A Moment In Time

A story written in response to Prompt #20: Not the Same Old Story.     


He was unlike anyone else I had ever met. Confident and relaxed, not arrogant. Just comfortable in his own skin. I thought of him as different, but he really wasn't. Being with him just reminded me how cookie cutter alike my friends were. That's what made him feel different.

     "Hey, do you want to get together and study for the exam?" he asked me after class one day. We had already made small talk on several occasions. It wasn't uncommon for us to roll our eyes at stupid comments by our classmates and exchange glances of confusion when the prof lost us during the lecture. I was relieved he asked, because I needed a study buddy and there was something about him. I was drawn to him and I wasn't sure why.

     "Sure. When?"

     "You want to meet by the lake on Thursday?"

     "Perfect." And it was. The lake was at the center of campus, surrounded by a hill of green grass. Lots of students hung out on the lawns throughout campus, studying or having lunch. Of course there was frisbee, football, and a little bit of making out too. It was busy and quiet all at the same time. It was the perfect setting, just what you'd picture for a college campus in Florida.

     "See you then," he said with a wink. And he left to run to another class. The wink flew over to me, a little butterfly of flirtation. I could feel myself smiling as I turned the other way.

     On the way back to my dorm I was surprised I wasn't feeling guilty.  I couldn't decide if I was attracted to Etienne or if I was just happy to have a new friend to study with. Either way, my boyfriend back home probably wouldn't approve. Oh well, I thought to myself. We're just getting together to study. In my head there was nothing to feel guilty about. But the flutter in my stomach, well that was a different story.

***

     It was hard to decide what to wear. I wanted to be casual and nonchalant, but of course I wanted to look cute. Cut off jean shorts were a no-brainer, it was what everyone wore in college in the 90's. My top took a little more thought. I knew I wouldn't wear my sorority letters because ET was independent. Greeks had a reputation with some independents- stuck up, desperate to fit in. And I was neither. Okay maybe as a freshman I was a little desperate to fit in. But now I was a junior, and Greek life had kind of lost its luster. Maybe that's why I was excited to hang out with him. I just threw on a t-shirt and my Birkenstocks. Casual and cute. "Where you headed?" my roommate asked as I walked out.

     "I'm going to meet some friends from class to study." I'm not sure why I used the plural, friends. I knew no one else would be there and I knew my roommate didn't give a shit anyway. I threw my backpack over my shoulder, tossed my hair back out of my eyes, and took off to the lake.

    The weather was perfect. The sun was pretty hot, but the humidity was low and there was a breeze. If I could make it to the lake without sweating too much, it would be nice by the water. Walking across campus I'd usually put on my headphones, but today I felt like taking in the sights and sounds on campus. Plus, I wanted to think a little. I needed to pre-study before I got there. I didn't want ET to think I was dumb. It's funny. I knew we were going to study for real. There was no reason to believe this was anything other than two classmates getting together to prepare for an exam. I knew that. I was okay with that. But I still felt giddy. Nervous.

     I stopped at the snack stand for a bottle of water and crossed the path to the lake. I could see he was already there, reading. He was laid out full length on his back, with his head on his messenger bag and his feet crossed at the ankles. He was holding the book in the air above his face. I never understood how that could be comfortable. I walked toward him and gently kicked his foot with mine. He dropped his book and looked up at me with a squint. "Hey, there."

     "Hi," I said. "Watcha reading?" I wasn't really interested but it seemed like the natural thing to say. He responded, and I don't even remember what he said. It was something for a class. I sat down next to him and we both dug into our bags for our textbooks and class notes. We exchanged pleasantries, and were easily distracted from our studies, as we talked about this party and that bar, and people we knew who walked by and waved. We went from talking about other people to talking about ourselves,  and our periodic "we should really get some studying done" yielded no such thing. Pretty soon we were lounged out on the lawn.

     He had such a kind face and a gentle way about him. He smiled a lot, and seemed so comfortable in his own skin. He wasn't the hottest guy I met in college. He was kind of short. Thick, wavy dark brown hair and long sideburns framed a scruffy face. He had milk chocolate brown eyes, gentle and trusting. And his mouth was a little big. He's what my mom would describe as "nice looking." The more I looked at him the more flirtatious I felt. It was hard to tell if he was feeling the same, he didn't give anything away. I could feel myself twirling my hair, winding my curls around my fingers. I do it when I'm nervous or bored.

     Our shoulders and elbows got tired from leaning on the ground and holding our heads up, and soon we were lying flat on our backs. He tugged at one of my curls and asked me if everyone in my family had curls like mine. It seemed like a polite way to ask if it was natural. I answered by saying I got my curls from my dad. I moved my head to his abdomen, just below his chest. "It's awesome," he said, and my cheeks were flushed with warmth. He continued to play with my hair, and we talked for a couple of hours while looking up at the sky. It probably wouldn't be considered studying, but we did talk about the exam and what we thought would be on it. We dotted our casual conversation with tidbits from class and the reading. At one point I think we even dozed off for a few minutes. The sunny breeze by the lake will do that to you.

     Eventually I noticed quite some time had past. The sun hung low in the sky, and the lawn started to clear. "I guess we ought to get going."

     "Yeah, almost time for dinner." He looked at me, and the afternoon sun coming in from the side of his face turned his eyes a glassy amber. I really wanted him to kiss me. I wondered what his lips tasted like. "It's a good thing we did so much studying. I'm sure we're both ready," he said with a lighthearted laugh. I don't know about how ready I was for the test, but I was ready for him to kiss me. He leaned in, but not from the head, from the chest and abdomen. He shoved his fingers up the nape of my neck and into the back of my hair like a human comb, and he grabbed a handful. "Uh, this hair." I smiled and he let go. "See ya in class?" I took a deep breath and exhaled with a,

     "Yup. See you in class." And he walked off. And that was it.

     We bantered and talked cordially like old friends in class over the next few weeks, and we enjoyed an in-class friendship. Then the semester ended. I'm not exactly sure why, but we never saw each other again. I always wondered if he knew I had a boyfriend or maybe he had a girlfriend. But for some reason, we shared a really brief and intimate interlude without so much as a kiss. And then, poof. It was over. Just a tiny moment in time.