When they were both naked, he lowered himself to the sofa and took her in his arms. The springs sagged beneath their weight, pinged in protest. "No one has taken time with you, have they, Tully?"
She saw her own desire reflected in his eyes, and for the first time she wasnt afraid in a mans arms. "Is that what youre going to do—take your time?"
He brushed the damp hair away from her face. "Im going to teach you things, Tully. Isnt that what you wanted from me?"
It took Tully almost two hours to find Kate. She began her search at the study tables in the basement of the sorority. Next, she spun through the TV room and their bedroom; she even checked on the sleeping porch, although at four oclock on a sunny May day, it was understandably empty. She tried the undergraduate library and Kates favorite carrel, then the graduate reading room, where several hippie-looking older students shushed her just for walking through the stacks. She was about ready to give up when she remembered the Annex.
Of course.
She ran through the sprawling campus to the small, two-story, peaked-roof house that they called the Annex. Sixteen lucky upper-class girls got to move out of the main house and into this place every quarter. It was party central. No house mothers, no one to monitor the doors; it was as close to the real world as any of them were likely to get until they left the sorority altogether.
She opened the front door and called out Kates name. Someone in another room answered.
"I think shes on the roof. "
Tully grabbed a pair of TaBs from the fridge and went upstairs. In a back bedroom, the window was open. She leaned through the opening and looked out on the roof of the carport.
There was Kate, all by herself, in a skimpy white crocheted bikini, lying on a beach towel, reading a paperback novel.
Tully climbed out onto the ledge and crossed the carport roof, which they all called Black Beach. "Hey," she said, offering Kate a TaB. "Let me guess: youre reading a romance novel. "
Kate cocked her head and squinted into the sun, smiling. "The Promise by Danielle Steel. Its really sad. "
"You want to hear about real romance?"
"Like you would know anything about it. You havent gone on a date since we got here. "
"You dont have to go on a date to have sex. "
"Most people do. "
"Im not most people. You know that. "
"Yeah, right," Kate said. "Like Im supposed to believe you got laid. "
Tully grabbed one of the towels that had been left there and stretched out on it. Trying not to smile, she stared up at the blue sky and said, "Three times, to be exact. "
"But you were just going to check on the summer internship . . . " Kate gasped and sat up. "You didnt. "
"Youre going to say were not supposed to have sex with our professors. I think its really more of a recommendation. A guideline. Still, you cant tell anyone. "
"You had sex with Chad Wiley. "
Tully sighed dreamily at the way that sounded. "It was totally cool, Katie. I mean it. "
"Wow. What did you do? What did he do? Did it hurt? Were you scared?"
"I was scared," Tully said quietly. "At first all I could think about was . . . you know . . . the night with Pat. I thought I was going to get sick, or maybe run, but then he kissed me. "
"And?"
"And . . . I just sort of melted. He had my clothes off before I was even paying attention. "
"Did it hurt?"
"Yeah, but not like before. " It surprised Tully how easy it was suddenly to mention the night she was raped. For the first time it was a more distant memory, something bad that had happened to her as a kid. Chads gentleness had shown her that sex didnt have to hurt, that it could be beautiful. "After a while it felt amazingly good. Now I know what all those Cosmo articles are about. "
"Did he say he loved you?"