Lori was doodling in her notebook when she finally heard her name. The professor, an older guy with a beard, who was very passionate about art history - if not so much his undergraduates social lives - was passing out group assignments. This was the only thing that she was remotely worried about - hence her frustrated doodling. "Lori? Brandon?" He waited for both to raise their hands, "You two will work together. Your final assignment will be Project D in Blackboard." He pauses, "Please don't make that letter code prophetic." Lori nods and smiles at the joke. Having their assignment and their partner, they were free to leave.
Lori takes a peak at Brandon, seeing a fairly average guy, he smiles and nods at her as he gathers up his stuff. He seems fairly fit, though on the lanky side, with somewhat long and wavy blond hair and blue eyes. His smile is fairly open and he seems relaxed.
Lori gathers her own things and gets up to follow Brandon out into the hall. Lori sees that Brandon is waiting patiently for her in the hall, "Hi!" She says as she comes out of the room. "Nice to meet you!" She holds out her hand and takes his in a firm shake. He seems a bit startled but nods hello. Standing in the hall, she could see she was a little taller, probably an inch, and she also noticed a slight bulge in his pants that was absolutely interesting to her. She smiled a bit and he didn't seem to notice that she wet her lips a bit nor that she had been staring. Or he was to polite to comment.
"Hi as well!" Brandon voice is soft and fairly quiet. "Do you have any thoughts on this project?"
Lori shook her head, "Nothing yet. I'm still getting settled in my dorm room. How do you feel about meeting at the library? Say tonight? I'm off work at 7pm."
Brandon nods, "Perfect! See you then!"
Lori nods and the two head off in different directions. She has a busy day and within three strides, Brandon is almost forgotten about. Getting everything done with her classes and getting to work on time were going to require all her focus. She had taken on full schedule this semester and had managed to land a pretty prestigious job with the college museum. Her focus was art, and having a chance to work in the collection preservation room was going to unlock many doors for her. She couldn't wait to get started.
So today had to go smoothly. She had to get fully established, build out her routine and maximize her time. The next few classes would be easy - all core requirements she could handle half asleep. After that was lunch, followed by a quick run back to her dorm room to switch out books. And check in with her roommate, Amanda.
Amanda and Lori had been roommates last year, paired randomly as Freshmen, but got along very well. Both meshed perfectly. Both had brought back a string of boys to play with, and neither were particularly bothered by it. They happily talked about sex, compared boys, and even helped each other with picking out sex toys. Both were in college to have fun, to learn and grow - but mostly to have fun. And fun typically meant dick. "I might be a bit late tonight. Already getting thrown into group work." Lori rolled her eyes as she stuffed her bag full.
Amanda grinned, "Group work or you planning on having some fun?"
Lori laughed, "Maybe. We'll see. He's kind of cute, but honestly, this is probably going to be a hard work night. I need to make sure my classes go perfectly - I have no room for error." She double and triple checks her books while talking.
Amanda nods, "You've got this. I know you do. And I'll help if I can!" She stands up, casually dressed in PJ shorts and shirt to give her friend a hug.
Lori grins and gives her a hug back, "I know. Thank you!" With that Lori is up and off, leaving Amanda to her computer and code.
Lori's day turns into a blur as she finishes her classes and runs over to the museum. The first day was a tour given by one of the most famous professors in the field. The tour is a blur of information, and insights, and connections that she was so happy to find herself tossed into. This was going to be amazing and she could not wait to get started. Her life was going in the right direction.
As 7pm rolled around, the new student workers headed for the doors and Lori turned towards the library. Brandon was waiting near the lobby, without a backpack or any books which caused Lori to frown.
"Hey, I already grabbed us a room and got started! I know you were working so I figured I'd try to take some of the load off!" he offered as an immediate explanation. Lori breathed a silent sigh of relief.
"Thank you, that actually is helpful!" He turned, and they both swiped in. He led the way to the room he had reserved. Upon arrival, Lori could tell he had been busy. He had his computer open, and the project PDFs provided by the professor were up. He had also managed to locate a number of books on the topic, and had started taking notes on content and material. She took a minute to look it all over. "This is" she paused, "really good." She was impressed.
He beamed, "Thank you! I started reading over the assignment then got some ideas, so I thought I would jot those down and then one thing led to another.." he laughed and gestured to the table.
Lori grinned, "I really appreciate it. I'm going to be so busy this semester, and the fact that you did all this is amazing! Trust me, I will do my share, but this is great!"
The two got to work dividing up next steps and building out their story. While they were working, Lori took some time to check out her partner. She liked what she saw, especially how nicely he smelled, kept himself put together, and still was sporting that interesting bulge she was hoping to get to know better. After an hour, the two went back to their dorms. Lori was feeling good: her job was going to be amazing, her group work partner was not an idiot, and her filler classes were going smoothly as well. She might actually be able to relax.
She went into her room and put her stuff down, grinning at Amanda, "This semester is going to be great!"
Amanda grinned, "Tell me about him!"
Lori laughed, "Actually not about him. Though if he keeps wearing tight pants I'm not going to complain. He's packing in front and in back!"
Amanda nodded, "Okay I can't wait to meet him. My summer was not fulfilling in anyway. That guy I was excited to meet? Completely useless." She shook her head.
Lori groaned, "Oh don't talk about the summer! I'm completely pissed. Got ghosted three times. The apps are terrible. But," she jumped on her bed to sit more comfortably, "This semester will not be. Brandon, my partner for that art history class I was concerned about? He's golden. Really hit the ground running on the project and seems to be really keen to get the work done."
"Or maybe he's keen to impress you!" Amanda winked.
Lori shrugged, "Maybe! I'm perfectly fine with leading him on. In fact, that might be a good idea. If he's willing to please maybe he might do more than help out with homework." Lori had an inclination, and now she was developing a plan.
This semester was going to be great.
****
Four weeks into classes, and Lori's predictions were accurate. Her new job was opening doors. Due to the quality of her work and her attention to detail, she was invited to go into the city to review the work being done at the Museum of Art. She had really impressed some of the staff there and made some critical connections. She had taken on the "project leader" role with Brandon, mostly reviewing and signing off on work, which she did admit was excellent. October had arrived and the weather was cooler, leading Lori to hang out in her dorm room with Amanda.
