“Just a bad dream…” Allison responded half-heartedly with a lack of conviction that was painfully obvious.

Kaija rolled her eyes in disbelief. “That must’ve been one hell of a scary dream,” she speculated. “What happened anyway?”

Allison shrugged to buy some time before she answered. “It was about school.” She eased into her explanation tentatively as if waiting to see if Kaija was going to buy it. When she heard no objections, she continued. “I was flunking this one class that would keep me from graduating, and I freaked.”

If anyone but Allison had given her such a lame excuse, she wouldn’t have bought it for a second. But it was Allison. And Kaija did believe her roommate’s explanation. Kaija’s worried expression dissolved into a grin. “Like that’d ever happen to you,” she giggled, rolling her eyes. “I was afraid I woke you up when I came home last night or something,” she fished. “I always have bad dreams when I get woken up in the middle of the night…”

Allison was a lousy liar and would have made an even worse poker player. She bit her tongue in an attempt to maintain an even look. She shrugged. “Didn’t hear a thing,” she lied, leaving a set of tooth marks on her tongue.

Sighing in relief, Kaija glanced at her watch. “Well get your butt up then, it’s time for breakfast!” She wandered over to her desk and began packing her books in her backpack for the day’s classes. “You comin’ or what, sleepyhead?” she asked over her shoulder.

Somehow Allison managed to hide the cringe that nearly escaped from within her. After seeing what she did the night before, she wondered if she could survive having a meal with Kaija so soon. And heaven help her if Barclay showed up…

“Yo, did you go back to sleep?”

Oh how she wanted to, but it had absolutely nothing to do with being tired! Allison threw the covers off of her and shuffled over to the closet to get her shower caddy. “I’m comin’, I’m comin’…” she mumbled as she shrugged into her terry cloth bath robe.

As the steaming spray of water beat down on her back, Allison recalled the events from last night. The sensations she experienced in the dream were so realistic, the mere thought of it made her shiver. But why in the world was she having such an explicit dream about her roommate’s boyfriend? Sure, she saw them get it on, and yeah, he had put the moves on her in psych class once, but still…it seemed so wrong!

Allison’s hands roamed her body, leaving a soapy trail in their wake. But it wasn’t her hands she felt; it was Barc’s. His muscular meaty palms lingered over her breasts, probed her belly button, and made their way to her warm, moist core. Stop it, stop it, stop it , she scolded herself. She tapped her forehead against the tiled wall of the shower as if to rattle the nasty thoughts out of her brain. It wasn’t working. Frustrated, she turned the water off with a single twist of her wrist and began putting her toiletries back into the caddy.

Fine. If she couldn’t get her mind out of the gutter, she was going to go back to her room, throw on some clothes, and get ready for breakfast. At least she had a quiet day ahead of her. Just a quick meeting with Professor Salinger about her writing assignment, and Allison was done for the day. Thinking she’d have time to squeeze some reading in, Allison made sure Kaija wasn’t watching her, and then she put the romance novel back into her backpack. After her hot dream from the night before, she could hardly wait to see what the book had in store for her.

After zipping the backpack shut, Allison slid it over her shoulders and walked out the door with Kaija. Mercifully, the dining commons was nearby. As they yanked open the heavy glass doors, the mouth watering smell of freshly baked caramel rolls hit them head on. Spicy cinnamon…caramelized butter… Allison couldn’t wait to sink her teeth into such a decadent treat! The line attendant swiped her card, then she grabbed a tray and gathered her breakfast—scrambled eggs, sausage links, cantaloupe wedges, and of course a hot caramel roll with gooey topping oozing down its sides.

So where is the dog food kids always joke about colleges feeding them? From the looks of her tray, Allison was going to be a cool half ton before Christmas break! I’ll worry about that later, she thought, shrugging off the worry. After all, she did a lot more walking here than she did at home.

The dining commons was extra crowded for once. Given the menu and tempting smells, it was easy to see why. Kaija managed to spot a table for four that had just been vacated. Fortunately, the occupants weren’t total slobs, so the table was tolerable. Kaija zoomed in like a magnificent vulture and placed her tray on the table just as the last person grabbed their tray. Allison smiled. Maybe having breakfast with Kaija wouldn’t be so awkward after all.

The girls dumped their backpacks into the empty chairs and got down to the business of eating. Both girls moaned their approval as they bit into the sweet roll. Kaija look upwards as if thanking the heavens for such a treat while Allison eagerly dug in for another bite.

“So what’s on your agenda today, roomie?” Kaija asked, using her napkin to wipe off the sticky caramel residue on her face that her tongue couldn’t reach.

Allison finished chewing before responding. “Just a meeting with Professor Salinger about my first writing assignment.” Kaija looked surprised. “Somehow I managed to cram everything into Monday Wednesdays and Fridays.”

Kaija snorted. “Lucky you. I have Music Theory, String Techniques, and Band,” she groaned, cutting off a bite of sausage and popping it into her mouth. “Where ya meeting Salinger?” she asked as she finished chewing.

“In his office.” Kaija looked uneasy. “Why?” Allison didn’t like the look on Kaija’s face. “ Why ?” she persisted.

Kaija put down her fork, glanced around to make sure the coast was clear, and then leaned in to the table and lowered her voice. “I’ve heard things about him, Ally.”

Allison smiled at Kaija’s concern and her use of a nickname they hadn’t even discussed. “Like what?” Allison asked, raising her eyebrows with the question.

“He likes to take advantage of sweet, innocent girls like yourself,” Kaoja explained.

As always, Allison had to turn it in to a joke so she could laugh at it. “Sure, Kaija, you just wish you had a class with the hunk,” she grinned.

“Nah, I’m too street wise for him,” Kaija said, stabbing the scrambled eggs with her fork.

With an annoyed look on her face, Allison leaned back in her chair. “What do you mean? Are you saying I’m not street wise and that I’m actually quite gullible?” She folded her arms across her chest, further accentuating her offended state.

“Ally, I love ya dearly,” Kaija began, “but when it comes to men and college, you have a whole lot to learn.”

“I do not!” Allison responded belligerently.

“You do too,” Kaija insisted, “and I can prove it.”

“Oh yeah? Go ahead and try,” Allison dared. They weren’t exactly arguing, but Allison resented being treated like some naive child.

Kaija bit into a melon wedge and thought for a moment. “Okay… What would you say if I said, ‘Barc came on my stomach the other night’?”

Allison laughed, waving away her question. “Duh, that’s easy!” She shifted in her seat as she prepared to answer. “Everybody knows it’s virtually impossible to make love in a bed without getting close to each other and touching stomachs, so of course he had to come on your stomach!”

Kaija choked on her mouth full of milk, thanking her lucky stars it didn’t shoot out her nose as she laughed.

“Well I guess he didn’t have to come on your stomach,” Allison conceded with a shrug. “I mean if you guys did it in a different position or something…”

Tears streamed down Kaija’s face as she clutched her cramping stomach. She thought she’d die laughing. But if that was the case, what a way to go! It’d be almost as good as dying while having sex, she thought, wiping away the tears of laughter with the back of her hand.

“Why are you laughing at me?” Allison demanded.

Kaija reached across the table and pinched Allison’s cheek. “You’re just too cute,” she giggled.

Allison razzed Kaija and threw a crumpled napkin at her face. Before long, they were both laughing hysterically, but only Kaija fully understood what was so funny.

As they gathered their dishes, a deep male voice greeted them, eliciting a huge, toothy smile from Kaija. It was Barclay. “Hi, Barc,” Kaija called with a twinkle in her eyes. She ran up to him, threw her arms around his neck, and kissed him on the cheek.

He smiled at the gesture as he placed his tray of food on their table. Then he turned to Allison, smiled, and said, “Good morning, Allison. How are you?”

What a difference from the goof who smeared ketchup all over his face! “Doin’ fine, thanks,” she grinned. “And you?” She was having trouble picturing anything but Barc doing pushups over the top of a woman’s body. Allison knew she needed to get out of there, and fast!

“It’s going to be a quiet day for me,” Barc responded, pulling out a chair to take a seat.

“Oh sure, you guys loaf around while I bust my butt in class,” Kaija moaned. She glanced at her watch. “Shit. Speaking of which…I’m running late for Music Theory!” She placed her dishes and trash on the tray, gave Barclay a quick kiss on the cheek, and was gone in a flash.

Allison looked around, uncomfortable at being left alone with Barclay. As if noticing her discomfort, Barc broke the ice. “You don’t have class now, do you?” She shook her head. “Good, ‘cause eating alone sucks.” He smiled. “I mean you will stay, won’t you?” He tilted his head slightly as he asked the question, looking like an adorable puppy begging for a treat.

How could she resist? She smiled and nodded. But where was his fan club? It seemed like Barclay was always surrounded by people. But he wasn’t now.

They engaged in idle chit-chat as Barc nibbled on his breakfast. Finally, the conversation turned more serious. Allison propped her elbows on the table, and then propped her chin in her palms. “I think it’s great that you and Kaija have found each other,” she commented, fishing to uncover his true feelings for her.

Barclay shrugged. “I don’t know that I’d say we found each other exactly…” He smeared some grape jelly on a piece of toast and bit into it.

“I thought you two were, you know, together,” Allison said. “You seem to be so, uh, close.” That was one way of putting it, she giggled to herself, thinking of the incident on the dorm room desk…

“Nah. I don’t really think Kai is into me. Not that much anyway.” Barclay seemed relatively unaffected by his statement.

“You’re kidding!” Allison couldn’t help but be surprised. Kaija was definitely a bit on the wild side, but she didn’t see her as someone who dished out sex and public displays of affection without at least some emotion being tied to it.

He shook his head. “We’re just a passing thing…”

“Come on, Barc, she brings you to her room…she kisses you in public…” Allison refused to believe either of them was capable of simply having sex for sex sake.

“That doesn’t have to mean anything,” Barclay said. “Kaija’s a very ‘huggy’ person.” He guzzled the rest of his orange juice and then started in on on his fruit.

Allison snorted. “Well you two do a lot more than hug!” she blurted out a bit louder than she had planned. A couple of people at the next table turned to look at them.

A proud smile broke out on Barclay’s face. “So you were watching us, huh, Ally-Gator?”

Her face flushed with embarrassment as she denied it, but they both knew better. After all, Allison was a horrible liar. “You’re a pig!” she spat out.

Barclay looked stunned as he leaned back in his chair. “You don’t mean that,” he said with a mock tone of hurt in his voice.

“Well, I think you’re underestimating her feelings for you at the very least.”

“We have an understanding. Kaija and I are far from exclusive. In fact we’d be the first to admit that we’re not right for each other long-term.”

A feeling somewhere between relief and anger flowed through her body. Allison didn’t want Barclay to hurt Kaija, but for some reason she found herself actually relieved that he wasn’t real attached to her. She made a mental note to investigate Kaija’s feeling when they met for dinner.

“You were watching us, eh?” Barc smiled proudly. “What did you think?”

“That’s a stupid question,” she huffed, insulted by his question.

“Maybe so, but I want to know if it made you hot to watch us?” Barclay smiled at her as he spoke.

She wasn’t quite sure if he was playing her or being serious. The question seemed so off the wall that she assumed he had to be playing around. After all, Allison was far from a beauty queen with her hair pulled back in a tight ponytail.

When she didn’t respond, he decided to push it a bit. “Did your heart beat faster when my tongue darted into her mouth?” Her face warmed. “Did your breasts ache as I tweaked her nipples?” He leaned forward, lowering his voice. “Did your mouth water as she took me in her mouth?” Allison gasped, turning a deep shade of pink. “Did you grow wet at the sight of me sliding into her, pumping in and out, in and out…?”

Allison was getting hot and bothered big-time. “Uh, ah, I’ve got to, uh, get going to…class,” she supplied without thinking. “I mean my meeting. Meeting, yeah, that’s it,” she muttered, flustered.

“Want a banana before you go?” He offered the piece of fruit with a devilish grin.

Allison’s eyes widened, a droplet of sweat trickling down between her breasts. “No thanks, I really should be going,” she managed, trying to ignore the phallic symbol he held before her.

“Your loss,” he smiled, peeling the fruit slowly.

Allison arrived at Professor Salinger’s office early, but she believed it was always better to be early than late. She took a seat in the old chair across the hall from his office door.

A quick glance at her watch revealed she had a good twenty minutes to kill before they were scheduled to meet. Satisfied she wouldn’t be discovered in the deserted hallway, Allison pulled the romance novel out of her backpack.

It wasn’t long before she was totally drawn into the story—the vivid descriptions, the tension between the characters… “Passion in the Park” wasn’t exactly a page turner, but it did captivate her attention.

She could see the scene as clearly as if she were there herself. Madeline and Adam lay on a plaid blanket under a flowering cherry tree, the ground sloping gently to the lake filled with ducks and swans.

Adam dunked a fresh berry in a dollop of whipped cream, and then slowly brought it to her lips. She opened her delicate mouth and sucked the cream off the tip of the strawberry, her tongue wrapping around the fruit to make sure she had gotten every bit of the cream. “Mmmm,” she moaned, leaning into him. He dunked the berry into the whipped cream a second time, only this time Maddy bit the tip of the fruit off and licked her lips as she swallowed.

Maddy pulled a banana out of the picnic basket and peeled it slowly, much like Barclay had done that morning. Once the pale yellow fruit was fully exposed, she slid the tip into her mouth and pressed her lips tightly around it.

Adam morphed into Barclay in her mind’s eye, and Allison became Maddy….

“Whatcha reading there, Allison?” She jumped out of the seat in panic, the book falling to the ground in the process.

Professor Salinger bent over to retrieve the fallen book. “Passion in the Park by Sally Collins,” he read from the cover. “Hmm…it’s not exactly fine literature. How do you like it though?”

Allison stared at him blankly as her heartbeat pounded in her ears, and her stomach grew nauseous. She’d’ve bet anything that she was blushing, but it felt more like all the blood had drained from her head, and she was ready to hit the floor herself, fainting dead away.

“There’s no need to be embarrassed, Allison,” Professor Salinger reassured calmly, handing the book back to her.

How could she not be embarrassed, Allison thought with a groan. Maybe with a little luck she had just gotten her daily dose of embarrassment out of the way. A girl could always hope…

CHAPTER 6