Down to the Bone (5 page)

He rushed between study groups and couples whispering at tables to the narrow back staircase, his computer bag pounding against his side. First landing, a swing about the wrought-iron rail, more stairs, second landing, another flight, third. Finally, he darted through the almost deserted, third-floor stacks to the nearly invisible wooden staircase leading up to one of the library’s four towered tops. The familiar perfume of old books wafted down as he came up into the yellow lighting.

Let her be here!

She was seated at her favorite desk and dressed for the season in a harvest orange sweater and a black skirt. Her flint eyes, magnified behind her glasses, came up as Jarrett crossed to the table. There was that familiar disbelieving frown, as if he’d woken her from sleep.

“I got an A+.”

Liddy pushed at her glasses. “Come again?”

Jarrett slipped onto a chair across from her and pulled open his bag. He tossed his biology paper onto the table. A large, red A+ marked the top.

“It’s from the prehistory class.”

“Congratulations.”

“No.” He reached across and caught her hand. He felt hot, on fire almost. “You don’t understand. I’ve
never
gotten an A+ in my life—not outside of phys ed.  B+ was the best. And I know this is an easy class and it might not seem all that impressive to you, but it is to me. I had to come tell you.”

“It’s wonderful and I’m really flattered, Jet,” she shook her head, “but I didn’t have anything to do with it.”

“Yes, you did. You had everything to do with it.” He felt himself flush. Even though they’d been seeing  a lot of each other, this was the first time she’d called him Jet, and it sounded magical coming from her lips. “All those talks we’ve been having. I’m doing better in all my classes. It’s like my mind was rusted and you oiled it up and got it working again.”

“So maybe this isn’t so extraordinary.” She smiled. “Maybe you were always an A student. You were just badly coached.”

“Maybe.” He’d hardly winded himself on his way up, but his heart was racing. He was suddenly aware of her hand under his, so small and fine. The table wasn’t that wide, at least not for him. He rose half out of his seat and leaned forward, seeing his reflection in her glasses approaching.

Liddy had imagined kissing Jarrett, dreamed of it, but the real kiss was so very different. He had warm lips, and there was a hint of stubble on his chin that scratched just a little. She was the first to open her mouth, to reach forth her tongue. He yielded and the kiss deepened. The feeling he sent down her was like a swallow of hot, sweet tea. It spread through her chest, all the way down to her crotch.

Jarrett pulled back, amazed. He’d never experienced a kiss so tender, so natural. Did Liddy feel the same? She was gazing at him intently, as if trying to examine his bones. She pushed back and out of her chair.

“Come on,” she said, flashing him an unexpectedly wicked smile. Her hand grabbed his and she pulled him through the stacks.

“Where are we going?” The shelving was so narrow it brushed his shoulders. He tried to move sideways. “Liddy—?” He stopped. They’d reached an ancient pair of bookcases at right angles. There was a gap between them. Liddy stepped through it.

What the—? He followed her, just barely fitting between. There was a corner, and a door. One of the bookcases was up against a storage room.

Liddy opened the door and reached up to pull a cord, switching on a low-watt bulb. It revealed a long-out-of-use janitor’s closet. Jarrett gaped. It was quite clear that generations of students had decorated and used this forgotten place. The one exposed wall and angled ceiling had been painted with swirling, psychedelic colors and the mattress on the floor was piled with pillows from four or more different decades. On the shelves were bongo drums, a Rubik’s Cube, a cheap alarm clock, and a peaceful looking Buddha complete with incense burner; also comic books and several paperbacks including
Stranger in a Strange Land
and
Neuromancer
and
Harry Potter
. The place reeked of sandalwood, marijuana, beer and...other things.

There was, in fact, a corkboard with condom packets pinned to it.

Liddy pulled Jarrett in, placed a hotel “Do not disturb” sign on the knob, then shut the door and secured it with a hook and eye lock.

“What the fuck!” Jarrett had to bend so as not to bump his head. He settled onto the mattress. Much to his relief it seemed to be fairly firm and new. Evidently, the students regularly replaced the bedding.

“Welcome to ‘The Cave.’” Liddy took a moment to remove her boots. “The secret closet of us rare, reserved history and archeology book readers.”

“Do the other towers have one of these, too?” Jarrett asked, following her lead and getting off his shoes and jacket.

“The other Geek Retreats? Oh, yeah. I had a very interesting time in the philosophy and religion closet once. They call it ‘The Monk’s Cell.’” She settled down on her knees and put aside her glasses. Then, with a cross of her arms, she pulled off her sweater.

“Um—” Jarrett didn’t quite know what to say. Liddy revealed olive skin, a black bra...and the skull tattoo. He’d never forgotten about that tat, but he’d never asked her about it either. Maybe, he thought, while gazing at her soft and inviting figure, it was time to give that illustration a closer look. 

Liddy hadn’t thought twice when she’d dragged Jarrett to the cave, nor when she’d removed her sweater. Now, seeing his eyes widen, she did.

Oh, shit
, she thought, feeling her face go hot. Jarrett was wearing that too familiar look, the expression she’d gotten from other non-geek guys when she’d approached them: like he was about to tell her this was all a big mistake, that he didn’t think of her
like that
.

“I’m sorry,” she said, heart plummeting, and reached for her sweater. “When we kissed, I—well, I thought—”

“Fine!” he blurted. “It’s fine—”

“I guess I got the wrong idea,” she said at the same time. “Stupid—”

“No.” He placed a hand on her arm and his hot touch raised goose bumps. “I just...didn’t expect to get so lucky,” he explained, and then he was kissing her again, and drawing her down on top of him.

That was all the invitation Liddy needed. She fumbled with his jeans, tugging open both button and zipper to get at the stiff bulge underneath, then she pushed up his thermal shirt. He helped her get it off, exposing a chest as broad and ripped as she could have wished. Simply beautiful. Her hands stroked over those taut muscles, lingering on his nipples as they tightened under her fingers. There was a line of dark blond chest hair running down over his belly. Promising more below.

Liddy was salivating now. She bunched up her skirt around her waist and pulled herself forward over his lap until she felt his bulge pressing up against her panties. Then she leaned in to nip at his large, strong neck.

“Hmmm,” he said, stroking a hand over her bare shoulders, making her shiver.

Biting and sucking at his warm throat and ears, she teased him till he moaned. Encouraged, she tracked on down, breathing in his fragrance, scraping his nipples with her teeth. One then the other.

“Shit!” he gasped, hips jumping. His bulge nudged at her dampening cleft. Excited as that made her, she hoped he wasn’t too eager, or that he wouldn’t get her so riled that she rushed this. He was her first jock, and she wanted to study him. Intimately.