Opportunities Lost and Realized
On Tuesday morning, Mick rose to the sound of his alarm and started his day by taking a quick shower. Afterwards, he placed his textbook, notes and laptop into his backpack and walked to the food court where he enjoyed a banana and some oatmeal for breakfast while reading through his emails. When the half day for course review had completed just after noontime, Mick found his way back to the commissary again for lunch. While he chewed on his vegetarian burrito, Mick continued to ruminate over the way things had ended with Kimberly the night prior as it had been gnawing at him all day since he had woken. Mick was not sure what specific switch had suddenly flipped inside her causing things to turn around so quickly, and he mulled if he should reach out to Kimberly or keep his distance and give her some time.
Mick returned to his dorm room and wisely continued to study throughout the remainder of the afternoon. Just before 5:00 p.m., he closed his book having decided to stop for a while and go to the fitness center to get in a workout and hopefully release some of the angst he was feeling about Kimberly. Before he left, he sent her a text asking what her plans were for the evening and letting her know she was welcome to come to his room. Mick went to bed that night having never received any reply from her.
The entirety of Wednesday morning was spent in his dorm room completing the research paper for class. By mid-afternoon Mick felt he was in a good spot and decided to take a break and check the weather. It had been an unusually frosty stretch during the past few weeks but the sun was shining and it looked like a beautiful day through the window. Once Mick discovered that the temperature had reached 40 Β°F outside he wasted no time jumping into his running gear and darting out of the dormitory for a jog across the campus and through the adjoining neighborhood. He hoped the jaunt and the crisp air would help him clear his mind of Kimberly but it had the opposite effect however, as all Mick could think about as he completed his circuit was the manner in which the evening had suddenly and unexpectedly concluded.
After his run, Mick showered and returned to studying for the final exam for about an hour before heading over to the cafeteria to find dinner. He hit the books for a little more time after returning from his meal and decided to hang it up for the day around 6:00 p.m. Just as Mick was ready to rise from his chair his cell phone began to dance upon the desk.
"What are you up to?" read the text message from Kimberly.
"Finishing up for the day now," he replied before asking, "How are you?"
"I'm okay," came the reply followed by, "Are you going to be around?"
Mick told Kimberly he would be in his room for the rest of the evening and she was welcome to come by. He got the feeling that they were about to have another heart-to-heart conversation.
About fifteen minutes later, Kimberly knocked on the door and Mick invited her in. To Mick, Kimberly appeared as if she was rather sad. Kimberly declined his offer of a drink but did accept Mick's invitation to sit down on the love seat.
"I can't do this anymore," Kimberly blurted.
"This is about the other night?" inquired Mick.
She nodded her head and stated, "It's too much of an emotional rollercoaster."
"Everything seemed fine, then suddenly it wasn't," he said to her before asking, "What happened?"
Kimberly explained to Mick that when she got up and caught sight off the sheer volume of his emanation, and that it was all between her legs, she became frightened that some of his semen may have gotten inside her and she might become pregnant.
"That's highly unlikely," Mick assured her, "You're not going to get pregnant."
"I know," she replied, "I got my period this morning."
Kimberly said to Mick, "Let me ask you a question... could you see yourself being in a long-term relationship without having sex with that person?"
"I get the question," responded Mick who then admitted, "I imagine it would certainly be a challenge."
"The challenge for me," Kimberly began to explain, "is holding true to my beliefs--"
"We've been through this," interjected Mick, "I thought you agreed that I had been respectful of you and your beliefs?"
"Absolutely," she answered, "But if I could finish... when faced with such strong temptation..." It was obvious by the look on Mick's face that he was not fully following Kimberly. "The other night," she continued, "I had made the decision to give you my virginity." The revelation stunned Mick and he fell back against the couch, speechless. "I wanted you to take me," confessed Kimberly, "and you would have had me except that our parts didn't quite seem to fit." Mick nodded his head acknowledging her words. "We're just hanging out together, not even dating," she injected as Mick continued to silently concur. "Much less married for the rules not to apply," stated Kimberly further.
Mick finally broke his silence, playfully pointing out that, "Technically, your panties stayed on."
"But regardless of if we went all the way or not," Kimberly interjected, she soberly admitted, "the fact is that I still forsook the tenets of my faith and the promises I made, nonetheless."
"So what are you saying?" asked Mick.
"If we were to continue to 'hang out,'" posed Kimberly, gesturing with air quotes, "will we be able to keep our hands off each other?"
Mick thought for a moment before speaking. "I'd say this," he began, "you are always welcome to hang out here and study, have a drink and watch a game." His continued invitation to his quarters and hospitality brought a smile to Kimberly's face as he went on. "And if the rules are not to be broken, if there is to be no extra-curricular activity..." The remark caused Kimberly to blush and look away. "I'll abide by that," Mick told her, then unequivocally stated, "but should you blur the lines, even a little, then you couldn't expect me to not misbehave."
"That wouldn't be fair," Kimberly immediately responded, "and if I am honest with myself... it is too much of a temptation for me to not cross my own lines, which is why I cannot allow the chance of this going any further than what it already has."
Mick slowly nodded. For whatever their relationship was or was not, he understood that from this point forward, Kimberly intended to keep her distance from him, at least for a while. "I can respect that," he told her.
"Thank you for understanding," said Kimberly.
A moment of uncomfortable quietness ensued before Kimberly rose from the sofa. "Going to head out?" asked Mick as he also stood.
"Probably best if I go," she told him.
"You are welcome to stay," he assured her.
Kimberly extended her arms and stepped towards Mick to hug him. "I appreciate that," said Kimberly as she laid the side of her face against his chest.
For a few seconds, Mick was taken unawares by her unexpected embrace considering the conversation they both just had, so he just stood there. She sensed his reluctance and told him, "I don't mind if you put your arms around me, I'll take any heat I can get right now." Mick laughed as he wrapped his arms around her having caught the reference about the frigid night when they first met outside of their dormitory. "I was so freaking cold standing out there," Kimberly remarked.
"Well, all you were wearing was that tank top that didn't cover your belly button and some panties," quipped Mick.
Kimberly looked up and offered her repartee, telling him, "It was obviously you liked it." "How so?" he asked.