Nineteen. Not married. No kids. The ideal age and situation for no-strings sex. Ruth and I realized this at about the same time. We weren't really attracted, but we got along. It was early May, our first year of college was about to end, the days were sunny and warm, and we had started hanging out. I thought, hoped, something might happen, but I was scared to make a move.
One of the bars near campus catered to bookworms, instead of dancers and jocks. Chess sets and boards were available, and once in a while I saw them used. I'm no brainiac (I was majoring in business), but I liked the place because it was quiet enough for people to talk and listen. At a big round table on a weeknight, Ruth and I were sometimes in a group of seven or eight, mostly listening to extroverts hold forth on Important Issues.
By spring, Ruth and I were usually both there at the same time. When the group at the big table broke up, sometimes she and I would move to a small table.
We got acquainted. We discussed some Issues that weren't all that Important.
We allowed ourselves to say that we weren't involved with anyone else.
We even flirted a little.
She didn't make a move either.
Finally, on a day when I had been so busy prepping for finals that I hadn't made time to masturbate, I said to her, "Is it fair to say that you're not interested in me, long-term? You're way liberal, and I'm okay with the profit motive. I like hanging out with you, but is this getting us anywhere?"
She blinked. After a moment she said, "Wow." She took a sip of beer, looking into her glass. Then she looked up and said, "Maybe there are other reasons for doing this." Meaning, I thought, for her as much as for me.
I swallowed, without beer. "I'm lonely," I said. "But I don't want to drag you into something that has no future."
"That's good," she said, seeming hesitant. "But how about the present? In a couple weeks we'll go home."
I decided that this was as much encouragement as she'd ever give me. I drank some beer. Maybe that gave me the nerve to say, "Would you like to get together?"
She looked to the side, smiling a little, shifting a bit in her chair. With a jerky nod she said, "Yeah." Then, with a quick look at me, "But not tonight."
I nodded. As eager as I was, fear of rejection was replaced immediately by performance anxiety.
She pulled back to an earlier topic. "We don't argue about our opinions. That's something."
I shrugged. "I don't try to convert people. You have your reasons for what you think."
She might have blushed a little, but in that light it was hard to tell. "So we can be friends. And...a little more?"
My turn to smile, I hope not too greedily. "I'd like that. What do you have in mind?"
She rolled her eyes, setting down her glass with a thump. "So inoffensive, so safe, so passive-aggressive." As I was about to complain, she put up a hand and said, "No, at least you raised the subject of you and me. Props for that, Greg. I was too chickenshit. But I have good reason to be timid about this. I mean, look at me. Except for the tits, does anything about me drive you wild?"
Probably staying passive-aggressive, I countered, "It's not like my looks make the ladies swoon."
This smile was a little warmer. "It's okay, talking about this. But I'm still a little scared."
I now had a boner, which made me even more defensive. "Me too. Um. I don't want to get hurt."
She took a deep breath. "I don't want to go very far. It's not because of you. My older sister got knocked up, and things have been rough for her ever since."
"I get it," I said, maybe sounding impatient.
She leaned closer and spoke quietly. "How about sometime over the weekend? I promise I'll, um, get you off, and you can do plenty with these." With one hand she vaguely indicated her upper torso, obscured by a loose, dark green t-shirt.
"Sure," I said. "I hope I can do something for you," I said, expecting maybe to eat her out.
"To dodge your earlier question," she said, "I do have something in mind." Then she drained her beer.
***
Now for the hard truth about why we were both available.
I was pudgy, so that my weak chin was on the brink of doubling. I wasn't tall. I had straight black hair, and a family history that promises early baldness. In a conversation, I can think of devastatingly witty remarks-five minutes too late. As far as I could tell, my prick was okay in length and girth, but only twice so far had it been used for a woman's pleasure. Maybe the results were good, but neither woman had been interested in more of that kind of fun, or a deeper personal connection.
Ruth was beyond pudgy. She had neck-length brown hair and a bulbous nose. I'd never seen her use cosmetics, and I don't think she'd be inclined towards that, given what she'd said on the subject of traditional gender roles. She got testy if she thought she was being mocked or disrespected. She didn't suffer fools or curry favor, so she dismissed plenty of men who might have pursued her just for a chance to bang her while sucking big tits.
I'm not so obsessed about breasts that I try to estimate cup size or inches, and Ruth didn't wear skintight stuff. When she moved, though, it was apparent that she was amply endowed.
We exchanged texts, setting things up so that I met her in the lobby of her dorm on Saturday night. She said her roommate had a date and might not get back at all that night. I brought a six-pack of what she drank at the bar, and we had our first awkward moment.
"No thanks," she said. "I don't like beer breath, um, when we're kissing."
"Maybe just to keep?" I tried.
Her look almost got dark. "I don't want, um, us, to be giving stuff."
My last hope: "One each when we're, um, finished, then I take back the rest?"
Making an effort, she lightened up. "Sure," she said. With a smile, "From you, it was a nice thought."
We didn't make contact in the elevator or down the hall, not even holding hands. I was nervous, and she looked the same.
Once inside her room, I put the beer in the fridge. Then we had nothing left to do but each other.
She sat on the bottom bunk. She looked more nervous now, because with 'something in mind,' she may have felt pressured to take the lead. Before I could say anything, she said quietly, "Okay if we make out for a while?"
"Sure." I joined her and put an arm around her. She reached to bring my head close, and kissed me. Her breath smelled of mouthwash, and mine probably smelled of garlic, onions, or worse, from dinner. I guess she didn't mind, because I heard her hum as our tongues met, and she stroked my hair.
She pulled away and whispered, "Don't be shy. From the waist up."
My right hand went to her chest. I felt deep softness through her bra, and I got uncomfortably hard, in briefs and pants that were probably too tight.
"You okay?" she asked, probably feeling my sudden shift.
"I'm reacting to you," I said, laughing a little.
"Good, um, I want you to." She gave me another deep kiss, leaning into my hand on her bosom. Then she pulled back and said, "Why don't we go to show and tell?" She started to pull up her t-shirt.
"All the way?" I asked, unbuttoning my shirt.