“Yes way! He was talking about the pleasure-reward system in our brains and how the chemical dopamine makes us feel good. A lot of it gets released whenever we do something enjoyable like gambling or having sex, which is often the basis for addiction.”
It occurred to me that I could tell Daniela I’d attended my own lecture on sex and how my brain was probably drowning in dopamine at the moment, but I quickly dismissed the idea, preferring to play it cool instead. “Oh that sounds interesting.”
“Yeah, definitely. You gonna be home tonight? Wanna get dinner at the Barnyard?”
I thought about how Hunter and I had a lot of studying to accomplish tonight. If the last hour and a half was any indication of the type of ‘studying’ we were going to do, our textbooks might never get cracked open. But I was more than okay with that. “Umm . . . I’ll give you a call if I get back?”
“Okay.” She sounded a little disappointed since we ate dinner together nearly every night. I felt slightly bad for brushing her off but not bad enough to change my mind. Having more fun with Hunter dominated my mind at the moment. “I guess I’ll see you whenever you get back.”
“Yep, bye Daniela.”
She said bye and we both hung up.
“Hey, Lorrie,” Hunter said wrapping his arms around me from behind. “Someone call?”
“Yeah, it was just Daniela, checking in on me,” I said sweetly.
“There’s certainly a lot to check out,” he said running his hands up and down my legs and in between them, making me bite my lip in excitement. “That’s for sure. Ready to talk about that extra credit?”
I nodded and voiced my excitement.
It was approaching evening by the time we finished Sex Ed 101. The class took a lot longer than both of us had anticipated. There was just so much for him to teach, and for me to learn. We sat down at the living room table, sore and fatigued, but strangely energetic.
“Alright, let’s study for real this time,” I said.
“For real, babe,” he agreed.
“Are you going to help me with psych?” I offered. “I recall you promised you’d help me last time.”
He seemed perplexed. “When was that?”
“When we went to the theater and ended up watching horror movies instead, Hun.” I decided to call him ‘hun’ since he was calling me ‘babe’. I found it to work as both a shortening of his name and an affectionate term for ‘honey’.
“Oh right.” He laughed. “Sorry, I totally forgot about that. That was when you ended up sleeping on me.”
“That’s right.”
“Okay, let’s do it.”
I was a little surprised to find Hunter as knowledgeable about the material as he had claimed. I knew he was smart but it was still unusual to see a muscled brawler be brainy. We hit the books with determination, and I intended to soak in as much material as I could. Studying was helpful for about an hour before we got distracted again. Jokes about classical conditioning turned into teasing, which turned into kissing. And from there things escalated. We were in the middle of having sex in the bedroom with me on top when Hunter’s phone buzzed on the nightstand. He ignored it at first, preferring to focus his attention on the way I was bouncing my hips against him but the noise became a growing distraction. He groaned, reached for his phone, and checked it.
“Who is it?” I asked, my breaths heavy.
“Oh, it’s just Gary again.” He showed me his phone with a text message that said: Yo, you still hanging out with Lorrie? C’mon man, these punching bags ain’t gonna punch themselves.
“So you going to train at Bigg’s today?” I asked Hunter breathlessly, as I continued rocking my pelvis.
“Nah, Gary’s just giving me shit. Besides, I’m getting more than a workout right here,” Hunter said, thrusting up into me teasingly. He pecked at his phone a few times then became frustrated and handed it to me. “Why don’t you reply to Gary. I gotta take care of this greedy little pu**y.” He gripped my hips and continued driving himself upward.
“Okay,” I said. I tried typing a quick response but found it nearly impossible because it’s difficult to hit small virtual buttons with your thumbs when a gorgeous guy is thrusting his c**k into you. The message ended up saying: SowwyIm’bizzzzyy. It was a garbled mess but I hit send anyway.
Satisfied with my work, I handed his phone back to him. He briefly glanced at the message, smiled then shut it off before setting it back on the nightstand. “No more distractions.”
I nodded and we continued “studying” well into the night, uninterrupted.
I woke up naked lying next to Hunter in his bed Tuesday morning, feeling an easy contentment I was becoming accustomed to feeling whenever I woke up beside him. I was beginning to suspect we spent more time naked at his apartment than we did clothed unless comforters counted as clothes. Hunter woke up shortly after, as if our bodies were attuned to the same bizarre rhythm. Watching him open those stunning eyes after a deep slumber was something I always looked forward to.
“Hey Hunter,” I said quietly. As great as the moment was, something had been on my mind since the using-kittens-for-blowjobs incident and now that our relationship had progressed beyond friendship, I wanted to talk to him about it. I considered it an opportunity to clarify some misunderstandings so our relationship could continue to grow. “Can I ask you something?”
“Sure, what is it?”
“Umm . . . this isn’t an accusation but I kind of need to know—since we’re more than friends now . . . Are you seeing anyone else?”
The sleepiness in his eyes immediately disappeared. He narrowed his brows. “I’m only seeing you, Lorrie. I promise. Why do you ask?”
“. . . I’ve been burned before, Hunter,” I admitted reluctantly. “I believe I already told you I’ve had a few boyfriends in my past . . .”
“Yeah, I know,” he grunted, registering his displeasure as he did anytime I mentioned being with other men.
“Well, my first boyfriend cheated on me in high school. I caught him walking out of a movie theater with his arm around this girl who was my best friend at the time. I found out they’d been seeing each other for weeks behind my back. I felt so betrayed. After I cut off ties with them, It was so difficult for me to trust anyone that I didn’t date for a few years.”
He narrowed his eyes in concern. “I’m sorry to hear that,” he said softly as he kissed me tenderly on the forehead. “You don’t have to worry, babe. I’d never cheat on you.”
“What do you think of Daniela?” I asked matter-of-factly. Daniela had more success attracting men than I did and I attributed it to her good looks and outgoing personality. I wondered what Hunter thought of her.
He chuckled at the suggestion. “Well, I don’t really know her. There was really only that one time you and her came over to see the kitties. I guess my impression is: she’s cool but there’s no way I’d date her.”
“Oh? Why not?”
“Well for one—and no offense to her—she seems kinda like one of those pushy go-getter types. Like she knows what she wants and isn’t afraid to say it or go after it. It’s an admirable trait but not really my preference. You’re much more down-to-earth and relatable.”