I was moving stuff into my dorm room. It was my freshman year at the University of Wisconsin, ostensibly I was there to study journalism, but I was really looking forward to a year of going out all night, sleeping until noon, drinking until I puked, and all the other advantages of college life. I had grown up and spent my whole life in the city of Chicago, and I was looking for a change of pace. Madison offered a break from city life, but it wasn't fantastically rural. It was the best of both worlds. My roommate was some yahoo named Steve, from some small town in northern Wisconsin. I had not met him, and we had only spoken on the phone once since our room assignment was made. I was curious to meet him.
There was a knock on the door, and Steve and his family were waiting in the hallway. His Mom and Dad, and younger sister had made the trip from up north to Madison to see him off to college. His parents were nice enough, and some light small talk ensued. His sister was really quiet. A skin and bones fourteen year-old girl, Stephanie, with braces, acne, a tangled rat's nest of blonde hair, and all the other perks to being fourteen. She was awkwardness personified. She was also totally forgettable.
Steve and I got along pretty well. Every once and awhile we would sneak in a class or time to study. We had similar interests such as drinking beer, going to parties, and hooking up with girls. We would hang out, go to bars, and go on road trips to Chicago and Milwaukee together. Getting along well, we decided to live with each other our sophomore years. After our sophomore years, we decided to blow off finding summer jobs, and just hang out for the summer. Half the summer we would spend in my hometown and the other half we would go up to northern Wisconsin. The half of the summer in Chicago went by fast. Every day, we went out clubbing, played golf, went to the beach, or went to a Cubs game. When we got to his parents' house, I was looking forward to relaxing, and charging up the batteries for another year in school.
There was a surprise waiting for me at Steve's house. Stephanie had grown up in the two years since I had last seen her. Her braces were gone. The braces worked, as she had a perfect smile. Her teeth were a dazzling white, and not one of them out of place. Her smile didn't just light up the room it lit up the neighborhood. Her body had begun to fill out. She was more outgoing, and I would even say cute, for a sixteen year old.
Even though there was a four-year age difference between Stephanie and I, we seemed to get along really well. We had similar interests in music, sports, and we had many of the same values. Some nights, after everyone else went to bed, Stephanie and I would stay up until three in the morning, and just talk about everything. Never had I met a girl that could talk equally intelligently about the environmental impact of modern industry and whether or not the NBA should dump the no-charge zone. She would talk about her dreams of going to Paris, and visiting the Louvre to see the great masterpieces and visit the History of Science Museum in Florence. She wanted to see Monument Park at Yankee Stadium. We talked about her desire to go into biochemical engineering, and how she wanted to help people get medication that they couldn't afford. She seemed to take an interest in my desire to become a journalist. We would talk every night. And it wouldn't get dull.
The relationship between Stephanie and I was friendly. We were like two good friends who had known each other for a long time. That would change. One morning, I walked out of the guest room, and into the hallway. At the other end of the hallway, I saw Stephanie scurrying into her bedroom, wearing only her bra and underwear. From that fraction of a second in which I saw her, I noticed that she was really put together. She had shapely, well-toned legs, flat stomach, perky handful-sized breasts, and a cute little butt. There was no doubt; she was going to be one sexy lady. Equally doubtless, this image of her would be etched in my memory forever. From that moment, I realized that I had developed a small crush on this girl.
Unfortunately, it was time for Steve and I to go back to school. I gave my thanks and said my goodbyes to his parents, but Stephanie was nowhere to be found. I looked all over the house for her, but I couldn't find her. Steve was eager to get back to Madison, and he had no idea of the friendship that had grown between Stephanie and I. He urged me to get going. I reluctantly gave up looking for her, and we headed out of town. Disappointedly, I was wondering if we would ever have the connection had over the summer.
