Chapter Ten – In the Closet

"It's as though they purposefully waited to give us all of this homework right after holiday." Michael's whine in the dining hall wasn't too far from the truth. The weeks after coming back from holiday were a busy time for every student around the university. Chris wrote so many papers and essays that his hand seemed to be in a constant cramp. "I haven't seen Melody in days. Look at my arm, Chris." Michael thrust his arm forward. "I'm having withdrawals."

"Oh, for God's sake, get a grip." Chris flexed his stiff fingers. "You'll see her over the weekend, you sap."

"If I ever get done with the math homework in this century," Michael grumbled as he poked at his oatmeal. He glanced to the other side of the hall and saw Anne sitting by herself, shooting a murderous glare at the back of Chris's head. "You know, if looks could kill, your head would be plastered all over the wall behind me." She got up from the table and Michael looked back down quickly at his oatmeal.

"What were you staring at?" She barked as she came to their table.

"I wasn't staring," Michael said calmly.

"Oh, so the wall behind me was apparently very interesting." There was no mistaking the condescending sarcasm in her voice.

"I wasn't staring," Michael repeated, his voice starting to sound extremely annoyed.

"Anne, stop." Chris set his notebook down and looked up at her. "Don't attack Mike. You're mad at me, not him."

"You're damn right I'm pissed off at you," she spat. "I thought you were different from all the others, but no, you're the same." She looked at the men around the table, who were staring at her. "You're all the same!" She shouted, making the entire dining hall quiet down suddenly.

"For God's sakes, Anne." Chris stood to his feet, grabbing her arm to pull her out the door and to the snowy grounds outside. "Are you trying to make yourself look crazy?" he snapped.

Her lip quivered slightly. "I love you, Chris. What did I do to make you not love me?" she asked tearfully, pawing furiously at her eyes.

"Anne, it's not that." Chris felt some sympathy for the poor girl. She looked absolutely heartbroken. "You're very nice, but you deserve someone that will love you back, and that's just not me." She sniffled and huffed, storming back into the dining hall and knocking over a tray of silverware on the way back to her table. Chris sighed and rubbed the back of his neck with his hand.

"I suppose she isn't taking things too well." Michael said as he came out and handed Chris his bag and notebook. "She looked positively mad in there."

"She'll be all right," Chris said as he took his things. They turned around to walk back to their room, passing by a classroom where Linda was coming out.

"I'll see you later." Michael didn't have time to reply to Chris's quick goodbye; he turned and watched with exasperation as Chris followed Linda, who was reading from a book as she walked down the open walkway.

"He just doesn't know when to quit…" Michael muttered, turning around to continue walking.

"Linda!" Linda stopped and turned around to see Chris jogging to catch up to her.

"Oh, hello Chris." She looked happy to see him. "How was your holiday?"

"Spent it with my three idiot brothers and my overbearing mother…but the food was good," he said with a nod. She laughed.

"Sounds interesting."

"Mmph. Did you…end up meeting Peter?"

Linda tilted her head slightly. "I did."

"And…?" Chris asked slowly, hoping he wasn't looking too hungry for information.

"He's not my type," she said simply, shrugging.

"I didn't think he would be," he said with what he hoped was a level voice.

"Of course you did." They stared at each other, Linda looking curiously thoughtful. She had no idea how beautiful she looked when she was thinking; it was on the tip of Chris's tongue to tell her so, but instead, he cleared his throat.

"Listen, I was wondering if you had some time tonight, maybe we could go into town and-"

"Linda!" A tall and lanky man came out of nowhere and clapped her on the shoulder. "Are you coming to study group?"

"Oh, it's today, isn't it?" Linda groaned, shutting her book. "I'm coming. Wait for me and we'll walk together."

"Okay." The man smiled at her and glanced at Chris, quickly walking off.

"I'm sorry," she said as she /turned back to face him. "Umm…you want to talk, yes, umm, I won't be back till late, so can we talk tomorrow?"

Chris sighed, throwing up his hand. "I guess so," he muttered.

"Okay, I'll come find you tomorrow." With a jog away from him, she caught up with the mysterious man and they walked across the grounds together, laughing loudly at something the boy said in her ear. Chris's eyes narrowed and he spun around to walk back toward his dorm house, positively fuming at the interruption. But his anger soon disappeared as a thought came to his mind: Linda didn't tell him what TIME she would talk to him- just that it had to happen tomorrow…

Thankfully, Michael is a very deep sleeper, Chris thought with a mischievous smirk as he continued toward the dormitory...

The homework was impossible.

Linda threw her pencil to the side and sighed, rubbing her hands over her tired eyes. After tutoring the group from her math class and trying to do her own homework, she was exhausted. But her mind was still racing. Chris wanted to talk to her and she was picturing all sorts of scenarios on how the conversation would go, and none of them seem to be the right conversation.

She glanced at the clock on the desk. 2:21 AM. With a sigh, she reached under the desk to shut the lamp off…

But a soft knock started her. She stayed still, wondering if it wasn't just her imagination, but the knock came again, just a tad bit louder. With a look to Fran to make sure was still sleeping, Linda got up and went to the door, opening it slowly. The lights in hall were dim, and it was hard to see, but she knew that profile anywhere...

"Chris?" Chirs didnt blame Linda for sounding confused as to why he was standing in front of her dorm room in the wee hours of the morning. After all, it wasn't exactly appropriate for him to be there in the first place and he wandered how long it was going to take her to realize the situation. Almost immediately, her eyes widened with surprise. "What are you doing here?" Her voice sounded high pitched with fear.

"I need to talk to you," he whispered. Linda blinked and opened her mouth to say something, but closed it again.

"How did you get in?" She finally choked out.

"Picked the lock," he said. "I really should have a word with the groundskeeper in the morning,;it isn't safe for you ladies to be in a place where breaking in would be so utterly simple." Linda blinked, looking as though she was literally lost for words to say.

"I thought I said I'd talk to you tomorrow," she said.

"It is tomorrow," he said matter-of-factly.

"For the love of God," Linda rubbed her forehead. "This couldn't wait until later in the day?" she asked with a shake of her head. Chris paused and pondered her question.

"It could," he finally acknowledged. "But I decided I wanted to talk now." Linda's hand flew to her forehead, connecting with a rather loud smack. She opened her mouth to reply, but a door opening down the hall stopped her.

"Sh-" Chris felt himself get jerked by his shirt into the dorm room and Linda shut the door as quietly as she could. They both stopped and listened for sounds outside, but nothing came close to the room and all became quiet again. Fran snored loudly from her bed, muttering something incoherent.

"Oh my God." Linda sounded as though she was about to have a heart attack. "You're in my dorm room after hours. I let you in my dorm. We're in so much trouble," she whined, resting her forehead against the door.

"We didn't get caught, now did we?" Chris asked innocently and his arm stung with a hard smack.

"Hush," Linda snapped, looking at Fran, who snorted again. "You're lucky she's a hard sleeper. In the closet." She pushed him toward the door that led to the small closet and shoved him inside, following him and shutting the door behind her. The light bulb switched on and a very angry Linda stared up at him.

"I have half a mind to kill you," she said tightly.

"You're acting as though I've committed a crime."

"And breaking into buildings after hours isn't a crime?!" Linda fiercely whispered. "Chris, you can't just do that!"

"Lin, relax," he said gently. "I've broken into many places I wasn't supposed to be and got out just fine."

"How-I-I don't even-" Linda stopped and breathed out a long sigh. "What in the world were you thinking?" she finally asked.

"I told you, I came here to talk," he repeated.

Linda groaned in exasperation and shook her head. "Well, since you're here, might as well talk." Leaning back against the door and crossing her arms, she eyed him. "I daresay your girlfriend probably wouldn't approve of this."

"I don't have a girlfriend."

She blinked. "Since when?"

"Since we got back."

"Ah. Well, that's a nice New Year's gift. 'Happy New Year, you're single'." Chris rolled his eyes at Linda's sarcastic tone. "Why did you break up?" She asked, returning to her normal voice.

"She wasn't who I wanted," he said simply.

Linda visibility stiffened. "And who would be who you really want?"

"Do you really have to ask me that?" Chris reached out to brush a curl from her face and ran his finger very lightly down her cheek. "Why do you insist on fighting it?"

"Fighting what?"

"The chemistry between us." He inched closer to her in the small space. "Come now, Lin, you can't tell me you don't see it, that you don't feel it when we're together. It's electricity between us."

Linda swallowed. "Of course I know it's there," she breathed out after a few seconds. "It's impossible to ignore."

"So let's do something about it." Chris grabbed her arms gently. "We've been dancing around our feelings for far too long." She put her hands on his chest to keep him back a couple of inches, but froze. He wasn't sure, but he could swear that she seemed to be rather entranced at the fact that her hands were actually touching him.

"We have, haven't we?" Her voice sounded airy as she very slowly ran her hands over the hard planes of his chest.

"I know that you want to be loyal to your parents' wishes." Chris's body was hypersensitive to each stroke of her hands, but he fought to keep his mind on what he was saying. "But underneath the layers of obligations, the requirements, you have desires and wants." She closed her eyes, but he gently shook her and her eyes snapped back open, her quiet breaths slightly tickling his lips.

"I like you, Linda," Chris whispered. "More than I've ever liked another girl...another woman," he corrected. "I can't explain why I'm so attracted to you; of course, you're smart, but there's more to you than your genius intellect. And I...I want to know what's beyond that," he finally finished after a few seconds of fumbling and instantly, he felt his cheeks flush with embarrassment. If there was ever a time where he was so amazingly awkward, it was that moment. The silence from her stretched on so long that he half expected her to reject him yet again, but he saw her eyes drift to his lips and his heart began to race in excitement and nervousness. But as much he wanted to try and kiss her, he willed himself to stay still.

She needs to make the first move toward me; this is up to her now...

He felt her start to slightly shake.

"Do you want me to leave?" he asked softly. She shook her head.

"No, I just...I'm...having...I don't..." she paused and pursed her lips. "It just doesn't make sense to me."

"What doesn't?"

"Why you...like me so much."

He cupped her cheek and smiled. "You know, as much as you want to always have the upper hand in figuring things out, there are some things that you'll never be able to understand." He almost chuckled at her look of offense. "I don't mean that in an insulting way."

"The chemistry of attraction is incredibly simple-" she started to say, but Chris put a finger to her lips.

"I'm sure that it is," he said patiently. "But experiencing it firsthand is very different from reading about it in a textbook, which is what you're used to doing." He removed his finger slowly." As much I want to carry on this conversation, I think it best that I leave before Fran wakes up." Linda blinked and slowly moved out of the way of the door, but as he reached to the knob, she grabbed his arm.

"Wait..." She took a deep breath as he turned to face her, waiting for her to speak. She opened and shut her mouth a few times and then finally, with a look of what he assumed was determination, she grabbed his shirt and pulled him into her body, her lips gently kissing his. He instantly felt like she doused him with fire; he pushed her back against the wall and returned her kiss just as eagerly, cupping her face. His senses spun as they were filled with her intoxicating scent. Chris never imagined that his first real kiss would be in a closet at university with the girl's best friend sleeping right outside the door, but it was...the most perfect moment of his life. As the seconds ticked by, their innocent first kiss was quickly taking a turn toward something dangerous and reluctantly, Linda pulled back from his lips.

"Before this goes too far," she said gently.

"Oh, yes." Chris released her head and stepped back, slightly shuffling his feet. "Sorry."

"No, no, don't be. That was...quite nice," she said with a smile.

"Does that mean I can kiss you again?" he asked with a hopeful tone. She chuckled and let him pull her into for another gentle kiss and a hug.

"So you don't have a girlfriend," she said after a couple of seconds of silence and basking in his attention of stroking her hair and back.

"I do now," he muttered. "That is, if you want to be."

"Of course I do," she said as she pulled back to look at him and touched his cheek with her fingertips, feeling the light scruff of his five o' clock shadow. "But we have to keep it quiet," she said seriously.

"My lips are sealed."

"I can't tell my parents at all."

"I expected as much. A secret romance...I have to admit, it's kind of exciting."

She rolled her eyes. "Only you would think so," she said tiredly. Chris chuckled.

"You know, I really should leave now." With a cute pout, Linda left his arms and turned around to open the closet door. Thankfully, Fran was still sleeping, her snores quieter than they were before. They left the small space and Linda opened the dorm room door to look out tentatively.

"All right, it's clear."

"Meet me in the library later today." Before he walked by, Chris gently grabbed her jaw and kissed her again, slowly pulling away. "See you later." He walked down the hall and she shut the door, running to the window to make sure he got out unseen. She breathed out a sigh of relief as he walked across the grounds to his own dorm.

"Linda," Fran muttered suddenly, making Linda jump and gasp. "Next time you and Chris decide to snog, do try and be a little quieter, yeah?" She blushed a furious shade of red, brushing at her shirt.

"And by the way." There was a smile in Fran's voice. "It's about damn time you became that mad man's girlfriend."

"Oh hush," Linda chuckled and laid down in her bed. "He is mad, isn't he?" she asked after a minute.

"And that's why you like him," Fran yawned, falling back asleep with a loud snort.

"Yeah...that's why I do," Linda agreed with a smile and she turned over on her side, falling into a peaceful sleep.