Authors: Lexi Ward
“You look so deep in thought, baby,” Jasmine said. “What's on your mind?”
Brian had nearly walked past her. She sat on a bench under a tree that faced the intersection of Lincoln Way and Welch Avenue, just off campus. Traffic, both vehicular and pedestrian, was busy passing through the intersection.
“Coach showed us something we'll have to keep an eye out for tonight,” Brian said sitting down by Jasmine. “I think it'll turn out all right, though. We'll just have to be sure that our game is tight, and that don't make stupid mistakes we normally wouldn't if we had our guard up. I think that's why Coach called the meeting, just to make sure everyone is on point tonight.”
“So you got out of class to talk about how the other time is really going to try to beat you tonight,” Jasmine said. “Not that I'm against the preparation, but you've led the team to victory how many times in a row now?”
Brian laughed and nodded.
“I know, right?” he said. “But we do need to be aware of some things and, to be honest, I don't have class the rest of the day. The team is meeting down at the field early tonight so that gives me a few hours to just hang out at my place. Would you like to join me?”
Jasmine smiled and nodded.
“Of course,” she said. “I'm free the rest of the afternoon, like usual on Fridays.”
They sat there for a while, neither being in a hurry. They not only had the rest of the afternoon off, but the morning as well. It really was a luxury to get out of class, and Brian was thankful for it. He'd thought that Jasmine had class today, but maybe it didn't meet today or perhaps she dropped it. Brian was unsure of if he wanted to ask because they were still so new to each other he didn't want it to seem like he was unduly prying into her life. Sometimes that really put off women, and Brian liked Jasmine, even though they weren't that serious—had only kissed a few times.
“What's on your mind?” Jasmine asked, her eyebrow cocked.
“I guess I thought you had class on Friday mornings was all,” Brian said. “I wasn't going to ask because I didn't want to be overbearing or anything. I know that school can be hard, so I try not to talk about it with people sometimes. Maybe that's a habit from the football team not doing so hot GPA wise this semester.”
“I tested out of the class,” Jasmine said. “It was chemistry I was already familiar with, so it wasn't even a big deal. I still have to pay for the credit hours like usual, though, which seems a little unfair, but maybe that's just how things work sometimes.”
Brian was shocked. He'd had no idea how smart Jasmine was. It was a big deal to test out of classes, especially hard classes that would have been a pain in the neck no matter how much of the material she'd known already.
“Congratulations! Jasmine, this is really great news!” Brian said. “We should go celebrate.”
Jasmine laughed.
“Where would you like to celebrate at?” she said.
“My place, of course!” Brian said.
The both stood and walked off the cement path through the grass to the intersection they'd been overlooking. Welch Ave, the north and south street that intersected with Lincoln Ave running east and west ran up a steep hill crowned with a monolith.
“Why didn't they put the monolith in a roundabout at the top of the hill?” Brian wondered out loud. “I mean, the way they have it set up now, it just looks like people weren't really paying attention to what they were doing when the design for Campus Town was laid out.”
Campus Town was the borough just off Welch Ave; the cluster of student residents that still lived in housing from decades prior when the university had been much smaller. Many of the old homes had been inhabited by teachers: they were usually hacked up into three or four different apartments, making the interiors have the common theme of hallways ending in a wall, or doors which couldn't be opened because behind there was nothing but shoddy workmanship, maybe some of the electrical system exposed in a closet too small to properly stand in. Brian didn't have a bad place, but there were some things about it that could have been a lot better.
“So, before we go to my place,” Brian said to Jasmine. “There are a few things I have to tell you.”
Jasmine looked at him and replied with a startled hesitation, revealing her dread that he was about to stick his foot in his mouth and say something sophomoric or creepy.
“My downstairs neighbor is a girl,” Brian said. “And she has a strange way of making money?”
“What, drugs?” Jasmine said, sounding relieved.
“I think she sells her underwear on the Internet,” Brian said. “But there could be other things going on, too. I see her buy a bunch of underwear, or bring it in from her car. You know what I mean. And sometimes I see guys leave with it. And I think she's also selling drugs, but I think its way less drugs than it is anything else.”
Jasmine laughed.
“No way! I want to meet her,” she said as if Brian's downstairs neighbor was some kind of celebrity.
“I knew you were going to say that!” Brian said as he put his arm around Jasmine. “But unfortunately, she's a little crazy. I don't know what the deal is, but there is a lot of sexual tension between her and I. And it's tension that we could have acted on when we were both single, but then she just got more bitchy than usual. And she sort of just stayed that way? I mean, we've both went our separate ways without even so much as connecting, so I don't know what her deal is.”
Jasmine eyed him suspiciously.
“You didn't have sex with her, did you?” she said.
“Whoa! Lady, you've got me all wrong!” Brian said in protest.
Jasmine blushed in embarrassment of the outburst, which showed where her mind was at—in the gutter. Brian had figured as much. There was a lot of sexual tension between them, especially because Jasmine was so good looking. She was basically the Haley Berry of the school, the girl that was so good looking while still looking like the girl next-door people didn't know how to react. When he was with her people looked at him like he somehow figured out a complex math problem that they couldn't even begin to put in their calculators. It was something else, to see that look on peoples' faces, combined with the way people hero-worshiped him from afar. Brian definitely wasn't into it for the reputation, though. He rarely went out, didn't really go to parties, and kept to himself and his little circle of friends. He didn't need anyone else. That was something college had really pounded home for him, again and again. Jasmine knew that she was special to be invited over to his place, too. It was fairly well known around school that Brian wasn't one to invite anyone back to his place who was new in his life. It wasn't that he was an introvert, it was just that he'd seen so many talented athletes, or would be scholars, completely and totally fuck it up with drama they could have avoided. Brian knew that it might make him seem a little weird to the freshmen who went to the ISU, but he just wasn't interested in hanging out with the student masses, even if he was their quarterback.
“Oh, shit,” Brian said as he neared the house. “See that guy walking in? I don't know for sure what they do in there, but he's like, the twentieth fucking guy this week who has walked in there and isn't going to stay long, and will most likely walk out with either panties in hand, or drugs in his pocket.”
“We should go spy on them!” Jasmine said. “They can't call the cops on us if they're doing something illegal. We can just tell the cops that we thought something was wrong and wanted to check it out before we called it in.”
Brian laughed and kissed Jasmine on the cheek.
“Let's go!” he said.
They both took off at a sprint, across the street and over the lawn of the old house where Brian rented the top floor. Jasmine somehow beat him there, and had her eyes glued to the window where there was a space in the blinds that let her see in. When Brian found a similar spot, a strange scene greeted his eyes.
His downstairs neighbor was in the middle of doing a striptease for what looked to be a townie. She didn't get all the way naked though, which was fine by Brian. She had never really been his type, being more of the Valley girl type of blonde that didn't really attract him beyond a mere glance as he walked by. Now she was down to her bra and panties, doing a little dance on some dudes lap. It ended pretty abruptly, but the guy had the biggest smile on his face. Then, she gave him some panties out of a drawer, and he left.
Both Brian and Jasmine froze as the guy walked out of the front door and past them without seeing that they had just seen. He went on his merry way, walking down the sidewalk whistling. With that, they both ran inside and up the stairs to Brian's apartment.
“Holy shit!” Jasmine said in a whisper. “Holy fucking shit! I've heard of people being cam girls to pay for college, but I've never heard of anything like that. I wonder how much that guy paid for that little bit of attention? She didn't even get naked or anything!”
Brian chuckled and went to make them some coffee.
“I know, right?” Brian said, also keeping his voice low. “And the fucked up part is I'm afraid to laugh about it in my own house because if she has the balls to do that, who knows what she might do in retaliation. It's just one of those things, you know?”
Jasmine nodded.
They both sat at the small table he had in his tiny kitchen and looked at each other giggling while the coffee brewed.
“I like your place,” Jasmine said.
“This one was kind of a miss,” Brian said. “I've been using the same landlords for awhile now, and keeping going through them to find properties. Sometimes it really pays off, other times I end up in this place. Which isn't terrible, but there is a lot of wasted space. Like I have access to the attic, but it's too small to be anything but a giant closet.”
The coffee was ready and Brian poured them each a cup.
“Are you supposed to drink coffee this early in the day before a game?” Jasmine asked.
“I do it all the time,” Brian said. “I love coffee. Although I do switch to decaf when it gets late. I'm kind of a coffee snob some people might say.”
They both sat in silence and just eyed each other for a while. Brian knew that the very beautiful Jasmine was thinking very sexual thoughts, but he wasn't in a rush. It had been an easy way to talk about fooling around, the whole discovering what his downstairs neighbor was up to with the woman that he was seeing thing that had just happened. Thinking of how they were kind of seeing each other, he wondered if it might do well for him to reassure her that he wasn't just trying to get in her pants.
“You know, maybe we could actually be dating,” Brian said. “I mean, we've been on quite a few dates at this point, and I just think that it might put you at ease if we put a label on it.”
Jasmine laughed.
“You are such a dork,” Jasmine said. “We are already dating. That's what happens when, as you mentioned, two people go on multiple dates and the entire university sees them hanging out. Although it did take you way longer than I expected to invite me over. And I still haven't met most of your real friends, although I do think it's smart of you to keep your real friends and your football buddies separated.”
Brian was a little bit taken aback by how Jasmine was being so real with him right now. He figured that her no bullshit attitude was going to be the precursor to her taking control of the situation sexually, and he was right. Just when he was about to say something, he wasn't sure what, but he felt like he had to say something back—Jasmine leaned over and put a finger across his lips. Taking his hand, she led him back to his bedroom. Brian wanted to mention how it was funny how she already knew the way because his place was so small, but he couldn't seem to get the words to come out. He couldn't believe how much a strong woman in control turned him on.
But when they got to his bed they didn't start fooling around. Instead they both stripped down to their skivvies and lay in bed together. Jasmine mentioned that they should have brought their coffee, which would be cold soon, but Brian wasn't listening. He was awestruck with the kind of body she had. She was the lightest color of caramel, with big, teardrop shaped breasts, a small waste, and supple thighs. He could feel his member tightening to half-mast in his boxers. It was like he was a teen again, fooling around for the first time.
Jasmine saw the tent his boner was making of his boxers and giggled, reaching out to stroke it through his boxers. Brian smiled and nuzzled his head into her neck, biting her earlobe and snorting hot air into her ear. He could tell that she loved it by how she responded. It was always such a good feeling to be able to turn someone on, especially when it was someone he'd been courting for nearly a month and a half. It was a long time to play the slow game of actually trying to build a relationship that would last, but Brian knew for certain it was all worth it now.