Revenge of the Nerd Ch. 15

Monday we studied together.

He made sure we actually studied. I don't think he did any studying before he came because he brought such a big stack of books in his book bag that it looked like he was carrying them to build up his muscles rather than to prepare for his courses.

"Why all the books? That's gotta be at least twice as many books as I have for all my courses."

"I'm taking a heavy load."

"How heavy?"

"I'd say about fifty pounds."

I rolled my eyes. I was waiting for the cigar and the magic word.

"Around 30 credits," he said.

"That's a full year."

"I'm not getting any younger. I've got to get through here and move on with my life."

"If you were any younger it wouldn't be legal for me to date you. I thought you skipped years of some of your courses."

"I skipped them but I don't get credit for them. I need to take the full four years worth of credits."

"Why are they letting you take so much?" I asked.

"I don't know. I guess they figure there are plenty of people to take my place."

No. I had learned in some business class that it's much easier to keep a customer than to get a new one. If they could sign us all up to go here for the rest of our lives, they would.

"What's the real reason?"

"Why does there have to be a reason?"

What was he hiding?

"There's always a reason." He was avoiding my eyes. "You know the reason. Tell me."

He was as reluctant to talk about this as most guys are to tell you their deepest feelings.

"Come on," I said.

"They're recruiting me for grad school."

"You're a first-term freshman."

His head was down. "I know."

Jen was right. Not only would I be telling everyone I knew, I'd be telling the limo driver, the mailman, our cook. If he was a freshman basketball player being recruited for the NBA, he would be full of himself.

Maybe it isn't legal for them to recruit a freshman. I don't know.

Jeff seemed embarrassed about it. I hoped he would stay that way. Well, not embarrassed, but not full of himself.

At times he whipped through the pages. Other times he would close a book, keeping place with his fingers and stare off into space as if he were thinking about, I don't know, a Star Trek convention, evaluating what he had just read. He was remarkably focused. I couldn't tell if he was aware I was in the room with him.

"I've had it," I said. "That's enough for one night for me."

For some reason, all this work had not left me very passionate.

"Want to watch the news?"

"Sure."

I turned on the TV and snuggled in his arms. It felt completely natural.

I awoke still in his arms.

"The news just finished. I think you need to get some sleep," he said.

"I guess you're right.". I stretched. I yawned.

But first I needed a nice kiss, a nice, long kiss. What did I say about lacking passion?

It wasn't as long as I would have liked. He pulled away.

"You need your sleep. We can do this again."

"Tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow."

"Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow." That's from Shakespeare someplace. I'm sure Jeff could tell me. That's how it was going. We were getting together every day to study at my place.

Sometimes it was so tiring I just needed to get to sleep and sometimes I had enough energy to drag him into the bedroom. One time I just did him on the couch.

As the weekend approached I asked him out to dinner on Saturday.

"Is this a date?"

"Of course it's a date. What do you think we've been doing? Study dates."

"Oh yeah. I kind of, well, yeah, okay."

Silver-tongued devil. Try to suppress your enthusiasm, why don't you?

"I asked, my treat."

"That's, I don't know. Aren't I supposed to, uh?"

He couldn't seem to find any word to follow "uh". Had English suddenly become a second language for him?

"Look, I asked. I have enough money that I won't feel it, and I want to do something nice as well as spend the time with you."

Holy shit! I was being sincere. It came out before I had a chance to spin it.

"All right. What time?"

"Six. What do you want to do Friday?"

"Friday?"

"You know, the day that follows Thursday."

"Oh, that Friday. Uh, I don't know. I hadn't thought about it."

"I'll see what's playing at the movies and what's happening on campus. Maybe a party."

"Yeah." It sounded like it had three syllables.

Despite his recent success, he was still not a party animal.

"Okay, I'll call you after my last class."

"Okay."

"Now let's consummate this planned dinner date."

I took his hand and led him to my lair.

It was slow and gentle, the way he had taught me. The way he had taught me would drive me crazy.

I've heard that one of the most important and pleasurable parts of an event, like our upcoming dinner date, is the anticipation, the expectation.

The anticipation of my impending orgasms was exquisite in itself.

But it was also frustrating and I would sometimes reach the point where I would yell out, "Now, soon, anytime, please," or some other well-thought-out phrase. And, at the end, I would often wind up clinging to him like a piece of driftwood on a lonely sea.