He stood in the doorway blocking it with his body. He leaned, relaxed as if he owned the not just hallway but, the entire school. I stood just outside the classroom waiting, praying for him to move, but he didn't. He just stood there staring at nothing, taking in everything. He smiled at some giggly girl who asked him to move.
"You're in my way Mikey", she said. Her face flushed, her eyes avoiding his glance.
"My bad", he said, flashing that heart stopping smile again. She hurried past him as if the building were on fire. I knew the panic that she felt very well.
He was an easy 6 feet with a medium build that was easy to see even through his baggy shirt and loose fitting jeans. His skin was a creamy color that was neither pale nor tan, but with a slight pinkness made him look more innocent than he was rumored to be. Michael had shoulder length jet black hair than hung in loose spirals as if the angels had roller set his hair in Heaven.
He had the longest eyelashes that I had ever seen on a man. His eyes slanted slightly, just enough to keep others guessing at his derivation. If one dared, they could look at his eyes, but they were such a clear, bright, startling blue that most people didn't look directly into them. I guess that most people would say that he was beautiful, well at least everyone that I knew, saw or heard of thought that he was gorgeous. It wasn't just his looks that made students and teachers stop and stare. It was the way that he moved.
He had a grace that was beyond his 18 years. He was not awkward or clumsy. He practically floated through the halls. There was none of the usual teenaged shuffling, no, he moved as if every cell in his body was in perfect accord with the universe. I had never seen him stumble, trip or drop anything. He didn't drag his feet, but his step wasn't noticeably bouncy either. I swear, he glided, and to my mind, he always moved in slow motion.
Mikey, as everyone affectionately called him, or Miiikkkeeeyyy, always wore a wallet chain that dangled down his leg, near his near. Never in my life have I wished to be a linked metal chain more.
Most people would expect him to be conceded and cocky since he constantly had girls and guys telling him that they wanted him, but I never saw even a glimmer of boastfulness in him. He was humble, almost to be point of being insecure and he was really nice to everyone, from the most popular, to the geekiest. You would have thought he'd have an entourage of worshippers to follow him around and heed his commands, but he was basically a loner. His loner status only added to the mystic and charm that made most of the school sick with want for him.
He was still standing in the doorway when the bell rang.
Why is he just standing there?
I thought. I had no choice, I had to walk past him and soon, or I would be late for class! So I took a deep breath, pushed my glasses up on my nose and attempted to pass. Just as I tried to slide past him, he spoke to me.
"Hey Tia, can I borrow a pen?"
I was floored. He said my name. Pen? Suddenly I couldn't remember what a pen was. My stomach knotted instantly as I tried to clear my mind but then I made a big mistake. I looked up into the blue jewels of his eyes. He was smiling. I was frozen. A dull thought in my mind returned, pen? I vaguely processed that the two plastic things in my hands were pens.
"Here", I said, opening my sweaty palm to him. His hand touched mine as he took the black pen.
"Thanks, I'll give it back to you after class", he said. And there was that smile again with the flash of perfect white teeth.
Class was hard. I could not concentrate. Mike sat two rows away and in the front. I spent the entire class staring at the back of his head, watching tendrils move slightly as he took notes. Right when Senor Mario was conjugating past tense verbs I started to fantasize. I thought about what it would feel like to kiss Mikey and what his mouth tasted like. I decided that it tasted like cherry since that was my favorite flavor.
By the time that the bell rang again, I was naked in my mind and giving Mikey the best brain job of his life. My panties were soaked. And there he was, at my desk to return my pen, and he was talking to me again. I must tell you that it is very difficult to hold a conversation with someone after you have spent the previous half hour imagining them in lewd sex acts. All I could do was look at the floor as the shame burned into my face. I couldn't concentrate on a single thing that he said. The heat of his presence was burning a whole straight into me.
"Hey, are you okay? You look sick. Do you want me to walk you to the nurse?" He whispered. My brain was screaming for me to look at him or say something. My mouth was stuck, my stomach was churning double time and the insides of my thighs quivered. I managed to mumble that I was okay and just really hungry. I told him that I didn't think that I would be able to make it until lunch with no food. I was aware that my hands were continuously tucking my hair behind my ears as I spoke. Nerves, pure nerves.
"I get like that sometimes too, he said as he opened his backpack and grabbed something out. "Here, eat this", he said, handing me a granola bar. "It will hold you until lunch."
I almost cried, really, how freaking sweet could he be. I mumbled thanks as I took the bar from him and our hands touched again, making me shiver slightly. I wanted to leave so that I could be early for my next class, but he was still standing by my desk staring at me.
"Oh, here's your pen and thank you. I always lose all of mine." He held the pen out to me still assaulting me with his warm smile.
"Keep it", I said. "I have plenty." He smiled and tucked his hair behind his ears. I nearly fainted from the sexiness of that movement.
"Um, Tia? This is going to sound weird considering that we don't talk much, but Senor Mario suggested that I ask someone in the class for help before the final. He said that I should pick someone who takes their work seriously and someone who really understands the material. So, I was wondering if we could maybe study together? I know you probably think that I am just some stupid jock wannabe who tries to get people to go their work for them, but I'm not! I have been really trying hard in this class and I have never, ever asked anyone to do my work for me.
He looked down at the floor, completely flustered. I just sat there silent, not knowing how to respond to his outburst.
"I just need some help" he continued. "Real help, not someone who will do the work for me because they thing I'm good looking."
My mouth would have been on the floor if I wasn't frozen to my seat. My brain commanded my mouth to move and say the following: "Of course I will help you, meet me in the library after 7th period. We can go over a few things and see what you need help with."
I don't know how I was able to say it, but I did. He thanked me again and said that the granola bar would help me. I watched him as he walked out of the classroom and I felt his heat and warmth go with him.
My day was a blur after my encounter with Mikey. Talk about being distracted. I walked into the wrong class three times that day and left my back pack in the class twice. Everything that anyone said to me was a jumble of mush. The only thing that I could hear was his plea for help replaying in my head. He asked me to help him! No one would ever believe me. Of course I ate the granola bar that he gave me. I ate it slowly, letting each bite turn to mush in my mouth before swallowing. I also saved the wrapper.
There were five minutes to go in the 7th period when I had a total panic attack. I realized that I would be alone with Michael and I would have not choice but to talk to him. The final bell rang and kids rushed from their classrooms with the usual post school day zeal. I on the other hand, had to drag myself from the bathroom stall where I was hiding. Maybe he would ditch the study session or have to reschedule, that would have been great. I would be off the hook at least for the day, but when I rounded the corner and looked through the double glass doors of the library, he was there.
He was standing by the information desk reading the bulletins. I stopped and watched him as he mouthed the words and used his finger as a guide to read the flyers.
He looked completely adorable! He must have sensed me watching because he looked up and saw me staring. I was caught, there was no way to deny that I was staring, but he didn't say anything he just walked over to me.
"Thank you so much for coming, I was afraid that you would think I was dumb for asking you for help and that you would bail on me". His eyebrows furrowed slightly when he said this, making him look really serious.
"What would make you think that I think you're dumb. I don't think that you are dumb. Everyone needs help sometimes, everyone!" I tried to use my words to ease his ego, but I just felt really stupid. I didn't know how I would be able to be alone with him without him seeing my hand shaking or hearing my heart pounding.
And how, oh how would I be able to explain the drool coming from my mouth every time I had to look at him? This was my dream and my nightmare and it was coming true.
He reserved a study room which was no more than broom closets with desks that measured approximately 4x4. They didn't even have PC connections. There was a standard wooden desk and two chairs as well as a lone window that faced the football field. We had a clear view of football practice but I wouldn't have cared if the National Hunk of Burning Love team was out on that field, my whole world was in that room.
The tight configuration and the fact that we were there to study meant that we would probably touch before the session was over. Oh my heart, my chest, my head. I suddenly had a throbbing pounding headache. The pounding in my temples matched the drum of my heart and the room began to spin.
"You have that sick look again", he said as I flopped in the chair to keep from hitting the floor. "Did you eat lunch?"
"Yes", I mumbled.
