It’s a Brave New World Ch. 06

"It's Jason," I supplied. "I'm alright, just having a really off day." I knew this was not the best of times to run into Abby's ex-roommate. Especially since I was pretty sure it was also Mandy's time of the month. But as we stood there standing in the doorway to Anderson Hall I could not help but remember watching Mandy naked in the showers as she in turn ogled Abby and me. My earlier stomach discomfort began to fade away.

Mandy stepped closer and let out a little sigh of contentment. Her big brown eyes widened as she suddenly stood stock still. She was wearing a white short-sleeved blouse. It was not an overly tight-fitting piece of clothing, but it was readily apparent Mandy was not wearing a bra. Her nipples tenting the shirt's thin cotton.

"Err, Mandy," I said with a halting gesture from my hand. Trying to indicate her obvious arousal without being too direct about it.

With a start, Mandy broke her trance and looked down at her chest. Her bronze skin darkened further and she abruptly let go of the door to cross her arms over her chest. I caught the door quickly and walked through the threshold. Stepping right past Mandy I inhaled a strong tangy whiff of her pheromones. It was as intoxicating as anything Abby ever produced and I felt of growing surge of desire.

I did not have time for this, I needed to talk to Abby about what I had found. I pushed a number of sexually unappetizing thoughts into my head to distract myself. My Great-Aunt Pam in a swimsuit, the movie of a live birth from high school sex-ed class, and then the all-time granddaddy of revulsions - the two girls one cup video. Perhaps this was not the smartest move as I felt my stomach roil in disgust at my mental imagery, but it did have the effect of shoving aside my reaction to Mandy and I took off down Anderson Hall's foyer.

Not that my private gross out helped poor Mandy. She was reacting to me like she did last night. Best to get some distance from her. But as I turned the corner past the first-floor lounge and headed for the stairs, I saw she was following after me. She had a quizzical expression on her face as she quickened her stride. Reaching me as I entered the stairwell Mandy brushed her hand on my arm. I could not help but feel a spark of arousal from where her hand touched me.

I stopped myself from groaning and forced a smile. "Sorry, Mandy. Kind of in a hurry."

"Oh...Okay," started Mandy, but then she frowned in confusion. "You're with Abby...aren't you?"

"Yeah," I answered, guessing she meant Bonded. I began climbing the stairs and over my shoulder I confirmed, "I'm with Abby."

"But why do I feel..." started Mandy but then she trailed off. She was not bothering to cover her chest and it was plain to see her state of arousal. Her previously loose blouse now seemed to cling to every curve of her front. She caught me staring and this time she did not seem to mind. With a slightly chagrined smile, she said, "Well, it's not anything you haven't already seen." Then she took a step up the stairs and closed the distance between us. Her sultry sweet smell tickled my nose.

"If you're Bonded with Abby, why are you responding to me?" questioned Mandy. Her eyes swept over me, drinking me in. Now her confusion battled her rising desire.

'When you're Bonded, you've only got eyes for each other,' echoed Cindy's words in my head. Apparently it was quite literal here. Once Bonded, both the man and woman stopped producing attracting pheromones for anyone else. The biological state almost enforcing a state of monogamy for the couple. But I was the exception apparently, whatever mix of genetics from my mom and dad caused me to keep producing...well whatever I created. Early I tested myself around Cindy and found I had no effect on her. But she was not in heat and Mandy was. Abby was right about me, I was affecting her and likely any other woman in heat from their estrous cycle.

A strange thought entered my head. It was one of those stupid Axe body wash commercials, where the women started throwing themselves at the guy who used their product. I was like that now. Then I wondered if there was any way to bottle what I produced? I bet I could make a fortune selling the stuff. Another puff of Mandy's spicy aroma swirled around me. Now I was wondering if she wore any panties or if her bare pussy was exposed, wet and dripping with Mandy's desire for me.

"Like to come back to my room?" whispered Mandy as we both gravitated towards each other. Her face was only inches from mine when I forced myself to pull away. Mandy grimaced, uncertainty once again pushing away her yearning. "Is this some type of trick? Is Abby getting back at me?"

At the mention of Abby's name, I shook myself forcefully. Trying to get Mandy's scent out of my head. It would be so easy to take Mandy back to her room and seduce the raven-haired woman. But Abby had taken me in with little complaint and while I was sure it was in part of because she was being drawn to me, it would be the ultimate betrayal to her. I could not do that to Abby. No matter the reality of our strange bond I honestly did not want to hurt her.

Stepping away from Mandy I brought up my hands as if to ward her away. "It's not Abby. It's me. Just stay away."

My behavior was enough to knock down Mandy's rising libido. Her soft brown eyes turned sharp. "What is this? I told Abby a million times I was sorry about Brad." She still saw my actions as some sort of plot by Abby for revenge.

I was not going to risk being near her any longer. It was far too tempting. I sprinted up the stairs away from Mandy. She called after me, but I did not answer. The indigestion in my stomach continued to roll uncomfortably through me as I reached the door to the second floor and flung it open. In the hall people milled about in the lazy Sunday afternoon. My sudden arrival had heads turning in surprise. Most might not know me by sight, but I assumed they had heard me often enough yesterday. I did not know any of them, with the exception of Lawrence, everyone else on this floor was a stranger. I turned away from them and headed to Abby's room.

A strange sense of vertigo was overtaking me. 'Too much,' I groaned to myself as I fished the keys to Room 225 out of my pocket. All of this was becoming more than I could handle. A different universe, my Dad, crazy women in heat, and now the note. I pushed open the door and saw that the room was empty.

I hung there in the doorway for a second, momentarily confused. Abby was not there. I so wanted to see her. My disappointment was palpable as I entered the room and closed the door. From outside in the hall I heard an unfamiliar voice ask if I was alright. Ignoring the question I fumbled with my watch and saw it was only 1:30. So much had happened it seemed like it had to be much later in the day. Abby had said she would be done around 3:00. I would just have to wait.

Collapsing on the bed, I pulled the thin faded red-yellow blanket around me. I closed my eyes wearily and hoped this insanity would just go away.

***

"Hey, Jason!"

The voice called again, this time closer. "Jason, are you feeling alright?"

"Uhh," I grumbled as I pushed myself through layers of sleep, "Why does everyone keep asking me that?"

"Because you're really pale and sweaty looking," explained the voice mater-of-factly.

I opened my eyes to see Cindy bending over me. Her short, wispy, fine hair made a little halo around her head as she stared down with a concerned expression on her face. She reached out and laid the back of her hand on my forehead. A shake of her head and she said stoically, "You've got a bit of a temperature. Seems like you're getting sick."

"Fantastic," I grunted as I pushed myself up to a sitting position on the bed. I blinked and looked around the tiny dorm room. The door to the outside hall was open and sounds of laughter filtered in from of the rooms beyond. Cindy stood with her arms crossed by the bed and was the only one in the room. Where is Abby? I asked Cindy while stretching try to work some of the soreness out of my limbs.

"That's what I wanted to know," replied Cindy with a frown. "It's quarter to 4. I thought you said she was done at 3?"

Looking at my watch I confirmed the time. Abby should have been back half an hour ago. I also realized I just slept for two hours, dead to the world, and I still felt like a sack of shit. "I don't know where Abby is. She said the chem lab would be over at 3. I don't know if it went long or if she stopped somewhere else." I tried to sound confident, but inwardly I was a little worried. Regardless of Abby's fears, I did not think she would abandon me.

Cindy glanced at the open door and then back to me. Reaching some sort of decision she crossed the small space of the room and softly closed the door. Turning around she crisscrossed back to me with an almost nervous energy in her steps. Coming close she spoke near a whisper, "Okay spill. What's going on with you? What are you mixed up in?"

I rubbed my temples, the headache was coming back. With the information I learned from my mysterious benefactor I wanted to first speak with Abby. Trying to put off Cindy for a little while longer I said, "Look, let's just wait for Abby. I've found out something and I want to talk to her first."

Cindy's eyes narrowed. "Is it about Professor Williams? What was he doing here?"

I felt like I ran right into a wall. "Whoa, whoa, what are you talking about? Who's Professor Williams? When was he here?"

For the millionth time I got the hard stare from Cindy. Her eyes searching mine as she tried to discern if I were telling the truth. She must have been satisfied for she explained, "Professor Harold Williams heads the Science department on campus."

The name was not familiar to me. There was no equivalent professor in my world. Well, it was time to get some answers. Stacking a few pillows behind me, I leaned back into a more comfortable position. "How about you start at the beginning," I requested of Cindy. "Tell me what you know. Then I'll fill you in on my story."

"I'd rather hear your part first," replied Cindy coolly.

I would have laughed if I did not feel so rotten and was eager to hear what Cindy had to say. "Trust me, mine will take longer."

With a resigned mutter of irritation under her breath, Cindy started to talk. "Early yesterday morning I see Professor Williams speaking to Lawrence right outside Abby's room. She's off to the showers at the time and I get curious about what's going on so I walk over. They're in close to each other, whispering. I think I startled both of them like they weren't expecting anyone because when I get close they break off real fast and then Williams leaves in a helluva hurry."

My mouth went dry, and not from any fever. I gulped. Cindy noticed the expression on my face and looked quizzically at me. "About what time was this?" I asked.

"Just about 8," replied Cindy. "I really didn't think much of it at the time. I was going to ask Abby about it, figuring maybe they..."

Interrupting her I said insistently, "Wait...Wait. Did you see them bring anyone in here?"

Clouded confusion sprang up on Cindy's face. "No. Jason, what are you talking about?"

I guessed it was time to get this all out in the open. "I woke up here," I said pointing to the dorm's floor. "Right around 8 in the morning with no idea how I got here."

Cindy's confusion only grew. "What? How? What did Abby do?"

A small smile escaped me. "Abby thought you sent me. To...well help her out during her time of the month."

Her jaw dropped and Cindy made a perfect little O with her mouth. A red flush worked its way down Cindy's face. "She...really thought I would do that for her?" When she saw me nod Cindy's embarrassment drained away as it was replaced with light amusement. "That silly girl."

"Hang on," I interjected, hoping to get the conversation back on topic, "What was going on with Williams?"

"Right," said Cindy as she jumped back into her Saturday morning encounter. "So I was going to ask Abby." Giving me a sly smile she added, "But, of course, she's a bit busy with you." Cindy paused and decided to sit down on the bed next to me before going continuing. "I asked Lawrence about it, but he just downplays it. Says it's no big deal. And honestly I didn't think more about it. You and Abby seem to hit it off and I figure it's all good."

I was getting a possible answer to how I ended up in Abby's room yesterday. But it seemed the solution to one mystery was only generating a dozen more. "Alright then, what happened to change your mind?"

"It was today after you and Abby took off," explained Cindy. "Who do I see going into this room? None other than old white beard Williams. And Lawrence is running interference, keeping everyone away while he's here. We were told it was a campus security matter. Not long after they left, I hunted you down at the library to get some answers."

My eyes ran over the room, looking for something out of place. But at least to my recollection, everything looked to be in place. "What was he doing here?"

Cindy shook her head. "No idea." She straightened and said pointedly, "Jason, I've answered your questions. Now answer mine. Who are you?"

I twisted in the bed, working to pull out my iPhone. I switched it on after I got it out of my pocket. As the little black device screen lit up, I held it out for Cindy to see. Her eyes went wide as the screen launched through its startup animation. "Well," I said, "the first thing you need to know is - I'm not from around here."