Jessica adjusted the collar of Corbin's form-fitting navy blue button down. When she had it just right, her fingers slid down his chest, his stomach.
"You've always looked good," she murmured, "but you look incredible tonight, baby."
"My stomach's not bulging too much for this shirt?" he asked, genuinely nervous.
"There's no stomach left."
"There's a little stomach left."
Jessica leaned up and kissed him. "You need to look at yourself hard in the mirror sometime. You have no idea how handsome you are."
Corbin wrapped his arms around her and squeezed her to him, drinking in the tender scent of her perfume. "And you," he murmured, "are the most beautiful woman I've ever met. Every time I look at you, I think I'm going to wake up from the best dream ever." He pulled back and eyed her up and down. Jessica wore a black mesh dress so gossamer her thin, wispy panties and bra underneath were completely visible. Her lips were plumped and emphasized by a deep shade of red, and her eyes smoldered with extra makeup and attention to her already beautiful lashes. "God, you are incredible tonight."
"Flatterer." She studied him. "Are you ready for this?"
"No," he said. "Not even remotely. You?"
"No," she said.
He drew a deep breath and nodded. "You'll be in the room with me?"
"Yes. That was part of the agreement with Dr. Madison."
"A professor," he said, his voice distant. "I'm actually going to sleep with a professor."
"Yeah you are," Jessica said, and this time her grin lost its nervousness. "And soon... Dr. Windsor."
He shivered theatrically at that. Both Dr. Madison and Dr. Windsor were among the most beautiful women on campus, and the latter had been a part of Corbin's fantasies since he started college and landed in her history class.
She held his sport coat for him to shrug into, and pinched his butt in his black slacks. They headed downstairs and tried to entertain themselves with an episode of Futurama, one of his favorites and a show she'd never watched until recently. Now they watched at least a couple every night they could manage it when they both didn't have to work and weren't slammed with homework. He'd been thinking about asking Sam, his roommate back in the dorms, about borrowing his Simpsons DVDs after they finished, but he hadn't spoken to Sam in a while. Truth was, Corbin wasn't sure how to mend things between them after some awkward tension once he became popular on campus.
"You all right?" Jessica asked him.
"Hm?"
"You had a distant look to you."
He sighed. "Thinking about Sam, actually."
"Aw. I'm sorry."
"Me too. I keep trying to think of some way to reach out to him, but I don't know." Corbin smiled faintly. "He'd flip his lid if he found out what I was doing tonight."
"I think you mean who."
"Boom."
They returned their attention to the TV, but it wasn't long before Jessica said, "You know..."
"What?"
She chuckled. "I can think of one easy way to make him deal with you."
"How's that?"
"We actually sleep there from time to time."
He paused the show again and looked at her. "You'd do that for me?"
She took his hand. "Of course."
"Best gir-"
Her phone rang, but she ignored it and poked his hip. "Finish that thought."
"-girlfriend ever," he said, and kissed her shoulder.
"Damn straight." Jessica picked up. "Hey, Josh. Okay. Yes, we're ready. Okay. Thanks." She hung up and grabbed Corbin's hand. "We can't bring anything with us other than what we're wearing."
He dug out his wallet and his keys and dropped them on the coffee table. "They really like this to be a secret, huh?"
"Professors sleeping with students at an orgy? Yeah. I'd say they do." She squeezed his hand. "Corbin, I..."
He waited, but she hesitated. "You okay?"
"Yes. Yeah. Just... I love you."
"I love you," he murmured back. "Tell me no, and we don't do this. At any point tonight."
"No, I want to. I guess... hm. I'm always going to be scared about us. I'm learning to deal with that every day, but it still grabs me now and again."
"I'm scared too," he said. "You know? I'm a freshman. I know damn well I'm not going to last four years without proposing to you at some point, and what does that look like? Me doing work-and-learn while you bust your butt babysitting and going to grad school, you'd be crazy for sticking with me through that."
"Well," Jessica said, "good thing I'm crazy then."
He laughed. "Yeah, same here. Someday we're going to wake up and not be scared of this."
"Mm hm. And in the meantime..." Her grin widened. "You said you're going to propose."