Chapter Five
Sophia
I finished reading my first published article and smirked into my coffee, feeling proud, while I sat at the small round dining table in our suite.
It wasn’t exactly a luxury apartment, but it was enough space for the three of us—even if I could hear every moan, groan, and orgasm coming from Jia’s room right now.
She’d left last night’s party with one of the hockey players.
Again. She really liked those hockey guys.
Whoever was in there now had come home with her after I was already in bed, and I wasn’t convinced they’d gotten any sleep since I’d heard their moans every time I woke up and rolled over.
“They’re still at it?” Alyssa asked, as she stepped out of her room and shuffled to the coffee pot.
She popped a pod in and rubbed her temples while it brewed.
“I have a chemistry test today and it’s going to be a little hard to remember anything about atoms and ions when I was up all night listening to that. ”
I sighed. “At least she’s having fun. I wish I knew what it was like to have sex so good you’d sacrifice sleep for it. Did you ever hear me and Connor when he was here?”
“No,” Alyssa said with a crinkled nose. She stirred cream and sugar into her coffee. “I mean, I assumed you two did it, but it never sounded like that.”
“Because it never felt like that,” I said with an eyeroll. “How am I in my final year of college and I still haven’t experienced that?”
“Because you keep dating timid guys with no experience.” Alyssa sat down next to me and pointed toward Jia’s door. “You want to experience that? Hookup with a hottie who knows what he’s doing.”
“Sure, let me go call one of the many guys like that I have saved in my phone.”
“I saw you sitting with Leo Harrison last night.” She kicked my shin gently and wiggled her eyebrows. “He’s a hottie who could show you what you’re missing in the bedroom.”
I chuckled. “Um, no. Trust me, he would not be interested in me. The minute he realizes I have no idea how to cause him to make those sounds or have any fun in the bedroom, he’d regret even speaking to me last night.”
“He looked into you,” Alyssa pushed.
I glared at her in disbelief. He had seemed genuinely interested in talking to me at the party last night, not that I understood why.
She pushed back from the table. “I have to get ready for class. But you should think about hooking up with him. If you’re just looking for an experience to remember, I bet he’d give you that.”
“I bet he’d also give me chlamydia,” I yelled after her.
I picked up my phone and read my article one more time.
Too bad I didn’t have his number. I was curious to know what he thought of it.
I heard the telltale sounds of Jia and her bedmate starting up again and decided to take a shower.
At least the water would drown out some of the noise so I wouldn’t have to be bombarded with a reminder of all that I’d apparently missed out on for the last three years.
I was on my way back to our dorm after several classes and a trip to the gym when I got a text message from Connor.
Connor: Hey. I miss you. Are you going to be home for Thanksgiving?
Me: Yes. It’s a short trip though so I’ll probably spend the whole time with my family.
Connor: I get it. What about winter break?
Me: I’ll be there.
Connor: We should catch up. Try as I might, Soph, no one I meet compares to you. We’ll be home together again for good after graduation.
What the fuck am I supposed to say to that?
I must have had a look of frustration on my face because the second I walked through the door Jia looked up from the couch and asked, “What’s wrong?”
“Connor’s texting me again.” I dropped the phone and my bag on the floor next to the couch and lay down with my feet in Jia’s lap. “He believes the only issue between us was the distance. It’s like he’s fine with the lack of passion.”
“Well, he’s wrong,” Alyssa said, tying off the garbage in the kitchen. “You weren’t good for each other. You had zero chemistry. Even if you were attracted to each other once upon a time, you outgrew it, Soph. He’s not the guy for you.”
“Yeah, I know. But, it’s not like I’ve had chemistry with anyone else I’ve dated here either,” I said.
Jia rubbed my feet while Alyssa tidied up around us.
She was a total neat freak, and Jia and I had learned early on to just let her do her thing.
She enjoyed cleaning up each evening. I’d think it was a little odd if my mother wasn’t the same way.
Jia pushed her thumb into the arch of my foot. “I’m telling you; you need to find a hockey player. They have chemistry with everyone.”
“Yes, we know,” Alyssa groaned. “We heard that chemistry all night, thank you.”
I chuckled. “I’m pretty sure that kind of passion isn’t a thing for me. I’ve heard you sound like that too, Lys, but I’ve never felt that with anyone I’ve dated. Maybe I’m the problem here. I’m the common denominator in this situation. Maybe I’m just not a passionate sex kind of person.”
Jia’s eyes widened. “That’s the saddest thing I’ve ever heard you say, Soph. You’re beautiful and there is a guy out there who is going to sweep you off your feet and make you fall passionately in love. That guy just isn’t Connor.”
“Jia has a point,” Alyssa said. “I’d like to bring you back to my suggestion from this morning: Leo Harrison.”
“Ooh, I like that!” Jia said, grinning.
“What am I supposed to do? See if he wants to go on a date? Even if he’s interested in me, I don’t really think he’s the dating type,” I said.
“So don’t date him,” Jia said. “You don’t need to date a guy to have amazing sex. If you want crazy good sex, just fuck him.”
“You two are ridiculous.” I shook my head. “I’m not going to ask someone I barely know to have sex with me. That’s even more embarrassing than the lack of experience I already bring to the table.”
“Suit yourself, Soph. But I bet if you spend a night with a guy like Leo, you’ll realize the problem is not you, it’s the other guys. One night with someone like him and you’ll be feeling confident, trust me,” Jia said.
I sighed.
They’re obviously ridiculous. But isn’t this what college is for? Shouldn’t I seize an opportunity to have an experience like this before real life takes over?
Leo did seem kind of into me and I was pretty sure he was willing to fuck most girls once.
“You haven’t slept with him, right?” I asked Jia. She’d been through enough of the hockey team that it warranted confirmation.
“No!” She shoved my feet off her lap. “I wouldn’t have suggested you sleep with him if I’d already done him.”
I sighed. “I’ll think about it. But you know it would be totally weird, right?”
Alyssa sat down in the chair next to us with a cup of coffee. “I think it might be one of the least weird things ever. College is about hooking up with hot people and finding ourselves. Go find your confidence, Soph. You deserve it.”
I wasn’t entirely sure I agreed with her perspective, but I couldn’t entirely ignore her point either.