College for me was a time of growing up in a lot of ways. Academically, I learned a lot through the classes I enrolled in. Socially, how to get a long with a lot of people from different walks of life. Spiritually, I adopted a set of values that continue to serve me well to this very day. And personally, I learned a lot about myself; what was important to me and what wasn't. College was also a period of time where I learned a lot about the opposite sex and where guys, and where, specifically, "I" fit in the grand scheme of things. This is a story of the latter subject.
I was the 2nd of two boys in my family. All through high school, I was one of the so called "nerds." Did well academically however was mediocre when it came to relationships. Not that I didn't date, however my dates never went anywhere. I had a couple of girl friends however we never took it beyond holding hands and the occasional kissing with closed lips. I enjoyed their company however I always knew that I was expected to go on to college. My parents made sure that thought was firmly planted in my noggin. As were most of the girl friends that I dated. We were all so thoroughly brainwashed. So long term relationships were not in the cards.
When it came time to decide on where to go to college, I decided that I needed a complete change of scenery otherwise history might repeat itself and I would remain a nerd the rest of my life. Most of my classmates and friends were ending up staying in-state, going to the local university. If I did the same, I would probably end up with the same circle of friends and guess what, déjà vu all over again. So off I went to San Francisco.
My freshman year was interesting. Learning to live in a new town, new community, dorm life, and a new school campus. Adapting to college life and the differences in teaching. My first year went by in a blur! Luckily I did reasonably well and made the dean's list. That meant that I could live off campus if I wanted. Which I did. Living in a dorm with 50 other people on the same floor and eating cafeteria food were some of the things that I was looking forward to not doing.
I decided to stay in town over the summer and work. At the same time, make the move into an apartment that a fellow student was giving up and had referred to me. It was small and clean, close to campus, and most importantly, fit my budget. So, I was more or less settled in by the time that my sophomore year started.
My second year was also a turning point for me socially, as I met my dream girl that fall. It was at the start of the year dance for the sophomore class which was held the first weekend after classes started.
Although my "nerdiness" had resulted in my wall-flower social status all the years leading up to this year, I figured that I had nothing to loose by attending. If nothing else, it would at least give me an opportunity to knock back a couple of brews and find some buddies from last year. Besides, if I didn't do something different for a change I would have no one to blame for being stuck in a social rut besides myself. So I went stag (not that I had a date to take anyway) and walked into the gym building where the dance was being held.
I walked up to the reception table to pay my entry fee and came face to face with a most amazing gal. She couldn't have been more than 5' 4" tall, straight black hair that fell to her shoulders, slender, perhaps no more than 100 pounds, with smallish breasts. But her best feature was her smile. She could light up the city of San Francisco if they could ever figure out how to harness its brilliance. To say that I was intrigued by this person would be putting it mildly.
"Hi, I'm here for the dance," I said as I forked over my $5.
"Hi, my name's Jan," she said as she took my $5 and gave me two ticket scripts. "You can use the script to get either two soft drinks or one beer. After that, you'll need to buy more script if you intend to buy more drinks. So can I sell you another $20 in script?" she asked?
"Oh," I asked? "Think that I'll be needing that much script?"
"Definitely if you intend to buy me a drink or two," she said as she smiled at me and took my $20. "So what do they call you?"
Her reply had me in a daze! Did she just ask me to spend some time with her? This doesn't just happen to nerds like me!
"Oh, sorry, the names Quentin; but Quin works better." I told her. "And I would definitely like to buy you a drink or two, perhaps three or more?" I smiled back at her.
"We'll see," Jan smirked back at me. "I'm going to shut down this table in about 30 minutes so why don't you come looking for me about that time?" she asked.
"Sounds like a plan," I smiled back at her. I thought to myself that this year may have potential after all!
I walked into the gym and scanned the room. The music was blaring and the lighting was turned down. There were perhaps 300 or more people there already. I could see that a lot of the guys were eyeing up all of the good looking girls there. And the good looking girls were doing likewise to the good looking guys! You could see the hormone levels in the building jump each time a new person walk into the room as everyone checked them out and vice versa. It was like high school all over again!
I went to the bar and got me a beer and figured that Jan would probably be closing the reception table shortly so I got her a wine spritzer at the same time. I was hoping that it was a safe drink to order. By the time I had our drinks in hand and left the bar, it was almost time to get Jan so I walked over to the reception area.
The table was deserted by the time I got there so I figured that I had been stood up. Well, it wasn't the first time and it probably wouldn't be the last. So I turned around and promptly bumped into her! Good thing I didn't spill the drinks on her!
"Hey, big guy! There you are! I thought you forgot about me," Jan said.
"No way would I forget a cutie like you!" I replied. And she blushed. I liked that.
I handed her the wine spritzer, "hope that you like this but we can change it if you don't."
After taking a quick sip, Jan pronounced that it was a concoction fit for consumption. I held my hand out to her and she took it, looking up at me and smiling as she did so. We walked back into the gym and found an empty table to sit at. We spent the next hour talking about who we were and where we came from.
Jan came from a small town north of San Francisco. Her family lived on a small farm that had been in her family for several generations. Her father was a veterinarian and mom was a school teacher. A younger brother was still in high school.
Like me, she was a sophomore and considered herself to be an "ok" student but no where close to being a rocket scientist! She had been active in high school and liked to be involved in projects and activities. She claimed that they made life interesting for her. As a freshman, she had gotten involved in putting on socials for our class so was immediately volunteered by others to help put together this evening's event.
"Hey, wanna dance?" I asked her as a familiar tune started. "Sure, that's why they call this a dance!" she replied. I took her hand and led her to the dance floor that had been continuously packed the whole time. We managed to insert ourselves into that crowd of wriggling bodies and were having a great time through three fast numbers when the music tempo slowed dramatically. Couples paired up as I reached for Jan's hand to stay on the dance floor with me.
Jan smiled as she placed her other hand on my shoulder and I put my free hand on her back. As we swayed with the music, I was mesmerized by Jan's presence. The light touch of her hands in mine and on my shoulder. Her smile as we looked in each other's eyes. The soft curve of her hips. The light fragrance of her perfume. I bent down and kissed her cheek which caused Jan to pull back slightly, give me an appraising look, then lay her head on my shoulder as she sighed and kissed my neck. It was a delightful evening.
We held hands on the walk back to her dorm that evening. After exchanging phone numbers, I caressed her cheek and slowly kissed her soft lips. I heard a soft moan and wasn't sure if that was Jan or me. That soft kiss was followed by another. I felt Jan's lips part as her tongue searched for mine. As our tongues met and caressed each other, I wrapped my arms around her waist and drew her firmly into my embrace.
That smoldering kiss left my mind spinning! I guess Jan was feeling the same way as we both took deep breathes and smiled at each other. Quiet good nights were said as Jan went into her dorm.
The next day was Sunday and Jan and I got together that afternoon. We spent the time studying together at the campus library. Even though it wasn't date, I found myself enjoying our time together immensely. We followed that with a quiet dinner at her dorm cafeteria and adjourned to her room for some time to ourselves. I can't recall exactly what we did, only that it involved a lot of holding each other and kissing, and quiet conversation.
That weekend set the tone for our relationship for the next several months. We would get together after classes, studying at the library, have dinner together, then go to her dorm room. We had become an exclusive couple.
As October approached, Jan became wrapped up with the homecoming dance. She and her group began to plan out the evening's festivities and naturally I was yanked into the fray. Not that I was complaining. Far from it. I found it fun and it allowed me to spend more time with Jan. And, I found that we worked well together.