Chapter 5
The year started just like the last year. Football practice started the first day and I was totally out of shape. I was running around the field like somebody three hundred pounds overweight. I started to jog each morning before classes and I hit the weight room each afternoon.
One morning I was starting my run and when I passed the women's dorm I saw two students arguing in front of the building. One of the students had a bundle in her arms. As I got closer I saw that it was a sleeping bag. I passed them and continued my run. As I returned I saw the student sitting on the sleeping bag looking like she was about to cry.
I stopped in front of her to ask what the problem was but I had to wait until I could get my breath. She saw that I wanted to talk to her and she looked at me for a minute and then took off her baseball cap. I think that I gasped because the baseball cap and the way that she was sitting hid her features so much that if you had to identify her later it would have been impossible.
This girl was the most beautiful girl that I have ever seen. She had perfect skin, blond hair and green eyes that gave you the impression that her eyes were a thousand feet deep. Her eyes sparkled so much that your gaze immediately went to her eyes.
Still trying to breath normally I asked if there was any trouble back at the dorm.
"Just some stuck up bitch trying to make out that she matters in this world."
I laughed, "That's pretty harsh, don't you think? What brought that on?"
She looked at me to see if I was making fun of her before she answered, "Her roomy let me sleep in their room and this one took exception to it."
I didn't understand the situation and I blundered into it, "Where are you staying... on campus or off?"
She watched me again while trying to find out my motives for questioning her, "I'm not staying anywhere. Some of us aren't rich like you guys. I can't afford to stay in a dorm and most of the off campus joints cost an arm and a leg. I didn't think that it would be so hard to bunk with someone for a while."
I thought about what I might be getting in for before I spoke again. Sure enough I opened my yap, "I'm managing an apartment building. Why don't you see if you can share a room with one of the women that are renting there. All of the apartments are two bedrooms."
She watched me for a minute, "Give me the address."
I motioned for her to give me something to write on and she handed me a scrap of paper. I wrote the address and handed it back to her. She looked at it and with a nod got up and started toward the dorms.
I shrugged and continued my run. I grabbed a quick shower and made it to my first class a couple of minutes late. I thought I caught a glimpse of the girl that I had talked to a couple of times that day from across the campus. I couldn't be really sure though because she was too far away. I wanted to see if she had found a place to stay.
Football practice didn't go too well. I made every mistake possible and some of them twice. By the time that it was time to call it a day I was totally wrung out. I walked the four blocks to my apartment; I never took the car to school. When I started up the driveway I saw the girl sitting in front of my apartment.
"Have any luck finding someone to share their apartment?"
She shook her head, "There's only two apartments rented by girls. It's a real clean place though."
I made my way around her and put my key in the door, "Sorry to leave such sparkling company but I've got a ton of studying to do."
"Could you help me out tonight? I need a place to unroll my sleeping bag. Could you help me out?"
Without thinking I open the door and motioned for her to come inside. I pulled the orange juice out of the refrigerator and poured a glass. When I asked her if she wanted one she nodded.
I sat both glasses on the table and she came over and sat down. I drank most of my OJ before she even started hers.
"How come you don't have a place to stay?"
She got up, "Thanks for the juice. I'll find a place."
"Sit down," I said, "You can't expect someone to throw the front door open to you without knowing anything about you. What about your family? Can't they help you?"
"I don't have any family except an uncle and I hope somebody drives a stake in his heart or shoots him with a silver bullet. Oh, I do have a sister. She ran away from home five years ago. I have no idea where she is."
I thought for a minute before I spoke again, "What about your parents?"
"My father's dead. We had a small farm and he flipped the tractor on top of him. We were never allowed to talk about my mother so I'm not really sure what happened there. By a couple of things that were said over the years, I think that she had an affair and ran off with the guy. It happened when we were young so I never knew her."
I stood up, "Enough talk. Your welcome to unroll your sleeping bag until you can find a place that's more permanent. I work on the weekends."
She looked down at her hands and said in a low voice, "Look, I really appreciate the offer and I really do need a place to stay for a while but this is just... I mean... I'm not going to pay my way with sex. Ok."
"I didn't ask you to. Now that that's settled, I'm going to have a large pizza delivered. What kind do you like?"
"Pepperoni and mushroom."
After the pizza was delivered and we ate it we sat and talked for a while. I found out that her name was Peggy and that her sister's name was Brenda and they were from Idaho. Brenda was a year older than Peggy. She didn't say so, but I got the impression that the uncle had molested the girls. I found out that Peggy had a small scholarship but it wasn't enough to even pay a little of her living expenses. Peggy was a freshman. Apparently the uncle was working the farm and was, more or less, claiming it for his own. The father had died without a will and the uncle was appointed custodian of the kids and the estate. Apparently Peggy had written off any hopes of ever getting anything of her father's estate. I told her about my own family and how Dan and Abby had been as much an influence on me as my parents had been. I didn't leave out the fact that Dan had been responsible for getting my apartment in shape and making the apartment building livable. She was surprised to find out that I was not rich; I only had good friends that were willing to help me out, and a knack for sports.
"Would it be Ok to take a shower?" she asked hesitantly.
I told her it would and got her fresh towels and a wash rag. She pulled a small bottle of shampoo from the knap sack tucked into the sleeping bag. Apparently the sleeping bag served as a house, bed and whatever else was needed.
I think that I'd better explain about the bathroom and the shower. The bathroom is small and the wall is built out of glass block. There is a light and fan in the bathroom but no window or door. Privacy is almost non-existent when the light is on. Remember, this place was built for one person. The shower is a glass free-standing unit in one corner of the bathroom.
Peggy started for the bathroom and I told her, "I've got to get studying. When you're finished with your shower there's a bathrobe on the wall if you want to wear it."
She murmured Ok and went into the bathroom. I began to clean up the dinner mess and took out the books that I intended to study from. I heard the water in the shower come on and I looked toward the bathroom. I wasn't intending to spy on her but when she began to take off her clothes I was mesmerized. The glass block concealed about fifty percent of what you were looking at but there was still enough to feed your imagination. It was obvious that Peggy had an almost perfect build. Her shape was slim but not skinny. Her breasts appeared firm with no sag. I quickly turned my back to the bathroom and tried to study. I wasn't having much luck. The words on the paper were just that... words.
I heard the water turn off and glanced at the bathroom and quickly looked away. I knew that this could be big trouble. I wasn't looking for a room mate, even one as beautiful as this.
Eventually she came out of the bathroom wearing my big fleece robe. She continued drying her hair as she walked toward the desk where my books were spread out.
"You wouldn't have a hair dryer would you?"
I shook my head, "Never use the things. I keep my hair short because I jog and play a lot of sports."
When she found that my major was business she was surprised, "I guess I just have it in my mind that jocks are not as smart as the average college student."
She saw that I was offended by that remark and quickly apologized for it, "It's just that I've been hit on by most of the jocks in school and it gets old after a while. Most guys are so interested in proving that they're the greatest man in town that they try to get every woman that walks by them into bed."
After I had studied for a couple of hours I pushed the books away and looked over to where Peggy was sitting. She had fallen asleep on the couch. I got up and went to the closet and pulled out one of my spare blankets and covered her up. I stood for a minute watching her sleep, marveling at the beauty of this woman. I never use a night light but I kept one in the kitchen drawer. I got it out and plugged it in so that Peggy would be able to find her way to the bathroom if she woke up during the night.
Just before I crawled into bed I paused and looked over at this
beautiful woman asleep on my couch. I got into bed and was asleep in
minutes.