Author's Note: This is an edited version of a story I wrote and posted on Literotica in 2016.
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Chapter One
Chaos was the rule as it was every morning in the cafeteria. Mark found his usual place and sat down to enjoy a bowl of cereal with some orange juice. Despite its reputation for being the most important of meals, he usually skipped breakfast. Since his early morning exam had been canceled, he had some time to kill; he was going to grab something to eat then retreat back to the dorm for a few hours' sleep.
Mark always enjoyed watching people, and the cafeteria was the best place to do so. It provided an eclectic blend of nerds, jocks, metalheads, and any other stereotype one wanted to toss into the mix. Add in a tight class schedule expedited by minimum wage kitchen help, and the dining area was a scene to behold.
Mark spied one girl in particular. She was short and skinny but well-toned, like a runner or a gymnast. He had almost said something to her a few minutes prior when she cut in front of him in the cereal line. As she stole a spot front of Mark to join a male friend, the girl's flowery perfume assaulted Mark's senses. Mark didn't know whether to complain about her line jumping or the obnoxious smell; however, opting for his usual passive approach, Mark let the slight go. He had plenty of time and more pressing concerns.
Mark wondered why the skinny girl was with this particular guy. She usually ate lunch about the same time he did and always sat with a different boy, someone Mark assumed was her boyfriend. The guy she was hanging out with this morning was new. Mark wondered if she had broken up with her previous beau.
Mark figured he was reading more into the situation than he needed to. She was probably just using the guy to secure her expedited place in line or maybe the two of them were just friends. It was entirely possible that the girl wasn't cheating on her regular guy at all.
Mark fought to keep his eyes open; he was looking forward to another chance at some sleep. He had spent most of the previous night studying for the literature test and only managed to get a couple hours' shuteye. Even if happy to have another week of study time, Mark was annoyed about sacrificing his rest for naught.
Preferring to focus on technology and computers, Mark had put off taking the literature class as long as he could, but he was entering his senior year. If he wanted to finish school, he needed those credits. This was the price he had to pay if he expected to land a high paying job with some new tech startup. Mark did want that job; it was everything he worked so hard for.
Mark never boasted much of a social life, even with the other computer science majors. His peers were big into online gaming, something Mark had never really cared for. He convinced his parents to pay extra dorm rent so he wouldn't have to live with a roommate. Mark rarely drank or went out, and, despite living in a coed dorm, he didn't talk to girls much.
Mark was certainly never mistaken for a male model, but he didn't look like a stereotypical computer science major, either. He stood about five feet and nine inches with dirty-blond hair. He was a little soft around the middle but nowhere near obese. His skin was pale; his face was round and nondescript with hazel eyes. Most of the time, Mark dressed in khakis or jeans, a polo shirt, and white sneakers. Mark was the kind of guy who could easily get lost in any crowd, and he was okay with that.
Mark had managed to land a girlfriend during his sophomore year; he'd really liked Lucy too. Mark assumed they would graduate together and eventually get married. Even though she wasn't a computer major herself, Lucy understood her reclusive boyfriend. She was everything Mark wanted in a girl.
Lucy was short and petite with curly red hair. Like Mark, her skin was pale except for freckles on her face, arms, and legs. She usually wore push-up bras to enhance her small breasts, but other than that, she never chose clothing that would draw attention to her body. While not as shy as her boyfriend at the time, Lucy didn't participate in many extracurricular activities. She focused instead on her studies and was very close with her family, especially her two sisters.
Mark and Lucy had sex twice, but both times were awkward and admittedly unfulfilling. Before hooking up with Mark, Lucy had been with only one other person, her high school boyfriend. Mark was completely inexperienced and, consequently, almost mechanical in bed. Despite his sexual deficiencies, Lucy was patient with and kind to Mark. For Lucy, it was more about the connection than sex anyway.
Mark and Lucy's relationship started to deteriorate when the school assigned Lucy a new roommate. Janice entered Lucy's life after being kicked out of her sorority house and forced back to the dormitory. Janice never said what happened at the organization, and Lucy never asked. While the arrangement was nowhere near Janice's preference, Lucy's social status improved exponentially.
Janice was tall and athletic with long jet-black hair and tanned skin. Janice exuded confidence at all times and too often looked down on anyone who didn't meet her exacting standards. Janice almost always wore revealing clothing, and she enjoyed the attention her risqué wardrobe afforded her. This is not to say Janice was promiscuous. She rarely dated and looked at having sex as a concession of power to the other person.
Janice was the whole package. She was more than a beautiful face and a perfect body; Janice was smart, damn smart. She had been admitted to college on a full-ride scholarship and was hoping to get into medical school. She couldn't remember the last time she had been stuck with anything less than an "A" in class, and, most importantly, she networked well among key student and faculty members.
Getting kicked out of the sorority was a blow not only to Janice's ego but also to her ambitions. Her network of well-connected student families was taken from her in a manner she considered unjust and unacceptable. This setback was such a point of contention with Janice that none of her friends, Lucy included, dared bring it up.
After getting kicked out of her sorority, Janice needed a new group of friends, a void she filled in part with her new roommate. Happy to step in, Lucy enjoyed the company of her beautiful and smart friend. As Janice built her networks back up, Lucy also benefited. For the first time in her young life, Lucy found herself running with the popular crowd, and Janice was happy to have a new wingman.
The only issue the new roommates had was that Janice wasn't about to make any room for Lucy's 'creepy' boyfriend. While Janice never directly told Lucy to drop Mark, Janice made it clear that Lucy could do better. Janice started taking Lucy to bars and introducing Lucy to a number of potential new suitors.
As Lucy ascended through social circles, old friends and acquaintances found themselves on the outside looking in. This was no more evident than in her relationship with Mark. As happens in relationships, Lucy and Mark found their lives moving in different directions. The writing was on Mark's wall; Lucy's life had taken a turn that wouldn't include her geeky boyfriend.
To make matters worse, Mark overreacted to Lucy's budding friendship with Janice. He knew that Lucy was drifting away from him, and he tried anything and everything to keep Lucy out of Janice's social circles. Mark made Lucy feel guilty for spending time with Janice and was suspicious of everything his girlfriend did, but his tactics only served to push Lucy further away.
By the end of Mark's sophomore year, his relationship with Lucy was over. Devastated and angry, Mark just wanted to finish school and move on with his life. He couldn't make himself enjoy the remainder of his time in college. For him, finishing school was now just another step toward his career outside academia.
Since Mark lived in the same dorm as Lucy and Janice, he would pass them in the lobby from time to time. At first, he would wave at Lucy, who would smile back at him. Eventually, the waves turned to head nods which became nothing at all. It was as though they had never even known each other.
Despite his fears to the contrary, Mark did survive to see his senior year; graduation was finally in sight. He was going to push his way through his last few classes and get a great job. "Get the job first," Mark always told himself. He figured the rest would follow. Once he had the job, he would get the girl, the house, and who knows what else. He just had to get through his senior year, the sooner, the better.
After his breakfast, Mark made his way back to the dorm. He would be hitting the sack just as most of the other residents were starting their day. Mark knew the dorms would be quiet, something they rarely were overnight. He enjoyed the silence.
Mark used his keycard to buzz into the living area and headed past the mailboxes toward the elevator. Of course, the elevator was broken down; it was almost always out of order. Mark again momentarily regretted his decision to live on the seventh floor. Such regret was wasteful, though. His focus was on getting some sleep even if that meant a seven-story climb.
The first two floors of the dormitory were occupied by girls then the floors split between men and women with male dorm rooms on the third, fifth, and seventh floors. Each of the lower six floors was divided into two sections separated by a foyer area. The seventh floor, Mark's floor, only had one row of dorm rooms.
Since the seventh floor was laid out differently from the rest of the building, the primary staircase and elevator bays stopped at the sixth floor. To get to the top story, Mark would have to walk through the sixth-floor foyer to another set of stairs past the elevators. This was okay with Mark because Lucy lived on the sixth floor. If the sixth-floor hallway door was open, he could see down to Lucy's room, something he still made a practice of checking out more than a year after their breakup.
As Mark walked through the sixth-floor foyer, he thought he heard a familiar voice. Could it be? Mark felt a chill race down his spine. It was Lucy.
"I'll be back in a minute," Mark heard his ex-girlfriend say. "I have to get a quick shower. I'll meet you downstairs."
Mark looked down the hallway, and, sure enough, he saw Lucy headed toward the sixth-floor showers. The redhead was wrapped in a towel and was carrying a basket of shampoo, soaps, and other necessities. Mark couldn't believe his eyes.
Mark felt like a deer with the headlights of a Mack truck bearing down on him. He couldn't move. He was excited. He was scared. What should he do?
Mark jumped into a study room by the stairwell. His breathing was heavy, and his whole body shook. How could Lucy still have such an effect on him? Mark hoped the redhead didn't see him spying on her. Just to be sure, he decided to wait a few minutes before venturing back into the hallway. The last thing Mark needed was Lucy thinking he was some perverted stalker.
Mark sat down at one of the desks, rested his head in his hands, and tried to breathe. He could feel his chest expanding and retracting as he regained his composure. Why couldn't he let it go? Lucy was out of his life, and he had to find a way to accept it.
