Robert's Sexual Awakening Ch. 01

"Hey, man. My parents will be away this weekend and I'll be having a party over at my place. Want to come? There'll be drinks and everything."

Robert Zheng listened to the invitation of his friend Marcus. He wasn't really into parties and gatherings of that sort in general. Having immigrated from China at the age of 12, he had initially been self-conscious of his English and thus avoided social interactions. Though his language skills swiftly improved, his shyness had persisted throughout his teenage years. Now, as an 18-year-old high school senior, Robert seemed like a typical nerd. He preferred indoor activities, shied away from social occasions and by and large, he kept to himself. He had a pleasant-looking face and was of average height, standing at 5'10" but his body was skinny from lack of exercise. He also excelled in academics and despite his usual introversion, he often agreed to help his classmates with their schoolwork and had a knack for explaining concepts to them.

Robert lacked close friends for most of this time. While he was respected by his classmates for his willingness to help them out, his interactions with them were primarily limited to schoolwork. Over the past half-year, however, he had struck up an unlikely friendship with Marcus Brooks. Marcus was the school's star basketball player and consequently, one of the most popular boys there. Standing at 6'4", his flowing blonde locks, his handsome facial features, and his toned body ensured that he was an object of desire for the girls around him. Even Robert had to admit how attractive he was.

Marcus's easy confidence stood in contrast to Robert's shyness and despite being classmates, they inhabited completely different social spheres. Six months ago, Marcus had been dismayed by his troubles with his studies and had approached Robert for help. And so it was that Robert visited Marcus's house many times for intensive tutoring sessions. He would then be invited to stay back after the sessions and have dinner with Marcus's family or watch TV together. Robert was appreciative of this treatment and he found that Marcus was his first peer that he could really talk to and meet outside school. The latter had also encouraged Robert to go on outings with his other friends. A part of him had always wanted to open up and gain new friends. But thus far, his doubts had always conquered him, telling him that it was not a good idea to intrude on existing social groups, that others saw him as this serious boy who wasn't really friend material.

It was with this in mind that Robert listened to Marcus's new request. Parties, he would normally reject out of hand, but amid his other doubts, he also felt that he had been a little ungrateful for his prior rejections of Marcus's earnest attempts to include him. He thought that for the sake of courtesy, he could easily spare a few hours, exchange a few idle words with the other partygoers and find a corner of the room to snack on his own. Thus, he found himself responding.

"Sure, I'll come. What's the actual time? And who else will be there?" he added.

Marcus broke out into a big smile "Cool, I'm so glad you could join us. The party will start at 6 on Saturday. There'll be around 10 of us there, Harold, Salim, Jenny, Tiffany, the usual group. Jenny's also bringing along a friend who's not from our school, you probably won't know her. Well, there are a few others I need to invite, I'll catch you later."

Robert's ears perked up at Jenny's name. Jenny Ng was like him, a Chinese-American, and Robert had maintained a crush on her, finding her to be the most attractive girl in his class. She was tall for a girl, at 5'8". She had a pretty face topped by short black hair and the sweet smile she often wore set Robert's heart aflutter whenever he saw it. She played badminton doubles at state level and as an athlete, she had a fit, trim body and was part of the popular crowd. She seemed to have a new boyfriend every few months and had in fact, dated Marcus briefly during the previous year. She didn't seem to have one at the present moment, though. Jenny had always been pleasant to him and had in fact, frequently sought for his help in her schoolwork. Their relationship had never progressed past a cordial one though and they had never met outside school.

Jenny had remained good friends with Marcus even after their breakup and more than once, Robert had pondered over the possibility of having Marcus help him pursue something more with her. It felt awkward to him though and so he contented himself with just gazing wistfully at her and enjoying their time together, even if it was just at school. This party though, would he dare strike up a proper conversation and find out more about her? These thoughts went through his mind just as Jenny came into his view.

"Hi, Robert. Sorry to bother you again but could you help me with Physics after school? I'm so far behind right now."

His reply was short as usual. "Sure, that's alright."

"Thanks, you're such a lifesaver. Catch you later." Then she went to her seat, chatting with her friends before class started.

Robert was pleased with the opportunity of spending time with her. Yet, he cursed himself for not being able to speak more casually with her. He found out later that Jenny had just lost early on in the junior state championships over the weekend.

After class, he was alone with Jenny in an empty classroom, poring over books. Outwardly, she was her usual bubbly self but Robert could see that she seemed rather discontented and was more distracted than usual.

"Jenny, are you alright?" he asked cautiously.

"Oh, sorry, I lost attention for a second. I'll get right back to it," she said as she looked over her book again with exaggerated eagerness.

"We can take a break for a minute. Jenny, I'm sorry about your result in the championship," he responded, thinking that it was a possible reason for her unhappiness.

She smiled at him. "Thanks. It's not a big deal. Everyone loses and the important thing is to have fun. Or not really," she added as her eyes darkened.

They continued their session for another half hour. Though Jenny tried her best and maintained her smile, Robert could somehow sense that she was not merely disappointed with a poor result. He was caught in two minds though. Should he try to console her further? Or would it be presumptuous of him to continue to probe, given that they weren't close? He tried to put his own feelings aside and thought that she probably needed someone to confide in.

"Jenny, is anything else the matter? You really haven't been yourself today. I'm here if you need someone to talk to," he found himself saying.

She looked sadly at him and replied. "I'm thinking about quitting badminton. I love it, but I know that I'm not good enough to make it professionally. And with all the training and competitions, it's been taking up too much of my time. I should just focus on my studies and enter a good college. To be honest, I feel guilty about constantly seeking your help. I really ought to be able to pull myself up without wasting your time in the process."

Robert looked back into her eyes and gathered his thoughts for a moment. "Jenny," he finally said. "You've put a lot of thought into this and I'm sure you'll make the right decision for yourself in the end. I'm more than happy to help you though, I really wouldn't spend this time any more productively. If you need to," he slowly added, "I could provide more tutoring to you beyond these short sessions."

"Thanks, you're the first person I'm telling this about. I haven't even discussed this with my partner yet. I'll talk to my parents as well and probably make my decision by next week. Sorry to impose on you further but could we continue this session tomorrow. You're right, I haven't been myself, I'll try to do better tomorrow."

After packing up, the two of them walked together to the school's exit. Before they parted ways, Jenny gave Robert's hand a small squeeze. "Thanks again, you've been so sweet. I'll think about your offer. See you tomorrow." Then, she was gone, leaving Robert blushing at their contact. He hoped that she hadn't noticed how his face had gone red at a simple touch.

Robert continued helping Jenny after school for the rest of the week. As per her word, she was indeed more focused and the majority of their interactions were related to schoolwork again. He considered asking Jenny about whether she had made progress in her decision, then decided not to put further pressure on her.

On Thursday, Jenny had asked him, "Robert, I've heard from Marcus that you're attending his party this Saturday. Is it true?"

Robert responded, "Yes, I'm coming. I've actually been to his house many times, though not for something like this."

Jenny smiled brightly at him. "I'm so glad you're coming. Come to think of it, I don't think you've joined us outside school before. It'll be fun."

--

The time passed quickly and soon, Robert found himself in Marcus's house. Marcus's family was rather affluent and the house was large, its living room was more than sufficient for about a dozen people, along with the tables set for food and drinks. As his school required uniforms, Robert was now dressed more casually than his schoolmates had ever seen him, in a T-shirt and jeans. Marcus had introduced him to some of the attendees from different schools and he exchanged casual talk with them. Some of his classmates who he saw every day and barely spoke to also came up to him and expressed their surprise and gladness that he was here. These conversations weren't exactly substantial but Robert found that everyone was really nice and began to enjoy himself a little.

Jenny had not arrived yet, however, and Robert found himself anxiously awaiting her. He had a few sips of wine in the meantime and as he had barely been exposed to it before, his face quickly became flushed. It was more than an hour after the start of the party and he was just wondering if Jenny would be coming after all when he saw Marcus rushing to enter the door. In stepped Jenny, flanked by another girl who Robert did not recognize. "Sorry I'm late everyone. Hope you haven't missed me too much," she announced to the room. The two girls carried on in conversation with Marcus for a while.

Robert was just taking another sip when Jenny approached him. She was wearing a red dress, rather low cut and Robert found his eyes magnetically attracted to her exposed cleavage. He managed to control himself however and did his best to look straight into her eyes as he greeted her.

"Hi, Jenny. I hope it was nothing serious that held you up."

"Robert!" she said excitedly. "It was nothing." She said more softly, "I had a load of schoolwork I needed to get done ... didn't want to leave it hanging."

"That's good," he responded. "Um, do you often come to parties?" he added, flailing for a topic of conversation.

"Not actually that often. Looks like this is your first one. Pardon me for saying this, I knew about it earlier, yet I'm still a little surprised you're actually here. It's good to see you, are you enjoying yourself?"

"Well, everyone's been nice. And the food is good."

"Looks like it's not just the food you've been enjoying," she laughed as she looked at the wine glass in Robert's hand. "Who knew that you of all people would join the ranks of us criminals. We Asians really don't hold our liquor, huh?" she said, referring to his flushed face.

Robert's face grew even redder from blushing. "Who was that girl who came in with you? I don't think I've seen her before."

Jenny replied, "No, you wouldn't have. That's Lara, my badminton partner. She's from St Phillip's. Come on, I'll introduce you to her." She then went across the room to her friend and dragged her along to Robert. He had a closer look at her now. Dressed in a modest blue blouse and skirt, Lara had strawberry red hair that reached down to her shoulders, framing her cute, fresh face that made her look younger than Jenny, despite them being the same age. She also wore thickset glasses, giving her a rather nerdy look.

"Lara, this is Robert. He's a friend from school."

Lara piped up, "Oh, this must be the super-smart friend you've been telling me about?" She turned to Robert, "I've heard that she's been exploiting you as she's too lazy to study on her own. You don't have to indulge her."

"I haven't even finished the introduction yet. Robert, this is Lara, who for some reason is my partner for badminton. She's also better known as the reason we lost last weekend."

"Hey, I'm not the one who served into the net several times."

"Two is several now?"

"It happened at least three times. Maybe even as many as eight."

"You're just pulling numbers out of your ass now." Jenny faced Robert again, "Well, now you've met Lara, you should also know not to ever take her seriously."

Robert smiled at their banter and knew that Lara was now only pretending to sulk and was not at all hurt. "Nice meeting you, Lara," he said.

Jenny smiled at Robert. "It's been lovely chatting with you but I don't want to monopolize your attention. I'll catch you again in a bit."

Robert observed Jenny flitting around the room, with Lara in tow, as they interacted with the other partygoers. Jenny would periodically return to talk to him, however.

"So, Robert, what do you usually do on weekends?"

"Not much. I study, I read, I play computer games. Sometimes, I help my mum with her lesson plans. She's a primary school teacher."

"Oh, you must have got your tutoring skills from her, then."

"I wouldn't really call it a skill of mine. I mainly just guide them on the correct path and they do most of the work themselves. I don't do much to directly help, I think."

"I can't speak for anyone else but I think you've been directly helping me. Thanks again," Jenny said as she flashed him another smile.

She added more seriously, "I know teachers can be strict. Is your mum the reason why you haven't been going out much? Does she not allow you to?"

Robert shook his head, "Not at all. She's usually been encouraging me to try to make new friends. I think she's given up on this, though," he mentioned, a little guiltily. "I just never really felt comfortable around other people, I struggle to think of what to say and that I'll embarrass myself."

He wondered if he was currently in the very process of embarrassing himself. Jenny showed no sign of this though and she said "Well, this can be a start then! It's nice just to be talking here like this. I've seen you for years now and there's still so much I don't know about you. You live alone with your mum, right?"

"Yeah, my dad passed away not long after we came over here. She's been raising me by herself since then."

She expressed her sympathy, "I'm sorry about your dad. That must have been really hard for you.'

"Thanks, it's alright. It's been a long time now."

"Your mum seems like such a wonderful woman. Maybe you should take her advice now and make more friends. I know you've been close with Marcus recently, and he thinks the world of you."

Robert smiled back at Jenny. He was finally starting to feel more comfortable around her. He tried to find out more about her as well. "What about you, Jenny? How's your family doing?"

"Oh, my parents are fine. They're a little old fashioned but they also let me do whatever I want. I also have two little brothers, I might have mentioned them before. They're such brats, but I adore them."

Just then, Marcus came up to them, glass in hand. "Well, it looks like the two of you are really hitting it off."

Jenny responded, "Speak of the devil, we just mentioned you a while ago. Is there anything you want?"

"Why not 'speak of the angel'?" Marcus said, laughing at his terrible joke. "We're just starting up a game of charades soon, just informing you both."

The whole group of twelve people was split randomly into four groups. Robert found himself with two of his other classmates and he had fun with them, even though his acting was dreadful and they lost badly. Jenny had been with Lara and another girl and their team won handily. Robert yet again, could not help admiring how full of life she was.

After a few hours, at around 10, the party started thinning out as the attendees had curfews to meet. Marcus had invited anyone who wished it to stay overnight but few of them had taken up the offer. Robert was just helping to clean up when he heard Jenny talking to Marcus.

"Yeah, could Lara and I sleepover? I can't be bothered to wait for the bus at this time. And it's creepy to be on when it's empty."

"Of course, it's not like you haven't slept here before," Marcus said with a sly smile. And Robert was reminded that the two of them had dated before. Marcus added, "In the meantime, could you help out? There's a lot of stuff to clear."

"That's the real reason he wanted us to stay over," Jenny mentioned as she helped Robert load the dishwasher. "He wanted us to do the grunt work for him." She then asked, "Are you staying over as well?"

"I haven't decided yet, I'd need to get my mum's permission."

"Well, I hope you do. The four of us could find something fun to do before bed."

--

The prospect of spending more time with Jenny, if not alone, then at least in a smaller group, did appeal to Robert and he phoned his mother to get permission. With four pairs of hands, the work did not take long to finish and the four teens were soon together in the living room, Robert next to Marcus and Jenny sitting close to Lara.

"Well, what should we do? A board game or something?" Marcus posed the question to the group.

"Monopoly, maybe," Lara suggested.

Jenny made a face "Ugh, I don't feel like murdering anyone today. And it takes forever to finish. Anyone have any better suggestions? What about you, Robert?"

"I don't know, cards perhaps?" Robert responded.

Marcus agreed, "Yeah, good idea, Robert. A few rounds of poker would be nice. Did everyone bring some cash?"

"Not me, sorry. I don't have my wallet on me," as Robert checked his pockets perfunctorily.

"Oh well, we could just play with the Monopoly money. See, I managed to combine both suggestions. I'm so proud of myself," said Marcus with a grin.

Lara piped up, "That's no fun, though. We could play strip poker."

Jenny laughed, "Going from Monopoly straight to strip poker? You look all innocent but you're such a nympho, Lara. I know you're just dying to show off your goods to the boys. It's always the innocent ones that you have to look out for."

Lara pouted, "I've never pretended to be that, you're only saying it because of my glasses. Well, I'm not the one who's already fucked more than ten guys."

Robert was barely paying attention to these words though, he had started blushing at the mere suggestion of the game. His thoughts were interrupted as he heard Marcus's voice. "Well, I'm in if you're serious about it. Is everyone OK with this?"

Jenny chimed in, "I'm cool with it, of course. We could just strip down to our underwear so things don't get too weird." She turned towards Robert, "Robert, are you fine with that? We could always find something else to do if you're not."

Robert's mind was whirling. He had never imagined himself as the sort to take part in such things. However, he did not want to disappoint the others now that he was finally feeling included. And he admitted to himself that he badly wanted to see Jenny in her underwear. Though initially squeamish at the prospect of undressing, the alcohol was beginning to affect his inhibitions and he rationalized to himself that surely it wasn't a big deal for others to see him in his boxers. After all, don't swimmers do pretty much the same thing? "Yes, I'm in," he said, not much louder than a whisper.