Big Man on Campus

Adventures of Trey

I stared at the large building surrounded by manicured lawns and cultivated trees. As a college freshman, I was nervous, excited and definitely scared. It seemed that I had just started high school, but already, here I was, staring at Building E on the University grounds at the beginning of September.

My parents wanted me to go to Yale or Harvard or something more prestigious, but I liked my small time town and I didn't want to move to far from it. The state University was far enough away that I could get a taste of freedom, but close enough so I could go home on the weekends.

I was studying Environmental Law, with a minor in International Law. Yeah, that's me. An overachiever.

Signing, I shakily made my way to the building and opened the door. Well, here it goes. It's all or nothing. I paused, considered running for the hills, but pulled myself together at the last second. I was an adult and I can do this. I took a deep breath and proceeded.

I weaved my way through the building, glancing at my registration card, trying to figure out which way the classroom numbers were running. I stopped in the middle of the hallway and was nearly trampled by the throng of students, pushing and shoving to find their way to their classes.

"Ouch!" I yelled, when I felt an elbow in the back. I spun around and was face to face with a tall, brooding black man. Boy. No, he definitely was a man. He was cute too.

"Shit!" he exclaimed. "I'm sorry, baby." He apologized. "You stopped short in front of me. Shit like that is liable to start a chain reaction. You should be more careful."

My face turned bright red from embarrassment. I stammered and pushed my brown hair out of my face.

"I'm sorry. I was trying to find my class and I stopped to look at this registration thingy…" I paused. "Sorry." I said again and turned away.

"Wait a minute." The guy said, grabbing my elbow. "You lost?"

"I don't think so…I know I am in the right building, but I can't find room," I glanced at the paper again, "212."

"That's because it's on the second floor." He said.

"Oh." Duh. That would make too much sense, now wouldn't it?

"I'll take you." He said, making a motion to follow him.

"I think I can find it okay now." I said, smiling politely and hiking my backpack higher on my shoulder.

"Whatever. See you around." The guy walked away with a distracted wave of his hand and I stared after him. I was debating if he was being rude or trying to be nice. Either way, I had to find my class and I did not want to be late for first college class ever.

I made my way up the stairs, to the left and gave myself a high-five for locating the room. 212. Yup, Creative Writing, 110. Giving a sign of relief, I walked into the classroom, found a seat in the front and self consciously pulled my texts, my note book and my pen from my bag, which I slid under my chair when I was done.

I nervously folded my hands in front of me and glanced around the room. Most of the students were upperclassmen because Creative Writing was an elective and wasn't really taken until the Junior or Senior year. I decided to take it early because I loved writing and if I had to take all the boring requirements for the next 2 years, I might as well take something fun.

Several minutes later a wiry man with glasses walked in and placed a briefcase on the desk. He straitened his tie and popped the locks. He withdrew a folder and set it aside. He cleared his throat a few time, it seemed to me out of nervousness. Maybe this was his first college class ever too.

"Okay, class, welcome to Creative Writing 110. My name is George Albright, author of ‘Peace of Mind' and ‘When in Rome…'" he cleared his throat again. "This is a full semester class, and is worth 3 credits towards your elective." He walked over and closing the door, and shutting out the noise. I began to relax. Maybe it won't be so bad after all.

"Let's begin with Roster." He pulled a slip of paper from the folder and sat in the chair. He clicked open his pen and started reading off the names. Halfway through the names, the classroom door opened and a student walked in. Of course. It had to be the same one who ran into me downstairs. And, as my luck would have it, the only seat was next to me.

"Sorry, sorry." He said to the teacher and the class, taking a seat next to me. He didn't even glance in my direction.

Mr. Albright continued his roll call. When he called, "Morgan Drake?" I raised my hand and said, "Here." The latecomer next to me answered the next name he called, "James Everett?"

"Here. But, uh, call me Trey. James is the family name; I probably won't answer to it."

"Noted, thank you Trey. Moving on." Mr. Albright said, and continued down the list. When he was finished calling all the names in the class he stood, and began speaking.

"We will have 3 projects this semester. All are small groups of 2 people, which I have already predetermined. If for some reason you cannot work with your partner, please see me and I will try and make an adjustment. However, it had better be a good reason." He paused and I thought that maybe this wasn't his first class teaching. He continued.

"I paired you up by last name. When I call your last name, please raise your hand and make note of your partner. Meaning, students last name Allen and Ammerman," He paused when the students raised their hands, "will be partners, etcetera. Next is…" The teacher moved through the list ticking off the pairs. I prayed that I didn't get stuck with macho man elbower. His last name was close to mine, and I couldn't remember if there was a person or two between us. I crossed my fingers.

"Drake, Everett." Shit. I glanced at Trey and gave a weak smile, raising my hand. He did the same and then looked over at me.

"Hey, it's the short stop girl," He said in a whisper.

"Yeah." I said back. I added, "Why didn't you tell me this was the class you were going to?"

"What, and ruin the surprise?" He laughed. "You didn't look like you wanted help, so I didn't offer any more."

"Well listen, I appreciate it and I wasn't trying to be mean." I lowered my voice. "But it looks like we are stuck for the semester, so, lets just try and get through it, okay?"

"Fine with me." Trey said, rummaging through his bag. "But how in the hell did you end up in this class? It's for upperclassmen."

"It's an elective. I needed something outside serious stuff to take." He only nodded and then turned his attention back to the teacher when he began to speak. 50 minutes later the class was over and I gathered my books and headed for the door. Trey stopped me as I exited.

"So, since we are partner and stuff, we should exchange information." I looked at him blankly. He continued. "Like, what is your cell phone number, which dorm are you in, and when can we schedule to start on this first project?"

"Oh. Well, I am in the East dorm, 3rd floor." I reached into my bag and pulled out a sheet of paper and a pen and scribbled my dorm phone number down. "This is the number for the room."

"Aight," Trey said, giving me his information as well. "I'll call and set something up." With that he walked away.

I sighed in frustration and moved my thoughts to the rest of the day. 4 more classes and then Track practice. Along with my heavy class load, I also decided that continuing Track was a good way to stay in shape, since my mother swore I would gain 10 pound in the first semester.

By 3:30 my mind was warped and stuffed with syllabuses, grading policies and points calculations. I returned to my dorm room, changed into my tracksuit and headed for the football field. I was looking forward to running today, but not to returning to do an armful of homework. I jogged over to the field as a warm up, regulating my breathing and concentrating on my flow.

I made my way onto the track, ran some sprints and drills, becoming more and more focused. On my last drill I turned around and ran backwards. This helped with my footwork and built the muscles in my thighs. I was intently engrossed in not falling when I ran into what felt like a brick wall.

"Ugh!" I said, losing my footing and falling flat on my ass. My hands broke my fall and I looked at the left one which was scraped.

"Man, you just don't quit." Trey stood over me, dressed in the schools football uniform. No wonder I felt like I hit a wall.

"Its you again." I said, standing up and dusting myself off. Of all the people.

"Damn right," He said smiling. "Why do you find it necessary to keep running into me?"

"First off, this is the first time I ran into you," I said. "You ran into me this morning."

"Yeah, because shorty stopped short." Trey laughed at his little joke.

"Ha ha. Laugh it up." I said, walking away. This man was becoming an ass.

"Hey, wait up!" I heard him call after me. "I wasn't trying to be dick." He said.

"Yeah, well, you sure sound like one."

"Sorry." He paused. "Actually, I am glad I ran into you. I just left a message at your room." I arched an eyebrow. Man, this guy worked fast.

"And?" I said impatiently.

"Well, the first draft of our project is due next week. We should get together and work on it soon."

I tapped my foot impatiently, debating. I could ask Mr. Albright for a different partner, but the chances of him changing it will be slim to none. I sighed.

"Fine. When do you have free?" I asked.

"Let's meet tomorrow, at the library?" He smiled. "Do you know where that is?"

"Yes, thank you very much. What time?" my patients were growing thin.

"How about 5?" He asked, putting on his football helmet.

"Fine. See you then." I turned and jogged away, not allowing Trey to add anything else. Damn this was going to be a long semester.

The following night, Trey and I were sitting in the library's 4th floor, reviewing the assignment for Mr. Albright's class. We h ad been at the assignment for 3 hours when Trey suggested we take a break.

"Come on, let's get something to eat." He suggested, closing his textbook and rubbing his eyes. "This is too much for me right now."

"We really should finish up," I said, leaning back in my chair. "I think we almost have the basis and the draft done. And ahead of schedule."

"Shit, this is going to be a long ass class." He sighed, stretching his arms over his head. His chest arched and the muscle definition showed through his t-shirt. The muscles in his arms also strained, thick from the years of football he had played. His skin was smooth and dark, taught against his stretch.

I snapped out of my staring when Trey laughed. He flexed and said, "See something you like?"

"No!" I said hurriedly, blushing because he causes me staring. I slammed my book shut and stood. "Fine, let's get something to eat."

We made our way from the library and back to the quad. We were debating on weather or not to leave campus for food, or go to the cafeteria. We were leaning towards leaving, when Trey's phone range.

"Yo," He answered. He listened and commented with a few "uh-huhs" and an "okay". When he was done, he grabbed my hand and said, "Come with me."

"Where are we going?" I asked, trying to pull my hand from his. "What are we doing?"

"We are going to the pizza joint, Louie's for dinner, and then some of us are going to see a movie."

"Um, excuse me, who is ‘we' and what makes you think I want to go?"

"Um," he said mocking me, "'we' is some of the guys on the football team, and we were going to get something to eat anyway." He stopped when he got to black BMW in the parking lot. "Get in."

I debated the situation. I had options. One, I get in the car, go to dinner, go to a movie and have a good time. Two, say no, go back to my dorm to study and starve. Three…well, there wasn't a three I could think of, but I was working on it.

"Get in," he said again.

"What if I don't want to?" I ask belligerently. I crossed my arms over my chest and raised my chin a notch.

"Well, if you don't get it, we will never get around to finishing this project. Shit, all I wanna do is get some goddamn pizza. You got issues with pizza?" He stood on the driver's side, leaning over the roof of the car, keys in hand.

"No." I said honestly. "But, is this going to be an all night thing?" I was thinking about the rest of the homework I had to do.

"Nope," Trey smiled. "Not at all. Now get in the car already, I'm starving,"

I sighed, throwing my books in the back seat and sliding into the passenger's side. Trey put the car in drive and made his way to the main road towards the city. We rode in silence for a few minutes.

"So, you got a boyfriend?" Trey asked, glancing over at me.

"Why?"

"Damn, I'm only asking a question. Trying to hold a conversation. Shit."

"Sorry." Yeah, that was smooth. I mentally slapped my hand into my forehead. "Actually, I had a boyfriend, but he decided he liked Kathy Fitzpatrick the ‘gymnast' better because she was flexible."

"Ouch." Trey said, laughing a little. "I guess that means you can't put your feet behind your head?"

"No!" I said, laughing and swatting at his arm. "That's not funny!"

"I think it's fucking hysterical." He said, still chuckling.

"Thanks, but what about you? Any girlfriend? Or should I say, ‘girlfriends'?"

"Well, you know, I never kiss and tell."

"Whatever, I bet you keep a list in your pocket or something."

"And what makes you think I'm a player like that?" He asked.

"For one, you have this way about you. Like, you're saying ‘I wanna get with you, but I don't want to be with you.' On the other hand, you also seem like the type of guy, if he was serious about a girl, who would stop all the ‘playing' and get with it."

"Interesting observation." Trey said, smiling. "But, for the record, I don't have a girlfriend, and don't really want one. Not while in college anyway." He quickly added, "But don't let that discourage you from trying to fuck me."

My mouth dropped open and I stared at him. Who did this guy think he was? I was so stunned that I couldn't even hold a thought. The nerve!

"Cat got your tongue?" He asked, smiling. He was actually enjoying this

"First of all, I do not want to fuck you…"

"Yes you do."

"…Second, I don't care what you do with your girlfriends…"

"No, because you wanna be one of them."

"…And third…well, your just plain rude!"

"Listen baby, I call it like I see it."

"Oh yeah? How do you see it then?" I was so heated that I turned sideways in my seat so I could really yell at him. I was definitely going to have to talk to Mr. Albright about this pairing. I would not work with him!

"I see it like this; you had a boyfriend who was safe. He played it sweet with you, doing that touchy feeling thing. You probably dated for 3 or 4 months before having sex with him, but all the while, he was probably diddling Katie what's-her-face."

"He was not!" I practically screamed. "And for your information, I only waited 2 months to have sex with him. And he was NOT doing Kathy!" I was furious.

"You think what you want." Trey said shrugging and pulling into the parking lot. "Time for some pizza!" he said, as if the preceding conversation had never taken place. I got out of the car when he did, but instead of going towards the building, I moved in the opposite direction.

"Hey, hey. Where are you going Morgan?" He asked jogging to catch me.

"I will not be insulted by…by…by a guy like you!"

"What are you talking about?" Trey asked.

"You don't know me or anything about me! You make me seem like I am some naive innocent child! I can fuck with the best of them! I have never had any complaints! I've fucked on the first date before you know. It depends on the situation!" I paused to take a breath. "And, for your information, I was starting to like you, but you just fucked that up!" I turned and started to walk away again.

"Wait, wait!" He said gripping me by the shoulders and turned me around. He kept his hands on my arm and bobbed down to look me in the eye. "I didn't mean to piss you off. It's just that I sense things about people, and I speak my mind. Don't take it personally. Look, if it is any consolation, I am sorry."

"Whatever." I said, trying to shrug him off.

"I'm serious. Tell you what, to make up for my rude behavior I will pay for the pizza and the movie. How about that?" He pleadingly looked me in the eyes. I debated. I sighed. I said yes.

"Good! Now, can we get in there?"

An hour later I sat back in the red booth stuffed with pizza and beer. I let out a little belch and Trey laughed.

"That's real ladylike!"

"Hey, cut a girl some slack." I said back playfully. Most of his friends had left and it was only Trey and a guy he introduced as Jay, and I. Jay was the running back for the football team and was planning to go pro after next year. He had several prospects already lined up, and was planning to make them sweat it out before making a decision.

"So, what movie are we seeing?" Trey asked, fishing through his wallet for cash to pay the bill.

"Does it really matter?" Jay answered. "I just need to veg out."

"I agree," I said, wiping my fingers with a napkin. "It's only the first week of school and already I feel drained."

"Huh! Wait until mid-terms and finals." Trey said, grabbing his jacket and handing me mine. "Shit, that's too far to think about. Let's go to the movie."

The three of us made our way over to the Cineplex, which was a 5-minute walk. We paid for our tickets and walked into theater number 5. Surprisingly, we were the only 3 in the theater. We took seats about halfway up and directly in the middle. Jay disappeared to buy popcorn (I couldn't believe he could actually eat anything else!) and brought Trey and I each a soda.

Settling in for the previews, I relaxed and decided to enjoy myself enough to get through the rest of the night. After the little confrontation in the car, Trey had been on his best behavior and I admired that he took my feelings seriously. Well, I'd like to think he was doing it to be nice, and to not get into my pants.

This brought me to my current situation. An odd tremor was beginning in my stomach, a feeling that made it awkward sitting in the dark next to Trey. I mean, I had never thought I like black guys in that way, but for some reason Trey was different. I glanced at him sideways and at his profile.What would it be like to kiss him? I thought. Damnit, I am at school to get a degree, not hook up.

And besides, I really shouldn't like this guy. He was an egotistical, self-centered, fast talking thug wanna be. He had power issues and woman issues. The woman issue being either he was used to get ass, or if had trouble doing it, he overcompensated with his oh-so-winning personality. I doubted it was the latter, but for some reason, I was so enthralled. Maybe I would make a move on him after all. I wondered if he could take it. I laughed at myself.

Trey glanced over at me and caught me staring. Shit.

"You still look hungry, baby." He said into my ear.

"I, uh…no, I'm fine. Really." What a lie. I think I was drooling.

"That's a lie." Trey said. Shit again.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to stare and make you uncomfortable." I took a sip of my soda and returned to the movie.

A minute later I felt his hand brush against my right thigh and a spark was shot through me. I jerked my leg away and I heard Trey laugh gently.

"You acted like a scared rabbit," He said. "I ain't gonna bite you."

I pretended like I didn't hear him, least we start another conversation, but it wasn't but a few minutes later that he placed his whole hand on my right knee. I whipped my head to the right and glared at him.

"What are you doing?" I hissed at him.

"At the moment, I am watching a movie and trying to feel you up." He smiled and his dimples deepened. "But you're making it a little hard for me."