Study Group: Part 1

“Michael? Michael?”

My head shot up from the desk, whirling around to find the clock on the wall. 3:05 PM. Sarah shuffled her feet back to dodge my abrupt movements but stayed crouched to be near my eye level, her hand still on my shoulder from gently shaking me awake. Apparently, the professor had finished his lecture on the corresponding angles proof and Sarah realized that I had fallen asleep when it had finished. I was sitting near the back of the lecture hall, giving me a clear view of all the empty chairs with built-in desks below us.

“Sarah!,” I said in a rush, “I just haven’t been sleeping well. What with all these midterms to study for and all.”

She stood up, brushing the wrinkles from her professional styled pencil skirt. She smiled at me and brushed her long curly auburn hair behind her ears, unveiling simple pearl ear piercings. “That’s okay, Michael,” she said offhandedly, “I am going through much the same thing as well.”

I smiled back and stood, ready to go home and study for my first midterm of the year. Physics. Sarah was a little shorter than me and wore the kind of glasses that you would always suspect a smart girl like her would wear. Her half buttoned up shirt was covered in a gray vest and tucked into her matching gray skirt. The paleness of her long legs was muffled by the black pantyhose that blended into her black high heels. She was really beautiful. I had had a crush on Sarah since we started college a couple of years ago and although she seemed like she liked me, I never could get the courage to ask her out. I sighed, thinking about how late I would have to stay up again tonight.

As if reading my mind she asked, “Are you all ready for the physics midterm tomorrow?”

I didn’t really know how to respond. I felt like telling her I was ready was a lie but also didn’t want to come off as if I hadn’t studied at all. She waited for my response, her blue eyes gazing at me through her glasses with concern. I settled for telling the majority of the truth.

“I’ll be ready after I study for it tonight,” I softly chuckled. “There are some things from the lecture last week that I couldn’t wrap my head around.”

“Oh, like what?” she inquired, genuinely hoping to help me with my struggle.

“Understanding the whole subject of light propagation I guess.” I tried to sound as smart as possible. She always portrayed a persistent attention to detail.

“Ah,” she nodded knowingly, “many are having the same trouble as you Michael. Luckily, I am hosting a study session at my apartment later this evening. Maybe you should stop by and get some last-minute pointers before tomorrow’s midterm.”

That was unexpected. I had never ever been invited to the study sessions that Sarah did. And I seemed to remember that they never really happened in her apartment. Was she trying to have a study session/date with me but invite others to make it kosher?

“Wow!” I said, hiking my backpack onto my shoulders. “I definitely will!” I made my way to move past her between the narrow space between the desks, my nervousness about the upcoming study session evident on my face. She smiled again and stepped aside, trying to give me space to pass down toward the lecture hall doors. As I walked past her, my arm brushed against her breast. I turned around to apologize quickly and nonchalantly, but when I did, she walked straight into me, apparently having not noticed the touch at all and was following me down the stairs. I tumbled backwards, wrapping my arms around her in a feeble attempt to grab something to keep me from falling. Trapped in my arms she fell down with me, shrieking in surprise. Luckily the landings between the stairs were large enough to where I only fell to the landing and not all the way down to the floor where the lecture podium was. I laid there, Sarah on top of me, her breath quickening as she looked at me, making sure I was okay. My upper back hurt like when my dad threw a baseball at me as a kid and I flinched. Even through the pain though, I couldn’t help but notice how soft her body felt against mine. The scent of her perfume enveloped me, and I could feel the heat radiating off her as we both struggled to untangle ourselves. My heart was racing, not just from the fall, but from the unexpected intimacy of our position.

“Are you alright, Michael?” she asked, her voice slightly breathless.

I managed to nod, my hands still awkwardly placed on her waist. As we finally disentangled ourselves and stood up, I couldn’t shake the feeling of electricity that lingered between us. Sarah adjusted her glasses, trying to compose herself.

“I’m so sorry about that,” I stammered. “I didn’t mean to—”

She cut me off with a laugh, a mischievous twinkle in her blue eyes. “No harm done.” She inspected the rest of her disheveled clothes, straitening her skirt and tucking her shirt back in. “Oh Damn it!” she said softly, looking at the back of her skirt. There was a large rip from the hem to the middle of her butt, obviously caused by the fall. My eyes widened as I caught a glimpse of the lacy black underwear peeking through the tear. She bit her lip, looking flustered for the first time. Her cheeks flushed with embarrassment.

“I guess I’ll need to find something else to wear before my next class.” She was frustrated and I felt it was all my fault. I looked to her and smiled, hoping to ease the tension.

“You know, I don’t live far off campus and I’m pretty sure my sister left some clothes that would fit you at my house the last time she visited. Would you like me to go and grab it?” She could tell I was genuine in my offer.

“I have an hour before my class starts. How about I go with you and see if any of her outfits are a good match for me?” I guess she wasn’t going to let me be her fashion ***********or for the day. I was ok with that. I had no idea what she liked to wear. The memory of the lacy black panties flashed through my memory, and I figured that I knew that much of what she liked. I pulled my jacket from my backpack and offered it to her.

“Here. Wear this to cover up the tear in the back.” She accepted my offer graciously, happy to have a way to shield her exposed legs from wandering eyes. She tied it around her waist and seemed to stand a little taller once it was on.

“Thank you.” she said softly, a look of gratitude evident in her eyes.

As we made our way out of the lecture hall and walked towards the parking lot, I couldn’t shake the image of Sarah’s ripped skirt and the glimpse of her lacy black underwear from my mind.

With each step, the faint scent of Sarah’s perfume wafted towards me, a delicate and alluring aroma that lingered in the air accompanied by the gentle click of her heels as she walked. I couldn’t help but steal glances at her, the way her hips swayed with each step, the way her auburn hair cascaded down her back in soft waves. I couldn’t believe that just moments ago, I had been under her in a tangled heap on the stairs, and now here we were, walking side by side to my car. I opened the door for her, feeling like a gentleman from another era. She thanked me with a smile, and as she slid into the passenger seat, the front of her skirt rode up slightly, revealing more of her smooth hose covered thighs. My heart raced as I quickly looked away. I closed her door and strode around to the driver’s side.

Up until this point we hadn’t really spoken to each other since the lecture hall and the quiet hum of the engine wasn’t enough to keep the awkward silence at bay for much longer. I decided to try to get to know her more.

“So, what do you do in your spare time besides fall down stairs?” I joked, hoping to ease some of the tension. A smile crept onto her face, probably realizing for the first time what had actually happened. I liked her smile.

“Well, I don’t know. School takes up a lot of my time. I liked to go dancing on the weekends, but I am finding that going alone isn’t much fun and none of my girlfriends have much time to go with me. And getting a guy to go with me is like torture for them, so I just stopped all together.”

“Dancing!” I exclaimed, “I had no idea you liked to dance!” I was surprised that I hadn’t realized that it was such an important part of her life. It wasn’t as if I was stalking her at all, but I did try to pay attention to things that she liked so that if I ever did get the courage to ask her out, I would know what we could do on a date together. I guess I hadn’t really known her since we both started school and she was right about school taking up a lot of time. This information changed everything. I happened to be a pretty good dancer and hoped it would be enough to win her over.

“How long have you been looking for a dance partner? What kind of dancing do you like?” I asked, gently turning onto the road where I lived.

Well, long enough to know that finding a good partner in this town is like finding a unicorn,” she joked, flashing me a warm smile. “As for the kind of dancing, I’m more into… country dancing,” she said, her face flushing just a little. “I know it’s not every guy’s cup of tea, but there’s something about the music and the steps that just makes me feel alive and it flows so nice.”

I couldn’t help but grin. “Country dancing, huh? Well, what a coincidence. I happen to know someone who is quite good at country swing…” I gave her a sideways look, doing my best to show a sarcastic looking smile. Her eyes widened in surprise along with her cute smile.

“Michael! Why is this the first time I am hearing about this from you!?” She sounded extremely happy to find out my hidden talent.

“I don’t know. I guess I have been busy with school too. Haven’t had much time to go out and have fun. But maybe after midterms we could go together and I could show off my dance moves to you.” I ended the proposition with a questioning tone, hoping beyond hope she would say yes.

“Um… Yeah!” she tried to hide her excitement behind her open smile. “You are required to take me now since you are officially my dance partner. You don’t have a say in it.” she chuckled. Her eyes were lit up with a fire I hadn’t seen before.

“Really?!” I answered back casually, doing a poor job of acting like it was a bother to me. I pulled into my driveway and put the car in park. We both got out and continued to chat about dancing, which ones she struggled with, and the ones that I hadn’t learned yet. I held open my front door for her, feeling again a gentlemen. The house was simple and I shared it with my sister who would visit often while traveling around the country. She said it was always nice to have a place to stay that already had all her things. I was just glad to share the rent with someone and not have them around all the time.

I led Sarah inside the house, feeling a mix of nerves and excitement at having her in such a personal space. She followed me, a smile imprinted on her face since hearing about our mutual hobby of dancing. I showed her to guest room where my sister had some extra clothes, hoping she could find something suitable to wear.