The Art Seminar and Thereafter
By: Kaffy
Chapter 2: The First Date
He knocked on their door nervously. **Just be polite to that Annie girl, get Caroline, and go. Everything will fall into place from there.**
Annie opened the door, "Hey, Richie!"
"It's Richard, not Richie…"
"Sure, whatever you say Richie."
He rolled his eyes. "Is Caroline ready yet?"
Caroline yanked Annie away from the door. "Yeah, I'm ready. Bye Annie."
"Bye kids, don't do anything I wouldn't do."
This time, it was Caroline's turn to roll her eyes. She quickly shut the door as they headed down the stairs and out of the building. Once they got inside, Richard worked up the nerve to break the silence.
"So, are you coming here this fall?"
Relieved to have some conversation, Caroline answered, "No, I'm going to the University of Wisconsin, you?"
"NYU."
"Oh."
"So what does someone who wants to be a cartoonist major in?"
"I'm not sure really. Right now, I'm a fine arts major with a minor in business."
"But that might change?"
"Yeah, maybe, I'm not really sure."
"So, uh, what do you want to do tonight?"
"I don't know."
"Well, the main drag is just up the street there, that's where everything seems to be. Why don't we walk up there and see what there is?"
"That sounds good."
They walked aimlessly around campus, quietly talking and getting to know each other. She talked about her family and friends and what she wanted her cartoon to be about while he listened patiently. As much as she tried to get him to open up, he kept her at a distance, never revealing too much about himself. He mostly talked about art. It amazed Caroline how passionate he was about it. It seemed as though he could talk about it for hours on end. Eventually they came to a small diner just like the kind you see in old 50's movies.
"You hungry?" Richard asked.
"Yeah, I could eat."
He opened the door for her and gestured for her to go in. They were seated quickly, in a booth way in the back corner. "So," Richard asked, "Are you seeing anyone at home?"
She blushed. "Not really. I was but I just broke up with him."
"Oh."
"What about you?"
It was his turn to blush. "No, I've never really met anyone that I was interested in."
Her face dropped. "Oh."
"Oh, that sounds bad, I didn't mean you, ugh…" He sighed. "I'm not really good at this stuff…what I meant is I've never really met anyone I was interested in, until I met you."
She smiled and looked up, catching his gaze with hers. She reached across the table and grasped his hand. They kept up the small talk throughout the rest of their meal, probably for the first time in Richard's life. When they were finished, he quickly paid the bill and helped Caroline with her jacket.
"So," Richard asked as they got outside, "What do you want to do now?"
Her shyness came back up to the surface again, "Um…I don't know."
He reached down and grabbed her hand. "Want to keep walking?"
She nodded, smiling. They strolled around for the next hour. Slowly but surely, Caroline got Richard to open up and talk about his parents and sister. Eventually, they came to a small brook. They sat on the bank, still holding hands and talking quietly. "What classes are you taking while you're here?" Caroline asked.
"A painting class and a drawing seminar. You?"
"Mostly drawing classes, realistic and cartooning."
She leaned her head on his shoulder, causing him to tense up. She noticed and pulled back, a little disappointed. He gulped a breath of fresh air and a breath of confidence and put his arm around her shoulder. Smiling, she put her head back on his shoulder.
"You know, Richard, it's getting kind of late." She got no response. "Maybe we should get going…"
He seemed far off, "Yeah, maybe…" He got up and offered her his hand, helping her get up too."
"We don't have to go back if you don't want…"
"No, it's ok. We both have to get up early."
They walked back silently, holding hands, both deep in thought. Neither of them had ever met anyone like the other.
To Caroline, Richard was an enigma. Everyone she'd ever met was perky, always smiling, but Richard was different. He was dark and cynical, nothing she had ever seen before.
To Richard, Caroline was a dream. She represented everything he'd ever wanted to grow up with: a stable, happy family who gave everyone a chance. But also, he saw something in her eyes, she was special and he had to see more of her.
"So," Richard asked as they approached Jefferson, "Can I see you again?"
She smiled. "Yeah." She wrote down her number and gave it to him.
"Well, I guess this is goodnight…"
"Yeah, goodnight…"
He didn't want to let go of her hand, but he did, only to rest his on her cheek. He slowly leaned in and pressed a gentle kiss to her lips. It was soft and sweet, absolutely perfect. "Goodnight, Caroline." With that, they both went back to their rooms to think about the night's events.
*~*~*~*~*
"Well, what happened?"
"Oh my god, Annie! It was great!"
Annie smiled, "Really?"
"Oh, yeah."
"So, what did you do?"
"We went for a walk, then out to eat at this cute little diner, then walked some more. Then, we got to this little stream and sat and talked for a little while, then he walked me back here and…um…said goodnight."
"Uh, huh…" Annie grinned, knowing something more had happened and implying that she wanted to hear more.
"Stop, I'm not one to kiss and tell."
"Aww, man, come on, after all the work I did to introduce you two…"
"Ok ok. He walked me home and kissed me goodnight."
"So, are you seeing him again?"
"Yeah, he said he'd call tomorrow after classes."
"You are so luck you met him already."
Caroline grinned, "I know."
*~*~*~*~*
Richard collapsed onto his bed, smiling gently. It was a good night. He had never felt like this before, never felt like this about anyone. Caroline was definitely special. Normally, a person like her would drive him insane, pure, wholesome, naïve. But, she was also kind, caring, and genuinely interested in getting to know him. Not to mention that kiss. It was unlike anything he had ever experienced, sweet and innocent. He smiled just thinking about it. Tomorrow seemed like a decade away. He sighed and rolled over, falling asleep a few minutes later.
*~*~*~*~*
The next day, classes started. They all woke up early and got ready. Annie bounded up the hill to go to her dance class across campus. Both Richard and Caroline had classes in the art building that morning, but not together. They saw each other walking around between classes, politely waving and smiling. They both had a break at noon for lunch.
Caroline sat outside on the steps, eating an apple while she waited for Annie. She didn't hear Richard approach her from behind.
"Hey."
"Oh, hey, Richard." He sat down next to her. "How are your classes so far?"
"Well, I've only had my drawing seminar, but it went pretty well."
"Good."
"How are yours?"
"Good. I just had my cartooning class. I was the only one in it, kind of like an independent study, so it was pretty cool."
"Good."
It was at that moment that Annie walked up, also on a break for lunch.
"Hey Caroline! Hey Richie!" He didn't even bother to correct her.
"Hey Annie, how are classes so far?" Caroline asked.
"Tiring, I've been dancing for the last 3 hours straight. But, it's ok because I met a guy in class, and let's just say he's limber." She smirked.
Caroline smiled while Richard just rolled his eyes and looked away.
"So are you guys going out again tonight? Huh? Huh? Huh?"
Richard looked over at Caroline and shrugged, "Want to?"
"Sure, but I really want to know why Annie is so anxious to know…"
"I invited Seth back to the room later on." She smiled sheepishly.
Caroline laughed, "Well, if Richard can stand me for another night…"
He nodded. "I think I could handle it." He smiled to himself. **Handle it? Now that's an understatement!** "I'll call you later on. But now if you'll excuse me, I have some stuff to do at home." He gently squeezed Caroline's hand, "I'll see you later." He got up and walked towards his dorm.
"Come on Annie, let's go get some lunch and you can tell me all about this Seth."
"Ok."
*~*~*~*~*
It was around 7 that night when Richard called. Both he and Caroline had work to do for their classes, so they decided to hang out in his room and work on the sketches.
"Ok, see you Annie, have fun tonight!"
"You too." Annie winked.
Caroline rolled her eyes and shut the door. She walked the couple of streets over to his building, climbed the stairs, and knocked on his door.
"Come in," came the muffled response from behind the door.
She opened it slowly, revealing Richard sprawled out on his bed with a pencil and sketchpad, drawing furiously. "Hey Richard."
He looked up and smiled. "Hey. Have a seat." She sat opposite him on a small chair and took in his surroundings. His room was a single, and therefore, much smaller than hers. It really only had room for a bed, desk, and extra chair.
"What are you working on?"
"Just some sketches for class."
"Oh." Caroline pulled out her sketchpad and started to sketch herself. They made small talk while they did their work. A couple of hours passed before they knew it, but they were still talking and getting to know each other a little better. The phone interrupted them.
"Who the hell would be calling me?" he perplexed, "You're the only person I know here…hello?"
"Hi Richie, is Caroline there?"
"Yeah, hold on…Caroline, it's Annie."
She took the phone, "What's up?"
"Do you know what time you're coming home?"
"No, why?"
"Well, um…Seth and I are…uh…just trying to make some plans…" She sounded distracted.
"Um, hold on…uh, Richard?"
He looked up, "What?"
"Annie wants to know when I'm coming home…"
"Why?"
Caroline blushed and covered the receiver with her hand, "I think she wants to know if I can spend the night here so Seth can spend the night at our room."
It was Richard's turn to blush, "Yeah, I guess that would be ok."
She turned back to the phone, "Annie? I think I'm just going to spend the night here…"
"Oh really?"
"Yeah," she looked over at Richard, who was back to his drawing and not really paying attention. "So, you can go ahead an let Seth spend the night."
"How did you know that was why I was calling?"
"I could just tell."
"Ok, well, have fun tonight."
"You too, be careful."
"I will. See you tomorrow."
"Yeah. Bye." She hung up the phone and looked over at Richard. "Are you sure this is ok? I don't want to impose."
He smiled, "Caroline, it's fine, I swear. I'll just sleep on the floor."
"No, no, no, no, no…I couldn't let you do that, I'll sleep on the floor."
"No really, it's fine. You're the guest, you take the bed…"
"But I would feel bad, you take the bed, I insist."
"No."
He said it so simply, she knew there was no way she would change his mind. But, she didn't want to make him sleep on the floor. "Well, we could both sleep in the bed…"
His head shot up, "What?"
Realizing what he thought she meant, she blushed. "No, not like that…just sleeping…"
"I guess we could…" He was apprehensive. The more he got to know Caroline, the more attracted to her he became. He wasn't sure how his body would respond if he slept next to her all night. "Are you sure though?"
She smiled sweetly at him. "Yeah."
He smiled shyly and looked to the ground. "Well, I'm pretty much done."
"Me too."
"Do you want to go out and do something?"
She looked at the clock, it read midnight. "Isn't kind of late to go out?"
"Yeah, I guess so. Are you tired?"
"No, not really."
"Me neither." She got up and sat next to him on the bed. "So…"
"So…" They both looked to the floor, letting the awkwardness of the situation surround them. Richard finally broke the silence. "What do you want to do now?"
She grasped his hand, causing him to look up and catch her eyes. "I don't know." He slowly leaned and brushed his lips across hers. They both pulled back for a brief moment to look in each other's eyes before leaning in for a deeper, more engaging kiss. Caroline opened her lips slightly, brushing her tongue against his lips and inviting his tongue to do the same. Their tongues danced together, soft but sensual. They continued to kiss lovingly for a few minutes before Caroline pulled away, "Wow."
"Yeah…wow." He pressed another gently kiss to her lips before pulling away. "Um…do you want to go to bed?"
She looked to the floor disappointed. "I guess."
He sensed her disappointment. "Are you tired?"
She wasn't, but she didn't want to keep him up if he was. "Are you?"
He smiled, "I asked you first."
She smiled back. "I asked you second."
He sighed. "You won't let me win this will you?" She shook her head, laughing lightly. "No, I'm not really tired, but there isn't much to do here."
"Yeah." She touched her chin pensively. "Maybe we could just get ready for bed. Then, we can jut lie down and talk and whatever happens, happens."
"Yeah, ok."
"Do you have something I can sleep in?"
"Oh, yes of course." He pulled out a big t-shirt. "Is this ok? Or do you need bottoms too?"
She took the shirt form him and held it up to her tiny body. "No, this should be fine. Could you maybe…turn around?"
"Oh, yes, of course." He turned towards the window while she quickly changed.
"Ok, you can turn around now." He turned to look. It was amazing how sexy she looked in his shirt. Her voice brought him out of his gaze. "Do you need to get ready?"
"Um…I usually just sleep in a t-shirt and boxers. Is that ok?"
"Yeah, that's fine." She turned around while he took off his pants and shirt and put a t-shirt on. "Ok, you can turn around." She turned around. "Come one, I'll let you use my toothbrush…"
They went to the bathroom to brush their teeth and wash their faces. Then, they went back to his room and got into bed.
At first, they were as far apart as possible, a difficult task in a twin bed. "So, how did you like your afternoon classes?" Caroline was trying to break the tension.
"I only had 1, but it was good. It was painting, that's my specialty really, so it was good. What about you?"
"I had realistic drawing…it was ok…I'm just not very good at it…"
He turned on his side and propped his head up with his elbow. "Maybe I could help you sometime."
She turned on her side to face him, mirroring him with her head and elbow. Smiling, she said, "I'd like that."
He returned her smile and looked down. "Thank you for letting me stay here," she reached out to touch his hair, brushing a stray lock back into place, "I really appreciate it."
He leaned forward and pressed a soft kiss to her lips. "You're welcome." He rolled over on his back, pulling Caroline with him. She rested her head on his chest, her arm draped across his chest. He sighed, "This is nice."
"What is?"
"This…cuddling with someone…I've never had that before."
"Oh." She tightened her hold on him. He pulled her a little closer in return. They lay quietly for a few minutes, both enjoying the companionship.
"Richard?"
"Yeah?"
"I want you to know…I don't usually spend the night with a guy so soon…"
"I figured."
She took a deep breath, gathering up her courage. "I just feel really comfortable with you, like we have a connection…"
He kissed the top of her head, "I know."
She looked up, meeting his eyes with hers. "You feel it too?"
He nodded, never breaking eye contact. "Yes."
She crawled up on top of him, her face inches from his. They kissed again, soft and sweet before she settled back onto his chest. The cradled her with his left arm while he tucked his right behind his head.
"Goodnight Caroline."
"Goodnight Richard."
They were soon fast asleep, each with a gently smile on their face.
(to be continued)
By: Kaffy
Chapter 2: The First Date
He knocked on their door nervously. **Just be polite to that Annie girl, get Caroline, and go. Everything will fall into place from there.**
Annie opened the door, "Hey, Richie!"
"It's Richard, not Richie…"
"Sure, whatever you say Richie."
He rolled his eyes. "Is Caroline ready yet?"
Caroline yanked Annie away from the door. "Yeah, I'm ready. Bye Annie."
"Bye kids, don't do anything I wouldn't do."
This time, it was Caroline's turn to roll her eyes. She quickly shut the door as they headed down the stairs and out of the building. Once they got inside, Richard worked up the nerve to break the silence.
"So, are you coming here this fall?"
Relieved to have some conversation, Caroline answered, "No, I'm going to the University of Wisconsin, you?"
"NYU."
"Oh."
"So what does someone who wants to be a cartoonist major in?"
"I'm not sure really. Right now, I'm a fine arts major with a minor in business."
"But that might change?"
"Yeah, maybe, I'm not really sure."
"So, uh, what do you want to do tonight?"
"I don't know."
"Well, the main drag is just up the street there, that's where everything seems to be. Why don't we walk up there and see what there is?"
"That sounds good."
They walked aimlessly around campus, quietly talking and getting to know each other. She talked about her family and friends and what she wanted her cartoon to be about while he listened patiently. As much as she tried to get him to open up, he kept her at a distance, never revealing too much about himself. He mostly talked about art. It amazed Caroline how passionate he was about it. It seemed as though he could talk about it for hours on end. Eventually they came to a small diner just like the kind you see in old 50's movies.
"You hungry?" Richard asked.
"Yeah, I could eat."
He opened the door for her and gestured for her to go in. They were seated quickly, in a booth way in the back corner. "So," Richard asked, "Are you seeing anyone at home?"
She blushed. "Not really. I was but I just broke up with him."
"Oh."
"What about you?"
It was his turn to blush. "No, I've never really met anyone that I was interested in."
Her face dropped. "Oh."
"Oh, that sounds bad, I didn't mean you, ugh…" He sighed. "I'm not really good at this stuff…what I meant is I've never really met anyone I was interested in, until I met you."
She smiled and looked up, catching his gaze with hers. She reached across the table and grasped his hand. They kept up the small talk throughout the rest of their meal, probably for the first time in Richard's life. When they were finished, he quickly paid the bill and helped Caroline with her jacket.
"So," Richard asked as they got outside, "What do you want to do now?"
Her shyness came back up to the surface again, "Um…I don't know."
He reached down and grabbed her hand. "Want to keep walking?"
She nodded, smiling. They strolled around for the next hour. Slowly but surely, Caroline got Richard to open up and talk about his parents and sister. Eventually, they came to a small brook. They sat on the bank, still holding hands and talking quietly. "What classes are you taking while you're here?" Caroline asked.
"A painting class and a drawing seminar. You?"
"Mostly drawing classes, realistic and cartooning."
She leaned her head on his shoulder, causing him to tense up. She noticed and pulled back, a little disappointed. He gulped a breath of fresh air and a breath of confidence and put his arm around her shoulder. Smiling, she put her head back on his shoulder.
"You know, Richard, it's getting kind of late." She got no response. "Maybe we should get going…"
He seemed far off, "Yeah, maybe…" He got up and offered her his hand, helping her get up too."
"We don't have to go back if you don't want…"
"No, it's ok. We both have to get up early."
They walked back silently, holding hands, both deep in thought. Neither of them had ever met anyone like the other.
To Caroline, Richard was an enigma. Everyone she'd ever met was perky, always smiling, but Richard was different. He was dark and cynical, nothing she had ever seen before.
To Richard, Caroline was a dream. She represented everything he'd ever wanted to grow up with: a stable, happy family who gave everyone a chance. But also, he saw something in her eyes, she was special and he had to see more of her.
"So," Richard asked as they approached Jefferson, "Can I see you again?"
She smiled. "Yeah." She wrote down her number and gave it to him.
"Well, I guess this is goodnight…"
"Yeah, goodnight…"
He didn't want to let go of her hand, but he did, only to rest his on her cheek. He slowly leaned in and pressed a gentle kiss to her lips. It was soft and sweet, absolutely perfect. "Goodnight, Caroline." With that, they both went back to their rooms to think about the night's events.
*~*~*~*~*
"Well, what happened?"
"Oh my god, Annie! It was great!"
Annie smiled, "Really?"
"Oh, yeah."
"So, what did you do?"
"We went for a walk, then out to eat at this cute little diner, then walked some more. Then, we got to this little stream and sat and talked for a little while, then he walked me back here and…um…said goodnight."
"Uh, huh…" Annie grinned, knowing something more had happened and implying that she wanted to hear more.
"Stop, I'm not one to kiss and tell."
"Aww, man, come on, after all the work I did to introduce you two…"
"Ok ok. He walked me home and kissed me goodnight."
"So, are you seeing him again?"
"Yeah, he said he'd call tomorrow after classes."
"You are so luck you met him already."
Caroline grinned, "I know."
*~*~*~*~*
Richard collapsed onto his bed, smiling gently. It was a good night. He had never felt like this before, never felt like this about anyone. Caroline was definitely special. Normally, a person like her would drive him insane, pure, wholesome, naïve. But, she was also kind, caring, and genuinely interested in getting to know him. Not to mention that kiss. It was unlike anything he had ever experienced, sweet and innocent. He smiled just thinking about it. Tomorrow seemed like a decade away. He sighed and rolled over, falling asleep a few minutes later.
*~*~*~*~*
The next day, classes started. They all woke up early and got ready. Annie bounded up the hill to go to her dance class across campus. Both Richard and Caroline had classes in the art building that morning, but not together. They saw each other walking around between classes, politely waving and smiling. They both had a break at noon for lunch.
Caroline sat outside on the steps, eating an apple while she waited for Annie. She didn't hear Richard approach her from behind.
"Hey."
"Oh, hey, Richard." He sat down next to her. "How are your classes so far?"
"Well, I've only had my drawing seminar, but it went pretty well."
"Good."
"How are yours?"
"Good. I just had my cartooning class. I was the only one in it, kind of like an independent study, so it was pretty cool."
"Good."
It was at that moment that Annie walked up, also on a break for lunch.
"Hey Caroline! Hey Richie!" He didn't even bother to correct her.
"Hey Annie, how are classes so far?" Caroline asked.
"Tiring, I've been dancing for the last 3 hours straight. But, it's ok because I met a guy in class, and let's just say he's limber." She smirked.
Caroline smiled while Richard just rolled his eyes and looked away.
"So are you guys going out again tonight? Huh? Huh? Huh?"
Richard looked over at Caroline and shrugged, "Want to?"
"Sure, but I really want to know why Annie is so anxious to know…"
"I invited Seth back to the room later on." She smiled sheepishly.
Caroline laughed, "Well, if Richard can stand me for another night…"
He nodded. "I think I could handle it." He smiled to himself. **Handle it? Now that's an understatement!** "I'll call you later on. But now if you'll excuse me, I have some stuff to do at home." He gently squeezed Caroline's hand, "I'll see you later." He got up and walked towards his dorm.
"Come on Annie, let's go get some lunch and you can tell me all about this Seth."
"Ok."
*~*~*~*~*
It was around 7 that night when Richard called. Both he and Caroline had work to do for their classes, so they decided to hang out in his room and work on the sketches.
"Ok, see you Annie, have fun tonight!"
"You too." Annie winked.
Caroline rolled her eyes and shut the door. She walked the couple of streets over to his building, climbed the stairs, and knocked on his door.
"Come in," came the muffled response from behind the door.
She opened it slowly, revealing Richard sprawled out on his bed with a pencil and sketchpad, drawing furiously. "Hey Richard."
He looked up and smiled. "Hey. Have a seat." She sat opposite him on a small chair and took in his surroundings. His room was a single, and therefore, much smaller than hers. It really only had room for a bed, desk, and extra chair.
"What are you working on?"
"Just some sketches for class."
"Oh." Caroline pulled out her sketchpad and started to sketch herself. They made small talk while they did their work. A couple of hours passed before they knew it, but they were still talking and getting to know each other a little better. The phone interrupted them.
"Who the hell would be calling me?" he perplexed, "You're the only person I know here…hello?"
"Hi Richie, is Caroline there?"
"Yeah, hold on…Caroline, it's Annie."
She took the phone, "What's up?"
"Do you know what time you're coming home?"
"No, why?"
"Well, um…Seth and I are…uh…just trying to make some plans…" She sounded distracted.
"Um, hold on…uh, Richard?"
He looked up, "What?"
"Annie wants to know when I'm coming home…"
"Why?"
Caroline blushed and covered the receiver with her hand, "I think she wants to know if I can spend the night here so Seth can spend the night at our room."
It was Richard's turn to blush, "Yeah, I guess that would be ok."
She turned back to the phone, "Annie? I think I'm just going to spend the night here…"
"Oh really?"
"Yeah," she looked over at Richard, who was back to his drawing and not really paying attention. "So, you can go ahead an let Seth spend the night."
"How did you know that was why I was calling?"
"I could just tell."
"Ok, well, have fun tonight."
"You too, be careful."
"I will. See you tomorrow."
"Yeah. Bye." She hung up the phone and looked over at Richard. "Are you sure this is ok? I don't want to impose."
He smiled, "Caroline, it's fine, I swear. I'll just sleep on the floor."
"No, no, no, no, no…I couldn't let you do that, I'll sleep on the floor."
"No really, it's fine. You're the guest, you take the bed…"
"But I would feel bad, you take the bed, I insist."
"No."
He said it so simply, she knew there was no way she would change his mind. But, she didn't want to make him sleep on the floor. "Well, we could both sleep in the bed…"
His head shot up, "What?"
Realizing what he thought she meant, she blushed. "No, not like that…just sleeping…"
"I guess we could…" He was apprehensive. The more he got to know Caroline, the more attracted to her he became. He wasn't sure how his body would respond if he slept next to her all night. "Are you sure though?"
She smiled sweetly at him. "Yeah."
He smiled shyly and looked to the ground. "Well, I'm pretty much done."
"Me too."
"Do you want to go out and do something?"
She looked at the clock, it read midnight. "Isn't kind of late to go out?"
"Yeah, I guess so. Are you tired?"
"No, not really."
"Me neither." She got up and sat next to him on the bed. "So…"
"So…" They both looked to the floor, letting the awkwardness of the situation surround them. Richard finally broke the silence. "What do you want to do now?"
She grasped his hand, causing him to look up and catch her eyes. "I don't know." He slowly leaned and brushed his lips across hers. They both pulled back for a brief moment to look in each other's eyes before leaning in for a deeper, more engaging kiss. Caroline opened her lips slightly, brushing her tongue against his lips and inviting his tongue to do the same. Their tongues danced together, soft but sensual. They continued to kiss lovingly for a few minutes before Caroline pulled away, "Wow."
"Yeah…wow." He pressed another gently kiss to her lips before pulling away. "Um…do you want to go to bed?"
She looked to the floor disappointed. "I guess."
He sensed her disappointment. "Are you tired?"
She wasn't, but she didn't want to keep him up if he was. "Are you?"
He smiled, "I asked you first."
She smiled back. "I asked you second."
He sighed. "You won't let me win this will you?" She shook her head, laughing lightly. "No, I'm not really tired, but there isn't much to do here."
"Yeah." She touched her chin pensively. "Maybe we could just get ready for bed. Then, we can jut lie down and talk and whatever happens, happens."
"Yeah, ok."
"Do you have something I can sleep in?"
"Oh, yes of course." He pulled out a big t-shirt. "Is this ok? Or do you need bottoms too?"
She took the shirt form him and held it up to her tiny body. "No, this should be fine. Could you maybe…turn around?"
"Oh, yes, of course." He turned towards the window while she quickly changed.
"Ok, you can turn around now." He turned to look. It was amazing how sexy she looked in his shirt. Her voice brought him out of his gaze. "Do you need to get ready?"
"Um…I usually just sleep in a t-shirt and boxers. Is that ok?"
"Yeah, that's fine." She turned around while he took off his pants and shirt and put a t-shirt on. "Ok, you can turn around." She turned around. "Come one, I'll let you use my toothbrush…"
They went to the bathroom to brush their teeth and wash their faces. Then, they went back to his room and got into bed.
At first, they were as far apart as possible, a difficult task in a twin bed. "So, how did you like your afternoon classes?" Caroline was trying to break the tension.
"I only had 1, but it was good. It was painting, that's my specialty really, so it was good. What about you?"
"I had realistic drawing…it was ok…I'm just not very good at it…"
He turned on his side and propped his head up with his elbow. "Maybe I could help you sometime."
She turned on her side to face him, mirroring him with her head and elbow. Smiling, she said, "I'd like that."
He returned her smile and looked down. "Thank you for letting me stay here," she reached out to touch his hair, brushing a stray lock back into place, "I really appreciate it."
He leaned forward and pressed a soft kiss to her lips. "You're welcome." He rolled over on his back, pulling Caroline with him. She rested her head on his chest, her arm draped across his chest. He sighed, "This is nice."
"What is?"
"This…cuddling with someone…I've never had that before."
"Oh." She tightened her hold on him. He pulled her a little closer in return. They lay quietly for a few minutes, both enjoying the companionship.
"Richard?"
"Yeah?"
"I want you to know…I don't usually spend the night with a guy so soon…"
"I figured."
She took a deep breath, gathering up her courage. "I just feel really comfortable with you, like we have a connection…"
He kissed the top of her head, "I know."
She looked up, meeting his eyes with hers. "You feel it too?"
He nodded, never breaking eye contact. "Yes."
She crawled up on top of him, her face inches from his. They kissed again, soft and sweet before she settled back onto his chest. The cradled her with his left arm while he tucked his right behind his head.
"Goodnight Caroline."
"Goodnight Richard."
They were soon fast asleep, each with a gently smile on their face.
(to be continued)
