Chapter 14
Her eyes were dancing as she pulled me along again and we finally made it out on the opposite side we'd entered from. She clapped and bounced in delight as we emerged, throwing her arms around me in a big hug. She may not have noticed the passers-by staring at us but I certainly did, especially the women. It was a pretty damned good feeling.
"That was so much fun!" she exclaimed, her eyes dancing eagerly. "You are definitely the guy to get lost with. So what shall we do now? It's hot today, Karen told me about how muggy this city can get in the summer because of lake effect, but I didn't quite understand."
I considered. "Well, we can either head indoors, or there's an awesome shade tree not far from here I like to study under. It's canopy is low but spreads very wide, almost like one of those savannah trees you see in NatGeo."
"That sounds great," she said enthusiastically. "Let's go there."
I took her hand and led her to the tree, the sight of which delighted her. She said it reminded her of a tree she'd once sat under in the Zoological Gardens in Berlin. She flopped down near the base of the trunk, arms and legs spread out, looking at the boughs and foliage not far above.
"You were right about how low it was," she remarked, taking more pictures. "There's barely two meters of clearance before the canopy. That's amazing."
"It's great to study, because you still feel like you're not completely exposed, you know? It feels... secure." I agreed as I sat down next to her, looking down at her face.
"Hm, it'd be a great makeout tree when the traffic was scarce," she mused, smiling. "Have to come back here."
I laughed. "You'll have no end of volunteers for that activity once you're attending, best believe it."
She blushed and then moved over to settle her head onto my lap, one hand on my thigh and gazing out over the green stretch of the campus.
"You're so kind," she said softly. "It'll be great to come here with you in the new semester."
I grinned and stroked her hair. "You pretty much decided?"
She nodded. "You guys are my family, I want to be with you while my life sorts itself out. Do you suppose that's okay?"
I gently pulled her up to a semi-sitting position and held her hands, looking into her eyes. "I think that's perfect," I said, nodding honestly. "Alexa, I'm serious, take my room, it's the least I can do for you. I'll make the basement my man cave and everyone will be happy. I'd love to have you live with us."
Her eyes shone as she leaned in, taking my cheek in her hand and kissing me on the lips gently, almost... lovingly.
She pulled away from the kiss and sighed happily. "Alright, show me more of this campus before my lips get chapped..."
***
We sat in a corner of the cafeteria, one of many spread around the campus, but this one serviced the several thousand students that attended the liberal arts buildings. We'd chosen a remote location that was away from the main area and partially obscured by plants. We were drinking beers and I ate a hoagie while Alexa was powering her way through a burger excitedly.
"Ugh, it's so greasy and tasty," she said immediately after swallowing. "There's four slices of bacon, cheese and an onion ring on here, not to mention barbecue sauce. This is so bad for me and it's wonderful!"
"I'm glad you're enjoying it," I laughed. "It's just plain old cafeteria food to me."
She nodded. "The food in Europe, speaking from a strictly sybaritic point of view, is much more flavourful, but this has a quality all its own, because it's greasy and naughty and so damn bad for me."
She kept making wry faces and smirking as she drank her bottle of beer, clearly amused.
"Don't blame me," I said, holding up my hands. "I offered you a perfectly good micro."
"Yes, but there was a moose on the label," she protested. "How do you expect me to equate moose with something tasting good?"
We laughed and talk more, the food and beverages now gone. She was sitting quietly, tracing her fingernail around the mouth of her beer bottle, something on her mind.
"So tell me something," she said, smiling at me. "And be honest. When I woke you up this morning, you had, well, you were rather aroused, if memory serves."
"Yeah," I said, blushing and rubbing the back of my head. "Still not quite over that little fiasco."
"Maybe, but be honest," she said, speaking quietly now. "Who or what were you dreaming of?"
I raised an eyebrow. "What is this, truth or dare?"
She shrugged. "If you like."
I sighed. "I'll be completely honest. I don't remember. Once I woke up like that, I pretty much forgot everything I'd been dreaming about."
"Poo," she said, pouting prettily.
"Why, were you hoping it was you causing my boner?" I asked, looking at her squarely.
"Well, maybe a little," she admitted, turning her eyes to look at the floor. "You have to admit, that would be flattering, wouldn't it?"
"Yes, I guess it would," I laughed. "Okay, your turn. Truth or dare?"
She looked at me for a moment and her eyes glinted with amusement. "Dare."
She and I both knew I wouldn't dare her to do anything outrageous, since word traveled around campus quickly and their was no telling what might get back to my folks, therefore she seemed quite confident in her statement.
"Alright," I said, wearing a small, evil smile. "Lift your shirt and show me your bra. Five seconds."
Her eyebrow raised now, but then she peered past the tall plants to make sure no one was looking our way. She then took the bottom of her shirt and raised it up, exposing her bust to me. My eyes widened as I took in the sight of her chest- she was easily a 38DD in North American sizes and the black, lacy bra she was wearing deserved an award for the incredible job it did of somehow containing them.
Then her eyes went wide as I pulled my own phone out from its concealed position on my lap and snapped a picture of her, fully exposed. I grinned evilly and she whispered something under her breath. It sounded like 'perkele', but I couldn't be sure.
Five seconds was over way too fast and she lowered her shirt, looking at me in amusement. "See anything you like?" she asked impertinently, swirling her finger in some barbecue sauce still on her wax paper and then bringing it to her mouth to suck it off while still looking at me.