Blurred
Parts 2-3
By Heather
Michelle opened the door to her dorm room, wishing for a few moments of peace and quiet to calm down before she met her study date, but instead she was prepared for the blast of loud music she had heard all the way up her hall. Her roommate, the often scary and moody Kara, was booming Smashing Pumpkins out of her radio and banging her head in time as she read “The Alien Files: The Secrets of Extraterrestrial Encounters and Abductions.” Michelle, already used to her roommate’s strange habits, simply shook her head, grabbed a Diet Coke from her refrigerator and a packet of Little Debbie Chocolate Snack Cakes, and headed down the hall to Emma’s room.
As she walked down the hall to her friend’s room, she thought of how lucky Emma was to not have a roommate. Emma had moved to Springfield this past summer all the way from England to attend Springfield University. She was a junior like Michelle, and also pre-med. They had met in Anatomy class, been paired as lab partners, and had instantly hit it off. Emma’s upbeat and vibrant personality had been exactly what Michelle had needed, since all her friends still lived back at home, and she had been a bit lonely for some companionship.
Tapping Emma’s door, she opened her mouth to tell her to let her in, when the door flew open and Emma appeared, grabbed her arm and pulled her inside, swiftly closing the door behind them.
”What…” Michelle started to say, but Emma lifted a perfectly manicured nail to her lips.
“Shh…” she whispered, gesturing towards her television screen. Looking over, Michelle saw that Emma was watching one of her favorite movies, ‘Jerry Maguire.’ It was Emma’s, and her own, favorite scene, where Tom Cruise breaks down and tells Renee Zellweger how he feels about her. Instantly mesmerized, Michelle sat with Emma through the whole scene, both whispering along with the characters as they declared their love for each other.
“Ah,” sighed Emma, gracefully tucking a strand of her short red hair behind her ear. “If only a real man would say such beautiful things to me.”
Michelle sighed in agreement. Both looked wistfully at the screen as the move went off, Tom and Renee walking off together, in love and embarking on the much sought, yet fabled-happily-ever-after.
“So,” said Emma, turning to face Michelle, the smile on her face radiant and happy. “What’s up?”
“Oh Emma,” Michelle said, her excitement evident in her voice. “You will not believe what happened today!!” She went on to tell her friend about the day’s events.
“Oh, you ‘ave a date!” Emma exclaimed, her green eyes twinkling merrily.
“Oh, I wouldn't exactly call it a date…” Michelle said softly.
“Oh yes it is,” Emma said, jumping up from the bed and heading over to her closet. “Come ‘ere and we'll find the perfect outfit!”
One hour later, Michelle left Emma’s room, armed with a gorgeous sleeveless sweater and matching Capri pants, and her self-confidence tremendously boosted by Emma’s constant encouragement.
“‘Ave fun, love,” Emma told her, giving her a quick hug before kicking her out the door.
Michelle entered her room, thankfully now void of the loud, cantankerous Kara, and set the clothes at the end of her bed. Flopping down on the other end, she stared at the ceiling, wondering how she would kill the more than one-hour wait she still had ahead of her. She contemplated studying, thinking it would be good to actually know something before she studied with her sexy mystery man, but quickly realized that she would get nothing accomplished if she even tried. Closing her eyes, her imagination took over.
Michelle gazed around her crowded, noisy living room at her listless, discontented friends. Everyone was there; her sister-in-law Abby, her friend Emma, Reva and her sister Cassie, Holly and her daughter Blake, Harley, and even Vanessa. It was nearly Christmas and each woman was bemoaning the holiday season in some way or another. Newly separated from the man she loved, Michelle was feeling the holiday doldrums herself, but was refusing to let it get her down.
Growing increasingly frustrated, she decided to speak her mind. “You know what,” she began, her courage amazing high for a change. “I have a confession to make. I’ve listened to you all tell a thousand sob stories and um…well…I’ve been very judgmental.” She continued, despite the murmurs the other ladies made, “but maybe you are all correct. Men ARE the enemy.” Rising, she gathered some cups and plates left over from the food that had been served, hearing the women’s protests and choruses of no. “But, “she said louder, forcing the silence of the other ladies, “BUT I still LOVE the enemy.”
Walking from the room, she dropped a paper cup. She stooped to pick it up, as other pieces of trash left her hands. The other women continued in their discussions, their voices so loud and forceful that she didn’t hear the front door open or notice the presence of another in the room until she heard the strong, masculine voice of her husband.
“Hello…hello. I’m looking for my wife.”
She rose slowly, barely daring to believe her ears, as the voices of the other women again slowly died out, leaving a disturbing, empty silence behind. Her dark eyes met his, her confusion and his discomfort marking both of their faces. She stared taking in his handsome appearance and unruly curls, then began to move to walk out of the room.
“Wait,” he said, quickly moving to prevent her escape. Looking around at the group of women, he quickly realized that none of them were going to leave.
“All right. If this is where it has to happen,” he said, glancing at the women to see if they had something to say-but they didn’t-his arms extended in a gesture of surrender, “this is where it has to happen.” Lifting a finger, he pointed at her. “I’m not letting you get rid of me. How about that?”
Michelle said nothing, too shocked to do so.
“This used to be my specialty. I was good in a living room…send me in there; I'll do it alone,” he said, refering to his old job as a sports agent for a huge company called SMI. Watching her the whole time, his eyes slowly filling with painful tears, he continued, “And now I just... I don't know... but on what was supposed to be the happiest night of my business life…”
Michelle’s face blanched, her mind instantly believing that it was again all about the business, but he continued.
“It wasn't complete, wasn't nearly close to being in the same vicinity as complete, because I couldn't share it with you.” Tears fell from Michelle’s eyes as she finally realized the magnitude of what he was saying.
“I couldn't hear your voice, or laugh about it with you. I missed my wife. We live in a cynical world, a cynical…world, and we work in a business of tough competitors, so try not to laugh,” he paused, gazing mornfully at her, then decided to just say it. “I love you. You complete me.”
Another tear slid down Michelle’s face as she heard the words she had been living to hear from him.
“Shut up. Just shut up,” she said, her face smiling a radiant smile. “You had me at hello.”
Moving together, Michelle raised her arms to accept his embrace. Murmurs of approval came from the previously silent women. Reva eyed the couple warily and sloshed some of her red wine as she said, “I think we’d better go…”
The couple continued to kiss happily as the ladies slowly departed the room.
Michelle jerked awake as she realized she had nodded off. She jumped up from the bed and looked at her clock, realizing she only had 15 minutes to get ready and get to the library. Dashing quickly around her room, she got dressed in record time, grabbed her books and excitedly left her room, eager to go met her sexy mystery man for their study date.
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Michelle quickly ran up the steps of the Thorpe Library, the bottom of her book bag gently swatting her on the bottom as she bounced from step to step. Pausing at one of the large windows at the top of the steps beside the doors, she checked her clothes and hair, making sure everything looked as good as it did when she left her dorm room-which had actually only been 5 minutes ago. Thanking God for Emma and her fabulous clothes (she looked hot in those Capri pants, if she did say so herself!) she continued on to the huge oak doors of the building that loomed large in front of her. Taking the large, brass handle in both of her tiny hands, she started to pull as hard as she could.
“Would you like some help with that?” a very deep, verrrry masculine voice asked. A large, warm hand covered hers, sending small shockwaves racing through her blood, and pulled the door open. She glanced up and looking down on her was the sweet, sexy face of her study partner. He was smiling, his lips stretched lazily across his perfect white teeth, her mind instantly fantasizing about what exactly he could do with those lips and teeth-things she was certain he could do quite well.
Blushing furiously, she glanced down to hide her face as she followed him into the library. Softly she murmured her thanks. “I’ve always had trouble opening those doors,” she added shyly. Falling back to walk beside her, he smiled down at her again, she caught a glimpse of it from the corner of her eye.
“No problem,” he said, still smiling that smile that seemed to make it harder and harder for her to breathe. “My name is Danny, by the way, Danny Santos.” The deep sound of his voice sent tiny shivers down the length her spine. Taking a quick look up and down his tall body, she took in his well-worn and rather nice fitting blue jeans, blue flannel shirt and tennis shoes.
“I’m Michelle Bauer,” she managed to say, barely hearing herself over the thunderous beating of her heart. Imagine, she thought, if I have this kind of reaction just to his touch and voice, what would happen to me if he ever kissed me? Or…more? She blushed deeper at the thought.
They reached a small, circular table towards the back of the library. Named for Roger Thorpe, a former resident of Springfield and benefactor to many of the programs at the University, Springfield University’s library was state of the art and enormous. A vast menagerie of oak and glass, the library was brightly lit by the sunlight that filtered in and filled with books, computers, and people.
They sat down across from each other and Danny opened up his blue book bag. Pulling out two 3-ring notebooks, he passed one to her and opened the other one. Their hands touched briefly, and Michelle again felt the electricity of his warm touch shoot up her arm. And to her extreme embarrassment, she blushed again.
Their eyes met across the table. For what felt like an eternity, they sat and stared, Michelle feeling increasingly lost in the almost black sea of his eyes, but the spell was broken when he glanced down. “If…if you don’t mind,” he stammered, flipping open his notebook hastily, “while you’re copying my notes, I’m going to do a little studying. I have an exam tomorrow for my literature class. When you’re done, we can study for Schleunce’s test.”
“Um…okay,” said Michelle, her mind more on the way his lips moved when he talked than his notes for history class. Taking out her own notebook, she turned to a fresh sheet of paper.
“Let me know if you can’t read my writing,” he said, looking up from his own notes and giving her a sexy half smile. “I tend to write kinda messy.”
“Oh, it’s fine,” Michelle replied, silently kicking herself for being to shy to say more to him. Like how he made her heart race by just saying hello. Or how her body felt when he merely touched her hand. Or how his eyes made her melt inside. Or like how gorgeous he was. So many things she wanted to say, had wanted to say for a long time, but her tongue was useless. In a perfect world, she thought, I would be a master with words. I would be a poet. Or a novelist. Or an actress. Someone who can just open her mouth and say whatever she’s thinking! Inside she could imagine perfect things to say all the time…she just never had the courage say them. Sighing wistfully, she began to scribble down his notes. But in the back of her mind…she began to wonder just what would happen if she was the kind of person she so desired.