Chapter 13: Art History Class Studies Nudes
By Monday morning, the excitement from the weekend was fading as, once again, I had to focus on school. I had Art History after lunch. It was a very interesting and relatively easy class, but I sometimes had to struggle to stay awake whenever the lights dimmed for the inevitable slideshow of famous works of art.
Just before I walked into the classroom, I received a text from Lance. "How's school?"
"Good. Art History class next. Hard to stay awake."
"Big lecture hall with lots of students?"
"Yeah, 500 students, stadium seating, dark room induces drowsiness."
"Sit in back between 2 guys. Keep phone on desk. I'll keep you awake."
Oh, no
, I thought. By this time, I knew Lance well enough to realize that he was going to dare me to push my boundaries yet again. I didn't know exactly what he had in mind, but after what he made Alexis and I do at the movie theater last weekend, I could imagine that he was going to make me do something risquΓ© and risky during class. Even though no one else knew what he had texted and I didn't know exactly what he might mean, I turned red from embarrassment. I had enjoyed a lot of new adventures recently, but I didn't know if I could go through with whatever Lance had in mind. This was in a class that I attended twice per week with people I would have to see all term. That's not the same thing as a dare in a place I can leave with strangers I would never see again. Plus, I had to actually pay attention to the professor in order to pass the class.
As I fretted about what was coming next, people started filing into the lecture hall. I took a deep breath, sighed in resignation, and followed the crowd inside. As my eyes adjusted to the dim lighting, I climbed the steps toward the back of the room.
Eventually, I spotted two good looking guys with an empty seat in between them. They were talking to each other about the homework. I shuffled down the aisle until I was next to the nearest one and interrupted their conversation. "Excuse me, is that seat taken?" I pointed to the vacant chair between them.
"Uh," they said simultaneously. They glanced at the empty seats around them, clearly annoyed at my interruption as well as my unorthodox choice of seat, given that there were lots of other places to sit nearby. I smiled and batted my eyelashes in an attempt to look cute and disarm their resistance so they wouldn't foil my plan.
"Um, no, go ahead," said the one on the right. The charm offensive worked.
"Thanks, you're sweet." I squeezed past the one on the left, took off my backpack, and sat between them. They stopped talking, and we all pulled out our notebooks and pens. I silenced my phone and put it on the desk on top of my notebook.
As the professor stepped up to the lectern, and shuffled his notes, the screen at the front of the room and my phone lit up at the same time. The message was from Lance. "Subject?"
I looked up from my phone to the large screen in the front of the room. I gasped as I read it. The two guys on either side of me looked at me to see what had made me gasp. They saw me looking at the screen and turned their heads to follow my gaze. The lecture was titled "Evolution of Nudes." They each chuckled quietly and leaned forward to smile at each other. They must have thought I was a prude, but what I was worried about was answering Lance's text. I knew he would take advantage of a topic that was ripe for testing limits. Just my luck. I typed in the title and hit send. He replied immediately with a winky face. I watched as the typing bubble indicated that another message was imminent. Just then, the lights dimmed and the professor began lecturing.
His next message said, "When the first image appears, get close and ask if they think the image is sexy. Ask why. Tease them." I inhaled deeply, scared and excited, because I knew where this was headed. For a moment, I considered chickening out. But I knew I would obey Lance. He always made me want to do as he asked. And, if I'm honest, I always enjoyed it, despite how nervous it made me.
Of course, it didn't take long for a pale woman with small breasts and pink nipples to appear. It was Bonzino's
Venus, Cupid, Folly, and Time
. I leaned close to the guy on my right and whispered into his ear, "Do you think she's sexy?" I stayed close, waiting for his answer.
"Huh?" he whispered back.
"You heard me. Do you think she's hot?"
"The woman in the painting?"
"Yes, of course," I hissed.
"I don't know..."
"Yes, you do. Tell me."
"Sort of, I guess," he admitted.
"What's sexy about her?"
"Uh..." His voice was nervous. He stalled.
"I like her rosy nipples," I teased. "What about you? Do you like them too?"