Barbara and Owen were just two of the group but their attraction was mutual and immediate, Just emerging from a rather late maturation, Barb was still carrying twenty more pounds of adolescent weight than most of her new classmates and at just over five feet, that led to some small sense of insecurity. She was very conscious of both her 130 pounds and her horn-rimmed glasses, which were somewhat out of style and old fashioned. At eighteen, the personal poise she would know in the future was lacking. She was sure she was going to be the proverbial wallflower at this event and at all the rest of the school's socials for the coming year. Her full auburn hair flowed to her shoulders in a manner that lacked the sophisticated styling of her later life. Her dark hair and brown eyes complimented her soft olive complexion, which was darker than most of her pledge mates. In total, and despite her totally German ethnicity, Barbara resembled a woman of the Mediterranean. Indeed, in later years, she was occasionally mistaken as being of Italian or even Greek heritage. In contrast, Owen was tall and thin. His Scandinavian heritage was clearly evident in his blue eyes, light sandy hair and fair complexion.
Each of the students was invited to introduce themselves, their hometown, a bit of their background and personal interests. No one was asked about their planned major because in this small liberal arts college, it was assumed that at least two years would go by before an academic focus would be decided upon. Certainly neither Owen nor Barbara had dedicated themselves to any course of study and both were content to let their first year be filled with the college's core courses that were required of all students.
The memory of those early college days was pleasant. Academics had always come easy for Owen and he earned top marks in all subjects with a minimum of study. The fraternity was pleased that he produced many A's to boost the house's academic average and he had more than ample time to go out for varsity lacrosse. A major sport on the east coast, lacrosse was virtually unknown in his suburban Chicago hometown. While he practiced hard to learn the skill of the sport, he never progressed beyond being a rather bumbling substitute at midfield.
Owen was not a party animal but regularly attended all of the fraternity's social events. Little realized by him at the time, the disciplined life style that was to mark his later business career was becoming visible. By his third year, his ambition and desire for financial success led him into a business curriculum. Again, his talents were quickly visible and he graduated from Denison cum laude with a Phi Beta Kappa key as a keepsake.
Introspective and serious in most matters, Barbara was a bit of a bookworm. Not that she lacked native intelligence but her learning process was more dependent on rote than Owen's and she spent many more hours than he ever did studying in her dorm room.
Their introduction at the freshman mixer really didn't expand into anything that could remotely be described as a romance until their third year at Denison. They did double and triple date with others a few times during their first two years, often ending up at raucous fraternity beer busts at Jimmy Rizzo's sleazy Broadway Niteclub on the road to Newark. They also met once in her hometown of Perrysburg during their sophomore spring break while Owen was visiting the nearby Toledo home of his Kappa Sig brother and close friend Carl Gebhardt. Always interested in meeting their daughter's college classmates, Barb's parents invited him to join them for Sunday brunch at the Heather Downs Golf Club. The introductions went well and it was quite obvious they approved of him as a friend of their daughter, if not something more significant in the future. In short, Barb and Owen were college friends, maybe good pals, nothing more. Both had an equal number or more dates with other classmates.
By her junior year Barbara had blossomed. With a conscious effort to concentrate on a healthy diet and exercise, she had slimmed to less than 110 pounds, which was perfect for her small body. Because Denison students were not permitted to have cars on campus until their senior year, and because the campus was perched on a series of sharp hills, everyone became fit from nothing more than trudging to their daily classes. This was true of Barbara. Not voluptuous, her legs became well shaped and her stomach flat. She fretted that her 34 bust was a bit less than ideal but that did not flaw in any way the physical beauty she had begun to project. She experimented with many hairstyles, from an overly short gamin cut to pageboys before finally settling on a lightly curled short style that perfectly haloed her somewhat oval face. Barbara's large brown eyes were her most striking feature and she learned to emphasize them with a touch of liner well applied. She had long ago discarded her heavy glasses in favor of contact lens. It was her dark eyes that attracted the attention of everyone. Sparkling with a total joy of life, they mirrored her every emotion and mesmerized Owen. As their friendship grew into affection, Barb and Owen became an acknowledged twosome among their classmates.
At the beginning of their senior year, Owen went through the ancient college rite of giving her his fraternity pin with its crescent and star design and they pledged to date no one else for the balance of the year. Barbara had chosen psychology as her college major, an ill-defined curriculum that didn't offer much career marketability but wasn't intellectually challenging. By Christmas, she had dedicated herself to Owen and was more interested in preparing herself as his life mate than academic attainment. Still, her inherent intelligence earned her the same cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa recognitions that he received upon graduation.
Starting that year, the hormonal exuberance of youth expressed itself. From affectionate hugs at fraternity parties, soft and hard kisses led to experimental petting. Their inexperience showed as they awkwardly displayed their fondness to each other. Both were technically still virgins, although Owen had twice enjoyed thirty seconds of bliss as overage twenty-dollar prostitutes in nearby Newark mouthed him to teenage paradise.
They secretly conspired to return to school early following the year's Christmas break. In Barb's empty dorm room on the Saturday preceding the start of the second semester, they had a "tell all" session of past dalliances. Barbara laughingly confessed to chasing her fourth grade classmate Billy Bedoe until she caught and kissed the frightened lad. "God, little Billy was so cute and so shy. I kept picking flowers from Mom's garden to give him. What a waste he's made of his life," Barbara sighed since it was common knowledge in Perrysburg that shy little Billy Bedoe had morphed into a raving homosexual predator. Giggling, she added, "I hope my kisses won't turn you into one too!"
More seriously, she went on to describe two incidents in high school. The first was when that total jerk Alvin Best passed the point of no return in his car and roughly grabbed her breast without warning. "Gosh, we were parked right in front of my house which sure wasn't very smart on Alvie's part. One scream from me and Dad would have come storming out with fire in his eyes," she smiled. "There's a warning there for you, Owen," she teased, "whatever you do to me, don't do it near my father! He's so overly protective. He really is. It's stifling!"
Her second experience with Alvin shamed her.
Despite her better judgment she had somehow warmed to Alvie as the handsome football star during their senior year of high school. One night, parked car kisses encouraged him to open his trousers and expose his erected penis. In the dim dashboard light, it bobbed with youthful energy. "Look Barb, see what you've done to me," he whispered. "Feel it. Feel how hard it is." With a gentleness that was not like his usual brashness, he reached for Barbara's wrist and moved her hand to his column. Not without hormones, Barb watched as he skinned the foreskin of his uncircumcised erection to expose its shining dark head. Without thinking, she extended her fingers and circled the shaft while he slowly started to move her wrist. Together, they masturbated him to climax in less than a minute. With a thrust of his hips and a quiet moan, warm semen leapt onto his chest and streamed over her fingers. Staring at the deposit in her hand and seeing his smug smile of conquest, Barb felt nauseous. That was that and neither said another word as he started the car and drove her home. "Good night Alvin. I'll never do that again," she said as she slammed the car door and stalked back into her comfortable safe world. From that moment, Alvie was erased from Barbara's life and thoughts. Years later, she heard from a hometown girl friend that he had taken a menial job in the local post office immediately after high school. A year later he had been caught stealing checks from the mail and served an eight-month sentence as a first time offender in the federal penitentiary near Columbus. Nothing more was ever heard of the amorous Mr. Best.
Even though his sexual exploits were nothing to boast about, Owen started to snicker over her experiences with Alvie but quickly muffled himself when Barbara frowned and said it wasn't funny then and it's not funny now. Mentally, she kicked herself and wished she had thought of some imaginary but more scintillating escapades to impress him.
