The events have been significantly altered to protect the identities of those involved and to save the reader from rubbing blisters into their privates as they try and stay horny through -- what could have been -- a 400-page novel.
If you are here for the 'action' I promise you, we get there in this chapter. That said, if you find yourself fascinated by the story/characters and want to enjoy this series as a whole, I urge you read Chapter 1 if you have not already.
Anyway, this is my first so please be gentle! That said, I would love to hear honest and constructive feedback.
Enjoy!
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I must have looked like a deer staring at headlights because Cory immediately added, "Oh. I mean, if you don't want to drink, we don't HAVE to drink." as he hurriedly put the clear-glass liquor bottle back into the mini-fridge.
God damn it. I was such a child. I had never drunk alcohol before but that did not mean I had to be a prude about it. Cory, my roommate and fellow freshman at the university, had been nothing if not nice to me today. He had helped me carry stuff up six stories to our room, introduced me to some really cool people earlier at dinner, and had been a shoulder for me to cry on when I was struck by an intense shot of homesickness. He was not one of those charlatans who were put on probation back in high school: he was a nice, sensible guy.
Quickly regaining my composure, I said, "No please go ahead. Just don't get caught."
Cory's sigh was audible. "Man! I thought you were going to report me for a second!" He pulled out the bottle. "You sure you don't want some? It's on me today, if you're interested."
Damn it. I was interested.
I would be lying if I had not been looking forward to 'growing up' and drinking with Dad or my friends. More importantly, I trusted Cory. Something about him made me feel like he would be a good person to experience alcohol with for the first time.
"I am interested. I've just never had alcohol before." I guess truth is the better part of confidence.
"Oh." Cory seemed quite surprised, but almost immediately broke a cheeky grin. "Well then. Drink slow, but have as much as you want. It's best to test your tolerance indoors." He unscrewed the lid and brought the bottle to his lips. I saw two solid gulps travel down his neck.
He walked over to where I was sitting on the floor, my back resting against the wall. I had just gotten done unpacking my stuff and did not want to get my bed sweaty while I cooled off.
"Here." He offered me the clear bottle. I wiped my hands on the carpet and held the cool bottle tenderly with both hands. The glass was slippery with condensation. My heart was pounding.
Cory smiled warmly, "Be careful: Vodka is not how I would have chosen to start you off, but hey! It's college and you're going to learn sooner or later! Maybe take a small-"
His advice came too late. I was already coughing up the paint-thinner he had handed me. My throat was a mixture of cold and burning- hot and I felt the fumes make their way into my lungs. Almost immediately, I felt warm.
"Woah! Woah! Easy there Luke!" Cory picked the bottle back out of my hands. He kneeled next to me and patted my back. "You doing okay there?" I could hear him trying not to laugh.
I narrowed my eyes (my teary, burning eyes) and smiled at him. "That is awful! I don't understand how people enjoy that!"
"Give it a minute. You must have inhaled some, which is never fun." He gently rubbed his hand up and down my spine. The friction imparted a soothing warmth that slowly melted away the pain in my throat. "Once the burning goes away, you'll see." Cory reassured me.
I was beginning to see.
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In the following hours, we went into excruciating depth about each other's lives before college. I told him that I had grown up in a small conservative town, and was proud of the strong family values I had been taught. I told him about my time as goalkeeper on the soccer team and about some of the shenanigans the boys and I got up to when we won a game ("and then we'd sneak up behind the cows and yell super loud!"). I told him about how my father was a retired underwater welder who now volunteered with the local parish. I told him about how some of my friends and I ventured into the woods when we were young to explore and, when we grew older, to hang out. I told him about how, one day, one of those friends kissed me and told me she loved me with all her soul, and about how much I missed Ally, even though I had just spoken to her over the phone earlier in the evening.
But things did not get interesting until an hour (or was it three? I lost track of the hours. And the drinks.) later when Cory started telling me about his life. Cory was born and raised in the big city, just a few hours from here. He had top grades in his class and had qualified for the same scholarship as me. He loved his parents, who loved him too, and he had been on the lacrosse team BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY, he had lived a very... active life.
Sex-life. Cory had had sex with a TON of girls. "Sex" had been a taboo word for most of my life but BY GOD was alcohol liberating!
I vowed to make vodka the unofficial mascot of my life! Cory thought that was a terrific idea.
Anyway...
"What do you mean 'from behind'?" I was a mixture of grossed out and excited, "Like, you put it up her butt?!"
"Hah! If only! No, I put it in her from behind." Cory was slurring his words. "Like, if you want to imagine it, Jenna was sort of lying down on her side..."
I WAS imagining it.
I think I learned more about sex in that conversation with Cory than I had in all my preceding experiences. Cory was not only experienced he was a GREAT narrator.
"... Fortunately, I am big enough that I can do that. It can be problematic if you aren't." Cory was DEFINITELY slurring his words now.
Did he say "big enough?"
I panicked. "Wait, what do you mean 'big enough'?" Up until that point I had never even considered that different men might be differently endowed. The fear of inadequacy crept into me: what if, once we were married, I was not man enough for Ally?
Cory seemed to sense my fear. "Oh. Well, size more-like limits the kinds of things you can try, not the amount of fun you can have. It's kind of like, the size of the field limits the type of tactics you can play in soccer, but not the amount of fun you can have."
My mind was put at ease. But then another question came up. "So how big do you need to be to be able to try... the more tactical stuff."
It took me a minute longer than it took Cory to find what I had just said funny.
"You can do most things if you're 7 inches long, I think." From his tone it was clear he was making a bit of a show about not knowing what being 7 inches long felt like. "But if you're 9 inches long you're probably in the clear."
I was, to put it mildly, upset. I had never measured myself before, but I did not think I was 7 inches long. "Are most people 7 inches long?"
Cory responded a little too quickly, "Oh no. Most of my friends were five to six inches. I'd say that is about average."
That was a relief. Nothing comforts the ego like- Wait a second. I turned to Cory. "How do you know how... uh... long... your friends are?"
There was a moment where Cory looked at me like he was trying to read my face. "I'm not going to lie to you." He put a hand on my back and leaned towards me, as if we was going to whisper into my ear. "I've compared sizes with my friends. And, if I might brag for a bit: I was always longer." He patted my back as he chuckled and leaned away.