Tim stepped into his new college dorm room and breathed in the possibilities. The sun illuminated the simple tile floor and the simple room furnishings. Freshly cleaned desks and wardrobes neatly lined the walls. The beds had thin blue mats and pencil graffiti etched into the legs. He noticed that the windows were open and the scent of the grill from the dining hall below was wafting in. He leaned out the window and looked far down to the ground below. Feeling dizzy he brought his head back in.
I rue the day that the elevators break
. He laughed to himself.
Maybe selecting the 7th floor wasn't a great idea.
Setting his bags down he waved his parents in from the hallway. They helped carry his other belongings up to his room, and set them down on the empty desk. They were incredibly impressed with his new living situation. The room was spacious and the two windows were enormous. Before you even got to the main part of the room there was a short hallway leading from the entrance. Next to it was a small door that led to the bathroom. The bathroom was equipped with a toilet, sink and a luxurious glass door shower with a marble wall stool. His parents joked about how it was even better than back home.
After helping Tim with the initial set up his parents gave him the stereotypical teary goodbye. They departed and he felt the pang of sadness that he was sure all college freshmen felt when they had to say goodbye to their families. He shook it off and waved from his third story window as they drove away. It was especially saddening because he would be unable to return home over breaks since his home was a few states away. Winter break would be spent on campus and over the summer he arranged to remain on campus and work for the university.
After setting up into the evening, he looked around. He was proud of his half of the room. Posters of videogame characters covered the walls and a calendar of waterfalls was pinned above his bed. All of his clothes were carefully folded away into his dresser. He added layers of memory foam to his bed until it felt like a cloud, and finished it with a fluffy blue comforter.
A few other freshman walked into his room to give their greetings. They were mostly the jock type; While they were friendly he felt a little disappointed. He considered himself a nerd; he enjoyed videogames, movies, and comics. He didn't worry though, there were plenty of clubs and opportunities to be social that began when the semester started. If He ever brought up the courage to attend them.
He sat on the edge of his bed and watched the sky glow pink. He looked across the room to the empty bed and untouched desk. It gave him anxiety thinking about meeting his new roommate. Was he going to be nice? Rude? Smelly? A huge partier? Being serially asocial, he felt the worst would be a loud obnoxious roommate who brought friends over. He silently begged to himself for a quiet, reserved roommate with similar tastes to him.
His dreams were shattered when she walked through the door.
CHAPTER 2
Tim first noticed the scent of Maraschino cherries. The empowering scent filled his nostrils and he felt slightly dizzy. The electronic lock on the door then made a clicking noise as it unlocked. He turned around on his bed. It must be his new roommate! The only ID's that work on their door and the bathroom were his and his roommate's. The door swung open and a girl walked in.
He sat there speechless as she walked into the room and threw a huge bag onto the opposite bed. She must have been taller than six feet. Her hair was long, straight, and dark black. Her arms sported several vibrantly colored tattoos of nautical creatures: sharks swam on her left bicep and an octopus wrapped around her right forearm among other smaller fish that dotted her tan arms. The fin of some sort of colorful fish slipped over her collarbone.
Tim was busy being lost in her eyes when he realized that she was looking straight at him. And she was a girl. And she was acting like she lived here.
Wait a second.
"Are you sure you have the righ-"
"Hey! You're my roommate, right?" She interrupted him loudly and extended a hand. His jaw dropped as his hand rose to meet hers. She shook it twice. Retracting it he rubbed his knuckles and thanked the lucky stars that his bones were still intact.
"I'm Loyce." She gave him a devilish grin.
"I- I- I'm Tim," he stuttered. She walked over to the door and closed it. The implications made his skin crawl. She meandered over to his bed slowly and sat down next to him. She let out a deep sigh. He followed the outline of her chest as it fell. The heavy silence froze him to his bed.
"Well Tim," she looked at him. He couldn't read her expression, it was a cross between
as a matter of fact
and
sorry not sorry.
"I bet you're pretty confused right now, so I'm gonna give it to you straight." She turned towards him and leaned in. The closeness of her imposing figure was sending him over the edge. Which edge it was he wasn't sure of.
Each of her words were slow and dripped with acid. "According to this ancient university, I'm a guy. I transitioned at a relatively young age thanks to my understanding parents, but you know, a lot of people don't enjoy accepting me so they thrust me in here with you." He didn't enjoy the way she emphasised the word
you
. "So we're stuck together."
Something inside his head did a double backflip and flew through a window as he processed the information.
I know the university was a lot less progressive than where I grew up, as I noticed some less-than-kind looks my parents received when they were dropping me off. But how could they make a decision like this one?
"Now," She withdrew from him and stood up. "I mean you no offense, but..." Tim craned his neck to look up at her. "We have to coexist as roommates for the remainder of the year until I can get my own apartment or a single room." She leaned down, hands on her wide hips. "Do you think you can handle living with me?"
It took all of the sheer willpower he had left inside of him not to glance down at her cleavage. Then again, it was just as hard not to leave her piercing eyes. He just nodded.
"Perfect!" She shot up and clapped her hands together. "And I know I may be a little different, but I want to be friends. So if you have any questions, please ask!" Tim managed a smile and she grinned and gave him an exaggerated thumbs up.
Then something in her expression changed. Her body relaxed and he pushed her chest out and leaned lower towards him. Her face got a little closer. She whispered in a lower voice, "And maybe, just maybe..." she placed her hand on his thigh. "We'll be more than friends."
Before Tim could process what she said, she hopped off the bed. She walked back to the bag she threw down on her bed and began to unpack her things, as quickly as it the conversation had never occurred.
Tim remained on his bed as he watched his new college roommate sway back and forth as if she was listening to music. His brain raced in circles at a million light years a second jumbling serious questions with embarrassingly perverted thoughts. He hadn't given much hope to meeting a girl in college and beginning a relationship. But maybe... as soon as the thought crossed his mind he kicked it out. His inner turmoil began a sudden whirling pool of doubt.
All I hope is that his is some sort of blessing and not a curse.
CHAPTER 3
At some point Tim was able to sneak down to the dining hall while Loyce was unpacking. On the way he noticed that he could smell her two floors down and figured that her unnecessarily overpowering perfume soaked into his clothing. It was like she marked him with her scent. He wasn't even too fond of the smell.
Pursuing the odd selection of old overpriced fruits and vegetables intermixed with the largest variety of freshly fried food he had ever seen, Tim tried to figure out how to keep himself from the dreaded "freshman fifteen." The smell of the grill from earlier drew him to the array of burgers and fries set at the edge of the counter, but he found the inner strength to at least hold off for a month. Or maybe a week. I the end he decided on a glass of soy milk (
it should be healthier, right?
) and a bagel with chocolate cream cheese. He had never had that flavor of cream cheese, and found that it tasted pretty good.
He ate his meal while watching other freshmen mill around talking to each other. It always baffled him to no end how people were able to make friends so easily in a brand new environment. His envying of his classmates was quickly interrupted by a sharp pain in his stomach. He immediately regretted his decision to consume soy with dairy.
He made his way back to his room and found the door closed. He fished his ID from his wallet and fumbled to slide it in the reader. He burst through the door and heard a panicked rustling of covers. As he slid the card into the bathroom lock, he glanced over and saw the foot of Loyce's bed under the window. There was a lump under the covers that he assumed was her, and thought nothing of it. He entered the bathroom and locked the door behind him, sat on the toilet, and fought in 1v3 hand-to-hand combat with his intestines, stomach, and his first meal.
In what felt like forever, he finished. Breathing a sigh of relief he rose on weak legs and grabbed a canister above the sink. He flooded the room with lilac scented spray to mask the battlefield, and glanced at the unused shower. "Why not." He thought, and stripped his clothes off and set them on the toilet seat. He turned the shower knob and waited patiently for the water to warm up. As most people do, he started to go over the day step by step in his head. This lead him to constantly replaying his introduction to Loyce. His face began to blush as he repeated her playful swaying as she unpacked her things. Shaking his head, he tested the water and stepped into the shower. It was even more spacious than it looked, and the steam wrapped around him in a comforting blanket of moistness.
Then the door made a mechanical click as it unlocked. Maraschino cherries. Loyce. Panic. Tim felt like shrinking down and jumping down the drain as Loyce tiptoed inside.
There's no possible way she doesn't know I'm in here, the shower is running and my clothes are on the floor.
"Excuse m-"
"Oh you're in here Tim! I'm so terribly sorry, I needed to grab my lotion. Just face the wall, don't worry, I'll be out in a second!"
What. Tim faced the wall, covering his privates and resting his forehead against the wall. He heard rummaging from behind him as she grabbed whatever she was looking for. Was it lotion? What was she going to use that for? Against better judgement his thoughts wandered over the tattoos along her arms, across her slender neck and collarbone, and as it was getting close to going between her legs he mentally blocked himself. Physically on the other hand, he felt the head of his penis kiss the wet tile wall. Then it occurred to him. Why the hell was he the one not looking?
Angry at being fooled so easily, he turned around. Loyce was wearing something that barely qualified as clothing. A sheer white gown that could qualify as high quality lingerie was draped across her perfect body. His erection had free reign as he walked his eyes up her curves and along her shoulders and up and up until he made eye contact with her in the mirror. He froze, and for a split second through the hazy door he thought he saw something aggressive, something hungry in her eyes. Was she looking at him, or was it just a trick of the light?
