These events take place after the events in "Taking It Up A Notch"
This story, like a previous one, provides background. Your humble writer begs the indulgence of the reader and hopes that some entertainment may be found along the way.
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As their Art Appreciation class ended, Denae and Bill left the auditorium together.
"Still on for dinner this evening?" he asked her.
The couple had fallen into the habit of having dinner together Thursday evenings after they both finished work; often at Bill's apartment, sometimes out at a restaurant. She frequently spent the night at his place afterward. Denae usually arrived at Bill's apartment before him because closing time at the boutique where she worked was consistent, and the end of the basketball games he refereed was not.
"Absolutely. And since you bought the fish you're grilling, I can bring salad or whatever you need."
"Thanks, but I've got a bag of salad already. Pre-washed. No hassle. I even have a bottle of wine for you."
"Well, aren't you thoughtful?" she replied. "I'm done with school until I have to go to work. But I know you've got another class."
"Yes. In an hour. Between now and then, I have to do some research at the library. If you're not busy, wanna join me?"
"Why not?"
"I have to warn you, I need to comb through some old magazines, so it means going down into the basement to the Periodicals area."
"Ooo. Sounds romantic," she said, sarcastically.
Bill and Denae walked together to the main campus library. In mid-October, the weather in the North Carolina mountains is still pleasant during the days, but chilly at night. They enjoyed the sunshine and fresh air as they strolled. Once at the library, they made their way down to the Periodicals area. The basement was slightly darker and more cramped than the other areas on the higher floors. There were a few other students milling around some of the aisles, but it was not particularly crowded. Denae followed Bill as he attempted to locate news magazines from 1945.
"This place smells musty from all these old magazines," Denae whispered. "Don't most libraries scan and digitize this stuff?"
"I bet most do," Bill answered, still searching. "But in case you haven't noticed, we don't attend a large university with a massive endowment and lots of funding."
As they walked down one of the dimly lit aisles, Denae grabbed Bill's arm and pulled his hand down to her crotch. "Ever done it in a library?" she asked, as she pressed his fingers against her vagina.
Even though she was wearing yoga pants, Bill could still feel the contours of Denae's vulva and took a breath. "No, I haven't," he whispered. "I'll need to suggest it to my girlfriend one day when we have the time to find an out-of-the-way spot."
Turning into the third aisle he had tried, he seemed to find what he was looking for just a couple of feet off the main, open area. He pulled out a couple of magazines and checked the covers.
"Here we go. 1945," he said as he proudly showed the covers to Denae, who was standing partially in the aisle and partially in the open area.
Bill turned his attention back to the magazines and began thumbing through them. Denae waited silently as he concentrated on his quest and secretly wished she had come up with an excuse to avoid joining him on this errand.
A couple of minutes into his exploration, they heard a male voice from out in the open floor area. "Well. Well. Denae. It's been a while."
As Bill looked up, Denae turned around toward the voice and stepped back, brushing into him. He looked past her and saw a brown-haired male, about their age, wearing clothes typical of the fraternity boys on campus. He was every bit of six feet tall and well-built, as if he regularly worked out. His biceps and pectoral muscles were plainly noticeable through his golf shirt.
Sounding nervous, Denae coolly replied, "Yes."
"So, how've ya been? And who's that with you? Are you going to introduce us?" said the stranger, sounding smug and condescending.
Without turning to look at Bill, Denae cooly said, "Bill, this is Derek."
Derek. The name was instantly recognizable to Bill. He knew that Derek had gone out with Denae before he met her, and he knew that Derek had done something terrible to Denae at a party one night. He did not know what it was, but it left Denae very upset and bruised. And beyond whatever he had done to her that night, he had come to her apartment the next evening and had hit her.
Bill was not supposed to know any of this. He only learned these things because Denae's roommate, Suzy, had just recently shared this with Bill, and she had broken Denae's confidence by telling him.
Derek had moved closer. Denae would have retreated further but had to settle for pressing further against Bill, who had remained in place.
"So, whatcha been up, Denae?" Derek asked.
Bill thought he felt Denae tremble ever so slightly. Though she was not facing him, Bill could tell she was very uncomfortable being around Derek and knew she had good reason to be.
"I've been busy," was her only response.
Bill felt anger welling up inside him. He did not want Derek anywhere near his girlfriend. He put down the magazines he had been shuffling and slid his arm around Denae and gently eased her into switching places with him so that he now stood between Derek and Denae. He did not speak, but only looked at Derek.
Bill was a few inches taller than Derek, but not nearly as stout. And Bill's demeanor did not instill fear in anyone, including Derek.
"So, what's your story, string bean?" Derek asked of Bill.
"I'm Denae's boyfriend," he answered calmly. "And what's your story?"
"Your girlfriend here and I used to go out. So, I thought I would be polite and come over and say 'hello.'"
Denae gently tugged on Bill's arm. He gently pulled away from her grip.
Maintaining eye contact with Derek, Bill said, "I'm not really sure she wants to talk to you. But it's up to her. Denae, do you want to talk to Derek?"
"Who the fuck do you think you are, moron? I'll talk to her if I want."
Calmly, and still looking directly at Derek, Bill asked again, "Denae, do you want to talk to Derek or do you want him to go?"
"Please, can't we just leave?" Denae implored quietly, tugging on his arm again.
"Derek, it doesn't sound like Denae wants to talk to you. So, I guess you should leave now."
"Oh yeah? What if I don't fuckin' leave?" Derek responded, poking Bill firmly in the chest. "What if I stay and talk to your girlfriend?"
Seeing that the tension had quickly escalated into hostility, and secretly fearing for Bill and herself, Denae tugged on Bill again and said, "C'mon, Bill. Let's just get go."
When Denae tugged on Bill, he and she took a step back in unison and Derek moved forward, maintaining the spacing. Bill used one arm to urge Denae to move even further back. He had already worked out in his mind what he would do since Derek was not leaving. Though not perceptible, Bill was seething with rage and was relishing the idea of what was coming. He wanted to draw Derek away from the open area and any potential witnesses, and he wanted Derek to continue to put his hands on him.
Still easing backward, and speaking quietly enough to avoid attracting the attention of others in the area, yet loudly enough for Derek and Denae to hear him, Bill said, "Look, I've got some research I have to do. I really can't leave right now. And since Denae is here with me, she doesn't need to leave. So, it looks like you'll need to leave, Derek."
Derek matched Bill step-for-step further down the aisle, talking and poking with his right hand.
"You know, I've been polite this whole time." Poke.
"I just came over to say 'hi' to a stuck-up bitch I went out with a few times." Poke.
"And you're bowing up on me like you can tell me what to do?" Poke.
They were now midway down the aisle and Derek had continued to place his hand on Bill, making it easily accessible to him. Bill reasoned it was now time to unleash the plan he had worked out in his head a moment ago.
At that last poke of Derek's finger, Bill grabbed Derek's right hand near his thumb and rotated it hard to his left and pulled down with great force. The movement was so sudden, Derek could only bend at the waist and follow his arm downward. Simultaneously, Bill bent his right arm and smashed his elbow into Derek's left temple as hard as he could. The impact dropped Derek to the floor. Bill, without releasing Derek's right hand, stepped to one side and knelt down onto Derek's back and neck, placing his weight over Derek's center of gravity, which he knew would be over his spine at the midpoint of his rib cage. Now down on top of Derek, Bill pulled Derek's right hand around behind him, bending the arm completely and shoving his wrist up toward Derek's neck until it came in contact with Bill's knee.
All of this had happened so quickly, Denae had not processed it in her mind and stood silently, mystified how her boyfriend and her one-time abuser both suddenly came to be down on the floor.
Derek had not yelled or made much noise at all. The blow to his head had disoriented him. Now on the floor and under Bill's weight, he only groaned weakly and struggled to breathe.
Bill leaned down close to Derek's ear. With anger now showing on his face and whispering in a stern tone, Bill said, "Take a second and take a breath. You listen to me, and you listen good. I know who you are and what you are, you piece of fucking garbage. It took everything I had in me to stop myself from smashing your face into the floor over and over again until they would have to identify your body by your fingerprints. If Denae ever lays eyes on you again, I won't stop myself next time. If you see her on campus or at a restaurant or a club or anywhere, you run like hell. Do you understand me? Don't you ever go near her again. If I ever hear that she's seen you after today, I'll finish what we started here. You may not believe that. You may think I'm bluffing. I promise you I'm not. You would be very easy to find. I know what fraternity you're in. Do you hear me?"
Derek only panted and groaned.
"Did you hear me?"
Derek squeaked, "Yes."
"I need to be real sure we're clear. She better not ever see or hear from you again. No phone calls, no texts, no chats, no emails. Nothing. Don't even pass her in a hallway. The rest of the time you're at this school, you better make sure she doesn't know you're on the same planet. Do you understand me?"
"Yes," he squeaked again.
"Good. Now in just a second I'm going to let you up and you'll have a decision to make. You'll need to decide whether you'll leave quietly or whether you'll try to be a bad ass and take a swing at me. I can't make that decision for you. All I can do is recommend that you leave quietly. But, it's really up to you. Choose carefully."
Denae had been watching this entire event silently, shocked at what she was witnessing.
With that, Bill slowly maneuvered Derek's right arm back down from behind him, placed it on the floor and let go of his hand. He then leaned back and took his body weight off Derek and slowly stood up, again placing himself between Derek and Denae. Derek laid on the floor for a few seconds before slowly climbing to his knees, then eventually standing up. He rubbed his shoulder and his wrist and winced. He looked at Bill, then at Denae, then back at Bill. Without saying another word, he turned and walked slowly away. Bill followed Derek to the end of the aisle and watched to make sure he left.
