school so he was out of the dorms down here at school. Remembering kissing him at the abandoned house made me feel tingly all over. I wished we had hung out more in high school. The group he ran with were known for some legendary parties and my mom had too tight a leash for me to attempt to attend one. 

Colin answered the door and I inhaled sharply. He looked young and youthful, his massive body fit from playing rugby. His light blonde hair was wild and messy, as was the unassuming stubble across his chiseled jaw. He looked every bit of a corn fed country boy and had the manners and charm to back it up. He smiled genuinely as soon as he laid eyes on me.

"Cabrey! I'm so glad you made it," he wrapped me in a bear hug and lifted me off the ground. His scent was intoxicating, like wood chips mixed with sweat and Old Spice and clean soap and some other mystery ingredient. I wanted to bury my face into his chest and just stay there.

"Me too! It’s so good to see you,” that was an understatement, “Thanks for having me!” I said as I held up a bag of party snacks. Colin surveyed my snack selection as he led me to one of the futons in front of the massive TV.

"You managed to pick out everything that I would have,” he laughed. “Pick your player," he said while handing me an N64 controller. Mario's voice filled the room, welcoming me to Kart. Colin motioned for me to sit close next to him and he blew a shotgun from a joint to me. Our eyes were still locked, our lips almost touching. The world around us fell away and time seemed to stand still. I inhaled deeply and every sense I had felt alert and on fire. I finally exhaled, my gaze still on Colin who was licking his lips, tasting my saliva on his. Our eyes still locked, he squinted slightly at me and sucked his lip again. I found myself doing the same and staring into his blue eyes. It was like looking into a mirror. 

"Get a room you guys," Scott bellowed from the kitchen. There were other people in the room we'd forgotten about. We both laughed and turned our attention to the serious business of Mario Kart. 

I made my way back to the dorm later that night. Krystal was home.

"You smell like marijuana," she wrinkled her nose. Sensing just how uncool she was, I wrote it off and said, "Oh, some of the people at the party were smoking," while hiding the bag of cheese curls I had gotten in the lobby vending machine. That seemed to put her off. I grabbed my shower caddy and went to wash the day off of me. Scooping up my laundry, I caught a whiff of the shirt I was wearing at Colin's apartment. He had given me a goodnight hug and his scent lingered on my tee shirt. I inhaled deeply, trying to place the scent. It was so familiar, comforting even yet it wasn't like any of the garden variety colognes so many college guys bathed in. I took one more smell before tossing it in my hamper and crawled into my bed. Krystal was already asleep and the room was quiet. I didn't realize how tired I was until my head hit the pillow. And I dreamt.

I was back at the Broadfoot cottage, except in the oceanfront master bedroom. The second floor room had a commanding view of the ocean and an ancient four poster bed. Uncommon for a beach house, there was a working fireplace in the corner. The mattress felt more like a pillow, the seersucker sheets smelled of line dried sunshine. A candle on the bedside table cast the only light in the room and as I stirred, a strong, tanned arm emerged from the other side of the bed, pinning me back into the covers.

"Where do you think you're going?" It was him. Colin. He propped himself up, his blue eyes looking down into mine. Some unruly blonde curls cascaded over his forehead. I reached up and touched his cheek, caressing the stumble on his strong jaw. He turned his head to my palm, taking my thumb in his mouth and sucking it gently. Without a word, he moved his hand to the inside of my thighs while lowering his head and nibbling at my collarbone. I ran my fingers through the back of his hair, inhaling deeply. That smell. That comforting, familiar smell of clean soap, the sun, maybe wood chips and something else. I needed it.

I nuzzled the side of his face with my nose and our lips met. It was an effortless connection, like we could anticipate each other's moves. His hand moved further up my thigh, his fingers finding my clit and gently massaging it. He pressed his mouth harder into mine as his hand moved more quickly over me. A sudden sense of urgency overcame me; I needed him, I needed him now. I moved my hand down his large body, searching. He was tall, strong, his thick build perfectly suited for rugby. I gripped his manhood and started stroking it as he softly groaned. My thumb found the tip and rubbed the precum then stuck my thumb in my mouth, locking eyes with him. He moved swiftly on top of me, quickly forcing my legs apart with his knees and pinning my hands over my head, interlocking our fingers. He kissed me, hard, as he sunk is cock deep into me. Though it was massive, it filled me perfectly. I moaned and arched my back as he began to thrust - DING DING DING DING.