"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?"