Svenn and Audrey continued to hit it off after their first day of law school. They sat together in each of their classes, and typically did things together around school. They met a lot of other people in their section, too, but it was natural for them to spend time together -- they had a lot in common, and unlike most of the other students, they were both married. It wasn't long before this spilled over into their lives outside of school. Svenn and Audrey, along with their spouses, began going out with each other occasionally. Svenn was happy about this. He was finding Audrey to be a good friend, and this helped him get to know more about her, and helped their friendship grow. But it also took pressure off of Svenn. As time went on, his attraction to Audrey was only growing. He was fantasizing about her all the time. But because they were including their spouses, Svenn was reassuring himself that the attention that he paid towards Audrey at school was founded upon more than his sex drive.
The way their classes were spread out, most of the students spent their entire day on campus. In between classes they would work on homework for the next class, to avoid having to take any home. Most students did this in the library. The library was filled with carrels, which were in turn almost always filled with students at any given time. None of the carrels were assigned to anybody, but the upper year students typically claimed the ones on the main floors of the library, where there was more open space, sitting room, and windows. This left first year students with carrels hidden in the stacks. This was good, in a way, in that it was typically quieter for studying. The carrels were arranged in pairs, equivalent to two desks facing each other, with a wall between them, and a side wall giving extra privacy from passers-by. This meant that a student sitting at an adjacent set of carrels would have his back to a student sitting in the first, and vice versa, with no wall in between them.
When Svenn and Audrey chose carrels in the library, they made sure to choose adjacent desks where their backs were to each other, rather than having a wall between them. This made it easy for them to turn around and talk to each other.
The school year went on, and before long, it was October. It seemed as though the semester was flying by. One of the classes that Svenn and Audrey were in was a Legal Research & Writing class. The final version of their first big paper was due soon. It was stressing everybody out.
There was too much to do for other classes for most students to spend a lot of time working on their paper before it was due. It was no different for Svenn and Audrey. As a result they, like a lot of other students, stayed in the library later than usual to work on it.
As the deadline approached, the stress was getting to both of them.
As they both sat working, Audrey interrupted, "God, I hate this paper. I just want it to be over with so I can go home."
Trying to lighten her up and flirting with her as usual, Svenn responded, "You'd rather go home than be here with me??"
Audrey abruptly responded, "Yes. I get backrubs at home. And it's a little more comfortable there."
"That's a shame. I was actually done with MY paper, but I was pretending to still be working on it so that I could stay with you."
"Shut up," she said.
Svenn turned towards Audrey and continued, with laughter in his words, "Alright, you've done it now. If you had played your cards right you could have had a backrub, but I think you've missed your chance now."
Audrey turned around, smiling, and gazed into Svenn's eyes flirtatiously. She said, sweeter, "As if you can resist my charm..." Audrey pushed herself in her chair towards Svenn, with her back to him, making it obvious that she was positioning her shoulders for his attention.
Svenn simply smiled and, without much hesitation, began gently massaging Audrey's shoulders. Each of his hands worked each of her shoulders simultaneously. His hands slowly worked their way across them, so that his thumbs left her shirt and rested on the bare skin at the base of her neck. He applied pressure with his thumbs and moved them in circles, carefully massaging her. Audrey slowly rotated her head and neck with Svenn's hands, getting lost in the relaxing feeling of his hands touching and rubbing her. She laid her head back, and he cradled it with his hands. He softly ran his fingers through her hair, as if to continue the massage. They gazed into each other's eyes and each became lost in the moment. Helpless, Svenn's lips began slowly falling towards Audrey's. Intoxicated by her perfume, his head became too heavy to hold back, and his lips embraced hers. The moment her soft lips touched his, electricity ran down his spine. Audrey softly kissed back, and placed her hand on Svenn's shoulder.
For a moment, Svenn was in heaven. It was only a soft, simple kiss. Their lips were partially open, and each pair briefly embraced and gently tugged at their counterpart. It was certainly not the passionate, unbridled kiss that Svenn had always imagined. He had always fantasized that he and Audrey would be overcome with lust, and, unable to hold it back any longer, would launch into a passionate, purely sexual embrace with nothing held back. But Svenn liked this kiss better. It was unplanned. It was delicate. It was a real kiss. The taste, touch, and smell of Audrey overwhelmed Svenn's senses.
But as instantly as it sprung upon them, the moment ended. As if they each realized what they were doing, and why they shouldn't be doing it, simultaneously. They each pulled back slowly, and paused to look at each other. Audrey blushed, with a shy smile on her face. Svenn pursed his lips, and looked slightly embarrassed. Without a word, Audrey moved her chair back to her desk, and Svenn turned back around to face his. They sat in silence for a little while, although it was obvious that neither was getting any work done.
Svenn felt guilty. But he was also worried that he went too far, and that thanks to him, nothing would be the same between he and Audrey anymore. He was worried that he had sabotaged their friendship. Svenn placed his elbows on his desk, and his head in his hands. After a few moments, he heard Audrey packing her things to leave. He heard the noises of her backpack zipping up. He heard her chair being pushed under the desk. He heard the click of the light being turned off.
But Svenn didn't hear Audrey walk away. Instead, he felt her warm hand slide across the back of his neck, and under his shirt to his bare shoulder. As she stood beside him, and massaged the shoulder, she spoke.
"Don't stay here too late, okay? The paper can wait until tomorrow."
Svenn looked up at Audrey and smiled. "If you wait a minute I'll walk out with you."
"Alright," she said.
Svenn packed up his things and they walked out to the parking lot. They didn't say very much on the way. But when they reached their cars, Audrey turned to Svenn and hugged him.
She whispered in his ear, "This will be our little secret, okay?"
He looked into her eyes, and smiled as he nodded. Before Audrey turned to get in her car, she reached up and placed her index finger on Svenn's lips as she smiled and looked into his eyes.
Svenn was right. Nothing would be the same between he and Audrey anymore. But not in the sense that he was worried about.
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A few days went by, and everything seemed fine between Svenn and Audrey. This was a relief to Svenn. They still acted the same towards each other around school, and went on as though nothing had happened.
One afternoon, they were sitting in the library studying, as usual. One of their classmates came up and spoke to them.
"Hey guys, are you going to that Halloween thing?"
