Simply Wonderful

The first time she saw him, she hardly noticed him at all. He was at Johnny's frat party, but she had never seen him there before, and he wasn't really partying. He was sitting alone in a corner, a beer in one hand and a lighter in the other. He was disconsolately clicking the lighter on and off and staring at the flame. Laurel rolled her eyes and went back upstairs to where the dancing was happening. She couldn't believe how pathetic some people were. I mean, if you're going to be depressed, why don't you just stay home.

~

The next day, Claire, her roommate woke her up by dragging herself into their dorm around noon with a vicious hangover. Laurel pressed her eyes shut as tightly as she could and tried to go back to sleep. It didn't work, so she got up and went into the bathroom where Claire was showering.

"What happened to you last night?" Laurel yawned. "I didn't see you dancing after ten-thirty."

"That's because I wasn't dancing. I hooked up with Johnny and what's-her-name, his new girlfriend. She's a lot of fun. Can eat pussy like no other."

"Jeanne?"

"Yeah, her. Pretty, too. I could get used to her."

"You know he never keeps them around long." Johnny was almost as famous for his flavor-of-the-week style of dating as for his totally rocking parties.

"Oh well. She's something special though. She's welcome to move in with me after he finds someone new."

Laurel laughed halfheartedly, and glanced at Claire, unabashedly showering. Water poured down her body, which was a rich gold, and dripped off of her dark nipples. It was her Italian half, Laurel guessed, which must also be responsible for the curly patch of chocolate brown hair between her legs, now matted and soaking. Unlike Laurel, Claire didn't shave. She said it made her feel womanly. That summed up Claire pretty well, actually, reflected Laurel—womanly. Laurel was sometimes jealous of Claire's brazen sexuality; her ability to attract men and women and love them all passionately, ardently—until someone else came along. In that respect, Laurel thought, Claire was as bad as Johnny.

And maybe that was why, when you got down to it, that Claire and Johnny got along so well. They were partners in crime. Together, they seduced anyone who wandered into their path, and there always seemed to be room for Claire in Johnny's rapidly changing relationships.

"Could you get me an aspirin?" Claire asked, stepping out of the shower and pulling a towel around herself. "My head is going to explode. Then let's go get some lunch."

~

In the cafeteria, Laurel and Claire sat down at a corner table with tremendous trays of food. It was a building joke that they ate so much. They were both fairly slender too, from swimming.

"So, last night was good?" Laurel asked tentatively. Claire threw her head back and let out a deep, contented sigh.

"You cannot begin to imagine. Amazing. Unbelievable. What did you get up to, by the way?"

"The same thing I always get up to. I dance, I get rid of some creepy guys, I come home, I sleep."

"For God's sake Laurel!" Claire was looking at her with an expression of horror. "Just hook up with one of these supposedly creepy guys. You're stuck in a rut here. They can't be that bad."

"Want to bet?"

"Well…no, I don't really. There are some awful guys at those parties. You should find someone though. Johnny has a new friend. He must be from a dorm, because I'd know him if he were in a frat. Larry, I think he said. Sounds like your type. Bookish."

"Claire, not everyone who's bookish is my type, honestly!" Laurel could not suppress a rising frustration with her friend, who so easily made friends and lovers. Didn't she understand that not everyone was as irresistibly sexy as she was all the time? And that just because she didn't have sex three times a week, she wasn't in desperate need of a man in her life? Laurel finished eating quickly and went off to the library.

~

She had been reading about the Haitian Revolution for nearly ten minutes when she gave up and turned to science fiction, and she read that for another ten before Claire showed up in the library. Laurel not being in the mood to deal with her friend at that moment, she pulled herself behind a shelf to watch Claire pass. She was holding on to the arm of the lighter guy from Johnny's party and looking anxiously around the shelves. Laurel sank further behind her shelf as they walked by.

"Probably just trying to show off her latest catch so the geeky guys in library will be jealous," Laurel though sullenly. "Leave the poor guy alone."

After Claire was gone, Laurel came out to read her book at a table, not even pulling her nose out for long enough to notice that lighter boy was still there, sitting at the other end of the table. She did notice when he came up behind her and started reading over her shoulder. She set the book on the table and leaned forward, but he simply put his arms on the table on either side of her and continued to look on. This was too close for Laurel's comfort.

"Do you mind?" she snapped. He stood up at once.

"Just checking out what you're reading. As Arthur C. Clarke goes, you could do better."

"Thanks for your advice. Now if I decide I want it, I won't even need to ask."

"Oh, feeling feisty?" His grey eyes were filled with laughter. Laurel made up her mind that she hated his patronizing attitude. She snapped the book shut.

"What is it that you recommend, exactly?"

"What about 'Childhood's End'?"

"Read it."

"Hmm. 'The Fountains of Paradise'?"

"Read it." Laurel had picked up her book again and read as she answered.

"'The Deep Range'?"

"Read it."

"'The Sands of Mars'?" Laurel paused. That was one she hadn't read, but she wasn't sure she wanted to admit it. If she did, he might never go away.

"Read it."

"Too late, you hesitated. You haven't"

"Fine, but they don't have it here anyway. I'm okay with this, actually. I don't need any more help." She smiled sweetly instead of clenching her jaw, which she was tempted to do.

"You can't get away with that, I have it in my apartment." Laurel realized he wasn't going to leave and looked at him properly. Tall, slender, with nice clothes. He didn't look like a rapist, and she would take her chances. She had nothing better to do. Besides, she had practically seen Claire mark him as her territory. He couldn't be that bad. She closed her book again.

"Let's get this over with."

"Oh come on, I can't be that bad." Laurel raised her eyebrows, and he laughed. "Your friend didn't seem to mind me so much…"

"Oh please, she likes anything that—wait, how did you know I'm Claire's roommate?"

"I was at Johnny's party. I made inquiries."

"I—inquiries? About me? Why?"

"You looked pretty, and more importantly, too classy for Johnny's frat. The dress you were wearing…" He trailed off, looking at her almost hungrily. Laurel could feel herself blushing deeply, not just in her cheeks, but down her neck. She was beginning to feel slightly stalked. The two of them had been walking, and now they were at his car, a steel-gray Mini Cooper. Laurel hesitated at the passenger door, wondering if this was really a good idea, but though he was a bit creepy, he seemed too quiet and preppy to be dangerous.

As she opened the door and got in, he turned to her and said, "My name is Lawrence by the way."

"Lawrence—Oh! Larry! Claire mentioned you to me already." He frowned slightly.

"Please. I detest being called Larry. It sounds like a balding middle-aged man, which I may be someday, but am not yet. Thank God, or I'd never have a chance with someone like you." He said it in passing, without special emotion, almost as though he had thought aloud, not spoken to her, but Laurel felt herself flushing again.

"But—" she started, not sure how to begin. "I thought—Claire…"

"Claire! Why?"

"I saw you with her, in the library."

"I asked her to help me find you. She couldn't. I saw you, but you clearly weren't keen on talking to us, so I just thanked her and asked her to leave." This did not even begin to explain things to Laurel, but she stopped asking questions, and just watched his hands, strong but slender, moving the wheel of the car. There was something beautiful about the grace with which he moved his hands. She only looked up when they pulled up at an apartment building just off campus.

"I thought Claire said you lived in a dorm."

"She didn't know what she was talking about. Come in." They stepped out of the car, and he took her hand and led her into the building, up some stairs and through an unassuming door.

Inside his apartment, everything was white. Lawrence threw his keys down on a table, took off his jacket, and started walking into the next room.

"Please, sit," he called over his shoulder. "Let me get you the book." Laurel sank onto a mattress on the floor, with white sheets, not perfectly made up, and decided that Lawrence, or Larry, or whatever he was calling himself was making her very uncomfortable. She made up her mind to leave as quickly as possible, but even as she thought this to herself, he reappeared, and her stomach flipped. Did she really want to go? She stood up to meet him.

"Here's the book," said Lawrence calmly, moving towards her. He handed it to her, but was looking at her face, making Laurel blush even more. "I really hope you enjoy it. You—" he broke off, his grey eyes focused intently on her. "You're very beautiful." He picked up an errant piece of her hair and looked at it as though fascinated. "Fair, clever, pretty…I can't keep away from you."

Laurel met his eyes and before she knew what had happened, he was kissing her. His arms held her at the waist, and he kissed her with such beautiful, tender passion she was melting. His lips moved softly away from her mouth and across her neck and shoulders, touching her gently while his hands carefully explored her curves.

Any thoughts Laurel had had of leaving were entirely gone from her mind. She was tingling all over, and as Lawrence lifted her and set her on the mattress, falling on top of her, a wave of desire for him swept over her. She returned his kisses eagerly, stopping him only to pull off his shirt. As he felt this change in her reaction, Lawrence pulled away and looked at her for a moment. Then he ran a finger gently around the edge of her face and looked at her with renewed passion. His next kisses were filled with feverish desperation.

Laurel ran her hands over his chest and back, enjoying the smoothness of his skin. His hands were sliding up underneath her shirt, pushing it up until she sat up in his arms and pulled it over her head. He leaned in to kiss her again, as he reached behind her to release her hair from its tight bun. It tumbled to her shoulders, silvery-blond and slightly curly, bright against her pale skin with just a hint of gold. Lawrence's mouth was working its way down, now on her shoulders as her unhooked her bra and it fell from her arms. Laurel's breasts fell out, paler than the rest of her skin, with smallish pink nipples that were now standing upright.

Lawrence looked at her, then shut his eyes, with a contented smile on his face. His hands reached up to trace the outline of her breasts against her body.

"They're so beautiful," he said softly. "I can't believe how beautiful your body is." Laurel smiled back tentatively and responded by kissing him fervently, but he broke away to trace circles on her breasts with his tongue. Laurel could feel her breathing quickening now, as he made her more and more aroused. She ran her fingers through his hair, but soon started to move her hands lower, reaching for his belt.

Lawrence pulled his hips forward to accommodate her efforts while not taking his mouth off her breasts, and she unbuckled his belt and undid his fly. Slowly, she worked his pants down over his hips and reached into his boxers for his erect cock. As her hand closed around it, Lawrence lifted his head from her breasts and gasped. She smiled and squeezed gently, moving her hand up and down a little. Lawrence's eyes were closed and his breathing was faster now. He quickly kicked off his pants the rest of the way and removed his boxers while Laurel wriggled out of her own pants.

As soon as this was done, he was back on top of her, kissing her mouth and her breasts alternately. Laurel, breathing hard, reached down and guided his cock to her pussy. As his head brushed her pussy lips Lawrence looked up at her, questioning. She simply pushed herself down. He helped her finish, thrusting deep and hard. Laurel gave a sharp intake of breath as he entered her. She was young and tight, and she could feel every inch of him as it entered. Warmth began to spread up from her pussy as Lawrence pulled out and entered her again with a soft suction noise. Laurel could not help any more. She lay on her back, her arms around his neck as he had passionate sex with her. He returned to kissing her, and she kissed him back, feeling so hot and desiring him so much. Her cheeks were pink and her mouth formed a small "o" as she moaned softly. Her shoulders and chest developed a dewy sheen and her back arched, pushing her closer to her lover.

Lawrence, too, was getting warmer. His gasps became more frantic, his thrusts deeper and faster. He leaned into her, feeling her breasts press against his chest, and he held her tightly to him. Finally, Laurel stiffened up and began to moan more loudly. Her pussy became hot and very wet. Lawrence could no longer hold in as her pussy lips tugged gently on his cock and he gave in and relaxed as his balls tightened and he came inside her. He stayed on top of her as his breathing slowed and his cock grew softer, letting the warmth between them fade. Laurel, also satisfied, was content to let him lie there, with his skin pressed so close to hers. She felt she could not move if she tried.

Finally, Lawrence rolled off her, leaving one arm wrapped around her shoulders.

"That," he said, still breathing a bit more heavily than usual, "was simply wonderful. You are wonderful. I love everything about you." He went quiet again, but continued to gently touch her body, outlining her breasts and her stomach with long fingers.

"I have a question," Laurel said suddenly.

"Mm?" Lawrence didn't look up.

"Why were you so unhappy at Johnny's?" Lawrence smiled ruefully.

"That? A girl I used to love, she left me, a long time ago. I was missing her last night, but then I saw you—a hundred times more beautiful than she was, fresh and pretty, and with the power to make me happier than I have been in years. I knew I had to see you again, to talk to you. You're more wonderful than I imagined."

Laurel's heart warmed to him, and she snuggled closer in his arms. He smiled at her, a look of hope and adoration in his eyes, and like that, they fell asleep.