"I wish I'd met you earlier," said Jake.
Wendy smiled faintly, not sure how to take this, and glanced at the door. It was shut.
"I hope you don't mind me saying this," he continued. "But I think you're incredibly sexy."
Wendy decided this had gone far enough. She was uncomfortable being alone with Jake - after all, she hardly knew him, except through the odd meeting at Freshers' parties in the past couple of months. He'd lured her up to his new student bedroom to show her his CD collection. Wendy could imagine how her best friend Jen was going to laugh - how could she have fallen for that old story?
She sighed, and decided she'd better tell Jake he'd got it all wrong.
But as she looked up, she caught the way he was looking at her, and it took her breath away. It wasn't that he was particularly handsome - good-looking, sure, but not her type. It was the fierce longing behind his eyes and the way he wouldn't let her look away.
She felt a tingle go down her spine, and held her tongue, wondering what he was going to say next.
Jake was obviously taking her silence as a signal to continue his advances.
"I love your hair," he said, reaching out to stroke it.
Now, thought Wendy, he's done it. She loved it when people touched her thick glossy hair. For some reason she found it incredibly sensuous. She was glad she hadn't told him to stop. In fact she heard herself give a spontaneous gentle moan as his fingers brushed her face.
Feeling her cheeks begin to flush, she was more and more aroused as he kept complimenting her.
"I've felt like this for a while now," Jake confessed. "But I've never had the chance to speak to you alone, really."
Wendy finally spoke up. "I have to admit," she said, "That I hadn't really thought of you - that way - until this evening."
She couldn't stop herself adding, "But now..." and leaning closer to him, "I'm feeling quite attracted to you, too."
Jake looked incredibly pleased and relieved, and Wendy couldn't help warming to him. The longer she looked at him, the more she wanted him to kiss her.
He learned towards her further, as they sat together on the edge of his bed. As their faces grew closer Wendy took deep shuddering breaths, surprised by the unexpected strength of these new feelings.
Finally, Jake kissed her, slowly and gently. It was a long, lingering, sweet kiss, and Wendy couldn't believe she'd never thought of Jake like this before. He was so tender and it just felt incredibly right.
But Jake was two years younger than her, she reminded herself, and she had her Finals to think about; and she pulled away abruptly.
It was just in time - a knock came at the door, and in came Jake's housemate, Louise.
"Time for tequila shots!" she said. "Not interrupting anything, am I?"
Wendy hurriedly followed Louise out of the room, before her guilty feelings for Jake gave her away. How embarrassing for a Finalist to be snogging a Fresher when she should be pulling some gorgeous rugby-playing Masters student.
The rest of the evening was edgy and tense. Every time Jake came near her, Wendy froze, and hoped he'd brush his hand against hers. Every time he sat down, she hoped he'd be within reach so they might have some kind of contact. But nothing else happened, and as she walked home that evening, she felt relieved, if with a twinge of regret.
Back in the library the next week, away from Jake, Wendy found she couldn't stop thinking about him. She knew it was wrong, but she couldn't resist popping outside to the lobby to send him one, moderately innocent-sounding text. When he replied, they struck up a flirty conversation, and as they exchanged messages she couldn't help re-living that kiss over and over.
Talking it over with her friend Jen, over the phone one evening, Wendy decided that it was better to forget Jake and concentrate on her Finals.
"After all," said Jen, "You don't want any baggage stopping you enjoying those post-Finals parties. It would be awful going round with a first year on your arm, and he just won't understand the pressure you're under at the moment."
It was no good. By the following weekend, Wendy knew she had to see Jake again. When he suggested meeting up on Sunday, she couldn't resist. They met in a quaint little pub, not one usually frequented by students, mid-way between their houses.
At first Wendy felt awkward. What should she say, when she wasn't sure how she felt about him - only that she felt incredibly turned on by that memorable kiss.