Deconstructing the Nerd Ch. 07

"That's really cool," Reema encouraged. Listening to herself talk, she thought her comment sounded a bit more enthusiastic than planned. Miguel didn't seem to notice, though.

"You should try going on to those kinds of events at Montgomery," he suggested.

"There's probably some interesting stuff to do. Like, instead of always being in class ..."

As he spoke, Reema had to conceal her actual thoughts. The irony of Miguel encouraging her to attend social functions was too rich. "Yeah there's been one or two events I went to with friends, or whatever." She said it flatly, hoping to cut the topic short. In retrospect, she should have just smiled and nodded.

"Oh? Like what," Miguel inquired.

Oh, great, Reema chided herself. Now she'd done it. To delay her response, she slurped another mouthful of soup. Maybe Miguel would get side-tracked and forget about this question. He calmly looked at her and waited for a response, though.

"Well, um..." Reema started, "there was this kind of retro thing.... and then, bingo..."

"Bingo?"

"Yeah. With, uh, fun gifts, and whatever..." she explained. There was no hope Miguel could ever understand the concept of dirty bingo. He wouldn't understand using condoms or lube as prizes, either. He did have a quirky sense of humour, but that kind of thing wasn't up his alley. In this case, she needed to protect him. As she thought about it, Reema actually felt kind of annoyed -- having to covering up such mundane, silly details.

"Like, with bouncy bingo balls... or what?" Miguel probed further.

Reema took another spoonful of soup before fielding the question. His 'bouncy ball' reference was pretty weird. Obviously, he had no idea what she was talking about. "Yeah, like weirdly shaped pens and stuff." That wasn't a total lie. Reema did remember seeing someone win a penis-shaped pen as a prize. There was also a USB key shaped like a box of condoms. Then she changed topics, "How's your pad thai going?"

Miguel looked down. "Uh, good. It reminds me of Pai." Reema knew the restaurant he meant -- it was one of their favourites back home.

There were a few other couples at tables nearby. Reema's efforts to eavesdrop on their conversations were thwarted, though, by the fact that they weren't speaking English. She wondered if the men were also quizzing their girlfriends about their weekend activities.

"So, what is retro night?" Miguel went on asking.

Geez, more questions. Reema looked across the table and wished he hadn't gone there. "Oh, Retro Night. Well, it was no big deal. Like... 90s music, and some people dressed up like celebrities."

"Like ComiCon?" he joked.

Reema chuckled, too. She wasn`t going to correct him. "Yeah, people had fun, I guess."

"They should organize something like that here," Miguel suggested.

Reema nodded. "Mmhmm. For sure."

"So were there any good costumes?"

After a pause, Reema shrugged. "Yeah. A few. People got realy creative." Even as she tried to remember it, the night was kind of a blur. She recalled listening to Spice Girls, and the hordes of costumed people all carrying drinks. She remembered the Vanilla Ice guy; and playing darts with him. Miguel would never play darts. She enjoyed it. It was a lot of fun.

"Oh, cool."

They sat in silence for a few seconds. Reema ate quickly, primarily so they could get out of there faster. She got side tracked again when Miguel whether there were any other notable adventures she was having on campus. Even though she didn't let it show, Reema was getting frustrated by the sheer amount of questions. Part of her knew it was only a light hearted conversation. Of course, Miguel would want to hear about what she was up to. At the same time, she remembered Cassie's admonition not to overwhelm him with details. He probably wouldn't understand her more outgoing tendencies lately. Reema could sense it. Mercifully, she managed to dodge a few more 'landmine' questions and end the conversation before they paid the bill.

As they held hands on the walk home, Reema's eyes wandered around campus. It was a weekend evening, but there were still lots of people around. She inexplicably found herself assessing some of the guys. Most of them were unappealing. She decided Montgomery's campus had a better 'selection'. As someone with a boyfriend, this was probably a weird thing to notice. She'd never analyzed her surroundings like that before.

Back in Miguel's dorm, as they got ready to watch a movie, Reema noticed him staring at her while she sprawled out on the bed. She knew what he was up to. Not this time. She had made that mistake once already. He wasn't going to see any more thong underwear. Part of her was disturbed by the staring. Miguel had no idea how to be discreet. Somehow, he must have thought she wouldn't notice the way his neck was awkwardly titled downward. Overall, she felt glad for not wearing anything remotely provocative this time.

Miguel hit 'play' on his laptop. Initially, they sat against the backboard of his bed. Then he put his arm around her. Reema moved closer, resting her head on his shoulder. She looked up, smiled, and Miguel kissed her. Just once. Through the fabric of her high school sweater, he rubbed her hip. It seemed like he would want to start cuddling soon.

Reema widened her lips and let out a yawn. Stretching her legs, she straightened her toes and tried to work the cramps out of her body. Miguel adjusted himself to allow her more space. Reema didn't return to his arms. In fact, she felt her eyelids getting droopy. Or maybe she was willing them shut? The movie had only been playing for 20 minutes.

"You OK?" Miguel asked.

Her eyelids fluttered. "Yeah, just a bit tired. I'm OK."

Miguel hit pause. "Do you want to go to sleep? I can turn this off or something."

"Yeah, I think that's a good idea. I'm not understanding much anyways," she said behind a dopey smile.

He repaid her look. He returned the laptop to the desk while Reema curled up in the bed. She forced her eyes shut, trying to bring about sleep faster. As she turned away from him, she was hoping Miguel wasn't looking at her ass.

"Can you shut the light?" she asked.

Behind her, she heard Miguel say, "Of course." He wished her goodnight, too. The room went dark and quiet, except for the lamp on Miguel's desk and the periodic sounds of him tapping on his keyboard.

The next day, Reema announced her visit would have to be shorter than expected. Miguel was shocked. She sensed his disappointment. She felt guilty about it. As she explained though, there was a last-minute study group she had to attend, in preparation for a big test. The part she left out was that the 'group' only consisted of Cassie and herself. Also, it wouldn't be as much a study session, since the two girls just planned to hang out with the possibility of cracking a book. The whole thing wasn't even a certainty, and could easily get rescheduled. Reliable old Miguel understood, though. School should always come first. As a result, Reema was on her campus-bound bus by noon.

Back at Montgomery, Reema recapped her weekend for Cassie at the gym. She grabbed a Gatorade from her locker and shut the door. "And yeah, I don't know...it was weird being there. I don't know if I should feel bad?"

Cassie privately admired Reema's workout gear, noting how far the girl had come fashion-wise in such a short time. Rather than her usual long stretchy pants, Reema donned a skimpier-than-average pair of black shorts, with a white stripe down the side. Today's workout would further tone her legs and glutes, but her lower body was already showing major signs of improvement. She sported a much slimmer, shapelier waistline above her rounding hips. Stretched across her busty torso, Reema wore a revealing white tank top. Cassie, along with many male patrons at the gym, certainly approved.

The Blomshell smiled, "You shouldn't feel too bad."

"And then he kept asking all these questions about what I've been up to. It just got tiring, you know?"

"Oh, I know. Brutal," Cassie commiserated, exhibiting a sympathetic face.

"Anyway, I'm just bitching. Ready to start?"

"Yeah," said the blonde with a laugh. "Lead the way, Champ!"

Cassie said they could start with a ten minute warm-up on the stair master. "We're going to work that tush of yours today," she added, playfully tapping Reema's butt. Reema dreaded the stair climber, even though there was evidence all over the gym that it was an effective tool for shaping people's bodies.

As they walked toward the stair machines, Josh Cameron made an appearance at the far end of the gym floor. Reema felt a jolt through her body. He was probably going to approach them now, and Reema would have to do the usual routine of pretending to be social. In the end, he appeared not to notice them at all. Josh just headed to a different row of machines while Reema and Cassie walked the other way.

The girls stepped onto adjacent stair masters and powered them up. Reema's thighs quickly started to burn as she laboured up the simulated steps. At the same time, she used her elevated line of sight to scan the room. She spotted Josh, and watched him finish a set of bicep curls in the free weight section.

Josh next started talking with a blonde girl who was seated by the chest press machine. Reema witnessed Josh give his patented sly smile. The tall blonde smiled back. Admittedly, she was very pretty and cutely dressed. Josh chatted with her for a decent amount of time before returning to his exercises. Reema assumed he would come and check on her and Cassie next, as he made his 'rounds', visiting different females in the gym.

But he didn't. "And now to work on those squats," Cassie interrupted, dismounting her machine and leading them over to the weight rack. Reema swung her head in Josh's direction. She tried not to look at him for too long. She wasn't sure what she wanted to accomplish, either. Perhaps she was hoping they would accidentally meet eyes?

Cassie loaded the bar with the appropriate amount of plates. Reema lifted it on her back and executed her first set with great precision.

"Wow, Ree! Your range of motion is like night and day," she commented.

"Yeah," Reema panted in reply. Cassie could tell she wasn't completely paying attention to her words. Reema continued to look around the gym. She was beginning to seem agitated. Still no visit from Josh. After a short rest, Cassie recommended that they start again.

Reema executed the next set even better. She willed herself to squat lower. Pushing out her butt as she went down, her posture created a flattering impression at the same time as it strained her muscles. Reema's chest protruded when she finally returned to an upright position. Having completed her twelfth rep, she placed the bar back on the rack.

"Wow, you're on a mission today!" Cassie congratulated her. Meanwhile, the Blomshell could perfectly sense the frustrated feelings her curvy brown friend was trying to hide. It was quite an amusing spectacle, actually.

Reema was seriously annoyed. While she cooled down, Josh popped up elsewhere in the gym. He was being very sociable today, perhaps more than normal. He was also walking around with an obnoxious amount of swagger. Reema wondered who the hell he thought he was, and what he could possibly hope to get out of ignoring her? Was she not good enough to talk to now? He'd come over to annoy her every other day... why not now?

Reema performed her third set of squats with the same precision as last time. Looking at the mirror, she noticed her own stern, diligent expression. She visualized Josh appearing over her shoulder. Normally, he'd just strut over with his deep voice and say, "Wow, really have that down, don't you?"

But he didn't come. The only words uttered over her shoulder were Cassie's. Reema didn't pay much attention to them. Instead, she listened to her own thoughts and wondered what Josh was trying to prove. She also remembered herself that plenty of nice, decent guys seemed to enjoy talking to her. Before she could even enter the building today, in fact, she'd had a very cordial chat with a guy who held open the door. And now someone like Josh was making a point of being anti-social?

Cassie coached her to do some more leg extensions, while privately monitoring how annoyed Reema appeared. Cassie enjoyed it. Josh was acting like a typical player -- doing what guys did. This would be her brown friend's first taste of the games that attractive men and women usually played with each other. Reema grudgingly kicked out her legs, extending them as she tried to distract herself from Josh. Actually, her efforts bordered more on aggression.

Cassie guided Reema to cycle through a few more lower-body exercises before hitting the yoga mats. "We'll do some stretches to loosen up, ok?"

The girls began by squatting on the mats, spreading their legs as wide as possible. Then they lowered their torsos, grabbing their shoes and holding the pose. Letting go of their feet, they both lowered their chests toward the mat. Then they rotated their legs behind them, laying flat against the floor.

"Ok, use your arms and push your upper body off the mat as far as you can," Cassie instructed, telling Reema her pelvis and hips had to stay perfectly still. As she struggled, the girls repeated the move several times. Reema lifted her body up, which caused her chest to jut out. The strain on her lower back was unbelievable.

Prior to their final exercise, a tall figure passed by Reema and shaded her vision. "What is this, gymnastics day?" the voice called down.

Reema abruptly fell to the mat. Pushing herself up to her knees, she saw it was Josh.

"Close! We're trying some yoga. Something new I guess," Cassie explained.

Josh smiled down at Reema. She fought the urge to roll her eyes at him. He was unbelievable. Now he decided to come over. Now he wanted to include them in his rounds. Now they were good enough to talk to.

"I saw you doing some Yoga before, Josh. Looked like you had a better grasp on it than us clueless bimbos over here," Cassie said with a laugh, "Maybe you can show us a few things?"

"Yeah, of course. Should start with a standing pose. It's generally easier than the ground-based stuff," he said.

Resting on a knee, Reema watched Josh hold Cassie's back while she extended one leg behind her and an arm out in front. He said that the goal was to arch the back and then completely straighten it.

"Is this right?" Cassie asked, trying to steadily extend her leg.

"Yeah. Just lift that leg up a little bit. Yeah, perfect."

Reema wanted to glare at him, but Cassie's past instructions ensured she wouldn't dare. Even though Josh had finally decided to walk over to them in his Under Armour shirt, she hated how brash and cocky he acted. Occasionally, he glanced toward her while describing the mechanics of a Yoga pose.

"You getting this, Reema?" Cassie laughed when Josh mentioned something particularly technical about the muscle groups they were stretching.

Reema pushed herself to her feet. "Uh, not really."

Josh casually switched over to Ree as he manoeuvred near her. "Ok, you're just going to gradually lift your leg up..." he began. She heard and felt him guide her body into the right position. She couldn't lie to herself that she completely hated her predicament at the moment. But she didn't completely like it, either. Although she might not have consciously recognized it, there was a love-hate dynamic with the jerk. When he wanted to be, perhaps Josh could be a tolerable guy; it was just the other moments - the high school bully moments -- that made Ree hate him.

She stretched out her limbs into the air as Josh encouraged her. "See that bench down there, stretch your body like you're trying to reach for it. That's what I imagine."

Ree reacted as cordially as she could, but genuinely appreciated his tips. "Oh, that really helps," she said, manipulating her body as he instructed. He traced his hand from her neck to her thigh, telling her she should be a straight line. His touch sent positive waves throughout her body. He returned her to a rest position before repeating it several times.

"You're a natural, Ree," he concluded.

"God, I wish I had your butt, Reema. It was hilarious how you kept showing it off back there," Cassie whispered.

With the next few hands-on demonstrations, Ree grew more comfortable with Josh. He still wasn't completely off the hook for shunning her, but she had to admit his knowledge of yoga was impressive, and perhaps she even liked having his hands on her back and arms and showing her what to do and how to move her body.

Cassie enthusiastically voiced their joint appreciation at the end of it. "Well, thanks so much for the lesson, Josh! I've always wondered, though," she smiled, while pointing at his arm, "That bulge: does it feel...gross?"

Josh followed her pointed finger, connecting it to his bicep. "I don't know," he calmly shrugged, "Feel for yourself."

Cassie reached out an arm to touch it. "Ewwwww, weird! C'mon, you have to see this, Ree. It feels so..." But she trailed off, not having the right word.

Ree gave her an unamused look. Josh stood with a grin. Cassie continued to grope his arm, inviting Reema to do the same. Eventually the brown girl bit the bullet and touched it. She felt a weird rush as she did so. It was undeniable how impressive Josh could be, at least physically. Her senses heightened as she slid her hand along the firm muscle emerging from his arm. She was divided. She didn't want Josh to have any redeeming qualities, but she was starting to notice them more and more.

Reema pulled back her hand. "I don't know, it wasn't that weird."

For his part, Josh enjoyed having two young women touch his muscular frame, even if he acted like it wasn't a big deal. Privately, he was curious about Reema -- his full-figured former schoolmate -- who he could tell had taken a few extended seconds to examine his arm. Her cold expression didn't faze him. Actions spoke louder than words.

Before they parted ways, Josh mentioned to Cassie, "Are you guys going to that party Kurt Hopper is throwing in the student village?"

Cassie put on a pensive look and shifted her weight from one leg to another. "Oh, yeah, I heard about that. I'm not sure, to be honest. I know there's a few things going on that weekend... a rez party, and I think some people want to go clubbing downtown. It'll probably be a game time decision, Josh."

"Alright. Should be a decent excuse to get wasted," he replied, not seeming like he cared much. As he turned away, he looked at Reema and flashed a grin. "Later, Ree."

Reema's divided thoughts about Josh caused her to evaluate several answers she could give. Nothing seemed appropriate, though. She didn't want to act like she'd simply forgotten all his transgressions in the past, or that they were somehow 'buddies' now. Josh was still a jerk and her head literally ached from having to treat him politely, as Cassie requested. But it also ached from the positive feelings she was starting to have about him -- which were springing up independent of Cassie's advice.

"Thanks for the, uhh, lessons, Josh," she finally decided to say, before giving him a half-hearted smile.

When Josh was fully out of earshot and setting up at a distant weight bench, Cassie turned to Ree. "Do we have anything we can wear to a house party?"