This is the sequel to "The Darkroom".
There were no words to do justice to her preoccupation. She would lose herself in the memory of her encounter, the world of academia around her dissolving into a passionate darkness. Her eyes would grow glassy at dinners with her friends, promptings of "Ciara? Houston, we have lost Ciara!" jolting her back to the conversations. Her classes were automatic, routines of writing and studying that she accomplished without the benefit of conscious attention. She was a wreck.
And yet she was so enraptured that she barely noticed. Her mind lingered on the sound of his breathing over her shoulder, her body electrified at the memory of his touch. She trembled as he entered her in memory, his thrusts endlessly repeated in the confines of her imagination. She told no one of her time in the darkroom, how exhilarating it had been to let a strange man fuck her. Surely no one had the context to understand what she felt.
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Slipping on her bathrobe after a long shower, she luxuriated in the sensation of terry cloth against skin. She met her own eyes in the mirror, a tiny smile playing about the corners of her lips. She liked the way she looked, her long black hair tousled and damp, her green eyes intense and aware. She was comfortable with herself in a manner that belied her twenty years.
She very nearly brained a tall, well-built young man with the bathroom door as she exited, lost as ever in her thoughts. He jumped back, chuckling softly.
And then their eyes met, and they both knew what the other also knew... "It's you." Time froze.
She swept her eyes over him, taking him in. He was undeniably handsome, and he held himself with a quiet confidence that mirrored hers, but it was his eyes that were positively enrapturing. They were a brown so dark that it bordered on black, and though they were as wide as saucers there was no fear in them.
Saying not a word, she memorized his features and turned around, her movement smooth but her hands shaking. She walked purposefully back to her room, closing the door behind her and leaning against it for a long time.
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His name was Simon. He lived alone two floors above her. She mulled this over as she placed the student photo directory back on the shelf over her desk. How many minutes had she stared at his image, her hair drying as it fell about her shoulders? How could she have missed meeting this man with the piercing eyes before now?
She felt the reverie of the past weeks slip from her. Taking a sheet of paper, she wrote a note in neat script.
I will be on the top floor of the library at 6:00 tonight. If you need a signal to recognize me, I will be wearing a blue dress. βCiara
She had his room number. Excitement pulsed through her as she folded the note and rose to dress for her day of classes.
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Night was falling as she leaned against the balcony, her hair blowing out before her. The breeze had turned cool and a shiver went through her body. Today had taken an eternity to pass. She was outwardly calm and collected, but inside she buzzed with excitement.
She had changed into an elegant dress before walking to the library. The fabric caressed her, hugging her curves like a lover. Looking like this made her feel seductive, dangerous, and excited.
Presently Simon came and stood beside her. And as their eyes met again, she smiled.
"I'm glad you came," she said, calm and confident.
He smiled back, is face glowing. She drank him in: his body, encased in a gray sweater and black pants, was beautifully formed. He had an air of intensity about him that captivated her, drew her to him. Without realizing it, she took his hand and pulled him closer to her.
"Thank you for earlier," she whispered, her ear pressed against his chest. He embraced her gently.
"I haven't thought of anything else since then," he murmured. She closed her eyes, and when she opened them she saw another man standing there.
He was dressed identically to Simon, and looked rather similar. Simon's hair was straight and this man's was curly, and the stranger wore a pair of glasses. And, wonder of wonders, his eyes were the same. She glanced up at Simon and raised her eyebrows.