On Monday he felt significantly better. He managed to attend all his classes, have some lunch, and find a quiet corner in the library where he wrote a synopsis for his company law class. Once done, Jordan felt brave enough to go home and clean up the mess in the apartment. It needed a good cleaning and a thorough airing to get rid of the stale alcohol and vomit smell. Jordan felt quite content as he went back to school for his last computer lab of the year. He enjoyed computer lab, it was a good mixture of learning how to use new programs, how to use linux/unix systems and learning how to program in Java. The only drawback to the lab was his partner, Becky Swanson. Becky was in her early thirties. However, this was only apparent at closer inspection. At a first glance one would assume that Becky was much older. She dressed very frumpily, not because she had a bad sense of fashion, but because Becky was afraid of her sexuality and she did not want to attract attention to herself. She was married and wanted to stay faithful to her husband. Tonight, she had on a long blue and white stripped skirt, pantyhose even though it was always fifteen degrees too warm in the lab, and a white shirt buttoned up all the way to her neck. As usual she was wearing a cloyingly sweet perfume. Becky tended to sweat a lot and Jordan assumed that the perfume was to disguise body odors that might arise from her copious perspiration. Her hair was long and lank and often looked as if it could use a wash. Her face could be considered pretty, with big green eyes and pouty wet lips. Somehow, however Becky never got it right. Often, she had on too much lipstick, which was smudged all over her face by the end of class.
Becky worked at the Boston branch of a Tennessee company that produced some sort of medical products. She had been transferred to Boston for three years and was doing her studying part-time. Becky had a very large voice and even when she was trying to be quiet she could be heard from one end of the lab to the other. She loved talking about her husband and everyone in the lab knew about her dear hubby's eating habits and flatulence problems.
"If it wasn't for Gasex I don't know how I could stay married to the man," Becky would confide to Jordan and the rest of the lab. Normally Jordan thought that he was very tolerant of Becky's loud voice and overpowering floral perfumes, but today he was dreading lab with Becky. From previous experience he knew that she had been brought up to be Southern polite, and that if she was going to talk about her husband for the first ninety minutes of the laboratory, then she would spend the next half an hour asking Jordan about Barbara. At the best of times it was a struggle to talk about Barbara for thirty minutes. Becky didn't seem to mind, she always asked him about Barbara and remembered everything he had told her. Of course, he couldn't remember anything about Becky's husband, not even his name. The only things he could recall about him were his flatulence problems and that Becky thought that he might be having an affair with their dog groomer back in Tennessee.
Becky seemed a little depressed today and her voice was not set at fog horn level. She told Jordon (and most of the people sitting around them) that her husband hadn't been home any of the nights Becky had called him back home in Tennessee, and when she finally reached him, her husband told her that they had a huge order and that everyone at the plant was working overtime. Becky, being suspicious, called an old friend who worked with her husband and by subtle questioning found out that no one had been working overtime in the last month. Jordan was very interested in what Becky considered a delicate approach, he presumed it must have been a bit like planning a sneak attack with a steam train. Jordan wasn't a bad guy and he felt sorry for Becky. He tried to say the right things and even gave her a hug. A mistake, squeezing Becky had released a couple of months of Garden Breeze and Orchid Mist into the air. A large percentage of the scented molecules were consequently adsorbed into Jordan's clothing and skin, leaving him smelling like an overripe florist. The hug had a very interesting effect, Becky kept quiet a while, and they both worked away at their computers. Just when Jordan thought he was home and dry Becky asked him.
"So how is Barbara doing?"
Jordan certainly wasn't going to tell Becky the truth - that Barbara had left because he been fucking her colleague's girlfriend. He didn't think Becky was in a forgiving mood, especially not when it came to unfaithful men. Also, Jordan didn't want the whole laboratory to know about his problems, so he told the truth and just omitted their breakup.
"She is perfectly fine. Working extremely hard as usual and has no free time for me."
"That's too bad. How was your dinner with her colleague on Friday? I remember you were going to help Barbara prepare an exotic dinner, squid for starters and a delicious dessert." Becky never forgot a thing he said. He looked at her trying to decide how he should answer her question. Becky was one of those people who always seemed to have a lot of spit in her mouth; tonight some of it was escaping out of the left corner of her mouth, smudging her lipstick in the process. Jordan found it very distracting and perhaps a tinsy bit sexy.
"The dinner went really well. Everybody enjoyed their food. Dylan is a very intense guy, the only time he relaxes is when he talks about his research or about science. He is going to work for Pfizer and had some interesting stories about the discovery of Viagra. Unfortunately, Barbara and Dylan had to go to the lab to work on some breakthrough before they could start their dessert," Jordan replied hoping that Becky would be satisfied and that he wouldn't have to elaborate anymore. He underestimated her curiosity and her memory.
"Did Dylan's girlfriend stay and help you with the dessert, or did she just go home?"
"Jackie stayed, we talked a bit, but we didn't have much in common so I took her home fairly soon. It was pretty uneventful." This was the answer his penis was waiting for, all the blood from his groin came charging into his bald-headed champ, and it promptly jumped to attention.
"I wonder how Barbara could have left the two of you alone in the apartment," lamented Becky who was sure her husband was having an affair, but seeing the look on Jordan's face she added, "I'm sorry I don't know why I said that.."
"Don't worry Becky. I understand you have been hurt. Not all men are horny animals. I assure you I didn't even have a single impure thought on Thursday night." Jordan was very convincing, perhaps he should have been a lawyer. Of course, that was impossible now because he was convincing above the belt, but below the belt he would always have a permanent erection when he lied. Talk about a professional handicap. Becky believed that he was telling the truth and he had nearly convinced himself that he had been as chaste as an eunuch. His penis knew the truth though. The LIE gene was turned on full blast, expressing LIE protein, which thanks to Veritas turned on NO production, and that resulted in a rampantly expanding rock solid rod. Jordan felt potent, manly and hungry. Becky was looking very tasty indeed. He had the sudden urge to kiss her, lick up her drool and completely smear her lipstick all over her face. Kissing Becky would surely be a deliciously wet and slobbery affair.
In some dark recess of his mind Jordan analyzed what was happening. He had told a lie and thanks to Barbara and her Veritas drug his penis was responding to the lie. Now it seemed that his penis was in charge. Hormones generated by his erection were running his body and brain. Becky was not his type and yet, right now, if he was going to go on "Survivor" and could bring only one luxury item he would take Becky in preference to his tooth brush, sunglasses or a year's supply of chocolate.
"I believe you Jordan. I didn't mean to imply you might have been unfaithful. I'm just so confused and depressed at the moment."
"Becky, I have an idea. I think you need a change of scenery. Why don't we go to my apartment, get some take-out Chinese and talk in private. We can complete our computer program there and perhaps that will take your mind off your problems," suggested Jordan.
Both Becky and Jordan were surprised by the offer. This was the first time either of them had contemplated any extra-laboratory social interaction. Becky recovered from her surprise and accepted Jordan's invitation provided they go to her apartment instead. Jordan didn't tickle her libido and he had never shown any interest in her. She felt in control of her urges and a bit of company might be good.
They took the T to Becky's apartment. Jordan managed not to tell any lies on the trip, which was great because he did not have to hold his backpack in front of his crotch to hide his pants pusher. An unexpected side effect was that the hormone concentration in his body was plummeting, and going home with Becky no longer seemed such a good idea. He would have liked to have gone to his own apartment, watched TV and gone to sleep, but there was no polite and easy way he could think of wimping out. He would eat his food quickly and make up some excuse to leave.
While Becky dressed as if she was ten years older than she actually was, her apartment was decorated as if she was barely in highschool. Everything was in pastel pinks and purples. There were more frills in the room than on all the tennis panties worn in the nineteen seventies. Every chair had at least one doll or cuddly animal sitting in it. The apartment was smaller than Jordan's bedroom. The bed dominated the room, it was smothered in pink lace cushions and baby dolls, there was no sign that her husband ever stayed here. Becky must have seen Jordan's look.
