September 1987 (Labor Day Weekend)

Chris opened the door to her room, startled to see Brenda there. Brenda was obviously just as surprised. Her hand was still in the air, ready to turn the doorknob that wasn't there anymore. Chris admittedly was trying to leave before Brenda got back, which wasn't being a very good best friend.

"Brenda, hi," she said.

"You're leaving?" Brenda asked.

"Yes," Chris said.

"But it's our first real weekend here." That was exactly the reason she was hoping to be gone before Brenda got back from her last class of the day. Chris didn't want to spend her first real weekend as a college student on-campus. There was only one place she wanted to be this weekend. Her dorm room or her parents' house was not it.

"We were here last weekend, Brenda," she said.

"Yeah, but we were still setting up our room and everything."

"Brenda," Chris said.

"There are parties everywhere."

"Well, then go to them. You don't need me for that."

"I figured you'd go with me."

"What about Becky?"

"What about her?"

Becky lived next door to them and seemed like a nice person. She was from somewhere south of Chicago that was rural and had never been to Chicago before. Chris and Brenda had both offered to show her around and she'd seemed genuinely receptive to their offers.

"Ask her. I'm sure she'd love to go. She seems like more of the partier type than I am anyway. You know, first time away from Mom and Dad and the farm."

Chris sighed softly at the expression on Brenda's face when she noticed Chris was taking her overnight bag with her.

"You're not coming back tonight either?"

Chris laughed. "Brenda, come on. What are you my mother now?"

"Well, no, but I didn't think…"

"I don't know if I'm staying there, but I don't want to have nothing with me in case I do."

"I just…"

"We'll do something during the week, I promise. We can go to a movie or something."

"You're fine," Brenda said.

Chris knew Brenda was disappointed and she wasn't thinking Chris was very fine right now. Chris wasn't going to be guilted into staying, though. She'd been looking forward to this weekend for months.

"You say that, but you're mad I can see it. You knew I'd go see Erik. I mean, come on. Wouldn't you? No curfews, no parents. You can't tell me you wouldn't do the same thing if you were me."

"Probably," she said.

"If I stay the night and we do something tomorrow you could come out to his house."

"I don't want to get in the way."

"Brenda, you're not in the way. Erik likes you. He wouldn't mind at all. You could even bring Becky and we could do something with her. I'm sure Erik wouldn't mind doing a museum or something. We could even grill something later on."

"Well, call me and let me know."

"Okay."

She thought about Brenda on her way to Erik's. He knew what time she was done with classes for the day so could make a reasonable guess on when to expect her. It was difficult to tell with holiday traffic headed into the city.

They'd had a surprisingly good time at prom. Brenda hadn't wanted to go at all once she found out Erik was taking Chris. Chris insisted, though. Everyone deserved to go to prom and Erik had danced with Brenda a couple of times and everything. How he'd managed to come by a tux in less than a week she'd never know, but he'd looked as good as she imagined in it.

Summer had been good, too. Erik never balked at including Chris' best friend when they did things. He even paid for her a couple of times when they did things like go to a Cubs game. Chris understood why Brenda was uncomfortable with Chris having a boyfriend when she didn't, but certainly her friend didn't expect her to stay on-campus every weekend.

She almost missed the exit to his place she was so deep in thought. She hoped Brenda had a good time tonight. Becky was pretty nice and would have way more fun. Chris wasn't a big partier and now that she had a boyfriend she had even less interest in standing around getting hit on. Becky spent more time in Brenda and Chris' room than her own because she'd lucked out and gotten a very strange roommate.

His porch light was on and the front door was open. It was going to get cool tonight, but it had been a nice day so he would leave the doors open as long as he could to let fresh air into the house. He never went to sleep with them open she knew. He wasn't that trusting of the people in his neighborhood. His house had one particular perk, though, that Chris absolutely loved. He had a small balcony off of his bedroom. Small in that he was able to fit two chairs out there. He'd had a table out there before she started hanging around at his place over the summer and discovered she liked sitting up there so well when she was waiting for him to get ready or something. A definite bonus was that it was screened in so they could sit out there for a while and not get a mosquito bite or a fly buzzing around them. So, he'd replaced the little table with another chair so they could both sit out there. He left those doors open all of the time when he was home she knew.

"You made good time," he said when she opened the screen door.

"I did. Traffic wasn't too bad."

"Good," he leaned in and kissed her, lingering a bit as if he didn't want to stop. She didn't want him to, so they were in agreement there. She loved kissing him just as much today as she did back in March when she was so excited by his kisses. She still didn't quite understand why his kisses elicited the response in her they did, but she enjoyed it just the same.

"How was your day?" she asked.

"Oh, you know, a day. Yours?"

"About the same."

"Classes?"

"They were fine."

"Homework?"

"Nope."

"No?"

"It's a holiday weekend."

"So that means they let you skate on homework?"

"Well, I have reading to do in my English and Biology classes, but it's nothing I'm going to be tested on Tuesday."

"I see. What's in the bag then?"

"Clothes."

"Oh?"

She shrugged. "Just in case I decide not to go back tonight."

"Oh," he said.

"I don't have to stay. I mean, I didn't ask I guess, I just sort of assumed…"

"Chris," he said, leaning down to kiss her again. He drew her against him, sliding his arms around her. "Honey, you're fine. I just sort of assumed you wouldn't want to do that. At least not yet. It's fine with me."

"Why wouldn't I?"

"I don't know," he shrugged. "I sort of figured I'd leave that decision up to you."

"Along with all of the other decisions, you mean?"

"Well, yeah, the decisions that are yours to make, sure. Sleeping here, with me…" He drew away a little, glancing at her. "You are planning on sleeping with me, right?"

She laughed. "Yes. Where else would I sleep?"

"I don't know. Maybe you were thinking my guest room."

"No," she said with a frown.

"Well, that sort of implies intimacy."

"We're not intimate?"

"Well, sure, but you know, to your friends at school. People you're just meeting who haven't met me and don't know you real well. They're going to think, presume, we're doing more than sleeping."

She shrugged. "I don't care."

"You don't care? A couple of months ago you were worried what people would think when I took you and Brenda to your prom."

"Sure, but that was different."

"Okay, I'll pretend to understand. You're welcome here any night you want to be here."

"Yeah?"

"Yes."

"I don't have to call first?"

"Uh, no. Why would you have to?"

"I don't know."

He scoffed. "Come on, Chris," he said, tilting her face up a bit to look her in the eyes. "I don't have people here I worry about you seeing me here with."

"I know."

"You say you know, but your eyes tell me you're still not sure you believe me. Shit, Chris, all summer you came here anytime you wanted. Did it ever look or did I act like I was hiding something?"

"No," she said.

He kissed her, rubbing his cheek against her jaw before finding her ear. "I'll say it again, honey, you can come here anytime you want. You don't need to call first. You don't need to knock first."

"Okay," she said.

"So you want to go out to eat? Order something in? I could cook, too."

"You mean you have food?"

"I do. I wasn't sure what you'd be in the mood for tonight. I've been better about making sure there's always something edible around here for you."

"You have," she said. She liked to cook for him. There'd been a time or two over the summer that she'd gotten here before he was home from work so she'd let herself in with the key he'd given her and had dinner waiting for him when he got home. He'd liked those evenings. She had, too, for that matter.

"Well, then."

"Let's go out."

"Yeah?"

"I kind of like the sound of pizza."

"You do?"

"Yes, but later."

"Okay," he said.

She took his hand and tugged on it. "First, you need to show me where to put my things."

"How many things do you have?"

"Oh, you know, a toothbrush, some clothes, makeup, and stuff."

"You know, the toothbrush could stay here."

"I need my toothbrush."

"Well, I meant, if you're going to do this, come stay the night you may as well keep one here."

"Oh," she said almost shyly.

She sat on his bed, setting her backpack on the floor by her feet.

"You don't really need me to show you where to put your things, do you?"

"No."

"What's going through that pretty head of yours?"

She reached for the front of his jeans, unzipping them carefully before reaching inside.

"I was thinking of letting Shelly know you're very happy."

He slid his hand to the waist of his jeans, pushing them lower along his hips as she touched him. She'd gotten pretty good at this, touching him. He hadn't come as easily after the first time, more than once she'd had to ask him for help. He'd helped, whether he was embarrassed touching himself in front of her (even if she was touching him, too) she had no idea.

"You don't need to make me come for me to be happy, Chris."

"I know."

"She knows I'm with you."

"I know," she said. She shifted on his bed and he joined her as she hoped he'd do. She stroked him, using her hand to run along his shaft as she kissed his neck.

"You want to be sure she knows, huh?"

"Yes. She's still interested in you," she whispered before sucking on his neck on a spot that would clearly show.

He reached between them, helping her a bit touching himself. She had to admit it excited her when he did that. She wasn't sure why or if it meant she was weird or not, but she liked feeling his own hand against hers, rubbing his shaft together.

"How many changes of clothes did you bring?"

"Two," she whispered. She slid her top up, uncovering her stomach and he groaned softly, knowing what she was inviting him to do.

"Shelly's not going to see that, you know," he teased.

"No, but I'll know you finished where you like to finish."

"You know I do. It sort of bothers me you like it."

"Why?"

He shrugged. "I don't know, it just seems so…"

"Slutty?"

He chuckled softly. "Yeah, kind of, not that there's anything slutty about you. Don't get me wrong and it turns me on like crazy that you let me do that. I just would never have expected you to like it."

She shrugged, her eyes falling closed as he started doing most of the work getting him off.

"Don't close your eyes," he whispered.

"Erik," she whispered. He liked it when she watched, seeing her hand with his working together to bring him off.

"One of these days you're going to let me lower your pants a bit."

"Why?"

"Why she asks," he whispered, groaning softly as she grazed the head of him with her thumb. "So, I can finish on you a little lower."

"Oh," she said.

"No rush, I'm not pushing, just saying I'd like to do that."

"I know," she whispered. She stopped touching him then, knowing he was close and let him take over and do the last of the work. She liked watching his hand slide along his shaft faster and faster until he finished on her stomach. She tasted some as she'd gotten into the habit of doing the couple of times he'd finished on her like this. The rest he went to the bathroom and came back with a washcloth to clean her off with.

"So, it occurs to me," he said, sliding a fingertip along the spot on her belly he'd just finished cleaning off.

"Yes?"

"You left me a hickey."

"Yes."

"A visible one."

"Yes."

"Because of Shelly."

She shrugged.

"I don't have to worry about your parents seeing them anymore."

"No, you don't," she whispered as he prompted her onto her side so he could slide up behind her. "What are you doing?" she asked.

He chuckled softly and started working on giving her one that would show toward the back of her neck. He slid a hand to a breast, stroking her through her shirt as he sucked. He groaned as she pressed her ass against him and she knew he'd get hard again if she kept doing that.

"You liked that I guess," he whispered when he'd finished.

"Uh huh."

"Why? I've given you one before."

"I don't know. It was just different, the way you were sucking was more intense."

"Yeah, it's going to be pretty dark and noticeable."

"Only if I pull my hair back."

"You have a ponytail thing with you this weekend?"

"Yes," she whispered.

"Put it in."

"What?"

He chuckled, sliding a fingertip along the spot. "You think you're the only one that likes to show off that you're happy?"

"Oh God, she's going to think…"

"She'll probably think all kinds of things when she sees we both have one and that you're wearing my shirt."

"I'm not."

"You will be, because I wasn't super good with my aim this time. Sorry."

"Oh," she said, glancing at the shirt and realizing he'd gotten some on her shirt.

"I'm sorry, honey."

"It's okay." She turned to face him then. "I like wearing your shirts."

"Yeah?"

"Mm hmm, they smell like you."

"I assume that's a good thing?"

"It is."

"All right then. You ready for pizza?"

"I am."

"Okay then, let's go."

"She's never going to like me, you know?"

"Yup, I know. If I could find better pizza I'd stop going there, but until that happens you're stuck with her giving you the evil eye every week."

"Did she ever ask you out?"

"Nope. She hinted, flirted but I never did it back."

"I'm so glad."

"I was holding out for someone way better."

She laughed, shaking her head. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," he said, standing from the bed. "Pick out whichever shirt you want, you know where they are."

She did. He'd let her wear one a couple of times over the summer when it had gotten cooler in the evening than she'd thought when she'd come over for the day. One time she'd gotten a little too much sun and her shirt made her itch like crazy because his were a little bigger it didn't bother her as much.

The pizza was great. Of course Shelly was there with her dirty looks. It was the first time they'd both come in with visible hickeys, Erik had a couple of them over the summer but Chris hadn't since she had to go home to her parents' house until last week.

They watched some TV when they got back to his place and eventually made it up to his room. He drew the bedding back while she used his bathroom to get ready for bed.

"I'm very glad you're wearing shorts."

"Why?" she asked.

"Because I swear if you had something, you know, uh girlie I'd make you get dressed again."

"Girlie, huh?"

"Yeah, you know, uh lingerie."

"Oh, this is as brave as I've gotten."

"It's pretty brave for you," he said.

She frowned a little at that, but walked to his bed to get into it while he went to the bathroom to get ready himself. She laid there, staring at the ceiling and sighed softly. She was nervous and excited, a little worried that this may be too much for her yet. She wanted to be here, though.

"Hmm, planning your escape route?" he asked when he slid beside her. He turned onto his side, gathering her against him and sliding his arm around her.

"No, just thinking."

"About?"

"That this is nice."

"It is. I'm going to warn you in the morning, men have this habit of waking up in the mood."

"Okay…"

"Well, it's just a thing, natural and normal and I have no control over it and if you're pressed against me like this you'll feel it. I don't want you thinking it means I expect anything."

"It's okay. I understand and I knew that."

"You did?"

She laughed a little. "Yes, I have older friends who are at college with their boyfriends."

"Really?"

"Mm hmm."

"What else did they tell you?"

"That once I start doing this I'm not going to want to stop."

"I don't want you to stop. Remind me tomorrow to get you my spare garage door opener."

"Erik," she whispered.

"You should have it. Your car shouldn't be parked on the street overnight."

"Okay."

"Besides, I would've given you one earlier but I knew your mom and dad would freak out if they saw an opener in your car. The key I'm not sure how easily you could explain that if they ever saw it."

"They didn't see it, but yes they would have freaked over a garage door opener."

"See?"

"Mm hmm," she said, turning to face him and kissing him. She pressed against him a bit. "Thank you for pizza."

"Thank you for sleeping over with me."

She giggled softly.

"Can I sleep over tomorrow night too?"

"I don't know. I better ask my mom first."

"Mm, is she strict?"

"The strictest."

"Then I may have to sneak in through your window."

He kissed her then, lingering a bit. "No sneaking necessary, honey. Ever where I'm concerned."

"I know."

"Good."

She turned back onto her other side, facing away from him. His hand was at her stomach, touching her but not doing anything else. She closed her eyes, liking the feel of the warmth of his hand there.

"Can I ask you something?" he asked softly.

"What?"

"You're not really concerned about Shelly, are you?"

"Concerned? I don't know."

"Really? You think I'd do that to you? Take you to eat some place where the person I'm cheating on you with works?"

"You mean unlike my ex-boyfriend who took someone from my school who knew everyone I knew and could walk around telling everyone what a frigid bitch I am?"

"There's nothing frigid about you, Chris."

"If you say so."

"Hey, I say so. Not wanting to have sex with every guy you go out with doesn't make you that. You want me to tell you again what you did for me when you got here today?"

"No, I know what I did."

"Well, then. Obviously, deep down somewhere you knew he was a bad guy. That's what stopped you not being frigid or anything else."

"Thank you."

"You don't have to thank me."

"Well, thank you just the same. And no I'm not really worried about her, but it bothers me I guess if she were to find out that nothing has happened between us."

"Things have happened between us."

"You've never touched me below my waist."

"It'll be worth the wait, and Shelly doesn't know that. I don't talk to anyone about what I do with you least of all her. I swear to you I have no interest in her, I never did. She's a nice woman, but like I told you back in the spring I just don't like her that way."

"I know. I want to believe you. I just worry, I guess, that because I'm still hesitant."

"You're fine, Chris. You doing what you've done so far is more than I expected honestly."

"And I can't help but think you deserve more."

"More? Honey, you're fantastic and when we get to the rest of it it will be fantastic and more than worth the wait."

"I'm sort of tired of waiting."

"When it's no longer sort of you let me know."

"I will."

"Good night, honey," he whispered, kissing her ear.

"Good night."

Story ©Susan Falk/APCKRFAN/PhantomRoses.com