-Chapter 11: All I Wanna Do…-

Saturday, October 20, 1984

Lisa stayed in her room all day, except to eat, go to the bathroom, and take a shower. She wrote in her diary, worked on her homework, wondered vaguely why Greg hadn't come to study the night before. She would have to ask him the next time she saw him. In the meantime, she reread the section of her infectious disease textbook that he had assigned her to read. The section they should have covered the night before. She read, and studied, and looked over her notes until a quarter to eight.

Sighing, she hauled herself up from her writing desk, moving to her wardrobe. A simple black dress would be sufficient, she thought. She wasn't going to deck herself out for Joel. He didn't deserve to see her looking her best. So she just put on the dress and a pair of simple black heels. Lisa didn't bother to brush her hair or put her make up on. She didn't bother to put on any jewelry. She didn't care. She was only doing this to protect her reputation.

Any other girl would have done the same.

When the knock came, she wasn't surprised. When she opened the door, however, all thought processes stopped.

"Greg…" she whispered. "What are you doing here?" The question was spoken at normal volume. She almost missed the hitch in his breath when she'd said his name.

"I wanted to apologize…about not coming to our study session last night." Greg searched his mind, looking for something that wasn't the truth, but it wasn't quite a lie either. Finally, he settled on, "Something…came up." And he prayed that 'something' would stay down as he subtly glanced over her body, trying in vain to resist the urge to imagine what color her underwear was.

"Oh. That's fine. Really…I had a bad day, anyways."

Greg almost didn't catch the sudden sadness and anger in her eyes as she spoke those words. For some reason, he found himself reaching out and pulling her to his chest, stroking her hair with one hand. It was softer than he imagined it would be. After a moment, he released her from the hug, hooking two fingers under her chin. His heart beat faster when she met his eyes.

"If you ever need to talk…you know I'm here for you." It was only now that he noticed what she was wearing. "You look…nice," he said before he could stop himself.

Still a little surprised from the sudden, but very much welcome, embrace, she only managed to nod in response to his reassurance and subsequent compliment. After a couple awkward moments, she found her voice again.

"I…I have a date. In about five minutes." Lisa prayed he wouldn't ask who. She didn't think she'd be able to stomach the look on his face if he found out she'd done exactly what he told her not to do. Her hopes sank with his next words.

"You took him back, didn't you?" There was pain in his voice. He didn't know why he was so upset by the notion. After all, his interest in her was purely sexual. He didn't have to care if she was in a relationship to masturbate to her. He didn't have to care what her motives were for taking back her ex to have his fantasies. But he wanted her. He couldn't have her if she was with someone else. "Why?"

"I had to…" There was something in her eyes that he couldn't place as she gazed up at him. Fear? Had he threatened her? "I have to go." She pulled away from him, moving past him, leaving her door open. He figured she'd done that on purpose, since closing it behind her before walking away from him would have caused her to press her body against him for a few seconds. But her arm still brushed against his arm as he stepped aside slightly to let her pass. As she disappeared around the corner, he fought with himself for a brief moment about whether to enter her room, or respectfully close her door. Taking half a step into the room, he made his decision.

His hand reached out and pulled the door closed before he walked down the hall and leaned against the wall. Joel was probably outside picking her up, and being seen leaving right after her wouldn't look good. Peering around the corner, he could see through a window, and his suspicions were confirmed. Joel was outside, leaning against the open passenger-side door of his car. He saw Lisa climb into the car, watched Joel shut the door and walk around to the driver's side. Once the car had pulled away, Greg felt that it was safe to leave.

"So where are you taking me, exactly?" Lisa asked for the tenth time as Joel drove down an unfamiliar stretch of road.

"You'll see when we get there," he answered back, clearly annoyed. She sighed and leaned back in the chair, crossing her arms. She sat in silence, staring out the window. They finally pulled up outside a dark building, and Lisa wasn't sure she wanted to see what was going on inside it. She paid no attention to Joel cutting the engine and stepping out of the car. She barely managed to contain her shock as he opened her door for her. She stepped out of the car, ignoring his offered hand. She glared at him when he raised her hand and wrapped her arm around one of his. He ignored the look and led her to the entrance.

Presenting two slips of paper, he guided her into the building and into a balcony. The curtains covering the stage below were beginning to open on a familiar set.

"You got tickets to my favorite opera?" she asked, turning wide and incredulous eyes to Joel. He merely nodded and leaned over to kiss her lips.

"I'd do anything for you, Lisa," he answered as the opera began.

As the show wore on, Joel found himself growing quite bored. He hated opera, but this was the only way he could think of to get Lisa back into bed with him. He took great delight in watching her, however. There was something to be said about the beauty of a woman enthralled.

Lisa was in the best mood she'd been in for a while as the curtains closed and she was among the first to rise and applaud. As soon as she was standing, Joel stood as well, setting a hand on her arm.

"Let's go now…" he whispered, stepping impossibly close to her. "Want you now," he breathed, ghosting the words across the shell of her ear. Surprised, she let herself be led back to his car. Her features slowly changed as he drove back to the campus. She was positively livid when he pulled up outside the residence hall and moved to open her door for her.

"You took me to my favorite opera just so you could have sex with me?" she asked, her hurt masking the anger she felt. He didn't deny it, nor did he confirm it. He merely reached into the car and grabbed her arm. Pulling her out of the car, he slammed the door and pushed her against it, leaning into her. She squirmed as she felt his erection digging into her flesh.

"You should know me by now, Lis," he muttered, laying kisses up her neck, capturing her lips with his. He effectively cut off all protest by thrusting his tongue into her mouth. When he finally pulled back, he stared deep into her eyes. "Besides. If you don't let me make love to you…the campus paper gets the photo. And I know how to make sure it makes the front page," he shot her a sinister smirk. "I will have you, Lisa." He kissed her again, roughly, before pulling her away from the side of the car and forcing her to lead the way back to her bedroom.