This story kind of got away from me. It just kept going and going. It is completely written, and around 325,000 words and is broken down into 29 chapters. It's has been a labor of love.
I am a romantic, an idealist. I see things through rose colored glasses. A romantic with a dirty mind. My stories reflect that. I wasn't sure to post this under 'Romance' or 'Novels'. It takes a while for the real 'stuff' to get going. There is some 'soft' sex in the first few chapters. If you recall my one, and only, story the sex scenes are quite detailed. I like the reader to 'feel' what is happening to, and between, the characters. This story is no different. Be patient. It takes a while to get to the 'good stuff'. And then...
As always, everyone is 18 or over. All sex is consensual.
The fall of 1971... The beginning of my senior year attending a state university in Southern Illinois. The previous year was a time of chaos. The Vietnam War was in full swing. Kent State had happened the previous year. We would watch the nightly news of riots happening on various college campuses across the country: war protests, images from the war zone, the stock market in a free fall.
Here; the college students trashed the downtown over the course of many nights following Kent State. Campus demonstrations being fueled by mostly outsiders. SDS "Students for a 'Democratic' Society" demanding that they shut down the university. The National Guard was brought in, along with the State Police with their "Willie Mays" riot clubs. Curfews were in place. Students were getting tear gassed in the downtown. Ultimately the university suspended classes giving students "Satisfactory" or "Unsatisfactory" for grades. For some that was a blessing, for others a big disappointment.
There were rumors floating around as exactly 'why?' the university closed. One such chilling one centered on 'The Klan'. Yes, the Klan was still active in that part of the country. Rumor was that the local Klan had called someone high in the university administration and "gently' commented that, 'if you couldn't get things under control... We can, and will.' Kind of like, 'that's a nice university you have there... be a shame if something should happen to it'.
When my parents came down to pick me up, for summer break, they said the downtown looked like a war zone with most of the stores having boarded up windows.
But that was last year. Now, the downtown looked "normal", the trouble makers had left and a new group of freshmen were eagerly looking forward to their new world, and life away from home, many, for the first time.
As a Senior, I was still living in the dorm. A lot of students, and my some of my friends from previous years, had left the dorms on their second year for 'off campus' housing for more freedom, more privacy, and better food. I had no problem with the cafeteria type food. I wasn't a picky eater. I liked the comradery. There was always something to do, be it a card game, a board game, or just watching TV. Oh, and then there were the few occasions when you could get a bunch of the guys together to walk a mile to a theater to see the local 11:00 'skin flick'. Back then it wasn't real porn, it was mostly just 'tits and ass'; but it was fun. Being a state run university, alcohol was forbidden to have on campus, but if you were discrete, and didn't make a big scene there were no problems. The only bad part of living in the dorm was that you couldn't have a car, even as a senior. Oh well, I made it through the previous four years, I can do it one more time. Next year.
I had taken Air Force ROTC my freshman and sophomore year. Like I said earlier, the Vietnam War was going on, and so were the draft and lottery. I knew once I got out of school, there was a better than even chance I would get drafted. At the time, I thought if that was going to happen why not be second lieutenant in the Air Force. Toward the end of the second year, the required physical made me ineligible due to a high school football injury. The bottom line was that I would have to take at least a couple of quarters after my senior year to finish all of my mechanical engineering requirements to make up for the hours I spent in the ROTC classes. I was also thinking of taking some 'easy' fill-in classes to wait out the draft. I had an idea of moving off campus for those last quarters, just for something different. I was kind of 'out growing' the dorm, as I was now three to four years older than the incoming freshmen. Just didn't know with who or where.
Many of my friends from the previous year were back. When my parents pulled up with all of my stuff around noon, it was unloaded in one trip up the four flights of stairs. My parents needed to get back on the road, as it was a six hour drive. This being the fourth time dropping me off it wasn't as emotional as the first time, but it still was hard. Each of them discreetly slipped me a twenty. I now had beer money on top of the forty that I had brought myself.
Once my room was 'set up', we all gathered together and talked about our summer. A guy, by the name of Randy, and I had become good friends the previous year. He had grown up on a dairy farm about an hour south of where I lived and had been on a football scholarship. His freshman year his knee blew out, so that was that. We kind of looked like brothers; he was taller and bulkier, but the facial features were similar. Both had dark hair, square jaw, light colored eyes -- mine green, his a hazel. Girls would go by and ask if we were bothers. Randy would grin and say 'yep' just to get their attention. It was fun.
For him, his summer was spent working on his dad's farm, hanging out with his friends and buddies. He was the type of guy that had a lot of friends. His high school girlfriend was history. Mine was long gone... thankfully.
For me; I had a job working in the local dairy doing odd jobs, everything from unloading semi-trailers filled with empty wire milk cases to standing next to a conveyor belt picking up cartons of cottage cheese, sour cream, and yogurt placing in a wire milk case before sending to the cooler. It was mindless work, but it paid well. Actually, it was the highest paying job in the area. There was a guy that would work across from me, about my dad's age. That was all he did... everyday... 8 hours a day... 5 days a week. It gave me incentive to do well in school.
After dinner, we all hung out back in the dorm. My roommate still hadn't shown up yet.
It was around 7:30 when someone suggested that we all go downtown to the bars. I mean that's what college kids do... go drinking. Plus, I had $80 on my pocket. Back then that was a lot, considering that 12 ounce beers were only a quarter. I was 21 and they all had fake college ID's, so getting into the bars was not a problem; besides not all the bars checked ID's.
About four hours later all six of us returned to the dorm. Not wasted or anything... just feeling no pain.
"Look. There's someone in my room," I said as we weaved down the hall toward my room, "The light's on."
Peering into my room... my new roommate was finishing putting his stuff away as he looked up at the commotion.
"Hey there," I said as I stepped forward, extending my hand, "Bill". I'm sure I smelled like a brewery, as did all of us.
"Chuck. Looks like this is going to be a fun year," he said smiling back, "I mean I was afraid I'd get stuck with a roomy that was way too serious and not looking to have some fun. I don't think that'll be a problem," his smile broadening.
I made the introductions to the rest of the group as they also lived on the same floor.