The Four Years: Year One Ch. 05

As November rolled by, the nights grew colder. It was the day before Thanksgiving break, and Becky and I were on the roof of the dorm building and looking up at the stars. Since Becky was majoring in astronomy, she pointed out all the constellations to me. Well, at least she started to. We managed to make it through three of them before our star gazing turned into another make out session.

It was how we pretty much spent all our nights together. She and I would sit on my bed, studying or working on our assignments. Then when we were finished, we'd cuddle up and kiss for hours with the occasional dry hump added in when she got super excited. The first time she suddenly did this, I damn near came in my pants as her pelvis grinded against my hip.

We still hadn't moved on beyond the kissing, but I didn't care. When I held Becky in my arms, the world felt perfect to me. Like nothing bad could get me down.

"We should go inside," Becky said as she shivered a little. It was really starting to get cold now, so I agreed. We gathered up our blankets and made our way back down to my room.

"So," Becky said as we sat on my bed. "Any plans for Thanksgiving?"

"I'm staying here," I told her. "No real point in going back home. I don't have enough money to fly, and the drive is so long, I'd get there, eat, and then have to drive right back. What about you?"

"Haven't decided yet," she said. "My parents sent me a ticket, but I'm not sure if I want to go or not. What about Jake?"

"He's going home," I said. "He only lives a few hours away. Plus, he's taking Lisa to meet his parents."

"So... You'll have the room to yourself for a few days?"

"Looks that way," I said. "Why?"

"No reason," Becky said. "I... Uh... I should get going. I have to be up early to take care of some things. But we'll hang out when I get back."

"Awesome," I said. She leaned over and kissed me before standing up and leaving the room.

The next day, I was woken up early as Jake was getting ready to leave.

"Shit, man," he said when I grunted as I sat up. "I didn't mean to wake you."

"Don't worry about it," I said as I stretched and scratched my head. "I should probably get up anyways. What time is it?"

"A few minutes to five," Jake said.

"Fuck that, I'm going back to sleep," I said and fell back onto my pillow as Jake chuckled.

"See you in a few days," I heard Jake say just as I fell back to sleep.

"WAKE UP!" someone shouted, causing me to jump up and fall out of bed. I hit the floor with a thud.

"What the fuck?!" I said as I pulled my blanket off my head and saw Andy and Amy standing there, laughing. The room was brightly lit since the blinds had been opened, letting the sun shine in. I looked at both of them, ready to kill for the sudden and startling wake up they had given me.

Amy shook her head and pointed to Andy while still laughing a little.

"You're dead," I said with a little laugh as I jumped up and chased him out into the hall. A few people who were walking by starting laughing, reminding me that I was only wearing my boxers.

"Morning," I said to them, slightly embarrassed, as I stood there and watched as Andy kept running. I turned and went back into my room to find Amy sitting on Jake's bed, smiling and shaking her head.

"I'd be careful," I said as I put on a pair of shorts. "Jake hasn't changed those sheets in a week."

"So?" Amy said.

"He and Lisa fucked in that bed two days ago," I said, causing her to jump off the bed and then sit on mine as she said, "I'll sit on the one that hasn't seen any action."

"Yeah, well," I said. "I think they fucked on my bed a few times as well, based on the wet spot I found."

Amy got up from my bed and started to lean against the dresser, then stopped and looked questioningly at me.

"Yeah, I have no idea," I said. She let out a little sigh of relief and leaned against the dresser.

"So what brings you here this morning?" I asked as I grabbed a shirt and put it on.

"Well," Amy said. "First of all, it's almost noon."

I looked at the clock next to my bed and saw that she was right.

"And second," she continued. "Andy and I are staying here during break. We really don't want to go home and deal with our parents fusing over us and getting all worried over anything we tell them. Especially Andy. Mom is totally going to try and baby him. She still thinks he should've done his last year of high school instead of skipping a grade and coming here. But with the offers he had, it would be stupid to turn them down."

"Yeah, just what is he majoring in?" I asked. "He's taking all these classes in different subjects, and some of them don't even match any known curriculum."

"He's..." Amy thought for a moment. "Actually, I really don't know. He's been really quiet about his work and his classes since we got here. All I know is that some foundation is paying for his education, and he has a job there waiting for him as soon as he finishes."

"Oh," I said.

"Anyways," Amy went on. "As I was saying, since Andy and I are staying here for break, we figured we'd see what you were up to."

"Not much," I said. "I'm staying as well. Too much of a hassle to go back home."

"Cool," Amy said. "Then you can join us."

"For what?" I asked.

"Andy and I are doing our own little Thanksgiving dinner," she said. "But instead of going through all the trouble of cooking, we're eating as much junk food as we can stomach. We're gonna start with IHOP for a late breakfast and then ordering a bunch of Chinese food that night while playing some Call of Duty."

"Sweet," I said as my cell phone started to ring. I hadn't played any video games since I left home and was looking forward to getting my frag on. "Count me in... Hello?"

"Hey," Becky said. "About time you answered?"

"Sorry," I said. "I kind of overslept this morning."

"Kind of?" Becky said with a little laugh. God, I loved that laugh. "Anyways, I just wanted you to know that I'm staying for the break."

"That's great," I said. "You can join us then."

"Us?" she asked.

"Yeah," I said. "Amy and Andy invited me to join them for the day, so now you can come to and all of us can hang out together."

"Oh," Becky said, sounding a little crestfallen. "I was kind of... No, yeah. That's cool. We can totally hang out with them a bit. But was a hoping for a little alone time for us."

"Alone time," I said and Amy raised her eyebrow.

"Yeah," Becky said. "You know. Just you and me."

"We can do that to," I said.

"Good," Becky said. "Because there's something I need to tell you... When we're alone."

"How about now?" I asked. "I'm alone now. Why don't you come over?" I motioned for Amy to leave the room. She just smiled to herself as she left.

"I can't now," Becky said. "I'm not even on campus right now. I'm doing a little shopping."

"How about tonight then?" I asked.

"Tonight would be great," she said. "Do you think we can go out to dinner tonight?"

"Sure," I said. "Where do you want to go?"

"There's a place I heard of that's about a twenty minute drive away," she said.

"Sounds good," I said. "I'll pick you up around five?"

"Make it five thirty," she said. "I need to make sure I'm ready before we go, and with how long it's taking me to get my shopping done, it's going to be after four before I get back."

"Cool," I said. "See you at five thirty."

"I love you," Becky said.

"I love you too," I said and we both hung up.

"Marc and Becky, sitting in a tree," I heard Andy and Amy say from my doorway. "K.I.S.S.I.N.G."

"How long have you two been there?" I asked.

"Long enough," Amy said.

"So," Andy said with a grin. "Looks like you and Becky got a big night planned."

"It's just dinner," I said.

"Just dinner, he says," said Amy. "Boy, you really don't know anything when it comes to women, do you."

"Oh, and you're an expert when it comes to anything lady like," I said.

Amy burped at that moment in a timing that couldn't have been better if it was planned. "Fuck you," she said, causing me and Andy to laugh. And soon, Amy joined us, laughing as well.

"Yeah," she said as we got ourselves under control. "I guess I still have a bit of tomboy in me."

"A bit?" Andy said. "At the prom, you broke your dates nose."

"Not my fault," she said in defense. "I told him plenty of times that he and I were only going as friends and that nothing would happen. It's his own fault that he tried to pass that line when he repeatedly tried to grab my ass."

I couldn't fault her there.

"Anyways," Amy said after a moment, "The reason we came by is because I was hoping you could let me borrow your car."

"Yeah," I said.

"Really?"

"No."

"Ass," Amy said.

"What do you need my car for?"

"I need to go out to an art supply store," she said. "The one here on campus sucks and doesn't have some of the things I need. Plus, the place I want to go is a lot cheaper."

"Well," I said. "I'm not going to let you borrow my car. Nothing against you, I just don't like letting other people drive it."

"I understand," Amy said. "I guess we can just take the bus or something."

"No you're not," I said. "I told you I wouldn't let you borrow my car. I never said I wouldn't dive you guys down there."

"Seriously?" she asked.

"Yeah," I said. "I got the day free till tonight. Might as well kill some time instead of sitting here and reading."

"Thanks," Amy said.

"Don't thank me yet," I said as I stood up and grabbed my wallet and keys. "You're paying me back for gas."

"No problem," she said.

"And if we pass a Carl's Jr., you're buying me lunch. I got a serious craving for a western bacon cheeseburger."

"Oh, that does sound good," Andy said.

Amy sighed and said, "Fine. Can we go now?"

"Yeah," I said. "Head on down to the car, I'll be there in a minute. I got to pee real quick."

Amy and Andy headed downstairs while I got dressed and then went into the bathroom to empty my bladder. After I finished, I joined them at my car, unlocked the doors and we all got in.

"Where to?" I asked as I pulled out of the campus parking lot. Amy gave me directions and it took almost an hour to get there.

"You couldn't have found a place closer?" I asked as I parked the car.

"I told you," she said. "This place has good deals. And what are you bitching about. I'm paying you back for the gas."

"Yeah, okay," I said and looked back at Andy, who was out cold.

"He does that a lot recently," Amy said. "He's been working such long hours on his assignments and some project, so he passes out whenever he has more then ten minutes of downtime."

"Should we wake him?" I asked.

"Nah," said Amy. "Let him sleep."

The two of us got out of the car. I cracked the window a little and locked the door before Amy and I went inside the art supply store. Once inside, I realized it wasn't a store. It was like a warehouse that had anything and everything that an artist could want or need. Now I understood why Amy wanted to come all the way out here.

We walked the aisles, pushing a large cart in front of us as Amy picked out the stuff she needed. I ended up having to help her with a large roll of canvas, and wondered if I would be able to fit it in the trunk of my car.

It was almost an hour and a half before we were done, paid for everything, and loading it into the car.

"Ugh," Andy said sleepily as he woke up when Amy tossed a bag full of tubes of oil paints into his lap.

"Sorry little bro," she said as I managed to get the canvas roll into the trunk, but just barely. And the rear of my car was dropped pretty low from the weight.

"Thanks for driving me down here today," Amy said and gave me a hug. A second later, there was the sound of tires squealing and someone honking her horn and shouting. Amy and I turned to look to see what was going on.

"Some people shouldn't be allowed to drive," I said as I watched the car that had sped out of the parking lot and into the street run a red light.

"Seriously," Amy said. We got into the car and started on the drive back to campus. When we got back, Andy and I helped Amy carry all her stuff up to her room. As Andy and I set down the large roll of canvas, I noticed the room was cluttered with artwork and supplies.

"Doesn't your roommate get upset that your stuff is all over the place?" I asked.

"No," Amy said. "But that's because she left after the first month. She couldn't handle the stress of being away from home and everything, so she just packed up her stuff and was gone. Since then I've had the entire room to myself... It's nice actually. Means I can sleep in the nude again."

"Say what now?" I asked, not sure if I had heard her correctly.

"Back home I slept naked," Amy said matter-of-factly as she put her paints away. "It's quite nice actually. I had these silk sheets that felt so soft against my skin... Kind of wish I brought them with me."

I couldn't help but picture Amy naked with her bits strategically covered by a silk sheet. "And on that note," I said. "I'm gonna go take a cold shower and get ready for my date with my girlfriend."

"Bye," Amy and Andy said in unison as I left the room and headed down one floor to my own.

After I showered, shaved, brushed my teeth three times and gargled half a bottle of mouthwash, I got dressed in a nice pair of slacks and a short sleeve button down shirt. I figured I should bring a condom... Just in case. One never knows what might happen. I knew Jake had a shoebox full of them stashed under his bed, so I went to grab one.

"El Grande Gigantico?" I said reading the label. No way these were real, so I figured that they must have been some kind of novelty item. How wrong I was when I couldn't find any others. Damn. No wonder he and Lisa went at it so much. My roommate was hung like Ned Flanders.

"Oh well," I said putting the shoebox back. "If something happens, I'll make a run to the store."

Once I checked, double checked, and then tripled checked that I had everything and that I looked good for Becky, I went down the hall to her room and knocked.

A moment later the door opened and her roommate was standing there.

"Hey," I said. "Is Becky ready?"

"You got some balls on you," the girl said. "Coming here after what you did today?"

"What did I do?" I asked, confused.

"Don't play that game," she said. "How could you break her heart like that?"

"What the hell are you talking about?" I asked, slightly annoyed.

"Damn it Marc," Becky said from inside the room. "Just go away. I don't want to see you ever again."

"Becky," I said. "What's going..."

I didn't get to finish was I was going to say because her roommate slammed the door in my face. I just stood there with a dumb look on my face as I tried to understand what the hell had just happened. After a moment, I knocked on the door again.

"Please, just go away," I heard Becky say. I could now tell from her voice that she had been crying.

"Becky," I said. "I really don't know what's going on. Please, just talk to me."

"You really should leave," a female voice said from behind me. I turned and saw it was one of the girls from the room across the hall.

"What the fuck," I said. "Why the hell is everyone so pissed at me? What the fuck did I do wrong?"

"She saw you today," the girl said.

"Saw me what?" I asked, having no idea what she was talking about.

"She saw you making out with that girl," she said.

"What girl?" I asked. "The only girl I saw today was..." Holy crap. So that's what this whole thing was about. I couldn't help but laugh.

"Well I'm glad you think it's funny," the girl said. "You broke her heart."

"Look," I said. "It's all really a misunderstanding. Honestly. The girl she saw me with was our friend, Amy. She and I never made out. She gave me a hug because I had taken the time to drive her out to an art supply store."

"Sure," she said, not believing me.

"Fine," I said. "You don't believe me, ask her brother. He was with us and sitting in the car the whole time."

I turned and headed back to my room, slamming the door before falling onto my bed. I felt like shit. Becky was mad at me for something I didn't do and refused to talk to me so I could explain. I was also really annoyed that she would think I would cheat on her.

"Fuck it," I said to myself. I changed into a t-shirt and a pair of jeans and then went up to Andy's room.

"He's not here," his roommate told me. I figured he must still be in his sister's room, so I went there.

"Quit whining you big baby," I heard Amy say as I approached her room. The door was open and when I looked in, I saw her smash her brothers face against a canvas. Andy's face was covered with paint.

"Am I interrupting something?" I asked.

"Not at all," Amy said as she continued to smash her brothers' face. "Just working on a little something. I thought you and Becky were going out tonight?"

"We were," I said. "Till I showed up to take her out."

"What happened?" Amy asked as I sat down in an old overstuffed chair in her room.

"It would seem she thinks I'm cheating on her," I said.

"That's bullshit," Amy said.

"With you."

"WHAT?!" Amy and Andy said in stereo.

"Where the hell would she get some insane idea like that?" Amy asked.

"Well," I said and told her what had been told to me.

"Okay then," Amy said, letting Andy go and wiping her hands clean on a rag. "I'll just go down there and explain to her what happened. She's a smart girl. She'll listen to me and know I'm telling the truth."

Amy left the room, tossing her rag onto a slightly empty desk with some of her art supplies. I sat there as Andy wiped the paint off his face before looking at the piece of art she had been smashing his face into.

"Why do you let her do that to you?" I asked.

"She asked me to help her," Andy said. "How the hell was I supposed to know she was going to do that. I figured she wanted me to hand her some paints or clean her brushes or some shit like that. Not to be used as a human paintbrush. Though, I do have to say, it does look good."

"True," I said as I admired Amy's work.

A few minutes later, Amy returned. "Well?" I asked, full of hope.

"She's not there," Amy said.

"What?"

"Yeah... The girl across the hall from her said her roommate took her out to quote, unquote, help her forget about that scum sucking asshat."

"I should go out and find her so I can talk to her," I said as I stood up.

"No,' Amy said. "She's hurt because of what she thinks you did. Let her blow off some steam tonight and I'll go and talk to her tomorrow morning."

"But tomorrow's Thanksgiving," Andy said with a bit of a whine. "Pancakes."

"We'll still be going," she said. "But this needs to be taken care of first."

"Thanks," I said.

That night I had a restless sleep. Every time I would start to fall asleep, I would picture Becky as she accused me of cheating on her. Seeing her beautiful face stained with tears.

By the time morning came, I had slept maybe a total of forty minutes. I wanted to go and see if I could talk to Becky before Amy did, and as I got up, there was a grunt from the floor.

"Watch it," the floor said. Looking down I saw Andy lying there with a pillow under his head.

"What are you doing there?" I asked.

"I'm on guard duty," Andy said. "Sis sent me to make sure you don't do anything stupid like going to talk to Becky while she does."

"I appreciate that, but this is..."

"She also said that if you try, I have full permission to give you a man check," Andy said, ignoring what I was about to say.

"You wouldn't," I said defiantly, and in response, Andy cracked his knuckles and said, "Try me."

I let out a deep sigh and fell back into bed.

"Don't worry man," Andy said. "If I know my sister, she'll clear everything up and then we can go and get pancakes."