So far, readers of the story of Vanessa and Jon may wonder why it is categorized as non-consent/reluctance. It's possible you imagine the rest of the story will continue with sex that is only mildly coercive. Be warned that this chapter and the next contain scenes dramatically less consensual than you've seen so far. Some of you who've expressed fondness for the story may not like what's coming. Just know that one can't fully understand Vanessa and Jon without knowing they experienced the events of these next two chapters.
Noelle
Dr. Robins listened to Jon tell the story of Sam, detecting sadness about the end of their affair. "How did it feel when you said goodbye?" she asked.
"Awful. Horrible. Sam cried so much it made her sick. We had to keep pretending we were just pals involved in a platonic friendship. That got to be really hard."
"Did you consider staying together after high school?" Dr. Robins asked.
"Of course. Constantly. We wanted to be together forever. But we weren't stupid. We were going off to colleges thousands of miles apart. We knew that we would learn a lot and meet lots of new people, and there would be lots of opportunities for romantic adventures. As hard as it felt, it made no sense for a couple of teenagers to think we could chain ourselves together and be monogamous forever. We discussed it in a pretty adult way, considering how young we were. We said that we'd meet other people we'd love as much.
"And we did. She did better than me, obviously, but we both landed in college romances pretty quick. Actually, we talked about the fact that we could have romantic reunions during breaks and vacations. And we did that. Many times. The only difference was we went to motels instead of that RV."
Dr. Robins noted that Jon looked as sad and tired as she'd ever seen him. It was time to change the subject. "So, tell me about your next relationship. What was that like?"
Jon opened his briefcase and removed a photograph. "This is Noelle. I took this picture on a hike." She projected a wholesome beauty that Jon had loved. "We spent a lot of time outdoors, hiking and biking and stuff like that."
"She sounds nice."
"Very nice. I was surprised that I could have such strong feelings for someone when I still loved Sam. But Noelle was a wonderful girl, and she liked me as much as I liked her."
"So this relationship was a success?"
"Oh, God no. It was the biggest disaster of my romantic life. Just awful. It gave me nightmares for years," Jon said.
Dr. Robins didn't understand. "Unpack that for me, OK?"
XXXXXX
There were lots of reasons Jon fell in love with Noelle. He was aching from the loss of Sam when he arrived at college, and he met Noelle the first week of his freshman semester. He pledged to the Delta Delta Delta fraternity at the same time she pledged to the Sigma Rho sorority. They met at a social event for new members of the campus fraternities and sororities. He thought she was pretty; she thought he was handsome. They were both fluent in French because they both had French-speaking mothers; it was nice to have a friend who understood the language that was such a big part of home. When they were together, they spoke in French only. It was like having a secret love language others didn't understand.
They both loved nature, both loved hiking, both loved driving out to a nearby park and exploring trails that took them to a serene world that was nothing like the busy, chaotic life on campus. Noelle expressed admiration for a photograph that decorated the wall of Jon's tiny dorm room, and she was surprised when he said he'd taken the image at a landscape photography workshop in Arizona. "It looks professional," she said.
"Thanks," he said. "Professionals take pictures every day, and they are a lot better. But I do OK. I get a nice image from time to time."
Jon showed her the fancy camera he used, and Noelle expressed interest in learning how it worked. She enjoyed taking pictures, but she didn't know what Jon's big camera did that she couldn't do with her cellphone. Jon proposed taking the camera on their next hike. As they went down the trails he had her pick out things to photograph, and he showed her how she could change the settings to manipulate the lighting, focus, and composition. It was a pleasant way to spend an afternoon, and Noelle was surprised that it was so easy to take pictures that were so much better than anything she'd done before.
By this time they'd become lovers. Neither of them was a virgin when they started college, but Jon's years having sex with Samantha gave him a lot more experience than Noelle. It was wonderful to introduce her to pleasures she'd never felt before. No one had gone down on Noelle before Jon. As her boyfriend, Jon knew he was responsible for making sure Noelle felt secure, satisfied and loved when they were together, and his experience with Sam made that easier.
One morning Jon woke up, thinking of Noelle, and realized that he loved her. It was wonderful to feel that way again. He'd almost thought that he'd never experience anything like the feelings he'd had for Sam, and it was a thrill to discover that Noelle now occupied a similar spot in his heart.
He had to figure out a way to tell her. It had to be special. It was only the second time he said those words to a girl, and he hoped Noelle would like hearing them as much as he liked saying them. He'd begun to suspect she felt the same. All he could do was confess his feelings and see what happened.
That weekend they made plans to explore a trail they'd never followed before, so they packed water, food, and a blanket in Jon's backpack and set off for another pleasant day in nature. Jon felt impatient, experiencing an urge to tell her on the drive to the park, on the first part of the trail, and every time they stopped to admire some element of the scenery. But he didn't. He'd made a good plan, and he stuck to it.
They were miles deep in the forest when they went off the trail to find a flat place to spread their blanket. It was a particularly steep and rocky trail that required a lot of exertion, so it was nice when they finally stopped for a break and a snack. Very few people took such a rigorous trail, so they were completely alone.
"Is college what you expect?" Jon asked. "Is it what you thought it would be?"
"Mostly," she said. "The atmosphere is a lot better than high school. There were so many knuckleheads. It was annoying that we had to tolerate them so much. It's nothing like that here."
"Oh, I don't know," Jon said. "There are plenty of knuckleheads in my fraternity." Noelle laughed at that.
"I'm enjoying college," Jon said. "My professors are nice. The social stuff is OK. Being away from home is good most of the time." Jon paused. He'd rehearsed this next part several times. He wanted to get it right.
