"But when a woman decides to sleep with a man, there is no wall she will not scale, no fortress she will not destroy, no moral consideration she will not ignore at its very root: there is no God worth worrying about." ― Gabriel García Márquez
September 1962 - Indiana, Notre Dame University Campus Library
"Hey, boyfriend."
Abbey breezed into the library in her characteristic multi-task mode and an aroma of coffee from the lukewarm cup she held in her left hand, the other protectively coiled around the books she had snatched from the shelves before any of her fellow classmates could steal them. She pecked him on the cheek and set down her study materials, with the intention of essay completion before the weekend arrived. It was the start of her final year and Abbey was steadfast that she would make it count.
In the midst of a daydream, Jed paid little attention to her arrival but ascertained that other male students present certainly had. Given how well the mustard yellow halter-neck dress Abbey donned suited her, it was obvious why. He was left stupefied. Of course, Jed had known better than to question her attire but the way in which others started to drool over Abbey irked him. "Abbey."
"What's up?" She bit into the red apple she had plucked from the fruit basket on her way out of her dorm earlier.
The v-neckline amplified her bosom and petite waist, and his mouth watered at her divine shape. Since he and Abbey had become an item, Jed had censored all impurity that threatened to conquer his psyche. Out of respect for the faith they had both been raised in, Jed and Abbey had not descended into sexual abandon simply because Jed had decided not to become a priest. In fact, intimate contact had not once extended beyond the most passionate of kisses, but Abbey's sensuality had driven him wild. Cold showers were a frequent, for Jed. Physical intimacy prior to the vows articulated before the eyes of God was still considered a sin and he refused to deceive the faith he so earnestly respect. The only problem was that Jed feared Abbey had trickled into boredom with him.
"Hello, earth to Jed," she waved her hand inches in front of his tormented expression. His line of vision aimed at the table of male students less than 30 feet away from their table suddenly broken. Abbey internally lamented the juvenile behaviour that she had often been confronted with, as they peered in her direction with evident appreciation. She reached forward and tenderly kissed Jed's lips.
"Abbey." Jed abruptly leaned backward, as if she had burned him.
"What's the matter?"
He answered her pretence of confusion with, "I have a class in ten minutes." Without another word, Jed retrieved his belongings and bolted from the library. Bewildered by his reaction, Abbey's forehead creased in the shape of a contemplative frown. Her roommate, Carol, had warned her that Jed would reach the end of his tether. It was inevitable, apparently. They had been romantically involved for over a year and were at the dawn of the third and final year of their alma mater; she and Jed had openly discussed sexual relations and whether or not it was important to save such an act of devotion until matrimony. He had been unable to suspend his abhorrence that Abbey was not quite as sexually inexperienced as he had believed. An explanation that her previous beau, Ron, had been a friend of the family for several years and that they were romantically involved for three months before physicality even entered their minds did little to ease him. The fact that Abbey had even been in a relationship with a man other than him riled Jed.
After an hour of absent-minded study, Abbey formed a devious plan in her head and swiftly exited the library in the direction of her dorm. Swift improvisation at the eleventh hour and the reluctant consent from Carol, who Abbey convinced to attend a campus social, left Abbey alone to transform their common room into a semi-romantic domain. An array of fruity scented candles rescued the room from absolute blackness and the stellar voice of Frank Sinatra played softly on the stereo. The stereo had been a reward from her parents in celebration of her exceptional S.A.T. results. She double-checked the time on the wall-clock and prepared for Jed's arrival. Under the ruse that she had fallen and fractured a bone in her arm, a bevy of medical terms delivered effortlessly by the auspiciously theatrical Carol quite evidently stirred him into a fever and Jed had promised to be there as soon as physically possible. As she predicted, Jed barely bothered to knock before he burst in the door and discovered what lay in wait for him. "Abbey, are you -"
His concern rotated into resentment that he had been manipulated, and so easily, too. Abbey clasped her hands, "Don't fly off the handle." A plea that, thankfully, didn't fall on deaf ears, while she softly continued. "I knew that if I invited you myself, you would have refused." He pouted his lips, perplexed at how well she understood him, while she remained an infinite mystery.
"Abbey, I have a class tomorrow and a paper due the next day -"
"I love you, Jed." It wasn't the first time she had declared her love for him, yet every time she did, it ensnared his heart like a deer trap. "I don't know how many other ways I can say it. But all I can do is say it, because you won't let me show you." Abbey pinpointed the heart of the matter between them with such informality that it caused Jed to drop his head, belittled. "You are one of the most prudish men I have ever met, and that includes your father and mine. It's the sixties for Christ sake." So much for the sexual revolution. "Women were born to be more than the little woman, neatly tucked away and ready to bake you a homemade pie. We have ambition, we have dreams and we have sexual desire like any other species on the planet." As her rant escalated, her voice elevated several decibels and, if not for the fear that he would rile her further, Jed would have warned Abbey to lower her voice, careful not to alert students in the nearby dorm. He was startled by the impromptu uproar and a mass of blood rushed to his cheeks but quickly drained away in the form of mixed emotion. "Well, you know what, I don't think it's any secret that I am not the virgin Mary, Jed. You have known that about me since the moment we met." Repeatedly, she had needled him with tales of her impurity, which were more often than not loose fabrications of the truth, and every time Jed had blushed with mortification. She softened her voice and wandered toward him, still in the yellow halter-neck that left so little to the imagination. "Let me make love to you, Jed." The seductive whisper delivered from her plump lips, inches from his ear threw Jed into a cascade of sexual arousal.
Nerve after nerve in his body convulsed, as she suckled his bottom lip hard. She tasted so exotic. It was a kiss unlike any other they had shared. Abbey escorted his hands to her waist and started to strip his buttoned shirt from the top down. She lowered her head and caressed his torso with her mouth, thirsty to explore his body with abandon. "Abbey." Jed whimpered. Ceased in motion, Abbey returned to eye-level and flashed a shrewd smile that stimulated him. There was no doubt, in her mind, that Jed would surrender and he pondered why he had pursued every effort to circumvent what he desired most of all.
The spontaneity of the moment intensified his senses and his body throbbed, electrified by her very touch. He ached, he pined for the woman he loved. The only woman he had ever loved, or ever hoped to love in his lifetime. His lust for her did very little to satiate her passion. It was an odd sensation to be the sexually sophisticated partner in the relationship but Abbey relished the dominant position. "Jed…"
Weak to the knees, nearly to hers, Jed allowed Abbey to reel him closer and closer toward the privacy of her bedroom. "I want you."
The three words Abbey had craved trembled from his lips and were barely audible above a whisper but they had finally been spoken aloud. Ample reward for his bravery would soon be administered. "I'm all yours, baby." It had required reams of restraint but Abbey had been patient, tolerant and respectful of his adherence to the Catholic faith, and her endurance had paid off.