Summer Loving Ch. 02

It was a laid-back class, and I flowed along happily. I should have released this particular valve years ago, was my repeated mantra, as I had never been so laid-back and happy.

At the end of the class, the tiny Zendaya was a threat to my zen as she appeared at my desk, which was swiftly surrounded.

"What is your problem?" She asked a little aggressively, to nods from her friends.

"You, your friends, and the continued harassment you provide," I said so calmly that it shocked them and me, had I been paying attention.

"What, er, what do you mean?" She asked a little less confident now, and her friends were also frowning.

"I have told you this before; we aren't friends; I don't even know your name, and your friends either resent or dislike me," I clarified once again, calmly. "So why keep following me around? If it's a game, let's just say you won, okay?"

"Is everything alright here?" Professor Oakley asked, and the majority moved along as it was finishing time.

"I think we are just coming to an understanding; thank you, professor," I replied brightly. "I enjoyed today's lesson," and with that, I used the distraction to ghost away. I said I was happy; I didn't say I was cured.

I swam, ran, and completed my circuits in a happy place I hadn't known existed. I even decided to eat out for dinner. I put on some nice new jeans and a long-sleeved thin hoody that was, in my opinion, too tight, but the pretty sales assistant had agreed with my mother, so I'd decided to go with it.

I caught an Uber downtown, where I visited an actual bookstore. After an hour's browsing, I left carrying an unfashionable but highly prized fantasy novel. I found a family-run restaurant, where I ate an amazing pasta meal while fully immersed in reading my new book. It was such a simple thing to find enjoyment in, but I was over the moon. The staff were incredibly friendly, not rushing me out the door, and after a healthy tip, I made a decision to eat there more often.

I headed home to a well-earned sleep that was terrorised by nothing at all. I slept so well I was fully refreshed and awake in time to rinse and repeat the day over. I had a free morning, and I spent the first portion running around the park and the second testing my ability to become a dolphin. I was unbothered at lunch in the cafeteria and still in an incredibly good mood. I was pondering a bottle of Macallan to help with the evening reading when a small cough heralded the arrival of my nemesis.

"You're too young to drink," she said shyly as she looked at my phone over my shoulder. I really should work on my situational awareness.

"Someone will get me one," I mused out loud, totally not meaning to share that.

"So, about what you said," she continued, waiting for something.

"Well, my name is Tabatha. I'm pleased to meet you, Scott," she introduced herself, while not meeting my eyes. When she was like this, she was absolutely adorable.

"It's nice to meet you, Tabatha," I responded formally, and she frowned.

"What did you call me in your head, you know, when you didn't know my name?" She asked quietly,

"Tiny Zendaya, tiny Z or prodigy," I answered completely honestly, and she looked shocked.

"Zendaya, yeah, I get that, but why prodigy?" She asked with a cute little scowl on her face, obviously not a fan.

"You're a swimming prodigy, aren't you?" I asked seriously; I mean, I was sure she was.

"Oh, okay, yes, I kind of am," she replied sadly. "Look, I'm sorry if you felt harassed; I get harassed, and I'd hate to think I did that to you." With that, she went quiet, just standing there.

"Okay, no harm, no foul, as they say." I stood to leave; I'd finished, and this was getting downright uncomfortable now.

"Oh, okay," she answered forlornly as I walked quickly away.

Luckily, it wasn't until the final session of the day that we were in the same class again, and it had an effect, as she stayed away from where I liked to sit and I enjoyed an uninterrupted lesson. She looked like she wanted to say something, but the professor beat her to it, calling on me to stay behind. The looks from Tabby's friends and the interns could curdle milk, but they washed right over me.

"Scott, today's lesson was to your satisfaction; I take it," she asked cryptically, and all I could think of was me saying I'd enjoyed yesterday, so I nodded happily.

"You never called or texted," she stated softly when we were alone.

"You told me not to," I said simply. I mean, it was simple, and she started to laugh at that.

"I suppose I did," she replied, still laughing, as I just stood there.

"So did you enjoy our evening?" She asked, smiling delightfully at me.

"Most definitely, it was eye-opening, to say the least," I said, and she positively beamed at that.

"It's just a shame you were so tired, ma'am." I continued, "I was enjoying our evening until you fell asleep." Christ, talk about turning your smile upside down; I had said something wrong.

"Yes, well, maybe I did fall asleep a touch early," she replied uncomfortably. "Would you, maybe want to do that again? I mean, have dinner, of course," she asked, still looking nervous.

"I'd love to, ma'am; maybe a steak restaurant next if you know a good one," I replied happily. "My treat; it's just I don't know the good places, although I ate at an amazing pasta place last night." I gushed, and her smile returned tenfold.

"I know just the place; will Sunday be okay as I'm busy tonight and tomorrow?" she asked excitedly.

"That would be great, Ma'am," I said, smiling.

She leaned in then and whispered, "It's Sarah when it's just us, Scott." She blushed.

"It's a date, then, Sarah; just text me the address and time; Oh, and you do it; I don't trust your interns," I added, and we both laughed at that as we parted happily when her interns pushed back in.

"Hi Scott, are you swimming tonight?" Tabby asked me as she seamlessly joined my walk,

"Oh, hi Tabs, no, I'm swimming after my run in an hour or so, then I'm eating in town tonight," I said, not slowing down.

"Oh, hot date?" She asked as if she were having a tooth pulled,

"No, that's Sunday; tonight's just me, pasta, and a book," I replied happily, smiling as I walked on while she dropped away. Well, that was painless for once.

I was walking back after swimming when I was unceremoniously thrown into a wall by a big, muscled guy who was snarling; he was accompanied by one of Tabby's friends.

"Stay away from Tabatha," he growled as his friend smiled.

"Yeah, no worries," I happily agreed, shocking them both.

"What? Are you making fun of me?" He growled a relatively impressive growl.

"No, not at all; I'd be far happier left alone," I agreed, and he looked at her for instruction. They seemed to think their point had been made as they left me to pick myself up and walk home.

It was a bit of a downer, but nothing compared to some situations I'd been in, so I shook it off with some circuits and a shower, followed by heading into town for a good meal. I was happier after deciding I needed to eat better, I could afford to eat out, so it was an all-around winning solution.

The same cute waitress showed me to the same table, and I ordered a twelve-ounce medium rare, ribeye steak, a fresh house salad, a side of fries, and a pasta dish. She smiled at the size of my order, thinking I'd be beaten, but I had quite the hunger going on. As she delivered my water, her face fell, and I looked up to find Tabby, dressed to impress, and staring at me.

"I didn't know you were waiting on company," she said curtly. "I'd have waited on your order."

"Me neither," I replied, sighing as Tabs walked over. I liked the sound of Tabs...

"Hi Scott, fancy meeting you here," she said, and I couldn't believe the odds of that happening by coincidence.

"Yeah, I didn't know you knew the place, Tabs," I replied nonchalantly as she cocked her head to the side, though I liked the name.

"Can I join you?" She asked hesitantly, standing tall, well, as tall as she could being short.

"I'd rather you didn't," I whispered, and she looked crestfallen.

"It's just that your friends kind of roughed me up today, and I don't want to give them another excuse," I responded quickly so she'd know I wasn't being a dick.

"They did what?" She physically growled and looked way scarier than a tiny swimmer had any right to be, as she leaned over me.

"Yeah, threw me into a wall a few times and told me to stay away. I mean, I agreed, as we aren't even friends," I said, and her face fell again. "So why take a beating, right?" This didn't cheer her mood at all.

"So because of my friends attacking you, I can't sit and eat with you, correct?" She growled far louder this time; fuck me, she was scary for a little un.

"Yeah, that's about right, Tabs. Sorry," I agreed and went back to my book.

"Well, I'm here now, so you should let me eat," she growled, and I'm not sure her eyes weren't glowing red. Nah, imagination overload from the fantasy book.

"Fine, but any more bruises, and I'm blaming you." I sighed as I continued with my book. It was a very good book. I loved all things fantasy, and a dungeon-delving book filled with loot that may possibly get a little risqué was perfect.

"So, well, what's good here?" She whispered, and when I looked up, I saw a vulnerable young girl who'd bullied herself into a position she had no idea what to do with.

"Well, Tabs, I only ate here yesterday myself, but I loved the place, so it's really more of a trial and error," I replied, and she brightened at my showing an interest.

Eventually, she ordered and seemed happy enough to read something on her phone as I continued with my book. She did look up when I received a text confirming the time and place for Sunday.

"So who is she then?" She asked quietly, watching me intently as our food arrived.

"I can't say; she is more of a cougar, really, and it's just a mutual benefit kind of thing," I said, quoting Sarah almost verbatim, which luckily seemed to work.

"Oh, so a sex thing then," she whispered, and the waitress stumbled.

"Kind of yeah, but we haven't gotten to the actual sex part yet," I replied, taking a bite of my perfect steak.

"So how is it mutually beneficial if you haven't gotten that far then?" She asked the nosy little sod; the waitress was also hanging around.

"Well, we did other stuff," I answered, getting embarrassed.

"Like what?" She asked the cheeky little...

"That's kind of private, don't you think?" I replied as I enjoyed my steak.

"Oh, sorry, I was just curious," she added, and thankfully we then ate in silence. It was quite a companionable silence that I enjoyed. I mean, I liked my book as Well, so...

As we finished up, she looked across, hopefully,

"Where are you going now, then? Any other hidden gems you've found?" She asked, having agreed that the restaurant was a winner.

"I mean, no, I'm just going to catch an Uber back to campus and read my book, thanks, you?" I felt obligated to ask,

"Oh well, I'm heading back as I have practice early tomorrow," she answered quietly again.

"Well, you can jump in my Uber if you want," I offered, and she brightened up lovely. "Oh and if you ever want to watch Dune, I have it on Blu-ray." It was my favourite film, and I was so looking forward to the second part; hey, it even starred a full-sized Zendaya.

"Really? I-I've never seen it," she replied happily as we waited on the Uber.

"Yeah, it's amazing, and the full-sized you is in it, although only a small part," I added, and she scowled at me, for whatever reason, I had no idea.

"So are you going to watch it tonight?" She asked as we rode back,

"No, not if you have to get up; it's a long movie," I replied sensibly, and she deflated a little.

"What if I could get you your whiskey?" She asked excitedly, and with that, she had the Uber driver pull over and purchase my Macallan triple cask 12-year-old whiskey for just under a hundred dollars. I paid and slipped the guy twenty dollars for his trouble.

We then found ourselves in front of my big screen TV watching Dune while she nursed a very very weak whisky and water. She lasted a full twenty minutes before she was fast asleep. It was kind of cute, although I hoped this wasn't a pattern where women fell asleep on me, I woke her after an hour and walked her very sorry for herself ass home. I returned and finished our drinks and the movie, having had another great night if I was honest.

I was just getting into the pool after a run when I was accosted by her two friends again.

"Look, tell her, she followed me," I said when she quite literally burst out of the water near us and tore them apart verbally. She was lethal and they were more than apologetic as I left them to it and swam.

I slipped away while she was still busy, and after being unable to decide, I opted for a random yoga class that I found online. I had been lax recently regarding yoga, and today it felt right.

It was a great class, and I really enjoyed myself, even covered in sweat when very few others weren't. The teacher came over after, a beautiful slightly more mature lady in her fifties, who was a pleasant surprise. She was an absolute joy to talk to, never talking down to me once, and she was very interested in my path to her class. I kept it vague, but she was adamant I stay and enjoy the next class for free.

It was an enjoyable if tiring afternoon, and I was just saying my goodbyes when I was tapped on the shoulder.

"Scott? What are you doing taking this class, Scott?" A confused-looking Maddison asked me as the older teacher came over.

"Oh, Maddie, do you know Scott? He's my new find today, and I made him stay for another class," the teacher said.

"Yes, Mother, this is Scott, the boy I looked after when he hurt his back," Maddison replied Fuck, related meant no more yoga here; I'd have to find another class.

"Nonsense, young man, you are welcome here for as long as you're at Berkeley, and call me Glenda," she responded, laughing at my shocked face.

"Don't worry, she pulls that weird Jedi trick to impress you," Maddison said, scowling at her mother.

"What? He doesn't want to attend your classes so he can attend mine, I won't have him miss out because you're stupid." Glenda replied quite harshly, I liked Glenda.

"So how many classes, young man? I can do you a good deal on the price," she asked me, smiling mischievously, and I really liked her then.

"How many have you got?" I replied, smiling at her, and her eyes flashed at the challenge, all while Maddie looked on unhappily.

"I'm sure Sarah will keep him busy," Maddie said snidely, surprising me and her mother.

"No, that's just a sex thing," I blurted out, clearing that up. "So it won't affect classes," I added smiling, as Glenda doubled over laughing.

"Well, we better build you up; that cougar has some stamina," she replied, laughing.

"Hardly, she fell asleep on me the other night," I once again blurted out before my brain engaged. I thought that may have killed her, as she choked mid-laugh while her daughter looked on with a distraught look on her face.

"Well, it was an absolute pleasure, Glenda, and if you're serious, I will take your class schedule as I loved your class," I gushed happily.

"Oh, I'm serious young man, You were great, and a few of mine stayed for the second class because of you, so I think you're going to be a crowd puller," she answered

waggling her eyebrows, through the laughing tears and hugged me goodbye.

"Not even a goodbye these days, Scott," an unhappy-sounding Maddison asked as she caught me up at her door.

"No," I said simply, but she grabbed my arm.

"Why the hell not? It was one stupid kiss, and now because I have somebody, we can not be friends," she yelled at me as people started staring.

"Exactly, we aren't friends, and I no longer feel comfortable around you, so no," I said, telling the truth, and I felt lighter for it. It wasn't my job to worry about her feelings; mine mattered.

"Oh, but Sarah's big tits make you comfortable now, yes?" She yelled, and I looked towards her mother for help, but she was too amused by the situation to intervene.

"Actually yes, she's been nothing but kind; she stopped me from making a fool of myself when I came to give you a thank-you gift and ..." was all I managed as she jumped on that,

"What two hundred dollars! Some fucking thank you, treating me like a whore!" She shouted, and her mother thankfully moved forward; unfortunately, it was just for a better view.

"That wasn't my gift," I responded softly, "That was a childish impulse I regret, but it's not my place to give an engaged woman jewellery, Maddie, I'm sorry." and the room kind of went aaaah.

"What, so she gets the jewellery! Is that it?" She was not calming down, and she wouldn't allow me to leave.

"No, she won't wear it, Maddie; no one will," I whispered, and she tilted her head at me as if she realised just how uncomfortable she was making me.

"No, that's enough now, Maddison; behave like the engaged, grown woman you are!" Her mother suddenly intervened, stopping her next tirade in its tracks.

"Scott, I promise you no one will bother you again, as I really would like to teach you," Glenda said to me sincerely.

"Thank you, Ma'am, I would love it if you could arrange that," I replied, glancing at an unhappy-looking Maddison. "I really enjoyed your class," and with that, I left,

"Hang on, sweetheart," Glenda said as she followed me outside, "What had you bought her? Go on just between us, I promise, but call me intrigued," she said, and she was infectious.

I just smiled, "I'll bring it next time and show you," and she practically wagged her ass. She was so happy at that, and I walked back laughing. I liked Glenda.

I branched out on impulse and bought some burgers back to my room for after my swim, which was harder than normal, as back-to-back yoga was harder on me than I'd thought. I ate my burgers and pretty much passed out while reading my book, only waking long enough to crawl into bed.

I looked up the steak restaurant, and thankfully it was a high-end sports bar, but still a sports bar, so I attended in jeans and an untucked shirt, the same silk shirt as the other night, as I loved that shirt. I strolled through the crowded bar and found Sarah at a table surrounded by alpha males posturing. As one, they dismissed me, and she laughed along with them at the too-young-to-drink jokes.

Fuck that, life was too short, so I just smiled and walked away

"Hey Scott," she said, as she caught me up with the guys all watching us now.

"What?" I asked her coldly,

"We are having dinner sweetie; they were just having fun," she said, laughing off my being made uncomfortable.

"I wasn't having fun, and I didn't come to see you getting hit on, so have fun, Ms.," I said and walked away, only for her to catch me up again.

"Now look here, Scott, we are just having some fun, so lighten up," she said, annoyed now.

"You taught me, Life's too short for this shit, so have fun with your friends," I replied politely.

"Stop, Scott. I'm sorry if that made you uncomfortable," she said, sounding like she might mean it.

"Not a problem, professor," I replied, and this time I ignored her and left. I went to my favourite family-run restaurant and ate a steak and pasta there, doubting I missed much apart from Sarah's tits, I did miss those.

She texted me four times during dinner, which I ignored, annoyed I hadn't brought my book. I picked up on the third call after I'd finished my dinner.

"Yes," I said, no longer needing to be polite.

"Scott, what on earth? You have been very rude tonight," she said, sounding quite stern.

"Bullshit! You were the rude one, inviting me out and flirting like a whore," I growled into the phone, and the waitress flinched and moved away.