College Years: 33
By Corbin, corbinforte@yahoo.com
"Strength and honor are her clothing: and she shall rejoice in time to come." -The Bible
 
Pre-Story Introduction/Observations...
 
I try not to bump into anyone when I am out and about; be it shopping, 
work, or wherever I might be traveling. It's a matter of courtesy I think...that 
and I worry about offending anyone. Some people stroll along in an oblivious 
state of mind, not watching where they are walking and some people even 
have this arrogant stance/swagger as if they own the sidewalk or aisle way. 
Guys do this allot, especially if they are in groups, trying to project that 
manly, cocky swagger. You know what I mean, that 'Hey look at me, I'm a 
big shot, although I'm really a nobody.' attitude.
 
Single guys are the worst offenders, yet some of the blame lies in genetics (it 
has to be) because it's so universal in it's application. The old mating ritual 
where the loudest male is hoping to draw attention from a female, yep 
you've got my attention now...YOU DORK! Okay, now what? Some light 
banter...maybe a compliment...or some bold invitation, but you really can't 
be yourself now can you? Because you have your friend's 
watching...listening...and you don't want to show a side to yourself that 
could be construed as sensitive...soft. No, you must remain aloof and cool. 
Some girl's like that arrogance, that manly attitude, but they're idiots, so it's 
really a perfect pairing.
 
I was at Banana Republic (a clothing store for women and gay men, well not 
really GAY men, but that's what I think). And I see this dress hanging on a 
rack that I really wanted try on, but it meant having to navigate near a group 
of people that were rather obnoxious. About five guys and two girl's, the 
guys were trying to offer fashion input to the girl's, mostly in joking context. 
Now, how does this involve me? We'll I observed a couple of other girl's get 
barraged with corny jokes and pickup lines when they got too close to the 
offending group.
 
'Okay, let's see if I can time this just right. When most of the guys have their 
attention focused elsewhere, I'll slip in between them and that rack, grab a 
couple of dresses and slip away to the dressing room.' Okay, I make my 
move as my eyes focus on the dress, my left hand is reaching out to grab 
the hanger...so far so good.
 
"If you model that for me, I'll buy it for you." I hear. 
DAMN! I WAS SO CLOSE!!!!! 
Shit...*grumble*grumble*mumble*complain*groan*.
 
My left fist clenches the hanger and I cringe at such a stupid comment. I am 
a fairly analytical person, because I am always calculating what my next 
move may/could/would/should be...I hear the subtle sighs of amusement 
from a few guys and girl's in there small click and that is what sets me off. 
Now most people just shrug off a comment like that as being harmless...well 
whatever...call it what you want you spineless losers...but I don't let anyone 
off the hook...well mostly.
 
"How about you shut the fuck up and mind your own business." I glare to 
my right and snap. This guy must have blushed a dozen shades of red. Now 
it's important that if you plan on responding like I just did you had better be 
willing to back it up, because if this guy turns out to be a pro with sarcasm 
he/she will throw a zinger right back at you, making YOU look like the idiot. 
So I immediately follow-up with another comment;
"How about this, how about I go and try this on and if I like it you pay for it 
anyway, foregoing the pleasure of seeing me wear it. How would like that?" I 
step around to my right cause I'm navigating to the dressing room, setting 
myself up for an out.
 
"How is that fair?" He chuckles, trying to regroup his thoughts, yeah...what 
thoughts? Can he generate a thought?
 
"You asked ME remember? Which mean's you still need my permission, 
right?" I focus on him a little harder, but now I got a sales associate standing 
to my right, uh-oh. "Something wrong?" The Sale's associate to my right 
whispers at me, apparently I'm causing a scene.
 
"No, just trying to try-on a dress in peace." I groan and step around her, 
storming off to the dressing room. At least the Sales-girl had the resolve to 
step up to the group and ask them to keep it down. Meanwhile...my whole 
day was ruined after that, I went into the dressing room and sat down, 
throwing that stupid dress on the floor while I tried to calm down. I hate this 
shit...I hate blowing up at people. I've always tried to think of myself as a 
'lover not a fighter', but I'm flunking in the love department...well, for that 
matter I still haven't made love in the classical/traditional sense, so that plan 
is not working out too well. Crap!
 
~~~~~~~
 
I fell asleep on the couch the other night, when I awoke, I was in that 'where 
am I/what time is it/who am I?' state of mind. I noticed the TV was on (PBS 
<gratuitous plug) and turned down low (Thanks NiK). I took a deep breath 
and closed my eyes to say a prayer...and then daringly began to flip the 
channel until I stopped on a station where people were running around doing 
odd things. I really couldn't make sense of what the goals were...many of 
them required completing tasks in a given time frame and doing some pretty 
foul stuff. When a commercial broke it said the show was 'The Amazing 
Race' ? I think.
 
Amazing? Amazing all right...AMAZINGLY STUPID!!!
 
How can anyone watch this drivel? Or any other contrived 'reality' show for 
that fact. If you fall into such a viewership niche and are still reading 
this...STOP...don't view my writing...in fact, leave this entire site! It's an insult 
to me and all other intelligent people here. Go back to watching your brain-
dead Reality TV show you classless moron. Better yet, go outside 
and...never mind....I'll stop my tangent now.
 
~~~~~~~
 
"You thought that I was on your side
        And I'd do anything for you
But you found out yesterday
        That you were wrong....
Now you're calling me
        You want me back again
But I've just got to turn my head
        And start to pretend
I've never seen you 
        You're someone I don't know  
Are you just another boy 
        That I met long ago....
You can talk about old times
        They don't mean a thing to me
You're fading fast
        Out of my memory."
 
~~~~~~~ 
 
 
33
 
Consequences.
 
There are consequences in life and I think allot of people don't want to accept 
that. You see it happen all the time...in real life and via the media outlets, 
when people say things and then act/appear SHOCKED when some 
repercussion occurs because of what they did and/or said. Please, get with 
the program you oblivious knucklehead, life is passing you by.
 
Anyway, that's where I am now, about mid way thru the last semester of 
college when things really started to unravel. As they say, what goes up 
must come down...
 
So after my little brawl in the club parking lot, which did *NOT* help my 
reputation as many people might think, no...in fact it had the opposite effect. 
I was fairly shunned by most people now and pretty much retreated into my 
own world, but that's what I wanted all along, right? To be left alone and just 
move about my daily routine unencumbered by any and all attention, again, 
isn't that what I wanted all along...isn't that what I have always preached and 
asked for? 
 
You see, if you reject enough invitations and come-on's, pretty soon even 
the most dense people got tired of eating a spoonful of my attitude. I can 
understand that, really I can...I suppose that most guys and girls are looking 
at me by now and thinking 'You want to be left alone? FINE! You got it 
honey! In fact...FUCK OFF!' Even the guys who hounded me for dates 
eventually saw me as a liability; Unpredictable and unstable to be 
around...generally all around moody.
 
Ahhh....and now the hardest part....kicked back to some third string, bench-
warmer on the Soccer team, my own fault really, I had lost all focus and 
drive to compete and the Coach was very kind about it; "Your heart just isn't 
in it anymore Corbin." He said. It was true...I was pretty much going thru the 
motions those last couple of months of college, the only thing I continued 
doing with any passion was my studies, lifting and attending my martial arts 
classes. Although I had a bad attitude in my martial arts class as well, I don't 
give a damn about tradition/philosophy/spirituality or any of that crap...just 
show me how to fight.
 
"You have a bad attitude Corbin." The instructor said in his best firm, but 
concerned expression after class one evening.
 
"I know." I stated expressionless, standing in my white Gi, dripping in sweat 
from the workout. Nikki walked by and gave me a concerned glance, but 
kept walking, we still were not on speaking terms. We never officially 
stopped speaking, but just drifted apart...no real hostility on animosity there, 
just I was letting Sharon manipulate allot of my time and Nik would have 
none of it and I was too big of a chicken shit to step up and make any 
decisions. I was totally confused about allot of things at this point in my life 
and knew that Nik wanted a commitment from me...old story there, I know 
it's already been covered so I'll drop it for now.
 
"So what are you going to do about it?" He fired right back folding his arms 
across his chest, trying to give me some of his tough love.
 
"I don't know." I said and kept staring him in the eye, no cockiness, just a 
simple 'I don't know'. I think he could tell I was in trouble...that kind of 
floating thru the void kind of trouble. I took some time off from martial arts, 
that left lifting and classes to focus on. 
 
So what did I do? I took a job at a local restaurant on the outskirts of town 
for some extra cash. Initially I wanted to apply for a hostess position, but 
settled for a waitress job. It's a very nice place, a small family owned French 
Restaurant that was very high-end and romantically oriented, ironic huh 
seeing that Dale and I were no longer together. Almost all the clientele were 
rarely from campus, they were older folks looking for a nice quiet night out. 
It was fairly demanding because it was one of those places where I have to 
be able to recite everything from memory...had to learn about fine wines and 
such. I liked it, nice job with a nice boss and the wife of the owner used to 
always hug me at closing, she was so sweet to me. The job was therapy for 
me, totally out of the whole campus scene. I know allot of guys and girls 
that take jobs close to school, to be around friends...to totally immerse 
themselves in that whole College life 24/7. But I purposefully selected a place 
that was off the beaten path, where I rarely ever saw a fellow student, oh I 
saw the occasional professor or school administrator come in for dinner, with 
his or her significant other, but that was about it.
 
I got to become good friends with the bartender there and a few of us would 
usually sit at the bar after closing to have a few drinks before going home. 
Upon closing one night, an older man came in and sat down at the bar next 
to me, which was okay because I was done for the evening.
 
"Hi Corbin." He said as if I should know him, but I didn't recognize the voice. 
'What?' I thought to myself as I glanced over, just a brief glance but really 
didn't recognize the man. He was an older gentleman, maybe in his late fifties 
with a grayish beard and mustache, very distinguished looking. But still I was 
having trouble placing the face, maybe I had seen him around campus, 
maybe he was a Prof? The lighting in this restaurant is fairly dim, for that 
romantic feeling and so heavy shadows were cast on everything...I mean, it 
did have a nice setting, but I'm trying to ID this guy and could use a spotlight 
right about now.
 
"Dr. McGrann." He said in a plain tone and ordered a drink as he gave me a 
casual glance over. Now, that name did sound familiar as I knew a Dr. 
McGrann, he was one of my professors, but I still couldn't make the 
connection.
 
"Dr. McGrann is a friend of mine and speaks highly of you." The man kept 
speaking and finally turned in his chair towards me, outstretching his left 
hand. I just looked at that hand like it was contaminated for a second, trying 
to figure out this guy's angle. Not wanting to be rude and still in my waitress 
attire I decided that I should do the respectful thing and shake hands.
 
"I'm Dr. Becker." 
 
"Nice to meet you Dr. Becker." I smile and he's touching my hand a little 
longer then I like so I pull away at this point, shifting in my stool, crossing my 
left leg over my right. 
 
"Please call me David." He says, sipping on his drink.
 
'Ahhh just great, I got a professor hitting on me now.' I groan privately and 
look down at my glass of wine. This isn't the first time either, I've gotten lots 
of vibes from Professors over the years, but most are pretty clever about 
how and when they put that vibe out. It's really like playing with dynamite, 
even the hint of impropriety on the part of a Professor can send a career into 
a major nose dive. But the looks...subliminal suggestions are there....things I 
see...and hear. I seem to have a major talent for being in the right place at 
the right time so as to overhear just enough to confirm my suspicions. I 
glance up at �tienne, the bartender, to see a slight look of amusement on his 
face as he begins to pack up the bar for the evening, he like's watching me 
squirm like this...bastard!
 
So I'm awkwardly shifting my wine glass around on the bar as the good Dr. 
takes another sip of his drink, "Nice to meet you David." I sigh and sip on my 
wine before scooting off my bar stool. "Sorry, but I have to close out some 
things." I say with a slight nod of acknowledgment. I try not to be abrupt or 
rude, after all he's not being mean or disrespectful to me and he's got a very 
distinguished look going on with that beard and casual suite.
 
"That's okay." He smiles and gives a slight wave of his hand to my 
departure. When I came from the back of the restaurant with my stuff, 
about fifteen minutes later, he was gone 'Whew, good, no more small chit 
chat.' I think as I walk out the front door. I started fishing for my keys from 
my purse when my right eye catches the Professor leaning against his car, 
arms folded in a very casual posture. I just freeze and glance around, it's 
only him and me in the empty parking lot. The owners park around back. He 
really wasn't creepy looking, but the atmosphere was creepy cause this place 
in located off a small two lane road, somewhat isolated and there's this giant 
roadside lamp as the main source of illumination. You know the kind, that 
has a swarm of insects buzzing the light during those warm spring/summer 
evenings. 
 
"Would you like to have a drink with me? There's a little bar down the 
street." He pushes off from his car and clasps his hands in front of his waist 
as he takes a somewhat meek, non-threatening posture. Smart move on his 
part, this is one of those freaky scenes most girl's dread cause while I'm 
hoping for the best I'm actually planning for the worst, that he is not some 
crazed stalker/abductor who is about to pull a gun out. But if that happens 
you better just kill me now cause no one is taking me alive against my will. 
Well, I don't see him reaching for anything, but just in case my right hand 
(which is still in my purse) now has a firm grip on my can of mace and my 
thump discreetly flicks open the flap so my thump can press down on the 
trigger. So this guy is real close to getting his eyes burned out of his skull if 
he makes one wrong move.
 
"You okay?" He says with his head cocked, looking concerned.
 
"Oh...oh yeah..." I stutter like a fool, totally forgetting he asked me a 
question, "Look..." I relax a little, deciding it's best to get this over with here 
and now, "...I don't date professors...or school faculty...or..." 
 
"Or older men?" He raises an eyebrow, "And I'm not asking you for a date 
Corbin, just some company." 
 
Now I'm not sure what this is all about, 'some company' he says? But he 
seems way too casual about this, like I'm wondering if he makes a habit of 
asking women for 'some company', and why am I the lucky gal tonight? Or 
maybe he has nothing to loose...maybe he's lonely...maybe he has some 
balls on him and is just confident that me rejecting his offer won't dent his 
self-esteem.
 
"Are you married?" I fire the question and study his expression.
 
"Divorced." He says and smiles slightly. AH HA! I caught him, his eyes did 
that little glance, he's checking out my legs (wearing a knee length black 
skirt) and my boobs. I think he is? I don't know...I'm sure he is NOT studying 
the parking lot, or my car. I knew the spot down the street he was speaking 
of, it was kind of quiet and out of the way place, no worries about being seen 
by other student's which would just start the gossip mill running at full steam. 
So now I'm running my tongue around the inside of my mouth nervously as 
I'm actually thinking about accepting his offer! (I know what most of you are 
thinking, 'ARE YOU CRAZY! Don't talk to strangers, this guy could be some 
freak! Well maybe, and maybe I should just walk around living my life in fear, 
or maybe I should just slink away like some little scared girl. I could tell him 
to FUCK OFF and leave me alone, but the fact is I wasn't scared of him and 
*I* decide when, where and with whom I share my time.) 
 
'Sure why not' I think, and I sigh, "For a few minutes, I'll follow you." and 
turn to walk to my car, catching the briefest displays of joy in his face.
 
"Thank you." I hear him say as he gets into his own car. At this point, I really 
didn't give a shit about how things looked, because I had already told myself 
there were boundaries here, and I actually envisioned a civil, intelligent 
conversation ensuring. 'What a delightful change of pace that would be.' Well 
I was pleasantly surprised all right, from the moment we arrived David was a 
total gentleman, opening the door for me, pulling out the chair as I sat down. 
But I instructed him to sit across the table from me, because it's not a date. 
 
Almost as soon as we sat down the waitress was there, I ordered an Ice 
Tea. "How do you know me?" I ask when the waitress leaves.
 
"Corbin, your name is all over the place, academically you've done 
exceptionally, and..."
 
"And I can be a troublemaker." I finished the sentence for him.
 
"Not at all!" He protested and sat back in his chair.
 
"This isn't going anywhere." I looked at him sternly, but the waitress 
appeared with the drinks and we sat in uncomfortable silence until she 
disappeared.
 
"Like I said, just some company is all I ask." He said.
 
"Why me? What makes me so special that you had to track me down in the 
middle of the night. Borderline stalking if you ask me." I was going to grill the 
crap out of this guy I decided.
 
"You are direct, aren't you?" He smiles as his right hand does a nervous little 
scratch on his beard, but the smile faded as he seemed to contemplate 
something serious and I think I caught sight of the first crack in his armor, 
like something emotional.
 
"I'm just looking for answers." I say and watch as he slowly pushes his glass 
aside so he can bring his elbows up on the table and lean forward some.
 
"All I know of you is the scholarly praise your professor's sing. They also say 
your wise, witty, and..."
 
"...attractive." I interjected, still trying to rattle him some.
 
"I won't dispute that. But I'm an aging, older man Corbin, past my prime and 
I could choose to sit at home reviewing class schedules and reading, while 
the TV plays in the background for company. Or maybe...just maybe, I could 
try and make an effort to do something about my condition." He then 
glanced away.
 
"What 'condition' is that?" I ask bringing the glass up to my lips.
 
"Loneliness" He says in a solemn tone.
 
"Certainly are a lot of lonely people in this world." I responded, but in a kind 
way, which was strategic on my part because he was trying to spill his guts 
here at my feet and I could break this poor guy emotionally (and physically) 
over my knee. Or I could engage him in some conversation to help bolster 
his spirits, and maybe even mine too. By the way, if he was full of crap, my 
B.S. detector would go off during the conversation. But it never did, my B.S. 
detector that is, David was indeed just an older man looking for some 
companionship and he never tried anything inappropriate. I hear about 
younger women and even a few acquaintances of mine that allow 
themselves to become wooed by older men, much older men. But I just 
don't get that, I've talked with allot of older guys and never had a romantic 
notion enter my brain although I could tell they were trying damn hard to 
work one in there. So, David and I would have lunch sometimes on campus 
and talk about politics, social studies, life and philosophy. Oh and this is 
where I think many of you will get a real kick, his focus seemed to shift over 
the next couple of weeks to my sports. Seems like he had a keen interest in 
my athletic abilities and was totally fascinated by that. It was interesting to 
watch, he was a captivated audience to my simple regurgitation of life on and 
off the athletic field and my background in gymnastics. He never had the guts 
to come out and ask anything personal, or to touch my muscles and stuff 
(not that I would let him), but given enough time he just might have...asked 
that is.
 
I think it was about this time that I decided I wanted another boyfriend, a 
man in my life that had my ex's (Dale) physique, David's mind, and....AHHHH 
DAMN, will you listen to me, I sound so superficial. 
 
~~~~~~~
 
Things seemed to be improving overall, life was calming down for me. I had 
started to get myself oriented for graduation and making that big transition 
from College to Work life. But I let my guard down and didn't see the setup, 
a setup that came from someone close to me. Sharon invited me to a 
sorority conference/meeting/whatever, I wasn't in a sorority but she asked 
me to come along just to hang out and I thought nothing of it, seemed 
innocent enough and I am sure it would have a high entertainment value.
 
Well holy shit! It seemed like this was THE gathering of sorority girl's, but the 
whole event had a somewhat tense overtone to the evening. I came attired 
in my typical fashion, flip flops, tee shirt....you know the drill folks. So I'm 
next to Sharon, just relaxing in my chair scoping out this massive gathering, 
trying to figure out what all this is about. And now I get the feeling like my 
presence is causing a bit of a stir amongst some of the girls, but so much 
gossipy crap was going on I thought I was just reading too much into it.
 
"What's this all about Sharon?" I lean over to my left trying to get her 
attention, but her damn mouth is moving a hundred miles an hour. So I have 
to do some detective work on my own and go to stand up, well that sure 
gets Sharon's attention because she is grabbing my left arm pulling me back 
down, "Where are you going?" She asks.
 
"Walk around, looks like I saw a table of food over there." I say.
 
"No...please just stay right here okay. Please, just wait till I'm done." She 
grips my left forearm tight.
 
"Okay, okay." I groan and sit back down. She smiles and pats me on the 
back, rubbing and scratching my shoulders with her fingernails, god I love 
that...that is the best feeling. Sends soothing tingles up and down my spine. 
But damn, my tummy is growling as I think about that food. So the meeting 
gets called to order as several reps from each of the sororities step up, 
Sharon included, addressing all of the gathered women. Well, seems that this 
is the moment of truth now because the issue at hand is about to be 
discussed. Well, to sum things up, this is apparently a powwow of sorts, an 
attempt at making piece amongst the tribes of girl's. Apparently, a war of 
words, threats, and even some minor fights have escalated over the past 
few months, so now my radar goes on full alert because some of the girl's 
get into some pretty heated verbal exchanges. Cooler heads prevail and 
wouldn't you know it, allot of the accusations are being directed at Sharon, 
big surprise there. You see, when Sharon stabs someone in the back it's not 
with a knife...no, Sharon does it with a big stinking, rusty chainsaw...and 
drives it in deep. Still, none of this explains why I am here as I'm looking 
around, trying to take in all the talking and figure out who is friends with 
whom and who has a bone to pick. And why do I keep getting these odd 
looks from some of the girl's? Oh shit! I've decked a few of these girl's too 
so I'm not getting friendly looks either...fuuuuddddgggggeeeeeee...........
 
I take a deep breath and lean back in my chair doing another glance around. I 
had just finished scanning the room when my head paused, I was now 
looking to my right and this girl is looking me dead on. She's not gossiping, 
finger pointing or any of that, she's just looking at me and slowly smiles, not 
a full blown smile but just a slight one. It had a warm quality to it so I kind of 
smiled back like a goof ball, cause it seems friendly enough. I don't recognize 
her, but she's kind of big...not fat but just big and tall, looks pretty damn 
athletic, but she also looks new...like new to the school. Hmmm, I can't 
make heads or tails of any of this.
 
Well, turns out some resolution is reached because Sharon is all smiles as 
she makes her way back, but I can tell she has allot on her mind. She is such 
a little schemer.
 
"Sharon, what the hell is this..."
 
"SHHHH!" She hushes me and leans in close, "Please, I'll explain when we get 
back to the apartment." But I'm getting irritated now 'cause I feel like I am 
being used for something and I don't like it.
 
~~~~~~
 
"I know your mad." Sharon says and is stroking my back and arms, trying to 
hopefully calm my rising tide of emotions. I can't believe my ears as I sit in 
my room listening to her tell me this stupid plan she had hatched.
 
"I don't appreciate any of what you did Sharon." I nervously massage my 
temples and cheeks, something I do when I'm very agitated. My right leg 
bounces up and down on the ball of my foot quickly, another sure sign I was 
getting pissed.
 
"I'm sorry, but I needed your help." She continues to plead.
 
"Help! Help Sharon?!" I snap and bolt from the chair, pushing her hands off 
me as I pace the room, "What fucking help! You call that helping! Who did 
that help? 'Cause sure as shit didn't help me! I don't want any problems 
Sharon, don't' drag me into your problems!"
 
"I know, I know you don't want any trouble baby." Sharon whispered and 
was all over me, trying to calm me down, massaging my back and neck. 
That's my weak spot, a back and neck massage and she knows how to give 
one too, but those damn fingernails of hers, she'll run them up my back and 
arms....okay...wait...I'm fucking pissed at her right now!
 
"I'm sorry." She kept repeating, "But if I had asked for your help, you would 
have said 'no'." 
 
"Your damn right!" I groaned. So the cause of my anger was that Sharon 
had used me as a ringer, the heavy, an ace to be played, all I had to do was 
just sit and be quiet, everyone there would just assume I was taking sides 
with Sharon and her sorority. Sharon had planed this days and days in 
advance, her innocent invitation wasn't so innocent and put me right in me 
right in the middle of an ongoing rift amongst several groups of girls.
 
"I'm not involved in any of this Sharon, I'm not attending any more of your 
functions, that was very underhanded what you did luring me there under 
false pretenses." I spun around and jabbed my finger into the tip of her nose.
 
"I know, it was awful of me...I'm sorry...please forgive me..." and she starts 
to cry, clutching and hugging me. Oh good grief, here we go with the sobs 
and tears as I have to listen to her poor-pitiful-me story.
 
"Yeah Sharon, I can forgive you, but your really hurting how much I can trust 
you." I said and hugged her back.
 
"I know, I'll make it up to you." She sure tried to make it up to me all right, 
kissing my ass for the next several days, waiting on me hand and foot.
 
~~~~~~~
 
What does it take to have a relaxing week? Hell, I'd take a relaxing day!
 
And that's just what I have planned. A few days later I'm in the women's 
shower after some heavy lifting, and I'm feeling really good to, that pumped 
feeling where I got my heart racing and sweat oozing from every pore. So I 
take a quick shower to rinse off and put my bathing suit on, because now 
I'm looking forward to getting into that Jacuzzi and letting those jets 
workout some of the tension from my body. Oh boy...here I come! Like 
some giddy school girl I have a big grin on my face as I set my towel down 
and slip my left, then right, leg in, easing myself into the hot bubbling water.
 
"Ohhh...ahhhh...." I just grin from ear to ear as I settle down and I'm alone 
too, even better. I prop the towel under my head as I lay it back and stretch 
my arms out along the edge. I close my eyes and just tune all my troubles 
out, the sizzling bubbles have this calming effect as I sit and can feel 
everything just melting away.
 
'Huh?' my head jerks up cause I sense someone else was suddenly stepping 
into the Jacuzzi with me, I was kind of groggy and blinked a few times as I 
look up and this girl is looking down at me, dressed in a dark blue one piece 
suite...holy fuck...it's that girl....that girl from the meeting, the big one that 
was looking at me...the one that casually smiled. Like she's doing right now. 
She has one leg in the tub already and pauses when she sees me look up at 
her, "Do you mind if I join you?" She asks in a polite tone.
 
"No, not at all." I say, actually I do mind I was resting. So to try and give the 
girl a hint, I lay my head back and close my eyes.
 
"You were at that get together the other night, were you not?" She asks. 
 
Just great, she wants to have a conversation with me now? So I slowly pull 
my head up and blink a few times, my right hand brushes some sweat from 
my eyelids as I study the girl, I've never really gotten a good look at her and 
now she's only a few feet from me. She's bobbing up and down a little bit, 
her chin touching the swirling water as she simply stares at me. She's got 
wavy, brown hair down to about the middle of her neck. I don't know how I 
would classify her looks, she's got that unusual shape to her face that is 
almost masculine...handsome even? Her complexion is light and her eyes are 
dark brown. So there you have it, somewhat square jaw line, strong chin but 
a nice perfect, clean smile that compliments her face. Her nose is straight but 
performs a slight bend when she fully smiles, and I wonder if it's been broken 
before.
 
"I was there." I say and pull my arms back into the water from where I had 
them resting on the edge of the Jacuzzi, I get the feeling she is sizing me up. 
Actually, we're sizing each other up.
 
"But your not in a sorority." She responds and the left corner of her mouth 
slightly curls into a smile.
 
"No..are you?" I ask.
 
"Yep. So I was just curious, why you were there, because it was a member's 
only function. Sharon upset allot of people bringing you along." 
 
"I'm sorry, your name was?" I tense up a little, getting irritated with this line 
of questioning, and besides I would really like to know with whom I am 
talking. Well the girl actually blushes and her right hand comes up and covers 
her face out of embarrassment, it was actually kind of cute.
 
"I'm Courtney, I transferred a couple of weeks ago from Penn State." She 
sits up and leans forward to extend her right arm to shake, so I oblige her 
and grasp her right hand with mine.
 
"I'm Corbin." But I think she already knew that, odd how so many people I 
don't know seem to know my name...very odd! AH! She's freaking 
squeezing the crap out of my hand so I squeeze back but she is no slouch, 
the girl has a strong arm and before I can up the pressure she let's go and 
pulls away. Oh, okay so now she's just messing with me...cute.
 
"To answer your question, I wasn't aware that formality or anything else that 
was planned for that evening. I just tagged along at Sharon's request." I 
shrugged and rolled my eyes.
 
"That's cool..." Courtney smiles, "...your buddy Sharon is full of allot little 
mischievous tricks." And rolls her head around on her fairly strong looking 
neck. 

I still can't figure out this girl's angle, is she just wanting to chit chat? But I 
hope this doesn't turn into a Sharon-bashing speech, I don't like people 
talking bad about Sharon, I'm allowed to but no one else :)
"I bet she's not the only one." I quip and can feel myself getting irritable.
 
"Yeah, but nobody's in her league." Courtney gives me this hard stare and 
that's when I decide I've had enough of this pointless banter and go to stand 
up. My sudden movement seems to startle Courtney some as she gets this 
perplexed, worried look on her face. My right hand grabs the railing to my 
right to steady myself as my left reaches for my towel when I hear and feel a 
loud, wet *SPLAT*. I look down and Courtney has just shot her left leg out 
of the water, placing the bottom of her foot against my stomach. That takes 
some freaking guts let me tell you, that was a hell of a bold move to do that 
as she just did and looks up at me with a smile while her dripping wet foot 
remains planted on my abs. Well, it was her way of saying she wanted me to 
stop.
 
"Please stay." She says and slowly withdraws her foot back into the water, 
her face breaks out into this big smile.
 
"Why?" I ask in a pretty firm voice and figure I need to make a decision quick 
cause I don't like having this girl eyeing me like she is. She's not giving me 
any kind of sexual look, but she's studying me, looking at my arms, legs and 
over all physique...like she is analyzing me, assessing me. So I decide to get 
a little mouthy with her as I place my left hand on my hips, right where the 
cut of the suit rests over my hips, "Are getting a good look?"
 
"What?" She suddenly looks up at my face.
 
"Are you done checking me out, would you like for me to pose or turn 
around so you can see the back of me?" I shrug in a very nonchalant 
manner.
 
"Don't get defensive Corbin, please sit down for a minute." Courtney waves 
her hand to my former resting place.
 
"On one condition." I groan.
 
"What's that?" Courtney looks up, putting on this innocent act.
 
"You tell me what this is all about?" I demand, and she simply nods 'Yes', to 
which I slowly settle back into the water, still not convinced she's going to be 
forth coming, but want to hear anyway.
 
"Yes, I admit, I was looking at you." Courtney pipes up as I adjust myself 
back into the water, but I'm not relaxed anymore, "Your in awesome shape, 
but I'm not here to talk about that..."
 
"Good." I snap.
 
"I'm here..." Courtney sighs and begins to slide around the circular Jacuzzi 
towards where I am sitting, "...because of why you were at that meeting."
 
"I told you why..." my voice with a hint of anger as I watch her creep closer 
to me, I've got my arms and legs all folded up close to my body. Gheesh, 
I'm nervous, and shaking a little....which is odd.
 
"Yeah, I know you told me why and I believe you, but now I need to tell you 
something." She says and still maintains this incredibly calm exterior, a real 
poker-face expert. Damn, I'm in over my head on this one, this girl is so 
incredibly smooth and cool it's really unnerving me.
 
"Okay...tell me...." My voice is quaking a little as I'm not sounding so sure of 
myself and now she pauses, still seated, but like only a couple of feet from 
me, this is the closest we've ever been to one another and Courtney looks 
me dead in the eyes.
 
"I was there for the same reason." She says softly and gives me this faint 
grin. Nothing condescending, kind of sincere.
 
"For the sorority, right?" I state.
 
"As a Sorority member I was there because I wanted to support my Sisters." 
Courtney turns towards me now as I watch her left elbow raise and prop up 
on the edge of the Jacuzzi. "Now, the secondary reason has to do with 
Sharon..."
 
"Wait a second..." I jump in.
 
"Don't interrupt, I'm almost finished." Courtney gives me the first real hard 
glare of our entire, thus far, civil conversation. And I admit, I was a tad 
intimidated cause up close she is a big, strong looking girl and while I was 
more cut, she was my equal in muscle mass, if not a little bulkier. One strong 
piece of evidence was that arm she hand up on the edge of the pool. So 
anyway, my mouth is hanging wide open as she scolds me about interrupting 
her and I feel my face become flushed with anger and a little embarrassment.
 
"If Sharon messes with our Sorority again, I'm going to put the screws to 
that bitch anyway I see fit. We are fed up with her bullshit." Courtney says in 
a flat, a-matter-of-fact manner. So my heart is pounding in my chest and I'm 
sweating profusely now cause I'm totally confused about all of this. "Now, 
you are Sharon's buddy..." Courtney suddenly smiles a little and her left index 
finger raises a little and strokes my bare shoulder, I don't recoil from her 
touch but I'm not comfortable with it either, "...and I expect that you would 
do anything within your power to help Sharon, that is, if you thought she 
needed your help right?"
 
"Right." I look at her with my own hard, cold expression. Courtney's eyes 
drift from my own and seem to look down at the bubbling water that 
surrounds us before glancing back at me.
 
"Even though you know Sharon is in the wrong?" Courtney let's out a deep 
sigh and I have to admit, I really didn't know at that point, would I stick up 
for Sharon is she pulled something underhanded? How many times can I 
defend someone (Sharon) who has exhibited an almost compulsive disorder 
in her acquisition for power and control at any cost. Damn, Courtney is 
watching me sit her and stew while she's still stroking my right shoulder and 
bicep. It's too late, I'm hesitating now and she can tell.
 
"Look Corbin..." Courtney gives me a really sweet smile and then does 
something that freaks me out, she wraps her left arm around my shoulders 
and pulls us close together. I can feel the outside of my right thigh pressing 
against the length of hers under the water as our bodies crush against one 
another. Not hard, but the outside of my right breast is pressing against her 
left in this tight, cozy hug she's giving me. "...and don't worry, I'm not going 
to make a pass at you, but I do like you, as a person. I didn't expect to like 
you and didn't want to, but you seem decent enough, however...if Sharon 
pulls one more stunt and you decided to take her side, I will kick your ass. 
Understand?" She smiles at me and I'm feeling like some little kid being 
scolded by a parent. And can you believe it, I just fucking nod my head 'Yes', 
like some idiot, but I'm kind of freaked out and I don't' know why. My face 
looks straight ahead and my mind is off spinning in a million directions, I'm 
thinking I can't wait to get out of College and leave all this crap behind me. 
Courtney gives me this slight, soft kiss on the cheek and pulls away from 
me, slowly she stands up and now she seems like this huge giant towering 
over me as I remain sitting in the Jacuzzi. It's all deceptive though because I 
knew I'm half an inch taller then her, but emotionally and psychologically I felt 
about an inch tall as Courtney climbed out of the Jacuzzi. I must admit, she 
had an intimidating physique....her thighs, calves and....well I think you get 
my point, I admire beautiful strong bodies on both men and women and 
Courtney was not only strong looking but she carried herself like she knew 
she was.
 
"Fuck" I moan quietly when I hear Courtney leave the pool area as I remain 
sitting, my heart rate slowly starts settle down into a normal pace. 'I need to 
talk to Sharon, for her sake as well as my own.' I'm thinking to myself, I also 
felt pretty humbled by Courtney at that very moment and had a great deal 
of self doubt creeping into my brain. In one short conversation I no longer 
felt like top-girl in the school, Courtney had just seen to that, all without 
using any force...now that's impressive...maybe my state of mind was a 
contributing factor, all the other stress in my life might have contributed.
 
I guess the truth was I didn't want to fight anymore, I never went looking for 
a fight, I don't think I ever really did. But anyway, I felt like I could actually do 
something good here, to talk with Sharon and maybe get her to chill for the 
next few weeks. God, I hope she listens to me, otherwise I just might beat 
Courtney to the punch (literally) and have to knock some sense into Sharon.
 
 
 
 
~~~~~~~
 
"Only God says jump
            So I set the time 
 'Cause if he ever saw it
            It was through these eyes of mine  
 And if he ever suffered 
            it was me who did his crying"