Later that afternoon I got my first glimpse of my possible ticket out of this "team punch" hell. I went to class and the professor, who was also my faculty adviser, asked me to come see her in her office after her next class. When I appeared there, she wasn't alone. A young student was sitting and chatting with her. I took to him immediately. He was perhaps the most handsome youth I'd ever seen; tall and lithe, but well muscled. It was his face that attracted me immediately, however. Dark, curly hair, with a curl running down his forehead, beautiful soft hazel eyes, big full lips, and a brilliant smile, and a cleft chin and a pretty deep tan. He just exuded sensuality without putting any effort into, or, it seemed, realizing he had it. I immediately thought of Dean Seeman and what it is he liked in his choices for team punch.
"Ron, this is Ben," my professor said. "He's a freshman and is in one of my introductory classes and is looking for extra study help and a graduate mentor. I thought you might be willing to take him on."
Take him on? And maybe lather him up and serve him up to Seeman to get out of my bondage? No problem.
Ben and I talked for a while that afternoon about his studies and his other activities. He smiled a lot and seemed to take to me right off. I ascertained that his tan came from playing a lot of tennis. That luckily was my best sport as well, so we set up a friendly match at the graduate sports center the next afternoon—during a time when I knew few others would be around the facility.
I was fairly walking on air as I left for the dorm that afternoon, seeing some prospect now of changing my circumstances. After dinner, Nate told me that both Coach Seeman and he had been very pleased with how I had responded that morning in the wrestling gym and that they had decided I could go back to my old dorm room with Lance.
"But first a little final night ceremony, though. Strip and lie on the bed over there."
