Study Partner

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Copyright 2020

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Jenna McLeary was nervous. The college sophomore was about to be paired with a random classmate from her Advanced Business Dynamics class for their main project, but she dreaded it. Oh, not the project itself, but rather the idea of being paired with a stranger. Someone she would have to 'talk to.'

Jenna knew her social shortcomings. She was much more comfortable sitting alone and reading a book than at a party trying to make small talk. She just didn't know how to do it no matter how hard she tried. She felt like she was the place where conversations went to die awkward deaths. She just never knew what to say, ever. It was hell.

And soon, she would be forced into yet another awkward social interaction, but this time her grade, and possibly future depended on it. Jenna was a curvy, apple-cheeked girl with light brown hair. She kept herself fit and toned, more for her own mental health than anything else. She knew her pretty face and large chest got the attention of lots of guys, but she hadn't dated anyone since she was a junior in high school. Back then, she dated her 'safe' nerdy next-door neighbor, someone she had basically grown up with. They had eventually lost their virginity to one another in an uninspired and unfulfilling "let's just get this over with" encounter the summer after their Senior year. But no one since then. Not that Jenna felt lonely exactly, but it would be nice to have a few more friends, maybe even a boyfriend.

Jenna glanced around the classroom at the other 20 students/strangers, trying to figure out who would be least put off by her social awkwardness. She spied a group of guys in the back corner of the lecture hall. God forbid she would get partnered with one of them. At least with a girl, she wouldn't have the added pressure of having to decipher any sexual undertones. She sighed.

Jenna didn't have any friends in the class. Or really any friends at the school at all for that matter, outside of her roommates. She had met roommates Sarah and Brittany the previous year in the Freshman dorms. Whether because of pity or some other charitable impulse, the life-long friends had befriended her and dragged her with them to countless parties, and then invited Jenna to get an apartment with them. Jenna knew she was high-strung and socially inept, but her roommates seemed to take it in stride. Jenna had a habit of making a loud "YIP" sound whenever she was startled. Her roommates found it hilarious and took great pleasure in getting her to 'yip' a few times a week.

Sometimes Jenna felt her roommates looked at her as a "project," someone they could help come out of her shell and "blossom" in front of their eyes. She loved them for trying, but so far, their efforts had been in vain.

The class professor walked in and started class immediately, as was his habit. "The first order of business is to assign each of you a partner for the final project. I've tried to stress the importance of this project throughout the semester, and hopefully, you've been listening. I suggest you begin working on this immediately. Do NOT leave it to the last week of the semester. As you know, students from previous classes have used this project to springboard themselves into internships at prestigious companies. I implore you to take this project seriously. Now then, when I call your name, raise your hand, so your partner will know who you are."

Jenna waited nervously for her name to be called. Finally, the professor called, "Jenna McLeary. Your partner is Matthew Sullivan." Jenna's heart sank. It was a guy. She looked around the room with her hand raised. In the back row sat her new partner. He was smiling in her direction and waving. "Oh my god, he's CUTE," Jenna thought to herself. "I just hope he isn't a complete idiot or complete douchebag. And I pray that I won't make a complete fool of myself, at least not on day one."

When class ended, Jenna slowly packed up and looked around for her new partner. "Hi, I'm Matt," said the smiling man as he approached and extended his hand. "You're Jenna, right?" Matt was about 6'1", fit, with brown hair, dark eyes, and a great smile. He looked relaxed in his jeans, Chuck Taylor shoes and checked button-down shirt.

"Ah... Yeah, it's nice to meet you," said Jenna taking Matt's hand for a quick, limp shake.

"Do you have a couple of minutes to chat so we can plan out this project. I REALLY want to do well on it, and I'm hoping you do too," said Matt.

"Yeah, I'm glad to hear you say that. It's going to take a lot of work, and I think the sooner we start, the better," said Jenna, while nervously looking at the floor.

"Oh, great. That's perfect. Do you have some time right now? If you don't mind, I've got a ton of space at my apartment for us to spread out. Is it okay if we head there, at least for our first session? Then if it doesn't seem to be working for you as a workspace for whatever reason, we can pick somewhere else," said Matt.

"Yeah, that's fine. Sure," said Jenna, having never been invited to a boy's apartment before. The flutter in her stomach indicated more than pure relief at knowing who her class partner would be.

#

Jenna and Matt walked from class toward Matt's apartment, chatting easily. (Well, it was Matt who mainly talked, and Jenna mostly listened.) Jenna was excited at her luck. Matt didn't seem like a douchebag at all. He had an easy way about him and the natural excitement in his personality that was infectious. He laughed easily and seemed to know most of the people they passed on the walk, greeting them by name and with a smile (quite the opposite of Jenna in almost every way).

It was a beautiful day. Each talked excitedly about how great it would be to win a spot in the Chamberlain Industries internship program, an ultimate goal for both of them.

Jenna told Matt about her roommate, Tara. She had miraculously been picked for a summer internship the previous year. She had then been offered the opportunity to extend it through the Fall term.

"Wow, she must be learning all kinds of things. I hear Mr. Chamberlain is very involved with the interns. That's got to be so awesome," said Matt and Jenna nodded in agreement. She was proud of herself for getting through the telling without saying something stupid.

The pair continued to walk off-campus, in a direction Jenna wasn't familiar with. "I've never been over on this side of campus before," she said.

"Yeah, there's not a lot of reasons to come this way. It's pretty quiet over here, but that's what I like about it. That, and the fact that my dad owns the building, so rent is free," said Matt as he smiled and held the door open for her. It looked like an industrial building from the outside.

"You live here," asked Jenna a little tentatively.

"Yeah, it's nicer inside than it looks from out here, I promise," said Matt.

After climbing a rickety set of wooden stairs to the second floor, Jenna understood what Matt was talking about. The doorway opened to a large loft apartment with exposed brick and wooden beams. There was a kitchen with stainless steel appliances and a massive kitchen island to the right. There was a huge dining room table, and at the far end of the loft, Jenna could see an enormous TV mounted to the wall with a wrap-around sectional couch and chairs. What looked like bedroom doors could be seen on the left.

"Uh, wow," is all Jenna could muster.

"Yeah, I know. It's a little much, right," said Matt. "Long story, short, my dad is in real estate, so as soon as I decided where I was going to college, he bought this building and had it gutted and remodeled. And here we are. When I graduate, I'm sure he'll sell it, but for now, it's a pretty sweet setup."

"That's for sure," said Jenna. She relaxed a little as she became more comfortable with, and attracted to, Matt as he talked about his family. It was a great feeling to not be so anxious.

"I thought we could work at the dining room table. We can spread out. It rarely gets used for eating anyway," said Matt and guided Jenna toward the table.

The classmates quickly settled in and came up with a plan on how to tackle their project. It turned out that they were a well-matched pair, each with strengths the other lacked. Jenna was detail-oriented, and Matt had a natural creative streak. Jenna felt herself staring at Matt's face when he spoke, tuning out what he was saying, but just 'taking him in.' He was undeniably attractive with his quick, sincere smile and a bit of sexy stubble on his face.

As the two began to map out what they would each work on until their next session the following week, Jenna heard the front door open and footsteps on the stairs. In walked a beautiful young woman with dirty blonde hair up on her head in a bun and a gym bag over her shoulder. She wore Ugg boots, over-sized sweatpants and a baggy sweatshirt with a stretched neck hole, the strap from her black sports bra could be seen over the girl's shoulder. She hummed and bopped her head to the song that must have been playing in her earbuds.

Jenna's heart sank at the sign of the beautiful woman. "This must be his girlfriend," Jenna thought dejectedly.

"Hey Matt," said the newcomer as she approached from the kitchen.

"Hey, Tabs," returned Matt. "Oh, sorry. Tabitha, this is Jenna McCleary. She's my partner on that big business project I was telling you about. The one that's 50% of our grade."

"Hi, nice to meet you," said Jenna as she shook the girl's hand. She had beautiful blue eyes and a few light freckles under eyes and across the bridge of her nose. Even coming from the gym and with zero make-up, she was stunning. Jenna's heart sank further.

"It's nice to meet you too. Hey, I was going to make some coffee, you guys want some," asked Tabitha.

"Yeah, Tabby, that would be great. Jenna, coffee for you," asked Matt.

"Yeah, sure, as long as you're making it," answered Jenna.

"No problem," replied Tabby as she returned to the kitchen.

Jenna watched as Tabitha bopped around the kitchen, making coffee. She moved around with natural grace, almost like a ballet dancer. She moved off to what must have been a bedroom and quickly emerged wearing shorts and a short-sleeved t-shirt with her Uggs. As the coffee brewed, Tabby went through an impressive stretching routine. Jenna's eyes were drawn to the girl's movements. As she bent at the waist, Jenna could see the waistband of her pink thong peek out over her shorts.

"...Jenna, does that sound okay," asked Matt, breaking her from her trance.

"Uh yeah, sounds good," Jenna quickly said, with no clue as to what she agreed to. She put the new girl out of her mind and refocused on the project.

A mug of hot coffee was soon placed in front of her. "Do you take cream or sugar," asked Tabby.

Jenna said, "No black is fine. Thank you," as she turned to face the voice. Tabitha was gorgeous and gave Jenna a wide smile.

"No problem," said Tabby as she walked behind Matt's chair and wrapped her arms around his neck in a hug and looked over his shoulder at the start of their project. Jenna saw her perky, bra-less breasts sway beneath the thin t-shirt.

"I'm gonna go shower, I'll leave you guys to it. Let me know if you need anything else. I'll be around," said Tabitha as she stood and walked back toward the bedroom.

"Thanks, Tabs," said Matt absently.

Jenna watched Tabitha walk to the bedroom, then turned back to Matt and worked up some new-found courage. She decided to do a little fishing. "Does Tabitha go to school here too?"

"Huh? No, she doesn't go to school," said Matt, then looked at his watch, "Crap, speaking of, I gotta go to get to class. I think we made a ton of progress, don't you?!?"

"Yeah, I think we're on the right track," said Jenna. "Thanks for hosting."

"Oh please, believe me, it's no problem. If you're cool with it, let's just make this our regular workplace," said Matt.

"Yeah, that's fine," said Jenna as she packed up and walked toward the door. She glanced into the bedroom Tabby had gone into. She thought she glimpsed a taut, bare ass cheek as the door closed to what must have been the bathroom.

"And if I'm ever late, Tabby should be here to let you in. Thanks a lot, Jenna. You're great, and I can tell we're going to get along well," said Matt as he reached out and squeezed Jenna's hand. "See you in class on Friday."

Jenna felt herself turn bright red at the compliment and the physical contact. "Okay," was all she could mutter in response.

#

Jenna was extra jumpy on Friday morning before Business class, where she would see Matt again.

"What's your deal this morning," asked her roommate, Sarah, as Jenna spilled her second cup of coffee.

"Oh, nothing. I don't know. There's this guy I'm partnered with for my Business class. He's really cute, but I don't think he's into me. You know, that sort of thing," said Jenna in a rush.

"Is that why you put on a bit of makeup and teased out your hair a little? Jenna, that's awesome," teased Sarah.

"Yeah, it's no big deal. Plus, he's got this smokin'-hot roommate, who I think is his girlfriend. So anyway. What are you up to today," asked Jenna trying to steer the conversation in another direction.

"Don't change the subject. Let me know how the class goes today. Do you guys sit together? Is that how you know him," asked Sarah.

"No, we just got randomly paired up. He's got a couple of buddies he sits with. No big deal. I don't want to talk about it anymore," said Jenna grabbing her backpack. "I'm going to head to class."

#

Jenna's stomach was churning by the time she walked into the Business class lecture hall. She took her usual seat and subtly glanced at the group of guys Matt usually sat with, but Matt wasn't with them. Just as class was starting, she heard a whisper in her ear and jumped, barely containing her usual "YIP!"

"I brought you a coffee. Black right? Can I sit here," asked Matt as he sat without waiting for her reply.

Jenna's face reddened. "Uh... yeah. Hi. Yeah, thanks. Black is great, but you didn't need to. Thank you. Yeah, have a seat," she stammered and quickly took a sip of coffee, burning her mouth. "I'm SUCH an idiot," she thought to herself. She glanced at Matt, and she was met by his radiant smile.

The class passed quickly, but uncomfortably for Jenna. She was acutely aware of each of Matt's shifts in his chair. When class ended, she realized he hadn't written anything in her notebook and couldn't remember a single thing the professor had said.

"Any big plans for the weekend," Matt asked as he stood and collected his notebook.

"Ah... No... No plans for me... Ah... How about you," asked Jenna.

"Actually, yes, something new for a change. Tabby and I are heading up to Flagstaff to go hiking and camping with some friends for the weekend," said Matt.

"Oh... You and Tabitha," said Jenna.

"Yeah, we've known Sam and Karen forever. They're getting married next summer. They like to party too, so I'm planning on getting high and looking at the stars, among other things. Have you ever done that," asked Matt?

"Seen the stars? Yeah, I've seen stars," said Jenna, wanting to kill herself as soon as the words were out of her mouth.

Matt laughed loudly and genuinely at her 'joke,' making Jenna smile herself. "That's a good one. Fucking brilliant. Well played," said Matt as he continued to giggle and patted Jenna's shoulder.

"Ah... No, no, I haven't... I don't get high. Er... I don't get high too often," said Jenna, having never been high in her life.

"Well, you should sometime. Hell, WE should sometime. Do you want to," asked Matt excitedly?

"Ah... Yeah, sure," said Jenna. "We could get high. And look at the sky. That would be... fun."

"Awesome! We've already got a tent we can share and all the rest of the camping gear too. Let's talk about it next week at our Study Session," said Matt excitedly.

"Did he just ask me to go camping with him," thought Jenna to herself. "What is he asking? Why am I so bad at this?"

"Uh... Okay. Sure. But wouldn't Tabitha mind," asked Jenna.

"No, she'll be fine. She doesn't like sharing with strangers, but she knows you. I'm sure it will be fine," said Matt. "Listen, I gotta get to my next class. I don't know why I signed up for this extra class on Fridays. I'm such an idiot. But anyway, we'll talk about it next week. Have a great weekend."

And then he leaned in and kissed Jenna on the cheek before turning on his heels and walking off. Jenna let the shock of the encounter wear off before she trusted her legs to stand and leave the classroom.

#

Jenna was supremely disappointed when Matt was a no-show at class on Monday. She really wanted to spend some more time with him, just be near him. It had been so long (maybe never?) that she had felt the excitement of a 'new crush.' And if she could find more clues to his relationship status, so much the better. The mixed signals Jenna was picking up were driving her crazy.

When Wednesday's class rolled around, it again started without Matt. Jenna began to worry about the status of their planned study session that afternoon, wondering for the first time if Matt was really the best partner for this critical project after all.

About five minutes into class, she sensed the chair next to her move, and a harried Matt sat down and smiled. "Hey, Sexy, did you miss me?!?"

"Mister Sullivan, please don't come late to my class and then disrupt it with your chatter," scolded the professor.

"My apologies, Sir," said Matt and gave Jenna a sheepish grin.

Jenna tried hard to focus on the lecture this time, but inside she was elated.

After class, they packed up and started their walk to Matt's place. "Sorry I didn't bring coffee today, but I was running late. But we can make some at my place. And lunch. Are you hungry? I didn't have breakfast. I'm hungry. We'll have lunch too," said Matt and then proceeded to talk excitedly about his weekend hiking trip.

"Aww, it was awesome. We had such a good time. We hiked and drank and smoked weed and drank and danced and smoked. Oh, and we looked at the stars too. I don't think it was only the drugs, but they were incredible. Mind-blowing! We should totally go sometime like we talked about. So Tabby and I were with this other couple, I told you about them, Dave and Karen. But then, we met these other two couples and just ended up camping with them and partying all weekend. We had planned to come back Sunday afternoon, but the other crew had planned to stay Sunday night, so we decided to extend another night too. Why not, right?!? That's why I wasn't in class on Monday, by the way. Did you miss me? Anyway, Sunday night, we got SUPER fucked up. We made this big bonfire, and then someone suggested we get naked. Don't ask me how or why, but it seemed like the thing to do at the time. So, we stripped down and danced around the fire. It was a total scene. Tits and dicks all over the place. Tabby passed out at about 2am. Maybe it was 2am. Who knows? I was afraid she would get a scorpion up her 'hoo-haw' so I threw her over my shoulder and got her corralled in our tent and passed out myself. But what I didn't realize is that it wasn't our tent. So, evidentially our bare asses got cold during the night. I woke up with Tabby curled up around me from behind, and I was curled around the girlfriend of one of the other couples. And of course, I was sporting some significant morning wood. You know what I mean?"

"Of course," offered Jenna as she could no sooner imagine herself in that situation than being a unicorn on the moon.

"Anyway, so I had to untangle myself from this girl. Which I was able to do without too much fuss. But then I had to wake up Tabby to get us out of their tent before they woke up. I was finally able to sit up and roll Tabby over on her back, and she didn't even START to wake up. I had to sit up and shake her a little to get her awake without waking up the others. So I'm shaking her, and her boobs are shaking all over the place. She opens her eyes and sees me leaning over her, still naked and still with my morning wood," said Matt as he opened the door to his apartment and started up the steps to the second floor. "And then Tabby roared, "Get that cock away from me!" Well, that woke everyone in the camp, as you can imagine. From there, it was basically a naked walk of shame from their tent to our own. We all laughed about it later, but it was embarrassing as hell at the time."