Chapter One

 

It was a nice house. No, it was a beautiful house. I had been looking for rooms the last two days, and getting more and more tired and depressed. Anything close to school was either taken or horribly expensive. This place was a little far out, but the price was at least more affordable.

And it was in a house, sharing it with two roommates. Okay, they were guys, and I was slightly wary about that, but getting desperate. I was supposed to go into a dorm room like most freshers, but there'd been a structural issue with the building, and now I and a hundred other first years were scrambling to find accommodation.

I had seen pictures of the place on the internet, but they hadn't done it justice. It looked great from the outside, and even nicer on the inside. It also had an immaculate back yard with a pool and high hedges for privacy. The only real issue was the two roomers were guys.

I was reassured, however, by the fact the two guys didn't seem to like each other a lot. In other words, they weren't buddies who would side with each other against me. In fact, they were practically opposites.

Matt was a joker, the kind of guy who was fun to be around and party with but you sure wouldn't want to rely on him too much. We'd been in the yard walking along the pool when we'd talked about the rent, and he'd offered to take 10% off if I wore a thong bathing suit whenever I was around.

Creep? No, just a normal guy. He was only like twenty, after all. And I was pretty sure he was just kidding... pretty sure. But it soon started to look like he was kind of a goofball, and so not really any threat.

He was kind of cute, though. He was about my height, with shaggy blonde hair and bright blue eyes. He was athletic, and was on the college diving team (he told me he was great at going down on girls).

Jeffrey (never Jeff) was like his opposite. He was way taller, also an athlete, only on the volleyball team, wore horn rimmed glasses, and was uber serious. He didn't seem to smile much, didn't crack jokes, spoke in a very serious tone, and was purely business. He made sure I knew he would be studying EVERY night and would have to make sure I didn't make much noise.

At which Matt rolled his eyes of course.

Jeffrey had short dark hair, and a long, angular face, though with really nice teeth in a sensuous mouth. He was big, with broad shoulders, but moved with a careful precision, nothing like the bouncy energy Matt displayed.

They were an odd couple, but on the one hand, Jeffrey seemed reliable, and Matt seemed - fun. Neither seemed at all threatening, and the place was great! They even offered me the master!

"It has its own bathroom, which we're sure you'll need, you being a girl," Matt said.

I prefer the bedroom on the north side," Jeffrey said. "It faces the back yard so is quieter."

"I spend very little time in my own bed," Matt said with a sly wink at me.

I rolled my eyes.

Matt's room was a mess, with stuff strewn about everywhere. Jeffrey's room was immaculate.

Matt was taking engineering, Jeffrey was taking History (I had guessed physics).

As an added bonus, they had bought a car together. It wasn't much of a car, but it functioned, and they took turns driving it to school. Depending on schedules that sometimes meant the other one had to take the bus or get a ride from someone else, but my schedule, especially if I was willing to go in early to study on Thursdays, would allow me to ride in every day!

I moved in on the Friday before school started. Just in time!

Jeffrey had come in and inspected the room just as I was finishing (I'd left the door open, of course). He looked around with that serious face of his, then looked at me.

"I meant to tell you we don't have a snake. You should get one," he said.

I stared at him.

"For the drain."

I frowned.

"In the bathroom, in the shower..."

He looked rather obviously at my hair and I frowned even more.

"Dude, my hair doesn't, like, fall out in clumps," I said.

"Dude is not a term I generally respond to," he said dryly. "Your hair is quite long, and all the ... work, dye and chemicals women put into their hair tends to damage it. You don't want to clog the drain.

I glowered at him. "I have never dyed my hair," I said, "And it's quite healthy."

I grabbed his wrist and pulled his hand up to feel my hair. I was quite proud of how soft and silky it was, in no small part because I did so little with it.

I have brown hair. It's not mud brown. It's a nice brown. Why should I put chemicals in to make it blonde or something? I like myself as a brunette. It kind of goes with who I am, you know?

Besides, I figured, if my hair clogged the drain I'd get Mat to fix it. Mat struck me as the kind of guy who would do just about anything a girl asked him, just to impress her with his manly skills.

"Hair and plumbing don't mix well," Jeffrey said, though his fingers were sliding through my hair with interest.

"You do have ... nice hair," he said, as if reluctant to admit it. "I mean, it does feel uhm, healthy."

He pulled his hand back.

"You ever watch Big Bang on TV" I asked.

He gave me that frown again.

"Are you suggesting something?"

"Me? No way. One of my favorite shows, that's all."

He turned and left me in peace and I shook my head AND rolled my eyes at the same time, betting he would be loads of fun at a party.

I turned and looked at myself in the mirror. Yes, my hair fit me very nicely. And it wasn't that long. Maybe it fell halfway down my back, almost, depending on how you measured my back, I suppose.

Okay, it probably needed a trim, especially the bangs. I think my bangs grow faster than any of the rest of my hair. One of the benefits of wearing glasses is it keeps my bangs out of my eyes when it gets long, like now.

My older sister is a blonde fashionista. That's one of the main reasons I had always refused to be drawn into the hair cult for women. My hair is fine like it is. I blow dry it, and that's about the extent of the time I devote to it. Usually it's parted on the side, but it doesn't tend to stay parted, if you know what I mean.

My face is a near perfect oval, and everything on it seems to be attractively arranged. I have no complaints anyway, and God knows no lack of interest from guys, though nothing like the crowd of horn-dogs that hangs around my sister drooling at her big boobs.

No, I'm not jealous of it, believe me! Do you know how much weight those things must be!? I play softball, and soccer. I shudder at the idea of running with those things bouncing up and down! My breasts are on the smaller side, but perfect and round and high and firm - firm! You don't get that with big giant boobs, you know, not unless they're full of silicone.

The boys who have gotten their hands on my breasts have been enthusiastic in their praise, so no, I have no jealousy of my sister. She's more of a kind of Swedish milkmaid type anyway, you know, wide hips, big chest. I'm skinny, by comparison, but I have more than enough curves to feel good about myself.

Even if Jeffrey didn't really seem to notice.

***

Matt had the car Monday, and drove me in. Jeffrey had no classes before noon.

"That is a very nice skirt," he said as he drove.

"Watch the road, Matt," I said.

"I am! Just commenting, that's all. Can't a guy pay a girl a compliment?"

It had only been two days but I had already kind of gotten to know Matt. He was a horny pervert (not that that made him unusual among guys) but in a generally inoffensive way.

"Sure. Nice trousers you're wearing, Matt."

"Thanks! You want to know what I'm wearing underneath?"

"Nope," I said.

"A nice black silk thong! What about you?"

"Guys look really goofy in thongs," I said.

"Most guys," he said with a grin. "But I have a great butt!"

"Uh huh."

He did, actually.

"You have a really nice butt too. I bet you wear thongs."

"The road," I said.

"I love girls' underwear," he said. "They have such a huge choice!"

"You could always get a sex change operation so you could wear some."

"Why would I do that? I get to play with girls' lingerie anyway, just with them in it," he said with a broad grin.

"I'm putting a lock on my lingerie drawer."

"Hey! Are you thinking I'd be the kind of guy to play with your thongs and G-strings?!"

"Yes!"

"So you DO you have thongs and G-strings?"

I rolled my eyes.

***

The first classes produced a bit of anxiety, but we were pretty much all in the same boat in our ignorance. I was taking a mixture of pre-law courses, mostly general arts, including writing. I met some interesting people, though I felt harried most of the day. I stayed a half hour late to read my Communications 01 text while I waited for Matt, then headed over to the pool to meet him.

The air inside was predictably warm and humid, which wasn't the most comfortable. I was wearing a black blazer over my black skirt, with a white blouse underneath, going for the professional look. I was a would-be lawyer, after all.

Jeffrey had approved.

Matt had only approved that when I sat down in the car the skirt, which was a couple of inches above the knee, slid higher. He'd also been able to observe, looking sideways, as I sat, staring through the small openings between the buttons, that I was wearing a black bra.

Like I said, he was a good natured perve, but not in any way threatening. I also wasn't interested, though, despite him being cute. He was just sooo not boyfriend material!

I didn't seem him waiting around, just a bunch of guys... in bathing suits... so the first thing I did was curse myself for not having come over to wait earlier! Swimmers have really nice bodies, including nice butts! I didn't see Matt until I asked a guy, and he pointed to the far end, where the diving pool was.

I walked down that way, taking my time, in no hurry now with so much eye candy around. There was a long, Olympic sized pool where the swimmers were practicing, then beyond it, a smaller, square pool with really high diving platforms looking down, and I mean really high!

In the time it took me to walk over there four guys dove off, doing, or trying to do, some complicated things in mid-air. And then I saw Matt halfway up. He dove straight, like an arrow. I watched his shadow curve in and up under the water, then come to the surface and swim to the side.

I walked around as he got out, and despite myself, felt a very appreciative inner sigh at the very cute, dripping wet guy who rose up before me.

"Hey, beautiful," he said.

"Matt," I said, not wanting to say anything he could take as suggestive.

Because, frankly, I was tempted. He had a nicer body than I'd thought, and it was slick with water dripping down it. Also, you know how the guys at the beach wear these baggy bathing suits that come down past their knees? Well, this wasn't that kind of bathing suit. It was short and it was tight, and I very determinedly kept my eyes away off the front as long as he could see me!

"You're early."

"You're late."

Another diver walked by and stopped, tall, hot and nearly as nearly naked as Matt.

"Hey," he said. "You Matt's girlfriend?"

"We live together actually," Matt said.

"In separate rooms. He's one of my roommates," I said hurriedly.

"Oh, cool. I was about to congratulate Matt for dating up."

I grinned.

"There is no up from me," Matt said indignantly.

"Yeah. Uh huh," he said, grinning at me and heading over to the platforms.

"That guy has a nice ass," I said.

"And I don't?" he demanded, turning and posing.

"Are you gonna get dressed or drive me home like that?"

"I bet if I drove you like this you wouldn't be able to resist me," he said. "You'd be all over me! So I better get dressed."

"Yeah, cuz you wouldn't want that," I said mockingly.

"A guy has standards," he said with false dignity.

"As far as I know your standards only say she has to be conscious."

"There's lots more than that!"

"Go get dressed."

I almost told him to take his time. I could watch the eye candy while he was gone.

He did have a nice butt, though, I thought, as he walked away. Nice everything, in fact.

And that was when I first started thinking, not seriously, just toying with the thought, of sleeping with Matt. I mean, here I was far from home, where nobody knew me, so I didn't really have to worry about reputation or anything. And he was, well, cute, and nice, and friendly. He wasn't exactly boyfriend material, not romantic material, but who knows. Maybe he could be a friends with benefits kind of friend.

But not yet. I needed to get to know him better.