Loading...“I hate her,” Joe muttered as he watched Natalie bounce through the crowded college courtyard. Two years, they had been together. Two years of wasted emotion, compromises, and plans. Hell, they hadn’t really started making love until these last few months, and that’s why he had thought she was the one. “‘Let’s save ourselves until we’re sure,'” he grumbled.
She had said that for the first eighteen months, and when she had finally given in . . . it had been glorious. None of the girls he’d been with before had made him feel like that. Of course, none had ever ripped his heart out of his chest and danced over it like her, either. Now all he had left from those two years of supposed love were memories, a few pictures, and that sweater she’d given him for his birthday that was two sizes too small. Oh, that and a rented tuxedo. What kind of heartless bitch breaks up with you just days before the Spring Formal, thereby completely humiliating you in front of your peers? Joe scowled at his thoughts. Enough self-pity for one morning. He had classes to attend . . . and a Limo and tux to cancel.
Though he scolded himself every step of the way, he couldn’t banish every ill word he could think of from springing up in his mind and attaching them to his dear ex-girlfriend’s name. He scowled as he passed Natalie and took a seat in the back of the classroom. How convenient. He’d forgotten they had philosophy together that morning. Yet another hour to burn her slowly in effigy. Joe stared at the back of her head. He imagined her demise by various means; fire, drowning, strangulation. He only looked away when she glanced back, feeling his stare and obviously not appreciating it. He glared when she leaned over to whisper to the girl next to her. Again he looked away, missing the look of her friend in his direction. Kerri was her best friend; he didn’t need to add her to his hate list at the moment. Instead he tried to concentrate on Socrates vs. Plato or some other crap he couldn’t care about at the moment. Maybe he could salvage everything. Maybe she’d reconsider. Greg Dawson, Natalie’s new love interest, was a pre-law with a possible NFL career in his future… he could contend with that, right?
“Mr. Pisano?”
Joe jerked to attention in his seat; the pencil he had been absently tapping against his desk top slipped from his fingers and rolling across the aisle between seats.
“That’s got to be your most annoying habit, Mr. Pisano,” his professor remarked, his arms crossed over his chest.
“I don’t know, sir,” Joe said, smirking as he glanced at Natalie. “My girlfriend always said my snoring was the real problem.” It was her turn to scowl. It was gratifying to know he bothered her, and so, with a feeling of superiority, he leaned out over the aisle to reach for his pencil.
His good feelings faded as he glanced towards the head of the class again. Through a forest of chair and human legs, a particularly voluptuous pair caught his attention. Long and slender, they began at the hem of a short lavender plaid skirt that had ridden up, exposing way too much thigh. As he watched, those legs shifted and slithered to cross again, revealing another curiosity: a lavender high-heel on a nylon clad foot. As the professor’s voice droned on about metaphysics, those legs began to move and that raised foot bounced. Joe stared, fixated. It made him think of Natalie again, but this time he wasn’t mad. She used to do this sometimes, teasing him across the room or under the table with her slender feet. She’d always laugh and tell him he was a pervert, but he found feet very attractive. Supple toes, well-formed arches, soft, smooth heels… he shivered, remembering for a moment the feel of Natalie’s feet gripping his cock. He shook the memory from his mind in time to watch the heel of that foot pop free from its lavender prison, revealing a perfect arch.
“Mr. Pisano!”
Joe let out a yelp of pain as he hit the floor. Startled, he looked up, his eyes wide. Whatever reprimand his teacher had this time was lost under the sound of the class bell and the shifting of bodies and books. He scrambled to his feet, feeling his dignity was already lost, so why try for a graceful recovery. Glancing around as he gathered his books, he noticed another peculiar thing: Kerri was smiling at him. She looked about to say something when Natalie grabbed her arm and pulled her to the door. The last thing he noticed as Kerri left the room was the way her hips swayed under that lavender pleated skirt she was wearing.
***
“This is nuts,” Dave, his room mate, chuckled. “You want to ask Kerri out? Your ex’s best friend? Isn’t there some rule about that, Joe?”
“I’m telling you, she wants me.” He grinned at himself in the mirror. Running his fingers through his short brown hair, he flashed his friend a smile. “I mean, how could she resist?”
“Natalie sure resisted,” Dave cracked. Moments later, he nearly fell off his bed to avoid the pillow that Joe launched at him. It took him a while to right himself; he couldn’t stop laughing. “Okay, okay, fine. I’ll help. I’ve got physics with her in an hour.”
“Great!” Joe slid out of his shirt, glancing over his chest, arms, and abs. He was no football player, but his body was aesthetically pleasing by most standards. His time on the swim team was finally paying off; he was tan and well-toned. “Just tell her to meet me alone in the courtyard. I’ll take it from there.”
“Whatever, man. It’s your funeral.”
“No, it’s my salvation,” he muttered. Joe tussled his chestnut hair again, put on some cologne, and grabbed another shirt. He had a plan; for the first time in a week, he felt determined, hopeful, and, well, happy. Now all he needed was some flowers.
***
Two hours later, the courtyard was far from empty. Ranging from stray studiers to large loitering groups, students flooded the area for their lunch hour. The central fountain, however, was deserted. Not a single person sat on the edge of its deep, marble basin. Its green copper figures played in their familiar pastoral scene; centaurs and satyrs chased nymphs and maidens at the feet of Dionysus while Athena looked down on all this with dignified distain. Joe always thought this was a pretty accurate depiction of the two halves of college life: partying and learning, but any teacher to whom he mentioned it said it was an expression of the school’s policy to frown on unsanctioned soirees. That’s why Joe never took art appreciation; no one seemed to appreciate art quite the way he did.
Joe had been waiting for a half hour now. He was pretty well hidden in the shade of an oak tree and had a good view of the walkway from the science lab to the fountain. He was just waiting for Kerrie … if she really was interested in him. He was trying to remember the first time they’d met when she finally came into view, her hips swaying under those lavender pleats.
“The Christmas party,” he muttered. He distinctly remembered being introduced to her at the Sigma Tau Delta Christmas party last winter. His relationship with Natalie had been pretty strong then, though the strain of his forced celibacy was starting to show. Kerrie had been dressed up like an elf, complete with fur-lined green mini skirt and feathered hat. He had liked how she commented on how Natalie was improving in her taste for men, how she tended to touch his arm when she laughed at his jokes, and most of all, how she had insisted he kiss her when that had wound up under the mistletoe after a few drinks. It hadn’t been a long kiss; it couldn’t have been more than a five seconds long; but he remembered her knee brushing up the side of his pant leg, making his skin cover with goose bumps.
“Kerrie?”
She swirled around, her blue eyes wide with surprise. Good. Surprise is good, especially when it makes her pant that way, he thought. Joe emerged from the shade, waving to her.
“Oh, hi,” Kerrie replied. She brushed a lock of blond hair behind her ear as she smiled at him. “Dave said you wanted me?”
He almost tripped over the lawn’s brick edge when he heard that. “He what?!” His mouth felt very dry all of a sudden.
“Are you okay?” Kerrie touched his arm as she spoke. “Nate said you wanted to see me about something.” She led him over to the fountain and pressed her hand to his chest until he sat on its wide rim. “By the way, if this has anything to do with Natalie, the answer is no.”
Things weren’t going exactly as he had planned. He shook his head, recovering enough to rest his hand on top of hers, holding it against his chest. Her fingers felt cool against his burning palm. “I wanted to ask about you, not Natalie . . .” “Ms. Kerrie Flynn?” Another man approached her. The patch on his hat and his jacket had the words “special delivery” emblazoned across them.
When Kerrie turned and began to answer, the delivery guy came out with a dozen pink roses on a cloud of baby’s breath. Her eyes widened, and she started to pant again. Joe found himself fascinated by the rise and fall of her chest during this; the strain of her hard nipples against her shirt was visible when she stood in profile. He tried to stay calm and adjust on the edge of the fountain; the view was getting him a little . . . excited. Surprise is definitely good, he thought again.
After reading the card, she frowned. “Are you serious? You want to go to the Spring Formal with me?”
He nodded.
“Joe, I’d love to . . .”
Oh, God. There’s a ‘but’ coming, he thought.
“. . . but . . .”
I knew it; here it comes.
“. . . Natalie would kill me.”
Joe nearly fell off the fountain, he was laughing so hard. “Natalie? You’re worried about Natalie?!”
Her brow knitted, and she stomped her foot. “Yes, I’m worried about how my best friend would react if I was seen with her ex-boyfriend. She told me you’d do this, and she looked upset. I don’t want to lose my best friend!” By the end of her speech, her face was flushed, her eyes flashing, and her chest still heaving. When she turned to walk away from him, his hand encircled her wrist.
“Sometimes you have to do something for yourself, Kerrie . . . and for me.” He stared into her blue eyes. God knows he couldn’t stop himself from praying she’d change her mind. Maybe what he said made sense; maybe his deep brown eyes conveyed his desperate need for her and his fear of another rejection. Whatever caused it, a few moments later, his arms were around a beautiful woman, his lips pressed against hers. Her lips parted when his tongue brushed against them. Soon they were both seated on the edge of the fountain and lost in each other’s embrace. Things were definitely looking up for Joe.
***
“The Moon Over Venice” was the theme of the Spring Formal. Strings of white Christmas lights twinkled in imitation of stars on the ceiling and upper walls of the auditorium. A bloated, full moon was projected on the canvas backdrop behind the band stand. Its silvery light not only illuminated the mural of gondolas and canals on the canvas; it also served as a spotlight for the band on stage. It was hard to tell if it was their idea or the dance committee coordinator’s, but the band was dressed in tight, broad-striped t-shirts and white pants like the gondoliers in movies. Currently the front man was crooning an off-key rendition of Bryan Adam’s “Everything I Do (I Do It For You)”. Joe could only shake his head in disgust.
“Yeah, I know,” Dave said beside him. “After charging a hundred bucks for a pair of tickets, you’d think they’d spring for a better band.”
Joe took a sip of punch out of his plastic champagne flute. “Yeah, and you’d think someone would have pity on us and spike the punch, too. By the way . . . any idea how long it takes for women to finish in the bathroom? I’d swear Kerrie and your girlfriend have been in there for at least a half hour.”
“Could be…” Dave gestured towards the hall leading to the bathrooms. “Heads up, Joe. Nat’s just emerged from the can.” Sure enough, Joe watched Natalie stomp towards them in platform stiletto-heeled shoes and a yellow dress that reminded him of a banana peel.
“You fucking jerk,” she hissed. “It’s not going to work. I don’t want you back, so leave Kerrie alone.”
“I’m sorry,” he replied with an extravagant bow to her. “Of course, Your Majesty, I’ll leave right away. How could I have ever underestimated you and thought you wouldn’t see through my scheme. How clever of you to think that I couldn’t actually like Kerrie and be attracted to her. No, my actions have to be a ploy to make you jealous, because the sun rises and sets by your command, and the whole world lives to worship you, you conceited, selfish…BITCH!” And of course, the song ended just as he raised his voice. For once, Joe didn’t care that people were staring at him and probably thinking he was an asshole; he could live with that. What he couldn’t live with was the idea that Natalie could move on but she wouldn’t let him do the same. Hell, who knew? Maybe he was meant to be with Kerrie. Maybe he should have dumped Natalie after that Christmas party. God only knows how many nights he had used the memory of Kerrie’s kiss under the mistletoe in his masturbatory fantasies while he tried to tough out his relationship with Natalie.
He didn’t speak again until the band started to play “We’re Not Gonna Take It” by Twisted Sister. This one they knew how to play. “Natalie, I think it’s time you went back to Greg and left me alone. I don’t want you back, either; I want Kerrie. I’ve wanted her for the last six months, but I’m a man of principle and had already committed myself to you. Now you’re gone, and I’m free. And you know what? For the first time in six months, I’m happy.” With that, he walked away.
For once Natalie was speechless. Dave patted his shoulder as he passed; Dave looked impressed, as did several guys from Sigma Tau Delta. Kerrie’s expression was much harder to read. She was standing near the hall to the lavatories, her little handbag clutched to her chest. Her shimmering green dress clung to all the right places; she looked beautiful. Unfortunately, she also had the pleading look of a dog at dinnertime.
Joe opened his mouth to say something to her, but he kept walking. He didn’t want to give her a chance to reject him, not now, not after his victory against Natalie. He walked out of the dance and into the night air.
***
The courtyard was finally empty. The only sounds were the night music of insects and the babble of falling water. The only lights were the real moon and stars over head. Defused by the trees, moonlight glimmered on the water streaming and pooling within the fountain. Joe sat on the rim and stared into the shadows under the trees.
Natalie’s probably got her claws in Kerrie by now, he thought. She’s probably twisting my words and convincing Kerrie to never talk to me again. She’ll think I’m an asshole and never want to be seen with me again.
“Joe?”
He almost fell into the fountain in response. Kerrie had followed him. It was her turn to emerge from the shadows of the trees. In the moonlight, she looked ethereal. Her hair and dress glimmered so that there seemed to be an aura of white light around her. Joe almost convinced himself that he was dreaming. “Hey” was the only thing he could manage to say in return.
“You scared me. You just walked by like you hadn’t seen me.” She sat beside him. She was close enough that he could smell her perfume and feel her knee brush against his.
“Oh? I’m . . . I’m sorry. Natalie . . .”
“Yeah, I know.” She shook her head, and the curls that weren’t pinned up bounced against her forehead and neck. “She cornered me in the bathroom when I was talking with Ann. She said you were just using me and not be trusted.”
“She’s wrong . . .”
“I know. I was close enough when I left the bathroom that I saw you two arguing. I couldn’t hear much, but I think I know what you said . . .”
Joe stood up then and turned to face her. “I said I don’t want her. I admitted that hadn’t for sometime now . . . and that I’ve liked you since I first saw you in that little elf costume of yours.” The moonlight was behind him, hiding his face in shadow. “I know this is . . . hard on you, that she’s your best friend, but I don’t want this thing between us to end before it starts. If anyone screws up our relationship, I’d rather it be me than Natalie.”
It was Kerrie’s turn to laugh. “Oh, really? And how do you plan to do that?”
He blushed. “It’s nothing I plan to do. Plans never work for me anyway.”
She giggled again and leaned back so that her arms held her up. “Oh, yeah?” He felt her shoe slide up the inside of his right leg until he closed his stance, trapping her ankle between his thighs. “So what if I promise to make the plans in the future?” She tugged her leg free and proceeded to run the toe of her high heel up the outside of his other leg.
He made a swipe for her foot, but she pulled it back just in time. “Okay. What do you plan for us to do for the rest of the evening? I don’t want to go back to the dance.”
“Neither do I.” She reached up and grabbed the lapel of his tuxedo coat, pulling him down and into a kiss. It reminded him again of the Christmas party, only this time he didn’t let her pull back after only a couple seconds. His hand came up and cupped the nape of her neck. Her lips tasted like strawberries and parted easily when he sought the warmth of her mouth. Once inside, his tongue found hers. A soft moan escaped her and vibrated through both their heads. When he finally pulled back, they both were breathing heavily, and he could tell by the mischievous little smile spreading across her face that she was planning something he was going to enjoy.
She swung around until her legs dangled over the water of the fountain, and then she reached back and pulled his arms around her shoulders. “We could just stay here. It’s warm, and I’ve always liked this place.”
“. . . um, sure . . .” Joe couldn’t help sounding distant; his attention was centered more on the heels of her shoes, which traced slow, graceful circles in the water. Her feet flexed, and the soles of the shoes joined the heels in lightly skimming over the moonlit pool. When she flexed her left foot again, her heel popped free from the leather of her shoe. A little moan escaped Joe. He adjusted his attention to her face. Her head was tipped back, and she was grinning up at him like a Cheshire cat. “Sorry . . . I just . . .”
“. . . have a thing about feet?” She finished for him. She straightened her leg so that her dangled shoe was held high over the water. “Natalie kinda told me about that when she was complaining one day.”
“Complaining?” He was transfixed by her foot again, especially when she bounced her leg, making the shoe bounce and swing from her toes.
“Yeah, complaining that you like to cum on her feet.” Still grinning, she straightened her foot, her heel popping back into her shoe.
Joe blushed. “She said that?”
Kerrie relaxed her leg until both shoes skimmed the water again. “Guys never realize that girls talk about sex to their friends, too.” She half turned towards him, curling one leg beneath her and leaving the other over the water. “Don’t worry. I think it’s cute.” Her gaze trailed down from his face, and he moaned again when he felt her hand trace the outline of his cock against the front of his trousers. “Pretty effective, too, I’d say.” She squeezed him gently as she started to swing her leg over the water again.
“Kerrie . . . you don’t have to . . .”
“I’ve been thinking about you a lot lately.” Her teeth toyed with her lip as she guided his zipper down. “And I want to . . .” Her nimble fingers dipped into and guided him out of his boxer shorts. The warm caress of her hand and the touch of the cool mist rising from the fountain were in such sharp contrast; the sensations made him shiver. “Nat wasn’t kidding . . . you’re huge,” she cooed as she began to stroke his shaft. Her hand moved in a slow, insistent rhythm, starting from his base and ending at the crown. His eyes fluttered shut in response. “Uh-ah. If you close your eyes, you’ll miss the best part.”
When he opened his eyes again, he noticed her foot was still swinging over the water. Every time she flexed her foot, her heel popped out of the back of her shoe, causing it to fill with water. On the upswing, her shoe would empty and pop back on. He hadn’t told Natalie, but he had an affection for wet nylon; it was something he had discovered accidentally when he had taken her out to dinner after a rainfall. She must have stepped in a puddle, because when she ran her foot up his leg during their meal, he could feel the warm dampness through his pants and all the way up to his groin. And when her foot snuck up under his pant leg and touched his bare skin, he nearly came in his shorts. Now as he watched Kerrie’s little show, he couldn’t help wondering if the lining of her high-heel was soaking through her stocking.
She continued swinging her foot and stroking his hard shaft in this way for quite a while until, Joe supposed, her leg started to tire. The arch of her swing lessoned until the back of her shoe was completely submerged and the shoe as a whole was hanging on just her big toe. He watched her rotate her ankle and adjust her foot; he presumed she was trying to get it back on. Instead, it fell into the fountain with a soft plunk, and her mouth enveloped his tip. He moaned and tangled his fingers in her hair as she sucked and nibbled at his tip. Her mouth slid down his shaft, taking inch after inch of him, while Joe watched her foot. She stretched her leg and, starting with the tip of her big toe, let her foot sink into the water. It soaked the tips of her toes and then, covered her toes completely; it touched the ball of her foot and crept up to her arch. Water caressed her heel and poured over the top of her foot until it was lost in the shadows of the fountain along with her shoe.
That’s when Joe tensed. Kerrie’s tongue swirled over the vein of the underside of his cock just as he reached his climax. When the first jet of cum splashed her tongue, Kerrie pulled back. The remainder of his seed sprayed her lips, cheek, and nose.
“Pisano!”
“Oh, fuck,” Joe muttered as he managed to get his still erect member into his pants and turned to see who called him. What he saw was a fist coming for his face. It hit his jaw hard enough that his head turned and forced his whole body to turn as well. Greg Dawson had apparently heard about his fight with Natalie and took offense. Joe fell into Kerrie, and they both fell backwards into the fountain.
***
Fifteen minutes later, Joe toed open the door to his dorm room. It wasn’t a big room. His and Dave’s beds took up most of the space; their desks claimed the rest. At least, it was warm and dry, unlike him and Kerrie.
Kerrie giggled as he carried her in and deposited her on the chair at his desk. “You know? I could have walked. You didn’t have to carry from the courtyard.”
“It wasn’t far, and you lost a shoe. You could’ve hurt yourself.” He was rummaging in his closet just then, searching for a couple clean towels. “There might have been glass or pine needles or something.”
“I used to walk barefoot all summer back home,” she mused as she kicked off her other heel, “hot asphalt and all. I think I could handle a couple of pine needles.”
“Still . . . ah, I found them.” He turned, holding up two beach towels he had brought from home when he first came to school. “Which would madam prefer: Winnie the Pooh or Spiderman?”
She laughed at the choices. “I’ll let you keep your dignity; give me Winnie.”
He tossed her the towel and slipped his shirt off before drying his hair. He watched her stand up out of the corner of his eye; she was watching him, too. “So . . . Kerrie . . . about what happened . . .”
“Hmm?”
“You didn’t have to . . . I mean . . . why did you?”
“I like you.”
“Yeah, but it was kinda sudden,” he said, drying his arms and chest. “I like you, too, but I wasn’t expecting you to . . .” “Not be Natalie,” Kerrie finished as she unzipped her dress, letting the wet material pool at her feet. “Not everyone’s afraid of their sexuality.”
“Sorry.” He shrugged, still watching her as she primly patted dry the tops of her breasts. Her bra hid very little, considering it was white and, since it was wet, now almost transparent lace. “I’d nearly forgotten what a normal female was like . . .”
“Normal? I’m just normal to you?” She gave him a look of mock horror, the back of her hand pressed to her forehead.
He gave her body an appreciative glance. She looked remarkable in just her underwear. Her body was compact and curvy, hidden by just her bra, stockings, and a matching lace panties and garter set. “No. Not normal. You’re beautiful. I’m still not sure why you agreed to go to the dance with me.”
She troubled her bottom lip with her teeth again. “I told you. I like you . . . I’ve been telling Natalie that if you two split I’d be there for you in a heart beat.” She shrugged. “I guess she didn’t believe me.”
“Lucky me,” he murmured. He couldn’t stand it anymore. He slipped an arm around her and pulled her close. He wanted to taste strawberries again; his tongue coaxed hers into a dance. She let her fingers trail down his chest, around his sides and up his back. Her nails raked his back, making him moan into their kiss. All the while, his fingers tugged at the bane of his existence: her bra. After a while, she began to laugh and pulled away from his mouth.
“Need help?”
“All I can get,” he admitted.
She pushed him back until him sat back on the bed. Then, he got to watch as she unclasped the offending lace, letting her breasts spill free. Because of the air conditioning, her nipples puckered as he watched. Intrigued, he reached up, cupping her, letting his thumb caress one hard nub. His mouth soon claimed her other breast, sucking, nipping, and caressed her; it was her turn to moan. He pulled her down so that she sat next to him and twisted so that she was pinned beneath him. His mouth moved downwards, tasting her skin, forging a trail down her belly to the top of her panties. His hands undid her garters.
“Now who’s making sudden moves?” She grinned down at him as his thumbs hooked her panties and slid the lacy garment off her hips and down her legs.
“No sudden moves… I promise,” he murmured. He kept his word by nibbling on the tender flesh of her inner thighs. He progressed slowly upwards, nipping and licking until his nose nuzzled her downy mound. He inhaled her musky scent before setting to nibbling her pussy lips. She rewarded him with a low moan and the caress of her fingers tangling in his hair. His tongue traced her lips and then delved deep, plunging into her wet pussy. His nose nudged her clit as she squirmed under the assault of his invading mouth. When she was finally panting and humping up to meet the thrusts of his tongue, he adjusted, his middle finger taking over. This opened her throbbing clit open for more attention. He caught it between his lips and sucked, letting his tongue swirl over its sensitive tip.
“God, I’m gonna cum,” she cried out, her legs wrapping around his head, holding him to her as her hips bucked in response to the sensations. When she finally climaxed, covering his face and hand with her juices, he was panting almost as hard as her, only it was for lack of oxygen. “Oh . . . God . . . Joe . . .” she panted, “fuck me.”
He was out of his boxers in a moment. He lifted her legs onto his shoulders and positioned his tip at her entrance. Leaning forward, his shaft sunk to the hilt into her. His thrusts were slow and steady at first. He swiveled his hips until he found that little bundle of nerves deep in her core, his tip bumping her g-spot. She cried out as she came again, her nails raking his sheets. This seemed to be a signal for him; he began to thrust into fast and hard, his eyes slipping shut as he enjoyed how warm, wet, and tight she felt around him.
“Joe, stop before you come,” she whispered beneath him, grinding her hips up to meet his. “I have another treat for you.”
He nodded but never paused. He only stopped when he felt that familiar ache in his balls, the one that signaled the beginning of the end. He pulled out reluctantly and opened his eyes as she pushed him back a few inches so he rested on his heels, still kneeling before her. She adjusted so she sat on his pillows, her hips elevated, and then grinning, she rubbed her stocking-clad foot up his knee. The smooth warm material caressed his thigh and continued upwards to sweep over his stomach before sliding gently down over his throbbing cock. He moaned as he watched her other foot follow suit, rubbing over his leg and evidently caressing his tip. One set of toes squeezed his tip while the other set rubbed the underside of his shaft. Soon both feet were moving in unison, one of either side of his prick. They stroked him slowly, the nylons adding delicious friction until that familiar ach returned. His hands held her feet still as he thrust his cock between their arches, his balls contracting and sending jet after jet of cum all over her legs and stomach.
Kerrie quickly wiped herself clean with her towel and pulled him to her. He sank back on the bed, still panting after his intense release. His arms slipped around her, pulling her to his chest. “You know something?”
“Hmm?”
“I don’t hate Natalie anymore,” he said.
“Why?”
“She introduced me to you.”
She nuzzled his chest in response. “Awfully nice of her, huh?”
He smiled and kissed her hair. “Yeah . . . I just hope Ann and Dave found some place else to stay tonight.”
“Oh, yeah?” she murmured sleepily.
“Yeah . . . Nothing ruins cuddling quite like your roommate.”