Hey everyone! CheeseSandwich222 here, back from hiatus, with a brand-new story of growth and love as two college kids find their soulmates and lose their virginities.
As with all my stories, this one is made up of a mix of truth and fiction. Although, compared to my past two, this one contains the most truth. See if you can tell which is which, and fall in love with these lovers as they explore each other for the first time... I hope you enjoy!
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The first thing I remember seeing was her smile. A perfect pink upturn with two divots under its corners, stretching upwards towards her warm brown eyes. I followed the line of her lips to the crease in between her eyebrows, charcoal on warm snow. Her giggle made my hands tremor. Suddenly, she turned towards me, and I found those warm brown eyes looking directly at me. I flushed.
"Um- Hi! W-what can I get you?" I kicked myself. Her friends snickered.
"Just a London Fog, please." She gave a reproachful look to her friends. It gave me a sudden rush of energy.
"What's the name on that order?" Mercifully, my voice had become steady. I grabbed a Sharpie and poised it on the plastic cup. She flashed me that smile again and the tip skidded on the cup. Her friends snickered again.
"Clara." I could swear she winked at me as she tapped her card. "Thank you!" Her elegant brown-black hair swept behind her, leaving just the slightest trace of perfume cutting through the fog of the coffee grounds. I inhaled it and almost died.
I rushed to make the order. Normally, I'd hand the finished drink over to one of my coworkers, but I wanted to deliver this one. "Nate, be a mensch and man the counter, will you?" Nate groaned. "Stop flirting, Nick. They're not going to sleep with you." I shot him a dirty look. "You really think that's the only thing on my mind?"
He looked over at Clara, and so did I. From a distance, she looked luminous; she was giving off a light that seemed far brighter than the lamps around her. Nate turned to me, narrowed his eyes, and feinted towards my crotch. I yelped and jumped backwards, painfully aware of my erection. He laughed, not unkindly. "Right."
I flushed an even deeper shade of red and hurried to the counter. "Clara!" I called out. God, even her name was beautiful. She turned and smiled, walking over. I was entranced by the way her hips swayed. The heady scent of eucalyptus and tea tree returned. As I handed the drink to her, I felt our fingers brush. There was a spark, and almost instinctively, she retracted her hand. I met her eyes again; they were now wide.
"Get back here, Clara!" her friends called. But we kept looking at each other--I saw that her breath had quickened. Her delicate fingers fumbled around in her purse, and she pulled out lipstick. She then leaned over the counter and grabbed my wrist. She didn't make eye contact as she scribbled her number on my forearm. When she looked back up at me, there was something new in her eyes--a dangerous spark. My had heart started beating painfully fast.
Then, as quickly as she had come, she left the coffee shop, joining the milieu of students traipsing from class to class outdoors. Nate, behind me, was doubled over laughing. I aimed a kick at him but couldn't hide my smile.
...
After work, I hurried home to look her up in my college's database. There she was--her face shining despite the graininess of the photo. It was unmistakable.
Clara Cheng
, I thought to myself,
where do I find you?
I hastily typed the number in my phone and sent her a text. Almost instantly, my phone buzzed, and my heart leapt again. We texted back and forth for an hour, just getting to know each other.
Clara Cheng, 20, from Boston, majoring in Chemistry (I thought of making a terrible joke and somehow resisted), played the electric guitar (that was a plot twist), and wanted to work in medicine research in the future.
Nick Sarr, 20, from Denver, majoring in Math (I was going to need that side gig early), played the violin (I'm more of a stereotype), and wanted to develop cryptographic algorithms in the future.
The conversation was never boring. I realized that I had never so enjoyed the simple pleasure of getting to know someone. First dates used to bore me terribly; second dates were filled with catch-up from my tendency to not pay attention to banal life details the first time around. But I found myself craving every detail with Clara.
Her childhood stuffed animal was named Nat after her dad's favorite artist. Her favorite meal was falafel with pita. Her favorite artist was Beabadoobee, and she covered her songs on YouTube. (This was followed by a feverish Google search on my part where I watched her delicate fingers strumming the strings and her voice, beautiful and satin-like, warmed the deepest reaches of my soul. I imagined those fingers wrapped around something else and felt a jerk in my lower stomach).
We talked for so long; my Galois Theory lecture had been going for five minutes when I suddenly realized what time it was. I ran out of the door, thumbs still furiously sending her my thoughts on ligands informed by a single Wikipedia page. I almost caused five accidents on the way to class, haphazardly crossing roads and fielding several angry stares.
"are you texting me from class ;)" I asked her.
"i'm on the wayy" she texted me back.
As I strode into the hall, I sensed a rush of air and briefly the scent of eucalyptus before I ended up in a tangle on the ground. Groaning, I stood up, rubbing my elbow, and turned to see Clara on the floor at my feet.
"Oh- my God. I'm so, so sorry--guess I was--"
"Distracted?" she asked, with a wry smile.
I gave her a hand and pulled her up. She looked startled at how easy it was for me to lift her off the ground. I had the pleasure of seeing her blush. I did my best to hide how excited I had gotten. Now that we were so close, I took in her outfit. She was wearing a skirt; her legs, smooth and creamlike, were toned, and I couldn't help but dream about what was between them. Her top was cropped, revealing the smooth curve of her stomach. I had to fight not to stare at her chest, with small and shapely breasts pushing up against the fabric.