The New Adventure Ch. 01

Note: This submission doesn't skip straight to sex. It develops to that, but it's also a story, and therefore it's longer than a simple depiction of a sexual encounter. If you're looking for a quicker build up, this isn't a story for you. Also, please note that additional chapters are in development, and many of the sexual encounters these characters, as well as ones yet-to-be-introduced, will experience will be saved for future submissions. Enjoy!

The following is a work of fiction, set at a fictional university in Minnesota. All of the characters and situations are purely fictional, and any similarity to real people or events is entirely coincidental. All characters are over the age of 18.

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Jacob Timms looked down the deserted hallway before entering the lab. As an undergraduate working for a professor in research over the summer, this was his first exposure to the university when it wasn't full of students. It was the last week of May, and final exams had just wrapped up. Jacob was a junior in chemical engineering, and because he was considering graduate school, he had decided to spend his last summer working in undergraduate research as opposed to taking an industrial summer job. Watching his friends head home and to jobs elsewhere, he'd felt lonely for the first time in years.

While he wasn't shy, Jacob was very hard-working, and during the semester he would put in long hours almost every day, limiting his social life. This was offset by having a good group of friends to spend time with when he wasn't studying or working on projects. With all of these friends away for three months, Jacob was becoming aware of the main downside (besides working without pay) of his choice of summer work: he was alone in an empty college town.

To add to this, the graduate students that he would be working under, as well as his professor, were beginning the summer term in Texas for a major conference. This event would last through the week, and then they would travel to California for a second conference. All-in-all, they would be gone for Jacob's first two weeks in the lab. While he had plenty to work on during that time, it was an extremely lonely start to the summer.

***

The nature of the research in biofuels that Jacob was involved with was very interesting, so when he cleared his mind of his empty surroundings, he was able to enjoy a morning of computer simulation setups and debugging. As noon rolled around, he finally left the lab and headed to the cafeteria of the engineering building to eat his packed lunch. As he peeked in offices and labs on the way, he realized that virtually all of his "neighbors" were absent. The conferences that his team was attending were also attended by others in the university's chemical engineering department, and there were also other conferences and symposiums around the country over the next few weeks, so it wasn't surprising for most of these rooms to be empty.

As he sat down at a table in the common area, he looked out the window and admired the thunderstorm developing overhead. Leftwright University was located in a small town in Minnesota, far enough removed from the Twin Cities to be distinctly different, but close enough that it didn't feel rural or desolate. He had a nice view of some of the campus from this spot, and only saw a few people walking outside. He saw a beautiful student sitting at the bus stop in front of the engineering building, and was briefly reminded of the current state of his love-life: non-existent.

Jacob had female friends, but the relationships were more like those of siblings as opposed to potential romantic partners. He hadn't even hooked up with someone in about a year. This wasn't because he struck out a lot, but rather because of the nature of casual sex with college students. He had enjoyed one-night-stands during his freshman year, but had developed a desire for something more than that. While he wanted sex, he wanted someone to actually appreciate it with him. As it stood, people interested in hookups objectified each other to a point that Jacob had stopped seeking them out. Full relationships were too difficult at this point because of how busy he was during most months of the year.

Jacob had given up on trying to figure out his love-life and had decided to wait until he had a more stable situation in a few years to figure things out. While he made sure to never let it get out of control, he masturbated regularly, and so he didn't feel an immediate need to find someone. This didn't mean that there weren't days where he felt incredibly lonely in that regard, but all-in-all, he managed.

***

As Jacob finished his sandwich, a woman walked in and sat at one of the tables. She was about 5'3" and appeared to be about 35. She had a slim, athletic build and Jacob could tell that she was an active person by her stride. As she sat down, she looked up and smiled briefly at him. He smiled back, and as she took out her phone and began eating, he quietly admired her from his spot across the room. She had a stunning complexion and curly brunette hair. He didn't want to stare, so he limited his gaze to a few seconds, and got up to head back to his lab.

While they had made eye-contact for less than five seconds, the fact that he hadn't seen another person all day meant that the moment had brightened his afternoon a little. Going from parties with dozens of people to this setting was an adjustment, and he returned to his work to try to avoid thinking about it too much.

***

A few hours later, as Jacob was debugging a section of simulation code, a knock came from the hallway. He turned in surprise, and saw the woman he had seen earlier standing at the open door. "Hi, I'm Carrie. I think I saw you at lunch today," she started.

"Hi. Yeah, I was just finishing up when you came in. I'm Jacob." He didn't know what to say, so he had just returned the greeting.

"Nice to meet you. I hope that you don't mind, but could I ask you a really big favor?" she had a slightly embarrassed look on her face.

"Sure, what's up?" He still didn't know who she was, so he again wasn't sure what to say.

"I work down the hallway in finance for the engineering departments," she explained. "My coworker is out this week, apparently with pretty much everyone else in the building. We moved to our current office last semester, and we're still moving things around. There's an older file cabinet that we had temporarily put behind some others to free up more space when they were putting in new lighting, but I just got a records request and have to get to the cabinet as soon as possible. I can't move the cabinets in front of it on my own. I wouldn't normally interrupt you, but I literally can't find another person on this floor to help me. It would only take about five minutes and should be manageable for two people to do."

Jacob quickly responded as he stood up, "Of course, I'd be happy to help."

Carrie smiled and thanked him, and they started walking to her office. She said to him, "I handle payroll and stipends for the graduate students, and I don't think we've met, so I'm assuming you're an undergraduate?"

Jacob smiled and replied, "Yeah, I'm working for Professor Tompkins over the summer. I'm interested in grad school, so I think that this will be good exposure before I completely commit to it."

She responded, "Smart man. No sense in jumping into something that you're not really sure you will like. Especially when you're enjoying the best years of your life."

This made Jacob laugh internally because he rarely thought of his current lifestyle as being the best he'd experienced. He certainly hoped he'd have better years ahead.

They reached the finance office, which had a reception area and several offices branching from it, and Carrie showed Jacob the cabinet in question. He was 5'6", but had a muscular build and had worked a summer with a moving company, so he knew how to handle heavy objects. Together they were able to move the cabinets over easily.

Carrie was very appreciative of the assistance and remarked, "Thank you for that. I don't know how I'd have gotten that moved if I hadn't found someone." She paused and added, "An old lady like me wouldn't have gotten that more than an inch by myself."

Jacob was not sure how to respond without sounding inappropriate but said, "I think that you're pretty far from being an 'old lady', but I was happy to assist."

She smiled and said, "You're sweet, but you don't need to flatter me. I gave up expecting compliments on my 40^th birthday."

Jacob had been ready to start walking back to his lab, but was perplexed when he heard this. He had imagined that Carrie was 35 when he had first seen her, and after watching her help him move the cabinet, he thought she was even younger.

Seeing a look of confusion on his face, she laughed and said, "I'm 43. I know it's weird for people to just tell someone that, but you seem like a really nice guy and I'm not concerned that you'll tell anyone." She winked at him.

Jacob was still unsure of how to respond, given that he was used to behaving very professionally around university staff, but Carrie was making him feel more comfortable, and he somehow felt courageous enough to say, "I honestly had you pegged for 30. You moved that cabinet with me better than a lot of my classmates would have."

Her eyebrows rose slightly, and she remarked, "I keep in shape; it's about all I feel that I can control in my life these days. You don't know how much it means to hear you say that, even if you are exaggerating."

They looked at each other for a few seconds, before an awkward feeling made Jacob begin to head for the office door. "Let me know if you need any other help moving stuff. I've got to get back to my computer to get some things running overnight before the day ends."

She seemed slightly taken aback, but nodded and thanked him again before heading into her office with the files she had found. As he walked back to the lab, Jacob kicked himself for having ended the exchange like that. He simply hadn't known the right way to talk to her. If she had been his age and the setting was a house party, he would have found any excuse to stay and talk longer. But he didn't know where their conversation was going, and while he was convinced that any awkward feelings were just his imagination, he had felt the need to cut it off.

One thing was certain, however: Carrie was beautiful. Her eyes were expressive and kind and her lips were sensual. The summer dress that she wore (presumably due to the relaxed dress code that was in place during the summer term) was vivid yet tasteful. He envied her husband or boyfriend, though he hadn't noticed a wedding ring. He hoped that something would cause their paths to meet again soon. As he got back to work for a few more hours, his temperament was vastly improved.

***

The storm that had been developing over lunch was still overhead when Jacob left for the day. As he approached the large doors at the entrance of the building, he prepared to get soaked on his way home. Just as he was about to head out into the weather, Carrie came around a corner near the door, looked at him in surprise, and remarked, "Funny seeing you again so soon!" She didn't seem upset at him for having left abruptly.

"Yeah, good timing," he replied. "Are you done for the day?"

"Yep, and I assume you are as well? Please tell me you have a dry way to get home?"

Jacob shrugged and said, "I live a decent walk from here, but I'm fine. I just wish I'd brought an umbrella with me."

Carrie reached into her purse and pulled out some keys. "I'll give you a ride home. Before you say anything, 'no' is not a correct answer." She lightly grabbed his arm and led him out a side door to the underground parking. He decided not to give any protest and thanked her for her kindness. They arrived at her small sedan within a minute, and were on the road a moment later. The rain hammered her windshield as he told her his address.

"Do you mind if we stop for coffee quickly? The machine wasn't on today with only me in the office and I feel like I'm about to lose my edge." Jacob was feeling similarly and replied that he would appreciate the stop.

They pulled up to a coffee shop near the edge of campus called Rosie's. It had been on campus forever, and was normally a very busy student spot. This week it was deserted because summer classes hadn't started yet, and Jacob and Carrie were the only customers. They ordered their drinks and sat down, making small talk about the storm and the lack of other students.

After a minute, Carrie said, "I want to apologize if I said anything to make you feel uncomfortable this afternoon in my office. I realized afterwards that I may have sounded odd talking about my age like that. I guess that I can sometimes seem overly friendly and expressive towards relative strangers. Hell, I'm having coffee with one now."

Jacob quickly responded, "You have nothing to apologize for; I should apologize instead for breaking off the conversation so quickly. I guess I'm just so used to people being abrupt and unfriendly with strangers that I didn't know what to say when one was actually being kind to me. I certainly wasn't bothered by you."

She seemed relieved. "I know what you mean. I think a lot of college students are like that, but unfortunately it doesn't get all that much better as people age. People could afford to be more social with each other without having to know each other for months or years."

Jacob agreed wholeheartedly, and they talked for a few minutes about how cold a lot of people they knew were, especially within the engineering department. This opened up a conversation on backgrounds, and Jacob explained his interests and how he had settled on chemical engineering. He felt that a lot of his story was dull, but was encouraged to continue by Carrie's interested expressions and responses. When he had finished his overview of himself, the conversation paused.

After a moment, Carrie said, "Well, I wish I had a happier tale to tell, but I don't want to depress you, so I'll just say that I'm an employee of the university and that I like running." She took a large sip of coffee and looked out the window.

"I only covered the highlights of my own 21 years of existence," Jacob responded. "But I've definitely had a lot of bad times, and I know that the future probably holds worse things than that, so I'm not opposed to hearing unhappy stories. I would be happy to listen if you have anything you'd like to elaborate on." They smiled at each other.

"For an undergrad, you have a way with words," Carrie responded, sitting up in her chair a bit. "The short version is that I was married for eight years, and now I'm not. I'm not at all depressed about not being married, but I've felt down for a while since the divorce, and it gets more complicated from there."

After another pause, she continued, "We didn't have any kids, so that was never an issue or anything. We were happy for several years, but when he lost the spark and viewed our life together as more of a redundant job, I wanted to continue to go on new adventures with him and continue to grow our experience together. After a while of that situation, every aspect of our life together crumbled, from morning conversations to going to bed at night." She stopped, and appeared embarrassed. "I must really be losing it. I'm not the kind of person who says these things to a stranger. I think I've told you more in the last two minutes than I've said to my own sister about this."

Jacob understood her grief, having watched his mother go through a similar divorce five years earlier, and he didn't want Carrie to feel uncomfortable. He replied, "I know this may sound superficial or cliché, but I know where you're coming from with a lot of this. Obviously I haven't experienced it firsthand, but my mom went through a similar divorce, and I think she started to go crazy from lack of being honest about it all."

Carrie looked Jacob in the eyes and said, "I think I somehow knew you'd understand this. I talk to students all day long and never would dream of talking about this to one of them. I feel like I'm talking to someone who gets these more mature concepts regarding relationships, more than a 20-year-old who spends every Friday looking for a blonde to take home."

Jacob blushed a bit and glanced out the window. Carrie backtracked, "I'm sorry, I really shouldn't assume so much. There's nothing wrong with someone your age enjoying what's available to you. You should enjoy life while you're young. I'm sorry if I roped you in with a blanket statement."

Jacob laughed and responded, "No, you hit the nail on the head more than you realize. If we're being honest, I was a guy who loved one-night-stands for a while. But then I started wanting someone to explore life together with, and that became impossible to find among my peers. At least it's seemed that way. So no, you didn't assume too much at all. You were very correct."

She smiled and responded, "Well, that's a tough thing to deal with, but you'll find someone. You're a charming young man, and you'll make someone very happy."

The conversation took a lighter tone, and continued for a while, moving from relationships into other topics. Before long, they both realized they had been in the coffee shop for over an hour. "I can't believe its 6:30," Carrie remarked as she looked at the old clock on the wall.

"Honestly, and I'm not proud to say this, I have nothing to do until I check my results tomorrow morning," Jacob noted. "I've just been enjoying spending time with someone who can hold a conversation. But I imagine you have to get going, and the sun's come back out, so I can walk the rest of the way home from here. Thanks so much for driving me here."

"Well, I have to find a gift for my niece's birthday party this weekend, so I should probably go hunting for that. This was incredibly fun; I've needed something like this for a while." Carrie stood up and offered to still give Jacob a lift home, but he responded that it was easier to walk the rest of the way. They talked as they reached her car, and she said, "You know, I usually go for a run in the early morning a few times a week. You mentioned that you run as well, and I usually go with my office-mate but she's gone this week, so if you'd like to run with me tomorrow, I'll be around at 6:30 tomorrow morning. I usually drive in around then, run, and then shower at the gym complex before heading into the office."

Jacob replied, "I would really enjoy that! I wasn't looking forward to running around an empty campus by myself. I'll meet you by the parking garage at 6:30, ready for a good run." They said goodbye, and went their separate ways. When Jacob got home that evening, he relaxed and thought about the afternoon. Having coffee with someone twice his age somehow didn't seem strange, maybe because the conversation had been better than any that he'd had in months. He was looking forward to running with Carrie in the morning, and got a good night's sleep in preparation for the coming day.

***

When Jacob woke at 5:30AM, he stripped and showered, and then looked at himself for a moment in the mirror before getting dressed. Despite his stature, he was muscular and athletic enough that he didn't appear short. His brown hair was in need of a trim, but overall he thought he looked alright for an engineering student. He dressed in athletic shorts and a t-shirt, and brought a bag and clothes with him to change after the morning run. He hiked to the engineering building's parking garage and waited near the entry.

In a few moments, he saw Carrie's car make the turn around the street as she pulled into the garage. Hers was the only car so far, so she parked right by the door to the building. As she stepped out, Jacob felt a quick rush of blood as he saw her. Carrie wore a sleeveless neon green synthetic shirt that cut off at the midriff, essentially fitting like a sports bra. Below, she had black tights and running shoes. He hadn't really thought about what she'd be wearing, and these were standard clothes for someone running in the summer, but he was very pleasantly surprised.