Falling For Susan Ch. 01

Shaking his head John got out of the car to enjoy rest of the party. He spent time with his friends, drinking and laughing. He was careful not to drink too much. One look at Anna and it was pretty clear that she couldn't drive. A little after two Anna wanted to go home. They were in the car when Anna spoke.

"Seems like you had a good time." she said looking at the backseat.

"Yeah, pretty much. What about you? I saw Jason trying to hang out with you." Jason is her ex.

"He's a jerk. All he cared about was getting in my pants. I don't want to talk about him," she replied hotly, turning away from him.

"I broke up with Amanda," John said after a few minutes of silence.

"What? Oh," she said looking back at him when the words finally registered with her brain. "I am sorry."

"Don't be. I am not."

"OK." She moved closer to him and rested her head on his shoulder. She fell asleep immediately.

John stared at her beautiful face for a moment before diverting his attention to the road. Yep, there's no pain. He just looked forward to his future. He got into great college. His best friend will be beside him. What could possibly go wrong?

Little did he know that everything was going to change. He never expected that college was about nothingbutchange. He certainly never thought that his life was going to take an unexpected turn when he met Susan, a woman who would change everything about him, her and Anna.

College and Leslie

John stood in the circle formed by the cluster of buildings. All the freshmen were organized into different groups, for a tour of the entire campus. At noon all the groups converged here for the lunch break as every famous dinner and fast food joint were located in this little space. In the center there was a beautifully designed water fountain with a small garden around it. Water from all the fountain heads showered on to a huge University logo, carved out of the black marble. The raised pavement around the fountain was wide enough to accommodate a dozen food stalls camped on it. Currently his family was gathered around a small hot dog stall.

To the left were academic research buildings and lecture halls and one of the student resident halls, in which John and Anna were able to secure rooms, was only two blocks away on the right. As the campus housing was based on first come first served basis, Anna made sure that their rooms were as close as possible to the lecture halls. Freshmen were allowed cars but John didn't see any reason to take out his Volvo daily. It was just a ten minute walk and John loved to walk as it helps him clear his mind.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Anna said, standing behind him, looking at the marble logo.

"Yes, it is," He answered and turned around. Anna had a red T-shirt on with college logo on it, like all other freshmen, and blue skin tight jeans that hugged her really long legs. Her red long hair was pulled back in a ponytail and she was as beautiful as ever. John grabbed the second hot dog she was carrying and started gulping it down.

He looked over her shoulders at his parents. Since parents were allowed to take the tour along with the students it was hard to keep them away. His father was talking to an old man selling the hotdogs and his mother, Samantha, was watching him. "Geez, John, take it slow." Anna wiped a bit of sausage, he successfully smeared on his face. From the corner of his eye he could see his mother smiling at Anna's involuntary action and she whispered something in Jess' ear. Both mothers started giggling but John didn't know why. Sometimes women were mystery to him and he stopped trying to figure out what they were thinking long time ago.

"Okay kids, It's almost time for you orientation. Get going. We will meet you here after." Daniel, Anna's father, nudged them to join the student group leaving to attend the orientation. His father nodded his head while their mothers just waved their hands when they left.

A half an hour later they were sitting in a huge lecture hall listening to the most boring student orientation ever. Anna grabbed the seats in middle knowing that John would never sit in the front. Five minutes later Anna was engrossed in the speech, on college history, rules and regulations, being given by a stern looking senior professor but John had lost interest. He started checking out the girls, who were seated around him. What John noticed was male to female ratio was well balanced and some of the young ladies present were real eye candies.

One thing that bothered John was most male attention was directed in his direction rather than the dais in the front. Anna was still into the lecture, oblivious to all the attention she was receiving. This confirmed what John already knew. Anna was freaking hot and beautiful than all the girls present in the hall. 'Get your eyes off her you assholes' John wanted to scream but he just sat there with a big scowl on his face.

After a few minutes his foul mood eased off knowing that this was gone happen sometime and he was back to checking out the nearby girls. A good portion of them were real attractive in one way or the other. Like him some of them had lost interest in the lecture and were looking in random directions. There are many cute read heads, sexy brunettes and attractive blondes. What caught John's eye was an animated chatter of a cute little blonde, sitting a few rows ahead,

Shoulder length blonde hair, that curled her face and a height of five four, give or take an inch. As John observed she was cute. Her lips were a round, with a delicate touch of pink lipstick. She had a plane skin which looked like its goanna turn red if something touched her a little harder than necessary.

She turned her head precisely at that moment and caught John staring at her. Instead of turning away, he simply smiled at her. She returned the smile but turned a deep shade of red, quickly looked ahead. They continued their little game for the rest of the speech. One would catch other looking and smiled in return.

Finally, the orientation came to an end and thankfully Anna didn't seem to notice that John's concentration was on something else. Someone passed a few flyers in the end about the college. Anna struck up a conversation with a brunette beside her. John stood up and took a few steps searching for the little blonde in commotion caused by the students leaving the hall.

"Hi" someone called out to him from his right. He turned around and found himself facing her. She was straining her neck upwards to look at his face.

"Hi, I am John," he introduced himself.

"Hi. I am Leslie." She noticed Anna heading towards them. "Call me." She handed John her flyer and danced away from him before he could reply. There's a phone number scribbled, using a red lipstick, on it.

"Is that the shorty you have been staring at?" Anna asked him looked in the direction Leslie went. Busted!

"Yep, she's cute," John replied. No point in hiding now.

"She's short," Anna said in matter of fact tone. "Come on, we need to get going." She grabbed his hand and started dragging him towards the nearest exit, ignoring all the gathered boys hoping to talk to her.

They found their parents near same hot dog stall. In minutes all six of them clambered in to his Volvo XC90 and were racing towards some fancy restaurant in the town for dinner.

Richard drove them to an upscale restaurant, which looked like a set for a Hollywood film. A group of people were waiting outside and a valet took their car, eyeing them curiously. When Richard handed him a hundred dollar bill his eyes widened in surprise. He quickly pocketed the money and rushed towards the Volvo.

They stopped at a receptionist table outside. A tender young blonde was looking at them with same expression of the valet (before the hundred dollar bill), like they were lost. Who can blame her? John looked around and confirmed what he already knew. They are seriously underdressed. Two of them were still in their freshmen uniform and their parents' attire was suited more for taking a stroll in the public park than to eat here. All the men waiting outside wore tuxedos and the women were dressed to kill.

"How can I help you, sir?" the receptionist asked them drawing a smile from Richard. Sam laughed with her eyes when the young woman's heart fluttered at her husband's smile, which John inherited.

"Yes, we have reservations," Richard replied.

"I am sorry, sir. Even if you did you are not dressed appropriately. So, I am afraid I have to ask you to cancel them and leave."

"They are on the name Richard Miller. Why don't you check your list?" Richard said still smiling. Sam shot a sympathetic, knowing glance towards the young woman. If her husband decides on something, he can be pretty hot headed.

"I am sorry, sir," she repeated. "But you -" she cut off as the realization drawn to her.

"I sincerely apologize for my mistake, Mr. Miller. Your table's waiting for you. Please, follow me." She signaled her colleague to cover for her. It had been a close call. She had had come very close to losing her job.

"Don't worry about it. Happens all the time," Daniel said from the back. She looked back only to find another heart breaker smiling at her.

Can't imagine why, she thought. How can she expect that the great Richard Miller and his family would show up in plain jeans and tees? Her manager practically danced when Mr. Miller called for the reservations. He called her twice in the evening telling her to escort them to the table herself and notify him immediately.

"My name is Janet," she said as they reached their table. She took the menu cards from a waiter and placed handed them to everyone. "I will give you some time to order." She was off to find the manager.

John took a seat opposite Anna and started scanning the menu, which was a lot thicker than the normal ones. It's probably due to the fact that the restaurant offers items from most of the cuisines known.

"You could have told us this was a formal restaurant and save us all the trouble." Sam sent an accusatory glare towards her husband.

"Lady, suits and gowns are for dates, dances and meetings. When I have dinner with my family I like to wear what I want but you already know that. So stop nagging at me," Richard said rising an eyebrow.

"Damn right," Daniel agreed. Sam and Jess simply rolled their eyes at their husbands while Anna laughed lightly.

When the waitress came back a few minutes later they were ready with their orders. When the food was server it turned out to be damn good. It had to be, John thought, considering the few hundred bucks spent on each meal.

For the next hour they made small talk about things like interested courses, living away from home etc. They were only interrupted once when the manager came to greet them. Nothing out of ordinary until Daniel signaled for their attention.

"Here's to our children, the best of all," he raised his glass for a toast. All the parents raised their glasses acknowledging it. John grinned while Anna blushed. Never before was there a toast given in their names.

"And we got you these as a token appreciation, for being most sensible and responsible kids," Daniel continued, pulling out a pair of keys and tossing them on the center of the table.

John's heart skipped a beat when both the keys came with the Porsche logo. John picked the nearest key and examined every detail. He was very satisfied with his Volvo but only an idiot wouldn't exchange it for a brand new Porsche.

"Sensible and responsible; even when we stole the cop's car?" Anna asked picking the other key and Jess glared at her daughter. God, she never got over that.

"There were couple of times when we thought of strangling you," Sam answered. "Excluding them I would say you earned it."

"What are the models?" John asked. He might be in to cars but he can't tell the model just by looking at the keys.

"Where's the fun in that." Richard laughed. "Go look for yourselves. They are waiting for you in the parking lot of your dorm."

"Can we leave now?"

"Hold your horses John. You have plenty of time when we leave tonight. Till then you are struck with us," Jess said waving her hand.

An hour later they were pulling in front of the student dorm where John and Anna goanna spend the next academic year. As both of their parents were required at work early, they are in a bit hurry to leave. All the women eyes were filled with tears as soon they got down.

"I am going to miss you." Sam gave John a bone crushing Hug. "I love you."

John rubbed his mother's back slowly telling her that he felt the same. "I love you too, mom."

Beside him both the redheads were sobbing in each other arms. When Jess raised her and met John's eyes, she pulled him for another hug and kissing him on both the cheeks. He would miss her too. Jess was his mother as much as Sam and Anna, probably feels the same, was now in the arms of Sam. Both the fathers gave him a one hand hug but Anna pulled them in for a long one.

When their parents pulled out of the parking lot, Anna was still sobbing into John's shoulder. Together they watched the car disappear in to the traffic.

"It must seem silly for crying when we will see them every other week," Anna said without raising her head.

"No. It's not. Let's face it Anna. We have always been closer to our parents than most of the kids. It's O.K to cry," John said rubbing her shoulder.

He pulled her towards the parking lot, the only way to divert Anna's attention. "Let's go check out our new rides."

Their Jaws dropped when they saw them. There they are, two new Porsches, parked side by side.

One of them was a shiny dark blue metallic '911 Turbo S Cabriolet' with a black convertible top. This little baby has 530 hp and can do zero to sixty in 3.2 seconds. The leather seats and interior were titanium blue.

Beside it sat a hot Red 'Cayenne Turbo S'. This SUV has 550 hp and can do zero to sixty in 4.3 seconds. Same as the 911 the interiors were matching red.

Anna danced towards 911 running her hand over the shiny blue exterior. She pulled out the keys, unlocking it and jumping into the driver's seat, removing her high heels. John got into the side seat when the engine started to purr like a kitten.

"Let's go for a ride," Anna shouted and the little 911 shot out like a bullet. The city was glowing with lights and Anna skillfully navigated through the never ending traffic. Finding a small ice cream corner Anna pulled to side and got out.

Bare footed she ran towards ice cream booth and got a couple of cones. She threw one to John. "This calls for a celebration. Look at it, it's so cute." Anna's eyes went all gooey when she looked at it.

"Sure is," John replied. Well it's cute but John was more interested in its engine. It has a top track speed of 193 mph. One day he will put it to test.

Beside him Anna was still ogling at the car. At least he succeeded in deviating her or else she would have spent all night crying.

"It's a pity we will not be using them daily," John said. He decided to pop its hood at the earliest opportunity and take a look at the engine.

"Yes, it is. It's ridiculous to use a car for a five minute walk," Anna said licking the cone.

John took the wheel on the return journey. It handled like a dream. The acceleration and breaking systems were remarkable. He almost broke a couple of traffic rules while testing what the new car is capable of. They repeated same process for the Cayenne.

When they finally got away from their rides, the toll of the really long day took its effect on them. Their dorm floors alternates between the males and females. Anna got out on the fourth floor giving him a fierce hug.

John got out on the next floor and headed towards his room. His roommate whoever he is, hasn't checked in yet. He changed into his pajamas. He wanted check his emails, some computer game updates but was out like a light within seconds, when his head hit the pillow.

Susan.

John rolled over to shut his alarm off and ended face down on his dorm floor, nearly breaking his nose. Cursing he pulled himself up and staggered to the bathroom. What a great way to start a Monday.

Damn! He had full day ahead. The morning session was filled with classes and the afternoon one with a lab. If he was lucky, the lab will not drag on. May be they will get lo leave after the introductions.

In no hurry, John got ready for the day ahead. He met Anna in her floors lounge (every floor had one). She looked great, as usual. They went to the common dining area for breakfast. While eating Anna pulled out their schedule and started scanning them. They were in the same classes throughout the semester, she made sure of that. As both of them wanted to do a major in computers and a minor in management, why not have the same classes. They paid with their student cards, figuring it would be best way, instead of cash.

Anna was babbling about all sorts of things during their five minute walk from the dorm to classrooms. It took them a few minutes to find their classrooms but they finally managed to settle in the center seats with plenty of time. Thanks to Anna and her sense of punctuality they were early than most of the other students.

The classrooms were auditorium styles with a two per bench seating, which means the professor has clear vision of everyone present. The morning session dragged on and on. John sighed when the last hour came to an end.

In less than two hours they were expected in the computer lab. The fact that steely looking professor Bell who thought the third hour, was the one in charge of the lab session didn't help either.

They had their lunch in the cafeteria and passed the rest of the time. When they entered in to one of the huge computer labs, it was crowded. Professor Bell took three classes and all the three classes' students were divided into only two lab sessions, one on Monday and the other on Tuesday.

Anna waved to some girls, while the professor bell called for their attention. John caught some one waving to him and turned around to find Leslie. She tried and failed to wiggle towards them.

The noise died down, when the professor started writing something on the black board in the front. For the next half an hour one of the teaching assistants explained what they were expected to do.

"The assignments and projects should be submitted as a group. A single group must contain three members. You can choose you own team mates, so choose wisely," the TA ended his speech.

Choose wisely. Great how are they supposed to do that when they don't even know the person next to them? Anna got to work and pulled someone towards them. That's how he met Susan.