On The Floor (Second Story) (3 page)

“Huh.” I am still trying to process what she just said through my still hazy brain when she continues.

“So, what did he say to you? I mean, I could see what you guys were doing, but I couldn’t hear you guys. What happened? And start from the beginning.” She sits up and smiles at me in anticipation of the information she wants me to share and knows I absolutely will.

I smile at the memory and begin to spill.

“He bought me a beer, then came to introduce himself. He said it looked like I was having fun. I was staring at him for like a solid minute in silence with my mouth wide open when I realized how hot he was. It was so embarrassing!” I put my hand over my face and turn red as I remember that part of the interaction.

“Oh stop, Rachel. It probably wasn’t that bad!”

“No, ask Jims. It was
that
bad. Anyways, I finally told him my name. Then he told me I looked beautiful while I was dancing and that I was enchanting, or something like that.” I pause for commentary from the bestie, which I can tell from the look on her face that she is waiting to give.

“So he didn’t give you a totally cheesy pick-up line? No, ‘Wanna shake that thang for me in private?’” She gives me a cheesy smile as she mimics a line she has actually heard more than once. From the same guy. In the same night.

“No cheesy line. And I think he was sincere with what he said. He didn’t even wait for me say anything. He just turned around and walked away like all he wanted to do was make sure that I knew that someone thought I was beautiful. Then before I knew it, I grabbed his arm and asked him to dance. And that was it.”

“Wow,” she says sighing dreamily. “But what did he say while you guys were dancing?”

“Nothing really. He didn’t kiss me or put his hands on my ass. He kept his eyes locked on mine while he was facing me which was nice since you know how most guys stare at my boobs constantly. There was none of that. Just one glance while we were talking. Then when the song was over, he closed his eyes and touched his forehead to mine before he told me that was the best dance of his life. Then he thanked me and then walked away.” My heart is racing just thinking about our dance. Just the memory has brought back the reaction I had to him at Sound.

“He didn’t ask you to leave with him? Or for your number? Or another dance? Nothing?” Jenna seems outraged for me.

“Nope. Just thanked me and walked away.”

“I assumed that he asked and you said no. I was totally ready to give you are hard time about turning him down. With the way he was looking at you and dancing with you I was sure that he wanted to take you home.” She pauses then asks, “He didn’t even get your number? Or give you his?”

“Nope.” And now I’m a little sad. I may never see him again.

Almost if Jenna can read my mind she interrupts my reverie. “I’m sure you’ll see him again. Most of the people that go to Sound are students at CAM. I’m sure one of our friends that saw you guys together knows who he is. We’ll just ask some people. Hell! Maybe we’ll even see him the next time we go. What was his name?”

“Mike.”
Mike
. I smile.

“Mike. Cool. I’ll ask around. I mean, that is if you want to see him again…?” She adds this last part after she sees my smile falter. “Do you want to see him again, Rachel?”

Do I want to see him again? I think I do. But if I have to find him and I am searching and asking about him, won’t I seem like a stalker? And if he wanted to see me again he could’ve asked for my number. Or given me his. Maybe the question isn’t if I want to see him, it is if he wants to see me. I make my decision.

“I think I’m going to leave it, Jen. If I see him again, that would be great. Awesome. But I don’t want to go all stalker on a guy I just danced with. Hopefully I’ll see him, but if not then so be it.” Saying that last part makes me a little sad. Even though I’m not totally comfortable with the reaction I had to him, it’s upsetting to think that I will never feel it again. Especially with him. “And who even knows if I would feel that way with him again? It was probably just the beer.”

“Sure Rachel. It was the beer.” Jenna says sarcastically as she looks at me. “A lust filled reaction to a gorgeous Adonis
couldn’t
be normal behavior. Must only be from the beer you drank,” she deadpans.

“Okay, so it wasn’t just me? He was like the most beautiful man you have ever seen, right?” I ask her, excited about the fact that a man like that called me beautiful and put his hands on me.

She starts giggling and motions for me to join her on the bed as we continue to discuss his perfection.

“Totally! He was… argh! Throw me down, make me yours, fuck me anywhere and anyway you want kind of guy!”

“I thought it might have been beer goggles. But he was really that hot?”

“Um, yeah!” she says squealing.

“And he had his hands on me! Oh god his hands were amazing! So strong and commanding. He just moved me like I belonged with him. Like we belonged together.”

“I know!”

We both lie down laughing at the ceiling.

“You know Rachel, I saw the way he looked at you. There has to be a reason why he didn’t want your number. It was most definitely not you. It has to be something with him. Maybe he has a girlfriend?”

“A girlfriend? If my boyfriend ever danced with someone else like that and I found out about it, he wouldn’t be my boyfriend for much longer.”

“It was that hot, huh?”

“You wouldn’t even believe!”

And we are back to giggling.

***

After an eventful Saturday, a lazy Sunday is what I truly want. But of course, that isn’t happening.

It is the last Sunday in January and we are having a floor meeting this afternoon. And at today’s meeting the group will find out that their “fun” academic mentor has been asked to move out. Judy is coming to the meeting this week to tell everyone the news. Though honestly, they may not even notice his absence if she doesn’t point it out. He rarely attended the floor meetings.

After a morning of homework and reading, I walk into the common room and grab a chair setting it near the front of the room. I pull the white board out of the closet and grab the markers from my bag.

A couple of the freshmen start to trickle in and talk amongst themselves. When Judy walks in, she comes right up to me and gives me a hug. She is a very sweet woman who cares deeply for all of her employees. I know that it was hard for her to fire Ty, even though it was well deserved.

“Hi Judy! How’ve you been?” I say in greeting.

“Very well, Rachel! It’s good to see you!”

“Have you found a replacement for Ty yet?” I ask her quietly.

“Actually, I have. Another Music Major. He is moving in tonight. Hopefully he will make it before the end of the meeting so he can introduce himself to the group.”

“Hopefully.” I smile at her.

“I’ll just sit over here out of the way until you need me to explain what is going on.” She gestures to the chair that I pulled aside and goes to sit down.

The rest of the group comes in and sits down on the couches and floor in front of me. I take a second looking around and I see how well they all get along now. Some of them better than others, but they have all become great friends. It feels really good to know that they enjoy living on my floor. They have fun coming to my meetings and are always very enthusiastic about the activities I plan. I love that I have been able to give them a good freshman experience, despite the less than stellar AM they had.

“Hey guys!” I say as I move in front of everyone to start the meeting.

“Hey Rachel!” they all respond.

“Ok, everyone. Welcome back, officially. I know we have been in classes for a week now, but this is the first official floor meeting of the semester so I wanted to talk about a few procedural things. Also, Judy is here to talk to you about something at the end of the meeting.”

Judy smiles at them as they all look at her and say, “Hi Judy!”

“Hi everyone!” she says as her smile grows at their welcome.

“First off, floor meetings will be every other Sunday, just like last semester. Does one in the afternoon still work for everyone?” They all nod and since there are no objections, I move on. “Okay. Now let me ask you guys if there are any activities that we did last semester that you want to do again?” I ask the group.

Joel, one of the Musical Performance majors, yells, “Open Mic Night! That was pretty fun!”

I write it down on the board when everyone else nods and agrees. “I actually talked to the manager at the Rec Center. He said we could do it once a month if we wanted. I was thinking the first Friday of every month? Any objections?”

I see everyone shake their heads. “Ok sounds good! I’ll let Jack know! We’ll start in March!”

Hannah, one of the quieter girls and an Art major, raises her hand. I call on her. “I was wondering if we could keep displaying our art around the common room. I know we had to take it down during break so they could paint, but are we allowed to put it back up and keep hanging new pieces?”

“Of course Hannah. I already talked to Judy about that and she said that was fine. Just make sure to use small nails or sticky hooks to hang them.” I smile at her.

I get a couple of other responses and it gives me enough ideas to roll with until the next meeting.

“Thanks for all the ideas and input guys! On to the next topic: quiet hours. Did you want to keep them the same as last semester or change them? Raise your hand for the same hours, three to five on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday?”

I look around at all the raised hands. “Okay. Since that's everyone, we will keep the hours the same. Glad that went so smoothly. Much better than last time!” Everyone laughs remembering the hour long discussion we had last semester about quiet hours.

“Lastly, before Judy comes up, I just wanted to remind everyone of my open door policy. Anything, anytime. If I am not here, you can always call or send me a text. Okay?” I look around and see all the nods and smiles from my freshmen. They really are a wonderful group of young adults. If I couldn’t get the AM I dreamed of, at least I got a good group to live on my floor.

I look over at Judy and she stands and comes to the front while I go to sit down. She looks out at everyone and smiles. I hope this goes well.

“Hi guys! So you might be wondering where Ty is tonight.” As we both look around at all the faces, you can see the confusion. And I know it is because they weren’t wondering where Ty was at all.

“Well, unfortunately he was asked to move out of Juniper and will no longer be your Academic Mentor. He moved out yesterday afternoon and will not be returning. Fortunately, I was able to find a replacement for him very quickly and he will actually be moving in this evening.”

The group starts whisper and Judy continues. “His name is Jacob Price and he is a Music Major. I was hoping he would make it to the meeting so he could meet all of you guys while you were all together, but I’m sure he’ll come around and introduce himself this week. Do you guys have any questions?”

After a few moments of silence, Joel speaks up. “You know Ty was cool, but we all knew that he didn’t really do much. Even though Rachel isn’t technically the AM, she was more help than he ever was. Not really a question but whatever.”

I look over at Joel and smile. It feels good to know that I have made a difference and that they appreciate me.

I stand and address the group. “If there isn’t anything else, I think we’re done. See you guys around. Remember: open door policy.”

Everybody starts filing out of the room. Judy says goodbye and tells me to call her and update her after Jacob settles in. And then I’m alone in the common room. I start to copy all the activity ideas from the whiteboard, when I hear someone walk in. I turn around expecting one of the freshmen and start, “Hey, did you forget somethi… ”

Then I stop. This guy is most definitely not one of my freshmen.

It is the man who starred in my dreams last night. The most perfect man I have ever seen. My heart speeds, my face heats, and butterflies come to life in my tummy.

Mike
.

What is he doing here? How did he find me?

“What are you doing here?” Wow. That came out my mouth colder than intended. I put a small smile on my face so he knows I’m not mad.

“Rachel?” He looks surprised to see me. Okay, so he didn’t come here looking for me. Then why is he here?

“Yep. It’s me!” I smile at him and repeat my question. “What are you doing here, Mike?”

He looks confused. Maybe even pleasantly surprised. “It's Jake," he says, his smile faltering.

"Jake? I thought your name was Mike?" I say stupidly.

"No. It's Jake. It was kind of loud last night. Maybe you heard wrong..." he answers, that amazing smile still on his face. Why does he look so happy?

"Okay, Jake... what are you doing here?" I ask again.

“I’m the new AM on this floor. What are you doing here? Do you live here? Are you one of the freshmen?”

Oh. My. God. Jake. Jacob. He is Jacob Price.? The new AM?

Ok, so the most beautiful man I have ever seen is going to be living across the hall from me while we work together. I’ll see him every day, while he is living across the hall. And we’ll share a bathroom. Cool.

“Rachel?”

I put a big smile on my face and look him in the eyes. “Oh. Um. I live here. I’m the RA. Looks like we’ll be working together! You’ll be my new P.I.C.”

“What?” he asks chuckling.

“Partner in crime? Because we’ll be working together and you know when people do things together sometimes they call each other their partner in crime and I just thought that it might be funny if I called you my partner in crime. I was making a joke. I’m a dork. So…” Embarrassed. I am so embarrassed. My smile has faded and I am looking at the floor as I ramble on. And on. Great. I have traded gaping for rambling. I'm not sure which is worse.

I look back up at him and he is smiling.

“I’m kind of a dork too.” He smiles wider, causing me to smile in return.

He is perfect.

“So, I guess I missed the meeting?” he asks.