Saturday Nights in the Dorm

Thanksgiving week on campus always felt very strange. People started getting out of town the previous Friday, and each day things grew more empty.

Our professors, too, seemed pretty checked out. I went to every class Monday and Tuesday, and most let us out in half our regular time.

Tori was gone by Monday night and the rest of my friends were out of there on Tuesday. According to our residence hall director, Randall, I was one of three people in the building for Thanksgiving break.

Much of campus shut down Wednesday. Only two dining halls would remain open, their hours staggered for the rest of the week. All of the buildings were locked up. The library was closed. The rec center had limited hours.

Even the dorms themselves had more restricted access than normal. All entrances were locked up 24/7, and only students who'd registered to stay on campus would have their IDs active to open the front doors. For everyone else who had gone home, their IDs wouldn't allow them back in until after 10 a.m. Sunday.

I took a long walk around campus Wednesday after dark. This had become something of a ritual of mine during these Thanksgiving stay-cations. Campus was quiet. Calm. Peaceful. I'd occasionally cross paths with a person, or see some indication of life in a building, but for the most part it felt like my private domain.

Thanksgiving morning I headed out early to begin my journey to Mark's house. A little more than two hours and four transfers later I stepped onto a platform in the suburbs and saw Mark wave from the adjacent parking lot.

Mark had told me it would be a small family gathering, but that's relative, I suppose. In addition to his parents and younger brother, he had three grandparents, two sets of aunts and uncles, and five cousins (not to mention three dogs). I was pretty sure this was more people than I had alive in my entire family tree.

We hung out and watched football, and at halftime went out to walk around the neighborhood. Two of Mark's cousins, Claire and Nathan, joined us, and it wasn't too long into the trek when Nathan lit up a joint.

"Thanksgiving tradition," he said, passing it to Claire. "You're welcome to join, Tyler."

When in Rome, right? We passed by no fewer than four other groups of people around our age, all enjoying the same "tradition." I was certainly not in Idaho anymore.

We were headed back to the house when Mark held me back a few paces from his cousins, telling them we'd catch up later. He put his arm around me and smiled.

"Thank you, dude," he said.

"Is that the weed talking?"

He laughed. "Seriously, bro, I owe you one."

"Huh? You don't owe me shit. I'm the one thanking you for the invite today."

"I'm not talking about that stuff," he said. "I'm talking about Nikki."

I shifted uncomfortably. She told him we talked?

"She won't even admit that you talked to her..."

Whew!

"...but I saw you go into her room that day we had our fight, or whatever."

I nodded.

"Everything has been super cool since then. She's much more chill. I don't know what you said to her, getting her on the Tori plan and all, but I appreciate it."

I stopped in my tracks. "What the fuck is that supposed to mean?"

"No offense, dude, no offense. You're a damn hero," Mark said. "You've got Tori coming by every weekend, being your little fuckbuddy, and then live the life of a free man the rest of the time. You've got it made."

I shook my head, seething.

"Mark, you've been a great friend, man. Seriously. But sometimes I wonder how you make it through the day with your head shoved so far up your ass."

Mark staggered a bit, shocked.

"Whether I talked to Nikki or not is irrelevant, but let me make a few things crystal clear, right now. One, don't ever talk that way about Tori again. You are in no position to make any judgment about whatever may or may not be going on between us, got it?"

Mark raised his hands defensively. I had a reputation as a pretty calm guy and no one had really ever seen me angry. Mark was being introduced to a side of me I didn't like to show.

"And two, man, I get it, we're in college, and it's all fun and games, right? But you've got this incredible girl whose only crime is wanting to actually be with you. Like, she WANTS to spend her time with you, have you be an actual part of her life, and to be part of yours. There's going to come a day when you'll want nothing more, and for your sake, I really hope that day comes soon, because a girl like Nikki isn't going to wait around forever."

Mark was hanging on my every word now.

"Sooner or later, one of two things is going to happen. She's going to get tired of waiting for you to grow up, or she's going to meet some guy who will treat her the way she deserves. He'll sweep her off her feet and you'll be left gaming with Chase, all day, all night," I said, my voice ratcheting up a few notches. "So, dude, for your sake and for those who want to see good things for you, get your fucking shit together."

I'd kind of lost it, and when I stopped talking I realized my finger was pressed squarely into Mark's chest. He looked down at it, then back to me. I pulled my hand away.

"Sorry," I said. "I got a little carried away there. Maybe it's best if I just head back now. I'll get a cab on the main drag."

"Tyler, shut the fuck up. You're not going anywhere," Mark said. He took a deep breath. "You're right. Everything you said was right."

"I fucking know I'm right. Nikki is way too good for you. When was the last time you looked in a mirror?" We both laughed and he slapped me on the back.

"And I'm sorry for what I said about Tori," he said. "I didn't mean anything by it, but I see how that was stupid."

"It's alright. I know most of the time you're just fucking around, and that's cool. Maybe pick your spots a little better."

"Be less like Chase?"

"Exactly." We laughed again and started back to the house. Wiping our feet inside the back door, his mom eyed us from the kitchen.

"Your cousins were back 20 minutes ago," she said. "What, you got so high you were lost in your own neighborhood?"

My eyes went wide. Mark took one look at me and howled at my reaction, while his mom smiled and shook her head. This was, without a doubt, the strangest Thanksgiving of my life. It was also one of the best.

Dinner was incredible and the rest of the evening was a blast. Mark's family was a lot of fun, and very, very different from my own. I don't think I'd ever heard my mother come close to acknowledging marijuana existed, let alone crack a knowing joke about me smoking it. If she'd ever caught me with weed she'd probably have driven me straight to jail herself.

Mark's family was a joke-a-minute, with nothing apparently off limits. It was easy to see where Mark got his sense of humor from. No one was spared, not even Grandma Jane, who responded to a few barbs with a cranky "fuck off," which only sent the laughs soaring higher.

I also had to acknowledge that Chase was dead on about Mark's mom, Charlotte. She was absolutely gorgeous. Not that I planned to say as much to Mark, at least not now, but I made a mental note to save this data point for a useful jab in the future.

When it came time, Charlotte drove me and Mark to the train station. "No sense in risking you getting pulled over and drug tested," she admonished. I thanked her as I got out of the car, while Mark opened his door.

"Be right back, Ma," he said.

"Hurry up, before Uncle Lenny eats all the fucking pie."

Mark looked at me. "We cool?"

"We're more than cool, dude. Seriously, thank you for today. It was awesome."

"Anytime, buddy. Enjoy the creepy old dorm, or whatever, until I get back. Don't mess with my shit."

"I already sold half of it on eBay."

"Fuck off," he said, getting back in the car. "Later, bro."

I waved as they pulled away and turned toward the station. A combination of the deep conversation, abundance of food, and pretty potent weed had my eyes feeling heavy. Unfortunately, I had to fight those feelings off for now, not wanting to miss any of my transfers and end up in Michigan.

It was nearly 10 when my cab pulled up to the dorm and I staggered my way to the door. I saw one light on in the whole front of the building and remembered Randall's headcount. The other person must be on my side of the hall, which faced away from the street.

Whoever they were, they weren't on my floor, so I took advantage of the solitude. Wanting to wash the marijuana scent off of me, I wrapped myself in a towel and headed for a quick shower before bed.

Back inside, I collapsed on my bed, exhausted, too tired to even find a pair of shorts. Sleep came at me quickly, and I smiled. Two more days of this freedom to go.

--

I woke up in a daze. I'd slept really hard. Was it still even Friday? And I was starving.

Incredibly, it was only 10, which meant my night had been extremely restful, but also meant today was shaping up to be extremely long. I quickly dressed and headed out for food.

On my return I found Randall in the lobby. "Tyler, I've got something for you," he said, handing me an envelope. "Don't say I never gave you anything."

I looked at him quizzically as I headed to the elevator and stepped onboard. I opened the envelope and found a message on official university letterhead.

"Dear Student..."

Gee, so personal.

"We regret to inform you that due to unexpected transfer numbers we will be unable to provide you with a roommate for the spring semester. We understand this news is unexpected and disappointing, and welcome any feedback you have for the Residence Life Office. University counselors are also standing by if you'd like to schedule an appointment. Please understand..."

The letter went on for another page and a half, outlining all of the reasons why I should remind myself I'm not a bad person, that it wasn't my fault I won't have a roommate, and so on, and so on.

After I re-read the opening paragraph a few times to be sure, I shouted with excitement. They thought this was a bad thing? They were telling me I was going to have another six months of living in my own room, by myself. This was the greatest day of my life!

We only had a couple of weeks left in this semester and I'd been dreading this message. I figured there was no way I wouldn't end up with a roommate for the spring and I worried about how that would affect my Saturday nights with Tori. If I ended up with a homebody (you know, kind of like me), would we no longer have the privacy to get up to the kinds of things that had become our standard for the last couple of months? Would we need to use her room? And what about Nikki? If she and Mark took another step, they'd surely be spending time together in her room, right?

Now, this was a game of musical chairs I didn't need to worry about. I was going to be on my own, again.

I called my parents (separately, of course) to catch up and share the good news. They were each looking forward to my upcoming winter break, as I hadn't been home since August when the semester began. I gave them the standard report on classes, an update on my friends, and explained my plans for the next couple of days (I told them I had to catch up on laundry).

"Anything else, Tyler," my mom asked. "Meet anyone special?"

I sighed. "No, mother, nothing to report on that front."

"Alright," she said. "Hard to imagine with all of those girls on your floor, not one of them has caught your eye."

"We're all just good friends," I said. "And on that note, look at the time!"

We said our goodbyes and I hung up, shaking my head. My mom was always on me about finding a girlfriend, and I really didn't know why. She spent half her time worrying about me ending up alone, and then the other half apparently worried I was going to move far from home after school. The latter seemed very likely, and the chances would only grow if I'd also be in a relationship, right?

I grabbed a basket of laundry and headed to the basement, where I found that same dude who stayed last year, Greg, gathering his clothes from a dryer. We exchanged greetings and he quickly left, which was fine with me. It's not that I was anti-social or anything, but I didn't want to spoil my solitude, especially for a new person.

I caught a late lunch, did some more laundry in the afternoon, and then in the evening hit up the dining hall again for dinner. It was pretty much a skeleton crew in there and I think they were thankful to see people like me come through the door so they knew they weren't just wasting their time.

Afterward, I stepped back outside. It was a clear, still night. The winter cold was moving in. I think I'd heard something about snow next week.

I walked the campus, lost in my thoughts, all of them about Tori. I missed her. A lot. There had been several times in the last few days that I'd reached for my phone to text her and tell her as much, but each time I talked myself out of it. I did send one message yesterday, but made it a group text with Margo, wishing my "study buddies" a happy Thanksgiving.

Tomorrow was going to be rough. Saturday. A Saturday night without Tori. It was a preview of what's to come.

While most students were counting down the days to the end of the semester, I couldn't stand the thought. Something magical had been going on with me and Tori, and this break terrified me. We wouldn't see each other for five weeks. That's an eternity.

There was also genuine fear of the future. Five weeks. A lot can happen in five weeks. Tori will be back home with all of her friends from high school, right? Old crushes. Old boyfriends? I knew deep down Tori was way out of my league. What if she bumps into someone else on break, someone more on her level?

I tried to push those thoughts from my head as I turned a corner back to the dorm. You can't control what you can't control. What was I going to do, skip going home and instead make up some reason to shack up in her hometown so I could hang out with Tori every day? Was that possible? I rolled the idea around in my head a few times, laughing to myself about trying to explain my absence to my parents. "Uh, turns out I have more laundry to catch up on than I thought." Yeah, right.

I physically shook myself, trying to shed the growing sense of dread. The solitude I'd once welcomed on this Thanksgiving break was suddenly feeling quite different. Turns out I didn't like the idea of being alone very much at all.

Back to the laundry room I went to fetch my clothes from the dryer. Greg was back. May as well be friendly.

"So, I hear we're not the only people in the building this year," I said.

"Really? I haven't seen anybody but you," Greg said. It was the most words I'd heard him speak, and there was no mistaking his heavy English accent.

"Dude, are you, like, British? Like, from Britain?"

"Why the fuck do you think I hang around this place during your American Thanksgiving break," he said. "Where are you from?"

"Idaho."

"Where?"

I laughed. "Nowhere, man. Nevermind."

Greg the Brit. How about that?

Back in my room I put away my clothes and loaded up my basket. I could finish the rest of this tomorrow, easy.

Flipping through the channels, I considered my options for the rest of the night. TV reruns? A movie? Maybe there was something showing at the theater downtown? I could grab a cab and make it to a late show.

I eyed my laptop. Porn? Nah. That was just going to make me think about Tori. This girl had really ruined me, hadn't she? I laughed. Fuck, I missed her.

*Knock* *Knock* Knock*

That had to be Randall. Greg the Brit had no idea what room I was in, and my TV wasn't loud enough to carry through the door. Unless it was the mystery resident Randall had mentioned?

My breath caught in my throat as I looked through the peephole. It couldn't be.

I opened the door, stunned.

"Hey, Tyler. Surprise!"

"Tori?!?"

I stood there, dumbfounded.

"Are you going to invite me in," she said with an adorable smile that snapped me out of my stupor.

"Yes! Of course!" I moved out of the way and closed the door behind her. Then, without thinking, I grabbed her and hugged her tight. "I know it's only been a few days, and it's crazy, but I missed you so much."

She laughed. "Awww, I missed you, too! Are you really surprised?"

"Fuck yes, I'm surprised and very confused. Seriously, I'm thrilled to see you, but what the hell are you doing here?"

Tori, it seemed, had been making plans for a few weeks to pull this off. First, she'd registered as "on campus" for the break, giving her access to the dorm before Sunday. She was the third person! She'd been worried that her card would deactivate after not swiping since Monday, but if that happened she just would have called me and that would have been a surprise in itself.

The tougher part was with her parents, who thought she'd be home another day. "In the end, it really WAS only one more day," Tori had reasoned with them, saying she wanted to get back early in order to have a day of quiet to organize herself for the semester's stretch run, and in the name of academics they'd relented and rebooked her train ticket.

"And here I am! You promised me this extravagant mansion, all to ourselves. I just couldn't resist."

"Tori I..." I caught myself from uttering the "L" word, barely. "...I can't believe you did all of that, just to be here with me? You're amazing. I don't know what to say."

She smiled. "Well, how about you say less," she said, taking off her coat and slipping out of her shoes, "and get over here and warm me up? I know it's only Friday, but-"

Tori didn't get another word out as my lips crashed against hers. She giggled as my mouth moved to her neck, my hands urgently getting her out of her clothes. She moaned as I took her breast into my mouth while I guided her back to my bed.

I quickly stripped out my clothes after I laid her down, then knelt between her legs, planting kisses across her body. She bit her lip and moaned happily as I pampered her, tracing my tongue across her belly button and around her folds before contacting her clit.

"FUCK! Oh, fuck me, Tyler, that's so good," Tori cried.

I was determined to show Tori just how much I missed her, no matter how long it took. I kissed and licked every inch of her pussy, probing her entrance first with my tongue, then later with my finger. She was absolutely intoxicating. I could spend days in this spot between her legs.

I brought Tori to her first orgasm, her body spasming, her shouts of ecstasy filling the room, and took her down slowly, but with no plans to go anywhere. Once I felt her relax, I started ramping up my pace again, adding a second finger inside her while I lapped at her clit.

"Tyler? Oh, fuck, baby! Oh my God! You're going to make me cum again! Fuck!"

I steadily increased the intensity of everything I was doing to her, pumping my fingers in her pussy, licking her clit, as she built toward another release. I reached my free hand to her chest and found a nipple, rolling it gently in my grip at first, then pinching harder as Tori's moans indicated she was again on the precipice.

"DON'T STOP! DON'T FUCKING STOP! TYLER! That's it, Tyler! Right fucking there! DON'T FUCKING STOP! I'M CUMMMMIIINNNNGGGGGGG!!!! AAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!! FUCK!!!"

Tori wrapped her legs around my head and I felt her body convulse. It seemed like this orgasm lasted longer, or perhaps that was just the lack of oxygen getting to my brain as she smothered me between her thighs. There would have been worse ways to go, I thought.

She finally released me and I came up for air. I got to my knees, gasping, watching Tori's face etched with a satisfied smile.

Tori opened her eyes and looked at me. She kicked her legs around my hips and pulled, moving me toward her. My cock, standing hard, rested on her body. She reached down and slowly began to stroke me.