Chapter 7
Jase
I crank up the radio and settle back as the t highway stretches before me. Having already missed my
afternoon ss yesterday because of my soiree with Avery, I take off for home, driving three hours just
to check on my mom. I never used to bother going home much my first two years away at college. But
a suicide attempt changes things. I won’t be able to rx or focus on ss until I see her with my own
eyes.
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When I arrive, my dad is immediately in my face, provoking a fight that nearly leads to blows. He treats
her like shit, and I’ve had it with him. But I try to focus on the fact that she seems to be doing better.
It’s a quick trip – I take her out to lunch and we just talk. Sometimes I worry she doesn’t eat enough,
especially when my dad is out of town, which is often. With no one there to cook for, I have a feeling
she just doesn’t eat. It’s more than just taking her out to lunch, though; I need to check on her, to make
sure she’s okay. I don’t know if I’ll ever forgive myself for not realizing how close she’d been to
checking out. It makes me realize I can’t take her for granted.
Settling into the drive home, I should make it back in time for my human sexuality ss, the ss I’ve
most been looking forward to this semester. Professor Gibbs’ infamous lectures have generated plenty
of buzz on campus over the years. It should be an easy A, and of course features my favorite topic –
sex.
One hand rests on the wheel while the other tugs restlessly through my hair. I can’t stop thinking about
Avery. Spending time with her yesterday was…unexpected. Her beingfortable enough to fall
asleep in my bed? Shocking. And sexy.
I remember her skittish reaction when Stacia said she looked familiar. She looked like she wanted to
dive for cover under my bed. Between hiding behind dumpsters to being terrified of my none-too-bright
ex, Avery is a mystery. She’s like a scared little wisp of a girl I want to coax out of her shell.
Even I’m not sure of my own motivations since I doubt she’ll ever be one of my conquests. Which I both
like – and don’t. She’s definitely tempting, with soft curves that fill out her jeans, long unruly hair, and
especially her wide green eyes and soft mouth. Shit. I’m going to give myself a hard-on if I’m not
careful.
I pull into the campus parking lot just as my ss is starting. I’m going to bete. Finding the lecture
hall a few minutester, I pause at the doors to look for an empty seat. Professor Gibbs is tall, bald-
headed and is pacing the front of the room. The room is full and silent, aside from him. He pauses just
briefly as his gaze meets mine, then he returns to lecturing – making a point about society and self-
image. I zero in on an empty seat in the back of the room when movement catches my attention. A
sh of auburn hair streaks through my vision and makes my heart gallop. Avery.
She sits several rows up and her cheeks blossom when she meets my eyes. I can’t help but smile at
the sight of her. I maneuver between the rows of seats, and a few nasty lookster, I’m in the chair next
to her.
“Hey Whistle.”
She rolls her eyes before facing the front once again, but the little curve of her mouth tells me she’s
happy to see me. That little curve shouldn’t make me feel so good.
I lean closer to whisper near her ear. Traces of floral shampoo greet me. “What’d I miss?”
“I didn’t even know you were in this ss. You weren’t herest week.”
I like that she noticed that. “I was gonest week – had to check on my mom,” I whisper back.
Her eyebrows draw together and then she turns to the front of the room again. I can’t help but notice
she already has a full page of notes scrawled neatly across her notebook and is nervously bouncing a
chewed, tattered pen in her hand. Abandoning my inspection of Avery for the moment, I tune in to our
lecture. Gibbs is a lively speaker, and it’s easy to lose yourself in his words. I pull out the sybus I
printed from online and follow along the second week’s lesson: You – A Sexual Case Study. Oh yeah,
this ss is going to be awesome. And Avery’s faint blush during the lecture makes it hard to focus.
Professor Gibbs’ pacing leads him to the side of the room where Avery and I are seated. He pauses in
front of us, pondering his next thought. “I’ve structured this ss to allow you to explore your sexuality
after finding that many of my students received abstinence-only education in high school.” A few people
in the room look at each other, wondering where he’s going with this lesson, when he continues.
“Abstinence is often not the reality in college, or in high school for that matter. To remedy that, we’ll
explore gender roles in society like it says on my sybus, but we won’t just pontificate about these
topics as obscure things unconnected to who we are. You’ll explore your own sexuality through a
weekly journaling assignment.”
He passes out stacks of small ck notebooks to everyone seated in the front row. The notebooks
begin making their way around the room as everyone takes one.
“These are your journals. And to get you started, I’ll provide the topic for your first journaling
assignment. Turn to the person next to you. Doesn’t matter if it’s a member of the same or opposite
sex.”
I turn to face Avery. Her cheeks were rosy before, but now she’s blushing like crazy and he hasn’t even
given us the assignment. It’s so damn cute.
“Open your journal. I want you to check out the person across from you.” A few softughs erupt in the
room. “No talking,” Professor Gibbs reminds us.
I remain silent, slouched in my seat, and take in Avery’s stiff posture. If this is a study on the other
person’sfort level on sex, Avery will win for most ufortable. She looks like she’s about to flee
the room. Why did she even sign up for this ss? It’s a voluntary elective.
Professor Gibbs exins the journaling assignment. He’s looking to make a statement on positive self-
image, self-love. Getting young women to see themselves more clearly, epting, boosting self-
confidence, both inside the bedroom and out; and getting young men to take note of more than what’s
underneath their clothes. My eyes flick to Avery’s. She’s tuned in to his every word. Even I have to
admit, it’s an interesting assignment.
The topic of our first journaling exercise is what we find appealing, beautiful about the opposite sex. A
few snidements andughs circte the room, until Professor Gibbs redirects us to think about
the umon body parts, like hands and eyes. Then pushes us to go one step farther. He approaches
me and Avery again, stopping in front of our desks. When he asks us each our names, Avery’s blush
deepens again. He’s going to use us as an example in front of the ss. I don’t care; I just don’t want
him to embarrass her.
Professor Gibbs turns to Avery. “You’ll partner up and take note of each other’s characteristics. For
example, Jase’s hands…” He encourages me to lift them for the ss to see. I hold them out in front of
me awkwardly. “He would make a good provider with those strong hands.”
Avery’s pretty green eyes follow my movements and remain on my hands even after I’ve lowered them
to the desk.
Professor Gibbs returns to the front, leaving Avery and me alone. I don’t care that we are in a room full
of people. She’s fucking turning me on.
Being able to check out Avery for the sake of schoolwork is an amazing thing. She bites her lip and
begins jotting something down in her journal. I wish I knew what the hell she was writing. Is it the thing
Professor said about my hands? Somehow I doubt it is. Her gaze rakes over my jaw, down my chest, to
my biceps, and it’s driving me insane. Each look is like a caress. It hits me like a jolt. I can practically
feel her undressing me with her eyes. Shit. Who is this girl? She’s innocent and sexy all at once, and I
know I’m in trouble. My heart is pumping fast, and I feel myself getting hard.
I flip open my own journal, needing the distraction. There are so many things I could write about Avery,
but staring down at the nk page, I’m unsure where to begin. I’ve never kept a journal, but I have a
feeling writing about her will be easy.
I take a deep breath and try to focus on the non-traditional body parts like Professor Gibbs reminded
us. That way I’m not the perv staring at her tits. Which are exceptionally nice, I quickly note. Her head
is still tipped down, so hopefully she didn’t notice my indiscretion. Damn, she’s writing a freaking novel.
Is there really that much to say?
I swallow and focus on my notebook, finally writing, Her soft skin – it makes me want to protect her. I
close the book before she has the chance to see what I wrote. God, I sound like a pussy.
I lean closer to Avery, and she ms her journal closed. But not before I see that she’s written an entire
page about me. Wow. “Had a lot to say, huh?” I whisper, offering a weak smile. She makes me feel so
unsure and alive all at the same time.
She just shrugs, trying to downy the assignment. But I can’t. There’s something happening between
us. And I want to explore what it is.
“Do you have ss after this?” I ask.
“No. Why?” she whispers back.
“Come get coffee with me.” It’s not a question and Avery just nods before turning to face the front of the
room again.
The rest of the ss drags by, as interesting as the topic is. The soft, feminine scent of Avery distracts
me. Once we get outside, I wait for her toe up with an excuse, but she doesn’t. She walks by my
side, her eyes looking everywhere but at me. And really, that’s all the encouragement I
need.