College Memories

   The surroundings were bleak, the weather was humid, and the noises were irritating. Every few seconds a student would disturb her train of thought with a shuffle or a click of footwear. Never-the-less, her graphite pencil glided over the smooth creamy paper leaving a trail of marks revealing the face of a troubled face of a bald man with a neck tattoo. A piece of blackish-brown hair fell in front of her green eyes, and Rosa brushed it roughly aside without missing a single beat. She began to shade in the corners of the drawing, ignoring the lusty mumbles of a group of guys walking past. She had learned quite a few things from college, but one them was that it wasnt very different from high school. There were still cliques, still the hot bad boys smoking in between class, still the annoyingly uptight math teacher with his head too low and his pants too high, and she was still the small, thin outcast she had always been...in her mind at least. Rose was used to the comments and annoying cat-calls, that kind of thing happened more than she cared for.

    She had thought about alot of things that had changed since last year, and she had made the conclusion that she had changed the most. Not only was she an outcast, but she was the cool, badass kind of outcast that everyguy wanted to be with. She had numerous tattoos and piercings, her own style, and sharked at pool halls every Thursday with her friends. She was an amateur boxer, and met with her coach on Mondays and Wednesdays, and it scared her how organized her life had become.

   An icy droplet struck her face with a sharp pang, and a smile cracked her cold face. She loved the rain, and with a single glance at the Florida sky, she knew the sky was about to fall out. She could imagine all the girls screaming as their new manicures and perfect hair was soiled by the downpour. But not Rose. She savored every drop of rain that hit her dusty path, letting it saturate her skin and hair, spilling her heavy eyeliner and wetting her shirt. It was a magical experience, one she rarely missed. The only bitter part she could recall, was the memory of her first kiss in the rain. It had been with a guy named Randall, one of her best guyfriends friends. He was the first boy shed been attached to, the first guy she fell in love with, and the first guy to unzip her pants. She would never forget him, and with every drop, she remembered his green eyes, the rain streaming through his red mohawk, and dripping off his tanned skin. The pain returned everytime with that memory, and she couldnt ever let it go, no matter how hard she tried.

   The rain started to pour harder, and she worked her pencil against the paper as hard as she could, trying to release as much anger as she could without making a tear. Then once again, to her disgust, she was interupted.

"I dont mean to intrude, but may I ask what your drawing?"

   His smile radiated like the heat of the sun on a summer day. He was very tall, probably well over 6 feet. Blonde curls escaped under his tight fitting black fedora perched neatly ontop og his head. A pair of bright blue eyes surveyed the sketch, while his fingers twitched around a Clove cigarette sitting in between his index finger and thumb.

"I dont know what Im drawing really, it just...popped out of my head I suppose." Rose mumbled, trying to avoid his blazing sapphire gaze. She could feel her heart skip a few beats

"Hmm," he rumbled quietly, still twitching the cigarette, "well I have to admit, for something that just popped out of your head, thats some fine work." he stated with a wink.

"T-t-thanks." she stammered. She couldnt help but smile slightly, this was the first time a guy had done anything like compliment something other than her body.

The mysterious stranger extended a strong hand towards her, and with a smile he introduced himself as, "Tom."

Rose, without even the slightest hesitation, grasped the hand and shook it, returning the introduction with her own name. He radiated again, and turned his head as his hand searched his jeans for a lighter. Seeming satisfied with his finding, he lighted up the black cigarette and took a long, soothing inhale, savoring the flavor of the smoke filling his lungs. Rose watched his every move warily, not sure what to say next. All she knew is that she didnt want him to lose interest in this conversation and leave. She thought desperatly for a topic, but was rescued from her sticky situation from the man she was trying to impress.

" So, I take it your a freshman here?" Tom asked, exhaling a puff of gray smoke.

"Yeah, this is my first year..." Rose stated, feeling more and more stupid about this every second.

He nodded his head, drawing another breath out of the tobacco.

"Whats your major? Oh, nevermind, let me guess...art?"

"Oh no, Im a business major."

That information was returned with a raised eyebrow and a funny look.

"Business? Why the hell are you a business major?"

"Well, I want to be a tattoo artist, and I want that as a backup in case, you know, in case it doesnt work out."

At the words 'tattoo artist' his face perked up, and she could see the interest spark in his blue eyes.

"Oh really? Do you have any tattoos?"

"Two so far, Im getting my third one in a few weeks."

"May I see them?"

"Um...I guess so.." Rose pointed out the curved lettering of the Latin word veritas carved into her forearm, and lifted the side of her shirt to expose the beginnings of a needle and thread trailing suggestlively down her creamy thigh.

Tom surveyed the tattoos with interest, and began to lift up his t-shirt to show Rose a teal and black ying/yang with two crosses in the middle. He began to explain the process and the meaning behind his artwork, and with every word Rose wanted to soakup more and more. His voice made Gods choir envious, and with every move of his fingers or breath he took, she noticed his muscled yet slim phyisique flex and loosen. Her mind began to process the data, and what it came up with was visions of Rose and Tom doing dirty things in places they really shouldnt. But hell, that was Roses personality.

   Her phone alarm began to beep, yet another destraction when she was finally happy. A quick glance uncovered the discovery that it was 2 o clock, and time for her to make her way to her Spanish class. Her heart sank, she didnt want to leave this guy. He glanced calmly at his phone as well, and with a grimace he spoke.

"I guess its time for me to go, I have an English class in less than two minutes."

"Its alright," she grumbled, "I have to get to class to. My professor is giving us like three tests today, and I cant be late."

"May I walk you to class then?" Tom inquired, his smile broadening to an irrisistable grin. Rose's mood rose, and she could feel her mouth tug upwards into a grin.

"Of course you can." she tried to say it in the most flirtatious way possible without making herself look stupid. Apparently she pulled it off, because he kept his smile and lifted his heavy canvas bag onto his shoulder with a grunt. They headed out into the pouring rain with another glance at each other, and began to trudge through the puddles to their next class. Tom halted suddenly, and his face looked distant, like he was considering something important. Rose felt slightly nervous...maybe he didnt like her, maybe he changed his mind about walking her to class...maybe...

The whole kiss happened in a matter of seconds. Before she could comprehend what was happening, he had dropped his bag, grabbed her waist, and pushed her against the concrete wall surrounding a flower garden. The icy cold rain dripped down her face, and her mind was crowded with the standard thoughts surrounding every sexual decision.

She told herself, very calmly mind you, f**k it.

Wrapping her arms around his shoulders, she drew herself closer to him, her eyes transmitting every piece of information considering what she wanted. Then...it happened.

He kissed her.

In that few moments of that perfect, soaking, fire-starting kiss, every memory of Randall disappeared.

 

 

Reviews

[WriterMe]

One word: Wow.
That was just mind blowing. Your descriptions were to die for. This was just brilliant! It had such a light, happy touch to it. Your descriptions, like i said before, were just perfect. Your storyline was so simple but the way you put everything made is so magical. Great work. I truly loved it =]

[E. L. Foley]

I agree that you have excellent descriptions. Some of it is a bit over-the-top, but that's definitely part of the romance genre. I'd love to read more about these characters!