To the readers.
First of all, a massive thanks for anyone who read, commented, favourited, etc, on my debut posting. The feedback was unexpected and I'm incredibly grateful to everyone who sent me some. It was encouraging to say the least.
This next story is in two parts, since I considered it to be too long for one single posting. While this first part is non-erotic, the second part will not be. Hopefully, I will not take as long next time to post something new.
And finally, a massive thank you to LadyFalcon for patiently going through the story with me and helping me edit and fix grammar!
Hope you all enjoy...
... ... ... ... ...
The Saturday after Greg had turned twenty years old, there was a party thrown for him. Rowan decided he would take the train to get there during the afternoon and spend some time with his friend before the party actually started. He did not expect Sarah.
When he knocked, the door was opened by a blue eyed girl of about the same age as him, with long, wavy, dark blonde hair halfway down her back which ended in a natural curl. Her eyes were brilliantly piercing, so much so, that at first he felt uncomfortable.
He stared at her for a second or two and then looked at the room number on the door. It was definitely Greg's flat. Besides, this was the male corridor of the dorm.
"Uh. Hi. Hello?" She said.
Rowan looked at her again. "Sorry. I'm looking for Greg."
She smiled. "You must be Rowan."
He nodded, taking note of how much he liked her warm, crooked smile.
"Hi. I'm Sarah." She held out a hand. "Greg's just inside."
"Oh. Hi." He shook her hand and walked in as she moved out of the way.
"He's just ironing his shirt. And this is where I say goodbye."
Rowan turned around.
She reached down to pick up a pair of shoes, but did not put them on. "I have to go get ready. You're going to be at the party later, right?"
"Yes."
"Then I'll see you there!"
"Right." Rowan wanted to know who she was, but didn't ask. Greg would explain.
With another quick smile, she left barefoot while Rowan stood for a few moments looking at the door. It had been brief, but those eyes stayed with him; he had never seen eyes as pale as that before. He turned, guessing Greg was probably in the living room, and walked to him.
"You got here faster than I thought you would," Greg said, as he walked in. Greg stood topless, ironing a black shirt.
He had that smirk on his face. The one that Rowan knew meant he had something to tell him but he was going to just drop it casually into conversation as if it was nothing. Rowan already guessed; that blonde girl must have been Greg's girlfriend.
Rowan sat down on the sofa nearest the TV. "I got lucky with the traffic. And the bus come to think of it."
"You didn't drive up?"
"No. I'll just get the train back tomorrow."
"Idiot boy. Should have taken the car! Could stay until Monday. We could chill out tomorrow, maybe go into town or something."
"I've got too much work to do this week."
"Hmm. You should live a little, Rowan. Work isn't everything."
"I know it isn't. There's also procrastination."
Greg shook his head and chuckled. He finished his ironing and picked his shirt up, holding it in front of him and checking it was to his satisfaction.
Then, in the most calm manner he could muster, he asked, "I take it you met my girl?"
Rowan closed his eyes and smiled to himself. "I was wondering when that was coming."
"What'd you think?"
"You've never mentioned her. That already tells me you're not serious about her," Rowan said, opening his eyes to look at him.
"When am I ever serious about a girl? Besides I've only been going out with her for about three weeks. Not so sure about her."
"Hmm."
"Still," Greg winked, "Better than you'll ever get."
Rowan rolled his eyes in reply.
... ... ... ... ...
The party didn't quite kick off until around nine at night, though several people were there already by then. There were a few people he knew from previous visits and several people that were new to him. All of them brought drinks and soon the flat was full of intoxicated people and loud, heavy music that made him feel as though his head was vibrating.
Rowan mostly sat in the corner and watched everyone. It was times like these he felt slightly apart from everyone. He was enjoying the music, even the atmosphere and watching some of the people dance, but there was still a sense of barriers between him and everyone else. He wasn't suited for parties. Greg had always been the far more sociable one and even in their current group of friends, Rowan was the one most likely to stay at home or only appear if there were fewer people at an occasion. He had got teased about it by his friends, but they had accepted his introversion almost from the first moments they knew him.
Besides, he liked it, being quiet and in the corner, observing all the others around him. In his opinion, you could see a lot happening, simply by watching patiently. Across the room, two old friends were talking animatedly while a girl from a group nearby was watching one of them carefully. In the other corner of the room, a couple were kissing, but the female of the two had most of her body turned away from her boyfriend. Rowan wondered if that was a sign of things to come in their relationship.
Greg was somewhere, lost amongst the thronging crowd, some of which were in the middle of the room dancing drunkenly to music. Rowan had only imbibed three shots of whiskey and had already resigned himself to the fact that he was not feeling like getting drunk.
He stood up, moving past a couple of dancers and walked into the hallway toward the room nearest the front door. There was a phone in there. The door was locked however, and he sighed and left it alone. Walking back to the main room, where the music was loudest, he stopped and watched some of the girls dancing.
The music was obviously designed to induce some state of arousal, at least judging from the way some of them were moving. For a moment he was mesmerised by one pair of swaying hips, until he felt a tap on his shoulder.
He turned around to see Katarina, who was smiling lightly at him. She pulled him into a hug, greeting him right in his ear and then pulled him toward the balcony. He followed willingly.
Once outside, she slid the balcony door shut, blocking out most of the music and breathed out deeply into the night air.
She looked at Rowan directly in the eyes and said in quite a serious voice, "I think my eardrums were trying to escape from my ears."
"You still haven't fixed that problem? All you need to do is cut their legs off." Rowan said, an amused look on his face.
She shook her head and flashed him a smile. "Hello, Rowan."
"I was about to call you, you know? To see if you were coming."
"Why didn't you?"
"Greg's room door was locked. I left my mobile at home. He's got the only phone in the flat in his room. I'm glad you're here."
"I almost didn't come. Now I'm wondering why I did."
"Platonic obligations perhaps?"
"Hmm. Either that or the alternative was sitting at home listening to my sister talking about her latest perfect boyfriend with oh-so-lovely eyes and a large package in their pockets."
"... I take it you mean their wallets?"
With a straight face, she replied, "Why, what else would I mean?"
Rowan grinned. "It's good to see you."
"Likewise."
Katarina looked down at the ground. They were six floors up, something which Katarina was not happy about. The car park down below was lit partially by flood lights and for a moment she looked for her car.
"I don't like being this far up, but this is the only quiet place we can talk for a bit," She mumbled. She turned to him, shrugging. "At least no one else is out here."
She sat down leaning against one of the side walls of the balcony, which was made of stone. They could see everything happening inside the room and feel the bass thudding underneath them. A paranoid thought flared through Rowan's mind as he hoped the glass wall opposite the door, at the far end of the balcony would not shatter from the effects of the music. He sat down at an angle to her, resting his back on the glass.
"Rowan, don't do that."
"Don't do what?"
"Lean against the glass."
"Why?"
"Because."
"Because?"
Katarina narrowed her eyes at him. She shook her head. "Never mind."
"Nothing will happen. I'm sure these things are designed to take the weight of someone leaning on them."
"Hmf. Let's not think about this."
"Okay."
"Greg's got a girl. How long do you think this one will last?" Katarina asked after a few moments of silence.
Rowan shrugged. "I've barely spoken to her. She was around when I got here but then she left me and Greg to it for a while. Something about needing to get ready."
"Which one is she?" Katarina asked, waving her hand toward the living room.
Rowan glanced at each of the people in the room in turn. Then, spotting a flash of dark blonde hair, he watched carefully. There was a dub-step track playing and he could feel the heavy beat pulsing through him. He almost felt the need to move with it.
From the crowd, Sarah appeared. Rowan stared, speechless. It was the first he had seen her since she left earlier and he was not prepared for the effect her appearance and movement were having on him. Her hair was tied in a bun slightly off to one side at the back of her head and she wore a simple t-shirt with a neckline that went straight across her clavicle, exposing her shoulders and the black bra straps. She wore jeans which were surprisingly not tight fitting as every other girl seemed to be wearing, but still clung to her body in a way that left no doubts about her round curves. Her body was definitely a pear shape. He was entranced.
Her dancing exuded a confidence and sexiness that outweighed everyone else on the floor. It was more intense than any of the other dancers he had noticed earlier. Her eyes were closed and she moved slowly, swaying hips, her arms folded so her hands were touching her shoulders and neck. She looked completely lost in the moment.
For a few brief, bright seconds, he could read that feeling around her, emanating from those hip movements and her closed eyes. It was that feeling of nothing in the future and nothing in the past. The same feeling he got when he read Neruda or listened to his favourite music.
"Rowan? Rowan!"
Rowan jerked his head right to look at Katarina. "Sorry, Kat. Uh, it's her. The blonde one. The one dancing right there."
"Oh. Wow. She's gorgeous."
"Yeah. I suppose."
Katarina was about to point out that he had been staring at the blonde girl, but stayed quiet when she realised he seemed a little troubled by something. She was about to ask him about this when the door opened and the blonde girl walked out, shutting the door behind her. The sudden loud rush of music had surprised them both and they were momentarily disorientated as they looked up at Sarah.
"Hey. Hi, Rowan."
