Image: Marc Solomon.

Mood: swipe left and tap the media box above to listen to I Love You Always Forever covered by Betty Who.

Lydia

After that night, I fell asleep in Marc's arms, only to be woken up in the morning by the harsh sunlight. I thought he would have left, but he was still asleep. I put my clothes back on and walked out of the house as quietly as I could.

I performed the awkward walk of shame as I passed right by a few people who were already up from their drunken slumber.

Don't look back.

Then, I caught the bus back to my place and called Carrie.

"Carrie, you are not going to believe what happened!"

"Hmmm, darling, I'm still asleep."

"Sorry, you want me to call you back later?"

"Nah. What's up, sweetie?"

"I just did the walk of shame. I slept with Marc Solomon last night."

"Hmm, yeah, I figured. You did WHAT?"

Later that day, I met up with Carrie at the campus bookshop cafe and outdoor restaurant at a reasonable hour. She was with Johan and his sister, Kelsey, who was visiting for the weekend.

Guess who also turned up about thirty minutes into our conversation? Marc freakin' Solomon! He had showered, changed, and looked... well, like a demigod. I couldn't believe I slept with this guy the night before.

Marc and Johan greeted each other and did some handshake I'd seen guys do in movies and TV shows. Marc pulled a seat next to me and asked if it was fine for him to sit there.

"Go right ahead," I said, trying to act relaxed and carefree.

He ordered a coffee, an Americano. I ordered a skinny chai latte. After the waiter took the order, Marc looked over at me and leaned forward.

"Hey, how are you?" He stroked my arm, gazing deeply into my eyes. Oh, he was super fine!

"I'm good, how about yourself?" I asked calmly. Inside, my nerves were a jittery mess. Carrie glanced at me and then at Johan. Oh, dear.

"Never better," he smiled a super big grin and leaned back. He stretched out his arm, covered his yawn with his right hand, and simultaneously placed his left arm around the back of my chair, lightly gripping the edge.

"Did you enjoy last night?" he teased.

I nearly spat my water out. Could he be any more provoking? What did he want? When was my chai latte coming?

The conversation among the group continued, and we talked about sunrises and sunsets on the beach. This led to Marc asking me to join him on a beach walk later in the week and a party next weekend.

I excused myself to the bathroom and asked Carrie to come with me.

"He's really into you, Lyds," Carrie said.

"You know his rep; he's a big-time player, but if you want to have a bit of fun and see where it goes, then take the risk. If you want something more long term, like marriage material, then-"

"I'm not ready for marriage," I squeaked. I paused, then said, "I'll take a chance with him."

After having coffee, Carrie and Johan left me with Marc. We talked some more, and he held my hand as we walked through the campus greens. Oh. My. I noticed people were looking at us. The hunky QB and little me. Marc and Missy. Except, he didn't call me Missy. That's not who I was to him. He called me Lyds.

I also noticed that Marc was popular. Really popular. Nearly everywhere we went, and when we met during breaks between lectures, people came up to him. Both guys and girls. The guys bonded with him, and the girls flirted with him, eyeing me warily and asking who I was. A few had the courtesy to introduce themselves and shook my hand when they noticed I was with him.

A few days later, Marc took me to the beach to watch the sunset. As we sat down, I snuggled close to him, breathing in his musky scent of sandalwood and cedar. Then, we started our exchange of deep kisses.

He was an experienced lover who mastered the art of enticement. I loved the way he caressed the sides of my waist and upward, rubbing the sides of my breasts and running his hands up and down my thighs. He knew what he was doing. I broke the intoxicating kiss to breathe the fresh coastal air. I was a blushing woman who was ravished by Marc's expert kisses.

"Marc, I don't want you to think I'm easy. I also don't want you to think I want to get you into a relationship," I said. "I hear you're kind of wild. Are the rumors true?"

Marc caressed my left shoulder, rubbing his thumb in circular motions.

"What do you think, Lyds?" He had a wicked grin.

"I don't know," I smiled at him.

"I can be wild. I can be tame. I can be whatever you want me to be," he said.

I giggled.

"Lyds, I think you're exceptional. You're the most beautiful woman I've seen." Marc was still caressing my shoulder with one hand and rubbing up and down my thighs, teasing me with his fingers as they explored my inner thighs.

"Do you want to try and see where we're going? Be my girl?"

"Are you for real?" I was grinning from ear to ear. "I'd love to try it out!"

He then touched my chin, tilted my head towards him, and his mouth met mine.

I was falling hard and heavily like a bag of bricks for Marc. That night, he came to my room and slept over. When we made love, I felt his hard body rocking against mine. He was my Heracles, so strong, powerful, and experienced. My fingers traced each contour of the marbled muscles as his body moved with mine during intercourse.

When he left my room the next morning, some of the girls pulled me aside and asked me a series of Q&A. There was a lot of buzz in the house about me being Marc's girlfriend. People were talking. Not in a bad way, either. People were curious. It was so surreal.

During one weekend party, Marc said he wanted no boundaries between us. The party was a raucous affair. People were doing naked runs as dares, guys drinking shots off women's bodies and vice versa, people smoking weed, drunken skunks meandering around, and one fight-both individuals were told to break it up and go home. I'd never seen anything like it before.

I wasn't sure if removing the boundaries was a good idea, as I didn't know Marc that well.

However, Marc convinced me that we would have a fantastic experience together. He said he was clean and that he was tested a few weeks before I came along. I told him he was the second guy I'd ever been with and that I was clean.

I knew Marc had many lovers before. I knew at least one girl in my literature class who had slept with him. She said he was wild. I had no idea how many people he'd been with, and I didn't want to know, either.

The following week, I was at the campus clinic, getting a prescription for the contraceptive pill. I saw Elsie walk out of the clinic. Her eyes were red and swollen. I wondered if she was still with jerk-ass.

---

Jake

I met up with Carrie and Zach at a club last night. When I asked Carrie how Missy was, she went quiet.

"Carrie, is Missy okay?" I was anxious now. The worst thoughts sprang into mind. Was Lydia hurting herself? Was she getting help? Was she okay? Was she alive?

Carrie touched my arm and smiled as if she felt sorry for me.

"Jake, Lydia is having the time of her life."

"She is?" I was relieved.

"Yeah. You don't need to worry about her."

"I miss her, Carr. I really do. She didn't take my calls or messages. So I'm giving her the time and space she needs." I opened up to Carrie. She knew Missy better than anyone else did.

"How are things with Elsie?" Carrie asked. "I hear you guys are still friends, with a few benefits, no doubt."

"I dropped the benefits. We had a scare," I told her about Elsie's false alarm.

Elsie and I thought she was pregnant, but today we found out she was late for her period. When I believed she was pregnant, I was shit scared. I saw a life of misery. However, Elsie told me there was no baby, and I felt a weight lift off my shoulders. Not only was I relieved, but I realized I had to cut all strings. I couldn't continue living a lie.

"I see," Carrie said. "Are you okay?"

"I'm better than ever, Carrie. I've had the space to think things through. I don't belong to Elsie or anyone else. I need my freedom."

"Jake, that's good to hear." Carrie smiled. "You're free to date whoever you want."

"You know who I want," I replied.

Carrie stared at me as if I was wearing a straitjacket. "You're still chasing that dream?"

"I know Lydia loves me. She told me once. Now here's our chance to be together." There. I said it. I voiced my dream. I imagined making love to Lydia for so long. I wanted to be with her.

"Jake, I have to tell you something."

Shit. That didn't sound good.

"Lydia is seeing someone. She's really into him. I think she's in love."

"What. The. Fuck?" I stared at Carrie with disbelief.

"When? How?" I shouted.

"A few weeks ago. She met him at a party."

"Who?" I was ready to kill the little shit.

"He's Johan's friend. His name is Marc. Marc Solomon. He's the QB for the Hawkes football-"

"I know who the fuck he is!" Marc Solomon was bad news. Terrible news. He was dangerous. He was a player. A big player. Fuck. Lydia was gearing up for another failed relationship. A brokenship.

"Jake, she's really happy. I haven't seen her this happy in a long time. Please don't do anything to break it up between them," Carrie pleaded to me. "If you love her, let her be."

I walked over to the bar and ordered some drinks. I had to do something to numb my pain. Get drunk. Get hammered. Get laid. Any pretty girl would do. Get Lydia the fuck out of my head.

A/N: Is it too late for Jake to have a second chance? Is Missy too far gone into her budding relationship with Marc?

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