CHAPTER SEVEN: MELISSA
WORRIES
Eric was
sitting
at his desk in his dormitory room reading Mad Magazine at 20:58 when
Melissa knocked. “Come in.” he said.
“Can I talk
to
you?” Melissa asked.
Eric
shrugged.
“Eric, it’s
obvious something must bothering you, and since you don’t want to talk
about it, I would personally recommend you call the University
Counseling Center.” Melissa suggested.
“I am well
aware
that I can call some professional talker whose job it is to pretend
they care. I’m not interested. And what do you care, anyway?” Eric
responded.
Melissa took
a
seat next to the desk, and looked at him. Speaking softly, she
challenged him, “Have I ever mistreated you, or done you any wrong?”
Eric thought
about
that for a moment. “No.” he answered, shaking his head form left to
right.
“So, then,
even
if, as I suspect, some people have been cruel to you, you should not
prejudge me. It’s not as if you can blame me for whatever might be
bothering you. The reason I care is because I feel you are one of God’s
precious children, and God does not want you to suffer, so neither do
I.” Melissa explained.
“I see.”
Eric
acknowledged.
Melissa
sighed,
“So you totally ruled out professional help?”
“They cannot
help
me.” Eric declared. “They’d prescribe the wrong kind of antidepressant.”
Melissa
pondered
what he said. Then she looked at him and challenged, “How do you know?”
Eric
explained,
“They would prescribe the kind in a bottle. I need the kind in a skirt.”
Melissa
started
to
smile. “Oh, I think I understand now. You miss your girlfriend back
home, and you would never think of cheating on her here. Now it’s all
starting to make sense to me.” she said.
Eric shook
his
head. “Ain’t got a girlfriend.” he stated. “Ain’t had one since ninth
grade, junior high school. She broke up with me for another guy.”
Melissa
puzzled
for a moment, then acknowledged, “This is really none of my business,
so you don’t have to answer.” She paused for a moment, then continued,
“Why did you go through high school without a girlfriend?”
Eric sighed,
“Do
you have to taunt me about it?”
Melissa
backed
off, and apologized. “I’m sorry, but I just have trouble understanding
what you’re trying to say.”
Eric put his
head
in his hands, elbows on his desk, and started breaking down. Choking
back tears, he said, “Does anybody care about what I’m going through?
Does anybody have any idea what it is like to be on a campus filled to
the brim with attractive women I’m forbidden even to touch, and all I
hear about is how much the other guys are getting?”
Melissa
paused
again. Then she continued, speaking gently, “Obviously, this is none of
my business if you don’t want to answer, but … how long has it been
since you’ve gotten laid?”
Eric looked
up
at
the wall. He started slowly moving his head from left to right, his
eyes closed.
“Just say
it’s
none of my business.” Melissa said.
Eric took a
deep
breath, but sat still.
Melissa
tried to
interpret his movements and expression. Then she leaned forward,
saying, “I’m sorry if this is too intrusive. I know you value your
privacy and all, which is your right. But I’m just trying to figure out
what’s going on, because something is bothering you.” She paused, then
continued, “Are you a virgin?”
Eric nodded,
answering only one word, “Yes.”
Melissa sat
up.
“Well, I guessed wrong about your having a girlfriend you didn’t want
to cheat on. That would have made sense, but it wasn’t the case. It
makes sense, if you’re saving yourself for some very special woman.”
she guessed.
Eric shook
his
head left to right again. “Nope.”
“Well, this
is
the
University of West Dakota at Talleyville.” Melissa observed. “The women
outnumber the men three to two. Obviously, a guy as desireable as you
would have no trouble finding somebody if you wanted to. Are you
looking for somebody your religion, maybe?”
“No, I’ve
had it
with religion.” Eric declared.
“What type
of
woman are you looking for?” Melissa asked.
Eric just
shrugged.
“Maybe a
really
pretty one?” Melissa asked.
Eric spoke
calmly
and declaratively. “That hardly matters at this point. I’ve met all the
women living here on the second floor, and some of them are a little
overweight, but I wouldn’t reject any of them. I’ve met or seen most if
not all of the women on all fourteen floors of Piermont, and I would
not reject any of them.”
Melissa sat
stunned for a moment, then calmly said, “I’m thinking back to a debate
course I took at the temple. I’m a Libertarian, and I go to the
Libertarian Temple. Anyway, they said that when I perceive an apparent
contradiction, tell the person what the contradiction is, and ask them
to explain if they feel one item is false, or the other item is false,
or how the two items do not contradict each other. You seem willing to
consider a wide range of women, yet I watched you totally snub Rebecca
at Zachary’s party, and that’s your right, if she’s not your type, but
the clear contradiction is that you said you would not reject any of
the women living on the second floor, Eric, and I am one of the women
living on the second floor, and you rejected me when I propositioned
you, which is also your right, but I’m just trying to understand this
apparent contradiction.”
Eric
replied, “I
don’t recall your ever propositioning me, and if you did I certainly
would not reject you. As for Rebecca, she never expressed any interest.
The only thing I ruled out was giving her a ride home when I was drunk.
I was taking a taxi back here, and she lives on East Capitol Street in
Sacraleena.”
Melissa
smiled
and
sighed. “Eric, you may not know this, but women use subtle signals and
clues when they want it. We speak in code. There are a lot of ways we
express our desires, some less obvious than others. When Rebecca asked
you to take her home, that means she wants to go to your home, and go
to bed with you, just like going to bed with somebody means having sex
with the person. She wanted it, Eric. That expression, take me home is
one of the best recognized ones.”
Eric smiled.
“Oh,
now you tell me!”
Melissa
continued,
“Remember when you set up my computer, and I asked if you had to leave
so soon?”
“Yeah.” Eric
answered.
“That was my
way
of inviting you to stay longer and maybe we could fool around.” Melissa
explained.
Eric smiled
and
looked at Melissa. “Then why didn’t you say that?” he asked.
“I
couldn’t.”
Melissa said.
“Why not?”
Eric
asked.
Melissa
answered
by illustration. “Well, it’s kind of like right now, Eric. How come you
don’t follow up on what we just said? I told you the light was green
then, and you want to ask if the light is green now, since you’ve
already said you certainly wouldn’t reject me, but you still hesitate
to pop the question.”
Eric
grinned.
“That’s r-i-i-ght! It’s not always easy to say these things.”
Melissa
explained,
“A very important thing to remember about signals is that they are
sometimes deceptive. A woman could innocently ask a man if he has to
leave so soon, because she has lasagna baking and wants to feed him. Be
very careful not to touch a woman unless you know it is okay with her.
In any case, ‘NO’ means ‘NO’ and ‘STOP’ means ‘STOP.’” She paused to
let that sink in, then continued, “If you’re still in suspense, let me
just say, as long as you’re willing to use a condom, you have a green
light.”
Eric’s jaw
dropped. He reached out to touch Melissa, but stopped. He reached out
again, almost touching her, and stopped.
“What’s
wrong?”
Melissa asked.
“Nothing!”
Eric
answered, and he stood up, looking at Melissa. She stood up.
Again, Eric
tried
to reach out for Melissa. “Are you nervous, by any chance?” she asked.
“Who, me,
nervous?” Eric laughed.
“Well,
remember,
there’s no hurry.” Melissa assured him. “Relax.”
Eric sat
down on
the side of the bed, and reached out to take Melissa’s hand. She sat
down beside him, and kicked off her shoes. Eric’s face lit up. “Wow.”
he said. “Oh, wow.” He kicked off his shoes, and put his right arm
around her. Stunned, he fixed his gaze on her face as he ran his
fingers through her golden blonde hair.
“If you
want,
you
may tell me what you are thinking.” Melissa said.
Eric
hesitated,
and said, “Even though you said I have a green light and all, I still
hesitate to touch you … for fear … that … you might … you know, …
object.”
Melissa
smiled and said, “Well, I want you to have a good time, and that will
make me feel good, too.” She took a deep breath. “Here’s an idea. It’s
21:16 now. Let’s make a rule, that we keep our clothes on for an hour,
until 22:16, just cuddle, and you can get comfortable being close to
me, and you won’t feel rushed. How does that sound?”
Eric
grinned.
“That sounds like an excellent plan.” he said. He stretched out on the
bed and said, “Come here.”
Melissa
stretched
out, too, and rolled onto Eric. “This is excellent.” Eric said.
Melissa
said,
“It’s okay, either way, but I want to know what you are really
thinking. Is it excellent because you have a woman, or because you have
me?”
“Well, it’s
excellent because I have a woman, finally.” Eric said, as he held her.
He ran his fingers up and down her back. “It’s also excellent because I
can touch you and express affection without worrying about going too
far. And since you set that rule about the first hour, I don’t have to
worry about not going far enough, either.”
“Do you get
nervous when I touch you?” Melissa asked, stroking Eric’s chest.
“Oh, no. I
like
it.” Eric replied. He put his hands on her sides. Then he started to
break down. He held her, and tears started rolling down his face.
Melissa
assured
Eric, “It’s gonna be okay, Eric. If you change your mind and want to
wait, that’s okay with me, too.”
Eric
whispered,
“Oh, no, it’s just that … I, … I shut out my emotions for so long, to
cope with what I was going through, and now, in order to enjoy this
beautiful feeling, I have to have my emotions on again, and I start
feeling some of that bad experience.”
“I see.
Well, do
whatever feels good.” Melissa suggested.
Eric reached
his
hand down Melissa’s back, and started feeling her ass. “Wow! This is
excellent.” he said, grinning. He began laughing, then reminiscing,
“You know, back in July, I hitch-huck out to Missouri City to visit my
brother. I got a ride with this nice, pretty woman, who had just broken
up with her ex-boyfriend. She threw him out because he was abusive.
Anyway, my brother lives on the West Dakota side, and she lived in
Missouri City, too, on the East Dakota side. She said I could phone my
brother from her apartment, for a ride, and she invited me up. She
showed me court papers about the restraining order she took out against
her ex-boyfriend, and I suggested she should sue him because battery
isn’t just a crime, it’s a tort. She offered me a cup of tea, and when
I asked about using the telephone, so I could call my brother for a
ride, she looked kind of sad, and said, ‘Well, you can if you want.’ I
could not figure out why she looked unhappy. Now that you tell me about
these signals and hints and clues and everything, I’m starting to think
maybe she wanted me to stick around and have some fun.”
“It sounds
like
that’s exactly what she was hinting at.” Melissa agreed.
“Oh, I could
have
been cured of my virginity!” Eric lamented.
“Instead, I
get
to
cure you.” Melissa observed.
Eric smiled.
He
reached his hand to the hem of her skirt, pulled the back of her skirt
up, and felt her ass through her panties.
“Eric, I
have a
question.” Melissa said. “It’s okay to be truthful and honest with me.
Do you think my breasts are, you know, small?”
Eric
pondered
the
question. “Well, yeah, they’re not much bigger than mine. It doesn’t
much matter to me, though. I think you are an excellent person. Like,
you care about me, and it feels really good to be here with you.” he
said.
“Well, do
you
think I’d have better luck getting guys if I had breast implants?” she
wondered.
Eric sighed,
“Oh,
no. It’s not worth going through all that just to have a better toy for
the guys to play with. I wouldn’t want you to have complications and
spend all that money just for that. Any guy who would reject you for
that reason isn’t really worth it. I can see some women maybe going on
a diet, or dressing up and using make-up to look pretty, but surgery is
going too far. If you ever get that desperate for a guy, you can come
back here to cuddle with me, as a last resort.”
Melissa
asked,
“Are you trying to manipulate me into giving you compliments, Eric?”
Eric
laughed,
“Who, me?” Then he reminisced, “You know, back in July, my
brother brought me to the adult entertainment district in Missouri
City. There are a some porno shops and a few strip joint bars. It’s
along State Line Avenue on the East Dakota side, just south of the
Missouri River and the State Line Avenue Bridge. You have to be 18 to
be let in, and these dancers, between songs, they go up to the bar and
get the guys to spend money to have them dance up closer. Yeah, they’re
really pretty, all dolled up, and some of them have bigger breasts than
you, and yes, I got excited seeing them, but it wasn’t anywhere near as
good a time as this, and we still have all our clothes on.”
“It’s too
bad
there’s so much commercial, sexual exploitation of women.” Melissa
lamented.
“Are they
exploiting the women for their bodies, or exploiting the men for their
money?” Eric asked. Then he pondered, “You know, now that I think about
it, if I had understood what that lady meant when she tried to get me
to stay longer in her apartment, I wouldn’t have felt any need for
excitement in the adult entertainment district. They have hookers
working there, but I wasn’t interested, because I want a woman who
honestly enjoys being with me.”
Melissa
pondered
that comment. “I think you’re onto something there.” she said.
HOME PAGE
CHAPTER ONE:
THE PARKING LOT
CHAPTER TWO:
THE COMPUTER
CHAPTER THREE:
THE LOUNGE
CHAPTER FOUR:
THE CAFETERIA
CHAPTER FIVE:
THE PARTY
CHAPTER SIX:
LUNCH
CHAPTER
EIGHT:
MELISSA’S PROJECT
CHAPTER NINE:
THE TEMPLE
CHAPTER TEN:
RECRUITMENT
CHAPTER ELEVEN:
THE PLANNING
CHAPTER TWELVE:
OPERATION UNDERWAY
CHAPTER
THIRTEEN: OPERATION MOVED
CHAPTER
FOURTEEN: GLORIA
CHAPTER
FIFTEEN: THE DISCUSSION
GLOSSARY
Copyright
2007 Tom Alciere