For a Tuesday night the bar was unusually busy, and the smell of alcohol and cigarette smoke was thick in the air. The bars on campus were usually quite peaceful at the beginning of the week, but most of the mid-semester assignments had been due the week before and I think everyone was taking the opportunity to just cut loose for a while.
Iād been having a quiet night out with a few friends when I saw Rachel come in. She was in my Ancient History class, and itās a good thing I know the subject because I spent most of the classes watching her. Something about her drew my eyes in, perhaps the way her dark hair swept down past her graceful neck to curl gently beneath her shoulders. She was tall, too, maybe 5ā10ā. Call me picky, but Iām 6ā4ā and itās nice to find a girl I can kiss without straining my back.
I watched her for maybe a quarter of an hour, as she stood at the bar fielding passes from various men. She made it look easy, like sheād had plenty of experience in dealing with advances, and looking at her I couldnāt say I was surprised.
I excused myself from my companions and walked over to her. I didnāt have anything more in mind than to say hello. Rachel and I had chatted together over coffee a few times after class, and had worked together on a project the previous semester, so there was no awkwardness between us. āHi Rachel.ā
āHi there.ā she said, giving me a friendly smile that lit her hazel eyes. āWhatāre you up to?ā
āIām just relaxing after last week,ā I replied. āCan I get you something?ā
āJD and Coke would be great.ā
I ordered one for each of us and we began talking, discussing the assignments weād just finished and what courses we wanted for the following year. As we talked more people were coming into the bar and after a few minutes Rachel said āItās getting a bit hot in here, do you want to go out on the balcony?ā I readily agreed, so we grabbed our coats and stepped outside.
It was a clear night, a rare event in England in March, and the air held that sharp chill that the nights here donāt really lose until the height of summer. Even with the harsh yellow glare of the streetlights the stars were bright and clear, and a nearly full moon hung high in the sky.
Rachel and I just stood there for a few moments, our breath misting in the darkness. āThis is much better,ā she said, and I agreed. We picked up the conversation where it had been left off, but something was different.
Suddenly it was hard to keep my thoughts in focus. I found myself distracted by the moonlight on her skin, and the way her hair moved in the breeze. I suddenly realised that I was staring. I began to look away, my cheeks flaring with heat, but then I realised that she was staring at me too. I donāt know who moved first, but our lips came together in one of the softest kisses Iāve ever known. Our tongues met and entwined as my hand slid under her hair to caress the back of her neck.
After several long moments spent gently moving our lips and tongues together and murmuring into each otherās mouths, we broke the kiss. I had no idea what to say, but Rachel saved me from my stunned silence. She took my hand and, without a word, led me down the fire stairs from the balcony.
*****
We walked the few hundred yards to her dorm in silence, my hand still clasped in hers. As we climbed the stairs to her room some rational corner of my mind asked me what the hell was happening, but the rest of me simply didnāt care. Whatever was going to happen that night, it felt right the way nothing before ever had. For the first time in my life I felt I was exactly where I was supposed to be.
The room was dark, the only light coming from the moon showing between the open curtains. Rachel closed the door behind us, removed her jacket then put her arms around my neck and kissed me again. This time it was harder, more aggressive for both of us, our tongues probing deep between each otherās lips as our bodies pressed together. As she broke away the last of my doubts made one final assault and I opened my mouth to say, I donāt know, something, but Rachel stopped me by placing a single finger against my lips. As if in answer to some unspoken command my lips parted and I began gently to suck her fingertip.