It All Started... Ch. 02

(This is the second part of the It All Started series, for background information I highly recommend you start at Chapter 1. This is a building romance story and there may not be steamy action happening in each chapter so if you're looking for a story leaping right into sex, this isn't for you. Stick with it though and I promise you won't be disappointed. Comments are appreciated but please leave the negative ones out of it)

Riley woke the next morning to the blaring noise of his alarm clock. He reached out groggily with one hand and slapped it off. Sitting up and rubbing his eyes, he registered the grunting and snorting sound of his roommate's snores. He shot a weary glare at the lumpy shape across the room.

"How did I end up with such a pig for a roommate? I definitely didn't fill out 'fat slob' on the roommate survey" Riley thought as he got out of bed to take a shower. Before he even reached the door his roommate let out a massive fart followed by a grunting snore and rolled over. He shook his head and filed a mental note to change roommates ASAP!

The shower in his apartment was typical of college housing, no real room and weak water pressure. After adjusting the water temperature for the twentieth time so he wasn't being scalded or flash frozen, he showered, shaved, and got dressed.

As he grabbed his backpack and his jacket, he saw that his phone was blinking. Picking it up he saw he had a Facebook message from Annabelle:

"Hey, you better be awake sleepyhead! We have an 8 am class! Message me your coffee preference and I'll see you there!"

Riley smiled and started typing back to her: "I know, I'm dragging my lazy self out of the apartment. Roommate snored all night. Hard to sleep, see you soon. Black with two sugars," he was about to send the message when he decided to take a risk and jump in feet first, "Instead of Facebook messages, text me. Here's my number." Riley included the number and headed out the door. He had a smile on his face as he put in his iPod headphones and turned up his music.

"Today seems to be the start of a pretty damn good day."

**

Annabelle wasn't really an early riser. She liked to sleep late, but she found that she needed background noise in order to help her sleep. Normally, she put in her headphones and played music to help her nod off, or if her roommate wasn't around she'd flip the TV on and just let it drone in the background. In fact, she found that she slept best with someone in the room.

As she got ready for the day, her thoughts drifted to her ex-boyfriend. He was her biggest "what if?" and not in a good way. Annabelle frequently found herself wondering if she had done the right thing, especially considering everything that she gave him. She didn't want to break up originally; she just wanted a break in order to figure out her life and what was going on.

During their relationship, Annabelle felt trapped. Her ex, Jake Grant, seemed like a great guy at first, but he was the complete opposite. He was controlling and manipulative. Jake was a complete nerd, a gamer, but he had an idea of how he wanted Annabelle to act, dress, and speak. The only way she could do right by him, was when she was doing what he wanted, playing the games that he had been obsessing over for most of his life.

Still, no matter what, she always came in second place to a fantasy world and fictional people that only existed on his computer screen. Annabelle spent three years fighting for his attention, not over other girls but to multiple games. They were always his priority. There was one afternoon, she and Jake were about to have sex when he got a text from his buddies that they "needed him for a raid." Jake left a smoking trail as he bolted out the door to log on.

Annabelle always tried to please Jake no matter what the cost, she lost a lot of friends because of him and spent most of her college life so far alone in her dorm waiting for him to come online and chat with her. She started losing who she really was and became an empty oyster shell that had its pearl stolen. She finally ended things in order to be free and to escape a loveless relationship that had never truly fulfilled her. It made her feel like a little kid; wanting to be loved instead of being neglected by the one who was supposed to care for her.

She shook these thoughts from her head as she gathered her books and headed out the door. These memories crept up on her far too often. She needed to make sure that Jake was where he belonged - in the past. She took out her phone to double check her first class and remembered that her new mentee Riley James was in her class. She sent him a message, with a slight smirk as she teased him, and offered to get him a coffee. When she read his reply message and the included phone number, her smirk changed into a smile. She automatically started to put his number in a folder labeled "Mentee Students" but stopped and, after a second, put him in her personal contacts.

Annabelle bought the coffees and headed for the classroom to wait for Riley. Class was due to start in fifteen minutes, but for the first day the teachers were lenient. She sat back, relaxed, and waited.

**

"I'm late, I'm late, I'm so freaking late!" Riley muttered to himself as he hustled to the classroom. He found the right door and spotted Annabelle sitting near the back. The seat next to her was empty, so he slid into it just as the professor called his name for attendance.

"Here," he said raising a hand. As the teacher moved on to the next name, Riley took slow deep breaths to avoid panting like an animal.

Annabelle leaned toward him and said softly, "That's cutting your arrival pretty close for your first day," She smiled at him so he would know she's teasing and asked, "did you get lost?"

Riley sighed, "This campus is like a maze, so many pathways leading to certain areas, but some doors are for security only, and half the people at this campus knew this building by another name..." he shook his head, "Community college is so much simpler." He grabbed the coffee she pushed towards him, nodded his thanks and took a deep sip. It was perfect.

Annabelle smiled, "I'll have a simple guide written up and give it to you when we have our last class together today. Your next class is in this building, upstairs third floor so you have it easy. The next class you have is right next to the library."

Riley jotted this info down in a notebook and whispered, "Thanks." The teacher dove right into the lesson, starting with the basics of Crime Scene Preservation. Riley started to take notes and, halfway through the class, he realized that he was still taking deep breaths, not because he was out of breath, but because he was enjoying the intoxicating scent coming from Annabelle. Whatever perfume she wore, it smelled fantastic.

He found himself watching her out of the corner of his eye, and took his time in watching her profile whenever a student asked a question. She was obviously focused on her work, if the teacher lingered over a topic she'd put a star next to it. Her handwriting was neat and precise and her eyes sparkled whenever the teacher brought up an interesting point. Riley liked girls who focused, he wasn't really into airheads. He considered asking Annabelle to finish their coffee together after class.

He quickly shook those thoughts from his head. He couldn't go down that road, he promised himself he wouldn't. Riley wasn't looking for a relationship, he just wanted to enjoy his college experience. Party, make friends, meet girls. His friend had called it the "True Experience" when it came to hooking up and sleeping with a girl, "Remember the True Experience man..."

Even though the class was an hour and a half, it seemed to fly by. He and Annabelle walked outside together. Lingering in the hallway, Annabelle said, "You should take the stairs up to the third floor, students always try to take the elevator and it gets packed in there."

Riley nodded, saying, "I'll see you later in our next class." As he started walking toward the stairs. He needed to get away from Annabelle, the perfume was making his head spin, and made him look at her in a new light.

"She doesn't deserve that, she deserves better than me. If I stay close to her, I may just end up hurting her. I can't handle that, not after what happen-" His thoughts were interrupted by his phone buzzing. He had a text from an unknown number that read: The stairs are to your left, not your right smart one :-). He looked back and Annabelle had her phone out, pointing to the left with a grin on her face. Riley couldn't help the grin that spread across his face as he waved back.

Sitting in his next class he was startled as a girl sat next to him. Looking over at her, his first thought was 'this must be the easiest girl on campus'. She would be pretty if she didn't wear so much makeup. Her shirt clung to her chest and it was pretty obvious she wasn't wearing a bra as her nipples strained against the fabric. Her pants looked like they were molded to her legs and ass and her thong rode on her hips well above the waistline of her jeans. She looked at him with smoldering eyes and said in what she thought was a sultry voice; "Hi, I'm Kristal."

Riley was about to brush her off but his best friend's voice came back to remind him, "The True Experience man..." He said, "I'm Riley. You seem like a girl who likes to party. Am I right?"

Kristal smirked, "I do more than party good looking. I like to show people a good time." Her hand settled on his thigh, "You interested?"

"Fuck this girl is forward" Riley was shocked at her boldness. He had a reply ready, but thoughts of Annabelle filled his head again. He shook his head again and said to Kristal, "I'm very interested."