Having It All

by Jenna Byrnes

  He smiled and kissed her again. “Yes, but tomorrow is another day. What say tomorrow night I introduce you to the back seat of my car? It’s not much bigger than the front, but we won’t need much room, stacked on top of one another.”

  She glanced into the back seat of his car longingly. “Tomorrow night, huh?”

  Chuckling, Nick shook his head. “I wonder if Dr. Frankenstein felt this way after he created his monster.”

  Mandy slapped his arm and stood up. “Jerk. Most guys would love a horny girlfriend.”

  “Not saying I don’t love it, sweet thing. Give me a few hours to rest and I’ll be on you so fast you won't believe it.”

  “You are horrible!” She laughed again. Giving him one last kiss, Mandy picked up her suitcase and headed towards her dorm. “See you tomorrow!”

  “I’ll be here!” he replied, smiling at his good fortune as he watched her shapely ass walk away. As an afterthought he called to her, “Hate to see you go, but love to watch you leave!”

  Mandy smiled over her shoulder, and he noticed she threw a little extra wiggle into her walk. Once she was safely inside, he rolled up his window and headed back to the frat house. He was truly beat and planned to sleep right through to the following morning.

  His political science professor had other ideas. Due to scheduling conflicts, the man was moving a big midterm up a week and a half to Wednesday morning, bright and early. Nick groaned as he read the email, for the first time wishing he’d spent a little less time thinking about Mandy and a little more time studying. He hadn’t cracked the book yet this term, and all of a sudden that little faux pas prepared to bite him in the ass.

  “Mother fucker!” he swore to Karl, who was lacing his tennis shoes.

  “What’s up, bro?” Karl read over his shoulder. “A midterm? No biggie. You’re a smart son-of-a-bitch.”

  Nick flopped back onto his bed. “Uh, when I study, sure. I haven’t even opened the damn poly-sci book this year. Shit!”

  “So start reading now and you’ll be caught up by Wednesday.”

  “If I haven’t died of boredom first. Have you ever read that textbook?”

  Karl chuckled. “No, and apparently neither have you. It might not be so bad.”

  “Fuck!” Nick swore, wondering which classes he could skip between now and Wednesday with no harm done. He thought of Mandy and his heart sank. He’d have to call her—there was no way he could see her before this test. He’d need all the strength he could muster, and last night proved to him what she did to his energy level. Drained. “Shit!” He pounded his fist on the bed.

  “What now?” Karl was still laughing.

  “I’ll have to call Mandy. We were going out tomorrow night.”

  Waving a hand in the air, Karl said, “Aw, what’s the dif? The Virgin Mandy won’t mind. Whatever you want, you got.”

  Lying on his bed, Nick raised an eyebrow at his friend and then grinned. “You got that half right. Whatever I want, I get. But you can’t call her the Virgin Mandy anymore.”

  “No shit?” Karl whooped, jumping on Nick and shaking him. “You popped her cherry? You son-of-a-bitch! So do tell! How was it?”

  Nick pushed Karl back on to his own bed, still grinning. “I’m not going to kiss and tell.”

  “I don’t want to hear about the kissing, man, I want to hear about the fucking. How was she?”

  Nick hesitated, not really wanting to go into details. But he had to offer a little something. “Hot. Really fucking hot.”

  “You do it more than once?” Karl almost salivated.

  Feeling like a shit for talking about her, Nick tried not to say too much, but it was hard not to brag. “Um, yeah. Like all night and most of the next day.”

  “No fucking way!” Karl hollered.

  “Yes fucking way.” Nick nodded.

  “So tell me, did she—”

  Karl’s cell phone rang and he slapped at it. “Damn it!” He pointed at Nick. “Don’t go away! I want details. Every cock-sucking little detail you got.” He flipped his phone open and barked, “Speak!”

  Nick closed his computer and grabbed his shower stuff. He’d said too much already, Mandy deserved better than that. He wasn’t going to share another detail with Karl or anyone.

  That doesn’t mean I can’t relive them in my head. Heading into the shower, he thought about how Mandy had bloomed like a flower for him. In a matter of hours she went from a nervous, repressed schoolgirl to a sexy, hot woman under his tutelage. Just thinking about her had him grinning like a fool and stroking his cock under the warm shower spray.

  She seemed understanding when he phoned her later that night. “I thought I’d have more time to study for this test,” he explained.

  “I know how it is.” She chuckled into the phone. “That doesn’t mean I like it. But I understand.”

  “I hoped you would. You’re the best, you know it?”

  “So I’ve been told,” she teased.

  “Wednesday night—no, Wednesday about four o’clock, I’ll be free for the day. What time can I pick you up?”

  “Four-oh-one work for you?”

  Nick laughed. “I suppose I can wait that long. Okay, beautiful, I’ll meet you in the parking lot at four-oh-one. Looking forward to it.”

  “Good luck with the studying and on the test. Call me tomorrow night if you need a break.”

  “I’ll try. Night, Mandy. Thanks again for the weekend.”

  “You too. Good night, Nick.” She disconnected the call.

  He held the phone in his hands for a minute, thinking about her and the fact that she’d told him she loved him. She’d been caught up in the throes of passion, he felt sure of it. It was too soon for them to be in love. He had feelings for her, no doubt about that. But love?

  * * * *

  Nick studied non-stop and managed to do reasonably well on his poly sci test. He was digging around for his cell phone as he headed back to the frat house, eager to call Mandy. He felt bad not calling her the past couple of days, but he’d kept his head buried in the textbook and let everything else fall to the wayside.

  He also felt guilty because he’d intended to send her flowers and somehow spaced it off. He’d make it all up to her tonight, he decided. Whatever she wanted, she’d have.

  He was suddenly very anxious to talk to her. She was the only thing on his mind as he dug through his backpack, searching for his damned phone. It was nowhere to be found.

  Entering the fraternity, he tried to remember where he’d used it last.

  “Nick!” Stan Carter was behind the desk in the front room. “Message for you, man. Sounds important.”

  “What?” Nick strolled over to the desk.

  “Your mom called, said she couldn’t reach you on your cell. She sounded upset. Wants you to call her immediately if not sooner.”

  “Damn.” Nick wondered what could be wrong. He looked around and then glanced at Stan. “I can’t find my cell. Can I use the house phone?”

  Stan reached in his pocket and handed a cellular telephone to Nick. “Sure, but you’d have to reverse the charges. Use mine. I’ve got a zillion minutes.”

  “Thanks.” Nick flipped it open and punched the numbers to his home in Chicago. It rang, but no one answered. He swore to himself, ending the call and dialling his mother’s cell number.

  She answered on the first ring. “Hello?”

  “Mom, it’s me,” he said quickly.

  “I’ve been trying to call you all morning. Where’s your phone?”

  “I don’t know,” Nick muttered. “I’ll find it. What’s up?”

  Her voice wavered. “It’s your father, Nick. He’s had a heart attack. He’s in very serious condition.”

  “Oh Jesus.” His heart skipped a beat. He argued non-stop with the man but he wasn’t ready to lose him.

  “You need to get here.”

  “I’ll leave now.”

  “No, Nick. I mean you really need to get here. Your sister called the airline
, there’s a flight leaving in about an hour. If you think you can make it, we’ll call back and reserve your ticket.”

  His mind raced. He could throw a few things in a bag and make it to the airport in that amount of time. “I’ll take a cab, they can drop me off at the counter so I don’t have to mess with parking,” he spoke his thoughts out loud. “Yeah, I can make it.”

  “Good. Check in at the Midwest Airline counter, I’ll have Stacy call and get your ticket.”

  “Thanks, Mom. I love you.” He hesitated. “Tell Dad—”

  “You can tell him yourself. Just get here, Nick.”

  “On my way.”

  “We love you, too.” His mother’s voice cracked.

  “See you soon.” Nick disconnected the call and returned the phone to Stan. “Thanks, man. I’ve got an hour to catch a flight to Chicago. My dad had a heart attack.”

  “Wow, sorry to hear that. Anything I can do?”

  “No, but thanks. Is Browning here?” Nick headed for the stairs.

  “Yeah, I think so.”

  “Good.” Nick took the steps two at a time, racing to his room. He grabbed an overnight bag from his closet and shoved clothes into it.

  Karl entered their room. “What’s going on?”

  “My old man had a heart attack.” Nick kept packing. “I’ve got an hour to get to the airport.”

  “Shit! No way!”

  “Yeah.” Nick frowned. What am I forgetting?

  “Can I do anything?” Karl asked.

  “Yeah. I lost my fucking phone. Call a cab and get me a ride to the airport, will ya?”

  “I can take you.”

  “You have a class in twenty minutes. Thanks, but if you get a cab, that’ll be fine.”

  “I’ll do it.”

  Karl made the cab arrangements while Nick looked around the room. He’d gotten everything he could think of for now.

  Something niggled at him. Mandy! He had to call Mandy. Automatically reaching for his phone, Nick swore when he realised he didn’t have her number. He hadn’t memorised it, just put it into the memory. “Son-of-a-bitch!”

  He grabbed a pen and paper and wrote her a note. Folding it, he put her dorm and room number on the outside. “Browning, man, I need a huge favour. I can't reach Mandy without my phone. I need you to get this to her. Her address is on it.”

  “Sure, no problem.” Karl took the paper and tossed it on his desk.

  “Don’t forget!” Nick pointed at his friend.

  “I won’t! Trust me. Go. Good luck!”

  “Thanks, buddy.” Nick gave his roommate a quick hug, grabbed his bag and headed for the door.

  The cab dropped him at the airport, and he claimed his ticket with twenty minutes to spare. Nick scanned the walls, spotted a pay phone and went to it. He got the number to Mandy’s dorm from campus information, and the girl on the other end of the line said she’d have to look for Mandy.

  Ten minutes later, Nick was about to hang up when someone came on the line. “Hello?”

  “Who is this?”

  “Dee Anderson. Who is this?”

  “Dee, great.” Nick breathed a sigh of relief. “This is Nick Westchester. I need you to get a message to Mandy for me, please. My father had a heart attack, and I’m catching the next flight out to Chicago. We had a date tonight, and I don’t want her waiting for me.”

  “Okay.” She sounded hesitant.

  Her tone pissed him off. Even if she didn’t like him, he wasn’t asking a huge favour. He’d only made a simple request. “Please just make sure Mandy gets the message, will you?”

  “I will.” Not a hint of friendliness.

  Nick didn’t have time for her shit. “Fine. Thank you.” He slammed the phone down, grabbed his bag and ran for the gate.

  * * * *

  Mandy waited outside her dorm until four-twenty, when it got so cold she stepped into the lobby to watch for him. By five she was dialling Nick’s number, but his cell phone only rang and rang.

  At six she reluctantly returned to her dorm room, deciding if he showed up he could track her down there. Dee had gone to dinner with some other girls, but Mandy wasn’t hungry, her stomach was too upset.

  Where is Nick? Something had to be wrong, or he would have called. He wouldn’t leave her standing outside waiting for him. She thought about driving over to the frat house but decided to call first.

  “Hang on,” the fellow on the other end of the line told her. “I think he’s around here somewhere.” He set the receiver down, and no one ever came back.

  Mandy finally hung up. She knew reaching someone at the frat house was as difficult as the dorm. Most people had cell phones now, and the house lines were basically used for emergencies or a last resort. Which is this? An emergency or a last resort? Neither. Both.

  Mandy crawled into bed at nine thinking if Nick showed up, he’d see that she hadn’t been waiting for him. The opposite of the truth, of course, because she’d done nothing all evening except wait for him.

  When his cell phone rang and rang the next morning, Mandy really worried about Nick. She made it through her classes and the first chance she got in the afternoon headed to the fraternity.

  She spotted Nick’s car in the parking lot and entered the house. The man at the desk said she could go on up. They were more casual about girls in the rooms during the day, Nick had told her once.

  Mandy climbed the stairs and found Nick’s room. The door was closed. She raised her hand to knock when she heard giggling from inside the room. Female giggling. Mandy knocked loudly.

  The door opened, and Nick’s roommate, Karl, looked at her. “Hey, it’s Little Mandy Sunshine.”

  “Hello, Karl.” She glanced over his rumpled appearance. At least he was dressed. “Is Nick around?”

  “Where is Nick?” a woman’s voice called from inside the room. “Where did that boy get off to? He’s such a naughty, naughty boy.”

  Mandy stuck her head in the room and looked around. Lola, her lemonade pusher from the frat party, sat on Nick’s unmade bed. Mandy could see a bra sticking out from under the covers. Lola had the sheet pulled up around her, trying unsuccessfully to cover her nudity.

  “Yeah,” Mandy repeated. “Where is Nick? I saw his car outside.”

  Karl smiled. “He had to run out. Not exactly sure who he’s riding…” he smiled at Mandy, “with.” His eyes wandered up and down Mandy’s body lasciviously. “Ummm. So I hear you two had a great weekend. Didn’t get much sleep, I’m told.”

  Mandy felt her face flush. She looked at Karl angrily. “Nick would never tell you that.”

  He laughed wickedly. “No? I believe his exact words were something about fucking ‘all night long and most of the next day’. I assumed he was with you. Course I don’t know who he’s with right now. Nick’s never been much for being monogamous.”

  Tears welled behind her eyes as Mandy fumed at Karl, “You’re a liar! Why would you say such a horrible thing?”

  Chuckling, he stepped back into his room. He reached across Nick’s bed and picked up the bra Mandy had spotted earlier. Swinging it on his finger, he asked Lola, “This yours?”

  “That tiny thing? Are you kidding?” Lola dropped the sheet from her front.

  Mandy saw her large breasts were several sizes bigger than the bra Karl held. “That’s yours!” Mandy told Karl.

  He laughed and stretched the bra across his chest. “Not my size either.”

  “From another one of your girlfriends, I mean!” Mandy snapped.

  “Then why is it on Nick’s bed?” he taunted her, swinging the bra in her face.

  She slapped his hand away. “Why is she on Nick’s bed?” Mandy motioned to Lola. “She’s obviously here with you.”

  Karl shrugged. “Maybe, maybe not. She might be here to see me and Nick. She likes her cocks two at a time, don’t ya, baby?”

  “Ooh, yeah!” Lola threw the sheet back and spread her legs.

  Mandy watched in disbelief as the other woman bega
n rubbing her clit with one hand and her tits with the other.

  “Oh my god,” she muttered, heading for the door. “You people are sick.”

  Karl grabbed her arm and said, “No, just horny. And you’re the horniest of all, aren’t you, smartass little bitch? Why don’t you join us? We could see how many people it takes to satisfy you. There’re a few more guys down the hall—”

  “Get your fucking hands off me!” Mandy jerked her arm free. “You’re crazy!”

  She heard Karl’s laughter as she ran from the room and down the stairs. Her heart racing, her face flushed red and burning hot, Mandy welcomed the brisk outside air with relief. She hurried to her car and drove as fast as she could back to her dorm. Nick was going to call any minute and she wanted to wait for him.

  * * * *

  It took another twelve hours of phone silence for the truth to sink in to Mandy. Nick wasn’t going to call. She didn’t know if he was at the frat house having group sex like Karl suggested, but she did know he wasn’t with her.

  Various thoughts raced through her mind, but it all boiled down to the one fact—Nick hadn’t called her since they’d spent the weekend together. Sure, there was the one call Sunday night, but nothing since then. Secretly she’d been hoping for flowers. He’d sent flowers the day after they’d met, she thought he might send them after they’d made love so intensely.

  Mandy thought about that. Was that what he’d been after? She’d told Nick early on that was her fear, and he’d shushed her. Not going to happen, he’d replied. Maybe he hadn’t been totally honest with her.

  When they’d met, she’d thought he was out of her league. He’d convinced her otherwise, and they’d started dating. What if it had all been some big prank? What if, on a dare, he’d had to win the virginity off some stupid, love-struck girl and then dump her just as quickly?

  Surely not. Not possible! Or was it? Mandy wavered back and forth and by sunrise had made herself sick.

  “You okay?” Dee asked as Mandy returned from throwing up.

  “No, I feel like shit.”

  “You’re language has gotten worse since you’ve been seeing that guy.”