Janis sat on her porch, reading a book in the mid-afternoon sun. She was glad to finally have some time to herself, without Kyle around. Not that she didn't love him, she was just getting bored with him. They'd been dating for over a year now, and she needed some excitement in her life.
Kyle was the kind of guy to fall madly in love with the first girl who looked at him, which was what Janis was used to. She always dated guys who treated her like gold, buying her stuffed animals and telling her she was beautiful. Of course, they were also always inconsiderate boobs, but it wasn't like they meant to be. They were just all a little below the average IQ level, and she couldn't relate to them. Kyle was a prime example, but she couldn't bring herself to hurt him.
Her thoughts drifted from the book to another guy she had met last year, Robbie. They had met in her first semester Creative Writing class, and she fell head over heels for him. They were great friends, even if after graduation she hadn't exactly kept in touch that often. Kyle seemed to take up all of her time, and she'd only been able to e-mail Robbie a few times. She often thought about him, but never had time to give him a call.
He wasn't the most attractive guy around (unlike Kyle), but she didn't even notice. He was smart and witty, words her boyfriends couldn't even define. They had tons of things in common, like both liking 1920's swing and Beatles records, and they both loved to write. She and Kyle had nothing in common, he was going into construction trade and she was going to college next year. He liked metal music, and got physically ill at the sight of a book. She had admitted to herself a while ago that she was getting sick of going to hard rock concerts and action movies.
Janis had even fantasized about Robbie more than a few times. She always saw herself on the beach with him, taking a walk away from the bonfire and ending up screwing like rabbits. She would never admit to anyone that she masturbated often to visions like that, but she couldn't help herself. Even the thought of him sitting behind her in class turned her on, so that the end of class was a relief.
A few days after the last day of writing was done, the teacher asked her if she could take his portfolio to him. She agreed to bring it to him the next day, and happily carried it with her all day. That night, she decided to read it out of curiosity. What was inside shocked her.
A single poem, filled with feelings of unrequited love. It mentioned details that left no question in her mind that it was about her. She felt horrible, she'd never noticed his yearning because she was too busy thinking about him. The poem had bothered her ever since, but she'd never had the guts to act on it.
As she was sitting thinking all these things over for the millionth time, a dark blue car pulled up in the drive. None other than Robbie himself stepped out, grinning in that charming way that had melted her heart a thousand times before. "Hey, how's it going? Thought I'd stop by and drag you down to the beach, so you can meet my friends. I haven't seen you in forever, so don't even think about resisting."
She grinned herself, and threw the book inside and closed the door. As she slid into the passenger seat, she felt a worm of anticipation wiggle in her belly. She hadn't seen Robbie in a while and she was finally hanging out with him again. She hoped in the back of her mind it would lead to more, but her sensible self squashed that hope and reminded her she had a boyfriend.
The drive to the beach was long, and they talked nonstop the whole time. They blasted the White Album all the way, and Janis felt like they'd seen each other just yesterday. When they got there, he turned to her with a wry grin. "I know you don't smoke pot, but neither do I so it's cool. Just a warning that there may be some contraband down there, they're a crazy bunch."
She laughed. "Robbie, you forget I'm pretty liberal. Let's get going before the sun sets and I fall down the steps."
They took the trail down, a steep, long concrete stairway. She smiled to herself as they walked down the quickly reddening sands. It was turning into her fantasies, and she had to restrain herself from giggling nervously.