the morning.
I collapse onto my bed, sinking into the mattress with a sigh of relief, my tense muscles slowly unwinding. But, unfortunately, the lack of anything else to think about brings Opal’s face to my mind once more, stronger than ever.
Seemingly an eternity ago, Opal had occupied my thoughts far more than I would have ever admitted to her. As a freshman, I would regularly see her on our college campus, stunned by her beauty. It was her smile that caught me. I always found myself feeling something disgustingly sappy whenever I saw it.
Simultaneously, I wanted to walk away and ignore her. To escape the effect she had on me, but I couldn’t. I needed to be in her space in some way. I needed to smell that soft, floral perfume she always wore, crowd in so close that I could feel her soft skin when my arm brushed against her. I ached to run my hand through her curls, to see if they were as soft as they looked.
But, even more than that, I wanted to see the fire in her eyes, the way they snapped at me whenever I annoyed her, which was more often than not. She was brimming with life, and I had been helpless to pull away until graduation when our lives seemingly parted forever… Until now, that is.
Seeing her today brought all that back. I roll over onto my back and look up at the ceiling. How many years has it been since I’ve seen her? I’m not entirely sure, but time has been good to her. She isn’t that gangly young woman, still trying to find her way in life, that I remember.
She’s grown in more ways than one. The brief glimpse I got of her has already seared its memory into my head. I recall the way her long legs stretched beneath her skirt, her blouse conforming to every curve in her body, and how her hair was pulled back professionally so that only a few wisps escaped it.
She was beautiful. Unbidden, I can’t help but imagine running into her once more, reaching out to put a hand on her shoulder, brushing my fingers down her arm…
I feel a jolt of pleasure in my stomach. I feel my pants tightening and I shoot off the bed, shocked and horrified at myself. Fuck. No. This isn’t right.
But I can’t help it, in my mind she’s right here in front of me. Her body is perfect and smooth, a fire in her eyes and on her fingers as she reaches out to touch me…
Okay. I struggle out of my shirt and stride toward my bathroom. Time for a cold shower.
Chapter Three
Jason
It didn’t help.
I stood under the cold spray for as long as I could bear, until I was shivering so badly that my teeth chattered, forcing me to turn the warm tap on as well. I lean my head back, allowing water to run through my hair. My cock is soft once more, but my mind is still racing. The shock of the icy water only helped my body, not my thoughts.
Those thoughts are still running rampant.
I brace myself against the tiled wall of the shower, gritting my teeth. I’m past those days. The things I used to say to Opal and the way I used to act… Looking back, I’m incredibly surprised that she didn’t report me for harassment. But maybe, knowing who I was, she didn’t think she could get anywhere. The thought makes something painful spark in my chest as I scrub water over my face.
I try to think of her objectively. When I saw Opal, her eyes were wide and shocked at the sight of me. She hadn’t been expecting to see me any more than I had thought to see her. What thoughts ran through her mind then? Did she remember how crassly I used to hit on her? Did she recall the way I would crowd into her personal space, just shy of actually touching her?
Or did she remember that one moment, at a party when we’d both had too much to drink, and all previous lines were blurred? When we danced together for hours, our bodies gyrating together until I dipped my head down and kissed her fiercely? Our tongues had danced together as her arms winded tightly around my neck. It was magnetic until she was pulled away by friends who knew she would regret it in the morning.
Thinking about that night, I realize as blood