New Beginnings
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Part 10 Elyse Ellington
After that incident, I was done with Tabby. I just couldn't handle her smothering me anymore. It got around campus that I was "hands-off." No other woman would come near me at parties or gatherings. Most of the girls would avoid sitting around me, even in classes. What hurt even worse, was the look I got from April Madison in my class. She looked at me with a knowing smirk on her face that said "I told you so." Suddenly, all my pain returned. I fell into a deep depression that even Miranda's fuck visits couldn't pull me out of.
One evening, unbeknownst to her, Miranda came to my rescue, in a big way. She didn't know that one act would change my life forever.
I was standing at a party nursing my beer, when Miranda came up pulling a girl that could have been her twin up with her.
"Ronnie I'd like you to meet Elyse Ellington, from Atlanta, Georgia. She's in her fourth year and a good friend of mine."
I looked it Miranda incredulously and said, "Ms. Ellington and I are already acquainted."
I shared a logic class with this girl and she had been a rather large pain in my ass since the first of the semester. Any time I would espouse a thought during class, she was, invariably, there to challenge it. I could tell she came from money because she had an aura of entitlement around her. I just didn't care for her personality. I often wondered how anyone so beautiful could have opinions that were so wrong. The problem was, she couldn't always backup her deductions with decent logic.
"Well I can save you some time, Ms. Ellington, my philosophy on life now is, no matter where I'm at, there I am."
"Ronnie, don't be so rude. You and Elyse have a lot in common," Miranda said with a rather stern look on her face.
"Forget it Miranda, he's not interested in intelligent conversation."
"How do you get that, speak into the mirror? I think you'll find that a little one-sided, but at least you'll always agree with you, no matter how wrong you are."
She turned around and walked away, quite pissed off. This is a waste of my time, Miranda," she said.
"Ronnie, you're being an asshole. I've never seen you act like that. How dare you embarrass me like that?"
"I'm sorry sis, but when you bring my class nemesis over to meet me, you might as well have brought Tabby over."
"Ronnie, you don't really know her, she is so sweet."
"Well, Miranda, you sure couldn't prove it by me."
"You need to learn to keep an open mind, Ronnie, all people aren't like Tabby."
I kept walking around, mingling at the party, and I finally ran into Dempsey and Cottontail. I decided to talk to them for a while. I was enjoying the conversation when someone tapped me on the shoulder rather strongly. I turned around and was looking right into the beautiful brown eyes of Elyse Ellington. I had never been this close to her before, and I never realized how soulful her eyes were. It felt like I was looking deep into her psyche, and I could see hurt there.
"Are you going to give me a chance to defend myself this time?"
"Why do you feel you need to defend yourself, and anyway, you're the one who walked away."
"I'm insulted by the way you just lumping me into some kind of category. I have feelings, you know."
" I'm sorry if I offended your deep sensibilities, Ms. Ellington, but I just call it like I see it."
"You don't give anyone a chance, do you?" She started crying.
This, I couldn't understand and surely didn't like. I can't stand it when girls cry, and it made me look like an asshole. I did the only thing I knew to do and put my arms around her, hugging her to me, letting her cry on my shoulder. Miranda saw what was going on and had a strange smile on her face. I had to admit this girl sure smelled good, a slight smell of perfume and her beautiful smelling hair.
When she finally stopped sobbing, I said "I'm so sorry, Ms. Ellington; I didn't mean to hurt you. It's just that you irritate me in class so badly, always challenging me at every step."
"I thought you, of all people, could handle somebody challenging your ideas. Stop calling me Ms. Ellington, my name's Elyse."
"It's a very beautiful name. I don't mind a challenge, but not when it's put in a way that demeans me."
"I was never trying to demean you in any way. I have a great respect for you."
"Why don't you go with me to get some coffee and we'll sit down and discuss it?" I led her outside to walk down to the coffee shop. It started to sprinkle so I changed my mind and decided to take my car, instead. I politely helped her into my car. When she smiled at me, I thought of Miranda and decided to be more objective like my sister asked me to. She was always a good judge of character, and I trusted her instincts.
We drove down to a coffee shop frequented by the college students, and sat in a booth drinking our coffee. We discussed a lot of things about our feelings and values. Things got a little heated when we discussed family values.
I said quietly, "Well I can see where you're coming from, but you obviously live in a two parent household."
"What you mean by that? My parents were divorced when I was 10, and my mother remarried. My stepfather is a terrific guy. My biological father is still quite involved with me and I love him dearly."
"That's just what I mean; you're in a nurturing relationship. That has an influence on your thoughts."
"Well if you live in a broken home with one parent, your dad must've been screwing around on your mom and she left him. Am I right?"
"Oh you're correct alright; my mother left him years ago, dying from cancer when I was 7 years old. My father just died from heart attack three months ago. Yes, Ms. Ellington, you are always right."
She reached across the table grabbing my hand and said, "I'm so sorry, Ronnie, I didn't know, I am such a jerk." She started crying again. "Sometimes the stupidest things come out of my mouth before they clear my brain."
I actually thought I felt a spark when she touched me with her soft hands and her firm, but gentle, touch. I never felt that before, even with Ambrosia.
"It's okay; I've suffered from foot in mouth disease many times myself. You're forgiven, just stop the waterworks. I can't stand it when a girl cries."
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After that night, Elyse and I met for coffee after class several times to have some rather heated discussions. It was never dull when we discussed anything and class got rather tense at times.