"Corbin. Corbin, Corbin, Corbin," Sam said, pointing with a corner of his pizza crust. "She's coming over."
Corbin and his roommate sat together in the cafeteria amid a sea of other students. Sam's plates were piled high with everything good and right in the world - mostly carbs and sweet, sweet sugar. Corbin poked at a pile of vegetables in front of him, looking for any remains of the chopped chicken he added to it. Sadly, there did not seem to be any left, and he would have to start in on the actual greenery.
But Jessica Nakamura, his sex sensei, his love guru, and perhaps most bizarre of all, his friend, made for a great distraction. Her jeans shouted an ode to joy every time they moved with her slim frame. Her red long-sleeved top plunged low, with a saucy choker-like strand of fabric across the base of her neck, connecting the two shoulders of the top. A whole lot of eyes fixated on her, and she gave Corbin a knowing smile as she swooped in close.
"This will really get them talking," she murmured as she sat down right next to him.
"No kidding," Corbin said.
Looking down at her French dip, she added out of the corner of her mouth, "Wrap an arm around my shoulders, then lean in and give me a kiss on the cheek."
Corbin did, barely able to contain his laughter as a couple guys at the next table visibly groaned. Sam's fork clattered on his platter and he gaped at the pair of them. Jessica glanced at him as Corbin let go of the hug.
"I didn't catch your name."
"It's, um... Sam? Sam. Sam. Hi. I'm Sam."
"Hi, Sam," she said. "I'm Jessica."
"Nakamura. I know," he whimpered. "Should I... I should go again, shouldn't I?"
"Why?" Jessica and Corbin asked as one. She gestured at his platter and two plates. "Sit. Eat. I'm going to be coming around a lot so you'll have to get used to me eventually."
"Coming around a lot?" Sam asked. "Okay."
"Thought you wouldn't mind," Jessica said, stealing a baby carrot from Corbin and crunching the tip between her front teeth. Sam looked like he might faint.
Corbin said, "So... is it cliched if I ask you if you come here often?"
Jessica poked him with the remaining two-thirds of the carrot. "Dork. I do, actually. I used to keep more food at home, but I was rushing back between classes. It made more sense to eat here. Besides, I have a small scholarship that pays for it." She took a bite of her small side salad, swallowed, and asked, "So Sam, where are you from?"
"Shawney. My mom manages a grocery store and my dad drives a taxi." Sam hesitated. "I guess you didn't ask for my whole life story, huh?"
Jessica's eyes twinkled. "No, but that's great. I love Shawney."
"You've been there?"
"Mm hm," she said around a bite of her sandwich. When she swallowed, she said, "I had a job nannying up there for a month. Really nice town. I like the ice cream place, um, Norbert's?"
Sam lit up. "Norbert's is great! Oh wow, you really have been there."
Corbin said, "You know, I don't think you and I ever talked about where you're from, Jessica."
"We didn't, did we?" she asked, amused. "Kinda jumped straight into it." That made Sam's eyes go huge again, and he tore into his next slice of pizza watching them like he had a new favorite TV show. "I'm from Norrell. Small college town, about four hours from here." She winked at Sam. "And my mom works for the electric company and my dad's an inspector."
"Like a detective?" Sam asked.
"With the city," she clarified, smiling. "He makes sure buildings are up to code. That sort of thing. Your turn, Corbin."
"From Oleander, South Dakota," he said, "my dad works at Best Buy, and my mom is an assistant principal."
"Oooh, she must have been hell on the rules," Jessica said.
"You have no idea," Corbin said.
They finished off their meals. Sam had to run back to the dorm, and said goodbye at least three times. Corbin shook his head when he left. "I think you've got a new fan."
"Poor guy. Is he always that nervous?"
"Oh yeah. During orientation, he was wearing a Sonic the Hedgehog shirt. This girl comes up to him and tells him she thinks it's awesome, and is he a fan, and what did he think about the last few games. Sam, he gets real nervous and all he can say is, 'Oh, you have nice socks.' She waited around another minute for him to say something else."
"Oh no," Jessica said.
"Yup. I felt terrible for both of them. We see her from time to time and they'll both walk a mile around each other."
Jessica grinned. "So... what are you up to tonight?"
"I've got it off. They need me to work the swim meet this weekend. Why?"
Jessica leaned in and brushed her lips against his ear. Both of them were well aware how many people were watching, and Corbin blushed. "Because I still need to give you a lesson in licking my pussy before you go after Brooke."
"So. Your place?"
Jessica chuckled and kissed his cheek before pulling back. "Yes. I have to babysit at seven. What time is your last class?"
"It gets out at four."
"Perfect. I'll pick you up afterwards."
Corbin looked sidelong at Jessica. "About Brooke. Are we doing the right thing?"
"What do you mean?"
"We're kind of being predatory, aren't we? She just broke up with Kenny."
Jessica frowned. "You know... you're not wrong."
"It was fun to imagine," Corbin said.
"Mm hm," Jessica said, but she had a far-off look to her. "Well. I should get going. Let's do tonight anyways, okay?"
"Looking forward to my first lesson," Corbin said. He winked.
"Don't wink." He did again, and Jessica poked his chest. "See you tonight."
* * *
Jessica and Brooke didn't share any classes, and with a full afternoon, it gave Jessica only a few minutes to call her friend in between. Otherwise, she might not have been irritated in the slightest when Shea Valli, one of her fellow psychology majors, called out her name after class.
Shea was just her type - tall, lean, and muscled in that way people who worked with their hands a lot could be, and he had a square-jawed, hard face that looked ten years older than he actually was. She crushed on him their freshman and sophomore years, but he was still involved with his high school sweetheart back then, and after that, she was lost in Lionel.
As she was digging through her purse, Shea caught up to her. "Hey Jessica, got a minute?"
"Oh, sure," Jessica said, grabbing her phone anyways. "What's up? How are you?"
"I'm good, but how are you? I've heard a lot of things." He said more quietly, "Did Mr. Kilton really try to...?"
"Yes. He did," Jessica said.
"Damn sorry. I'd kick his ass if he was still around. Heard you talked to the dean and the cops."
Jessica smiled tightly. "Word really does get out."
"Aw, sorry. Honest, I'm just trying to find out if you're okay."
She softened a little at that. "Yes. I talked to them this morning. Besides firing him, I don't know if they can do much. But he's gone from here, and that's okay for now. Shea, I'm sorry, I really need to make a phone call."
"Oh, sure. Hey, if you need anything, an escort to your car, someone to talk to, anything..."
"I will let you know, thanks."
Jessica watched him walk away, admiring his butt in his jeans. He looked back just in time to catch her. Nothing for it, so she thumbed through her contacts and called Brooke.
Her friend picked up. "Hey Jess! How'd your meeting go?"
"Urgh. We can talk about that later. I'm going to say something crazy, so hear me out."
"Okay," Brooke said, sounding cheerful. "What's up?"
Jessica took a deep breath and said, "Want to help me teach Corbin how to, ah, go down?"
"Go down?"
"You know," Jessica murmured into the phone, looking all around.
Dead silence, then Brooke said, "What?"
"I'm on a mission. Remember when we were saying he would be fantastic in bed if the right woman taught him? Well... I decided to help him."
"No," Brooke said. "Are you serious?"
"Yes. I'm going to be, I don't know, his wingman. With benefits. It sounds so sleazy when I say it like that."
"You think?" Brooke asked. "What the hell, Jessica?"
"He could be amazing. After he got out of the hospital, I helped him hit on a clerk at a department store. They had sex right there in the dressing rooms. It was ridiculously hot." Jessica waited for a pair of students to pass out of earshot, then said quieter, "We're talking about him sleeping with a few other women on campus. I may have mentioned you thought he was cute. And I... I said I could help him be with you."
"Jesus..."
"I know, I shouldn't have, but don't tell me you're not curious."
"You shouldn't have put a target on my back. That's really shitty."
"I know," Jessica said impatiently. "It was a spur of the moment thing and it was totally my fault. But at lunch he told me he really didn't want to do anything to you because he thought, you know, because of what happened with Kenny, he might be taking advantage of you."
"God, he is the sweetest." Brooke sighed irritably. "What are you planning?"
"That depends on you. He was all over the place when he ate me out, but I think he can learn. Tell me you'll say yes. Because I have something really, really fun in mind for tonight and you're going to like it any way it goes."