Pat removed the keys from her purse as they were climbing the stairs, so that no sooner had they reached her door than she had it open and they were inside. She then immediately crossed to the windows and lowered the blinds, even before turning on the lights. Bill was impressed by (and grateful for) Pat's ability, under the circumstances, to be so sensitive to his discomfort in being alone with her in her room.
Soundtrack: It's the Time of the Season--- The Zombies
Buy a CD of the original album
"Please, have a seat," Pat said to Bill, indicating the small couch that divided the rather large room in half, creating a sitting area/study on one side and a bedroom on the other.
Bill sat down tentatively, alone in a room with a student from the U, for the first time ever. Watch yourself, man, he almost said aloud.
He looked around the room in an effort to distract himself from thinking about the situation he was in. In some ways, the room was exactly what he would have expected of Pat: her desk was neat; no, it was immaculate. Bill had been sure it would be. So, too, were her bookcases with books carefully arranged by course. In other ways, he was surprised, pleasantly so: the bedroom side had a warmer, lived-in feel to it. Pat's bed was actually unmade. He noticed a rather feminine yellow silk nightgown hanging down from the base of the bed and a pair of sweatpants lying in a pile on the floor, next to some dirty socks, and a pair of beat up sneakers. He smiled. Maybe Pat-the-student was a demon for orderliness, but apparently Pat-the-jogger and Pat-the-sleeper weren't quite so fastidious.
Pat seemed to notice Bill's eyes taking in the details of her room because she walked over and shoved her sweats, socks, and sneaks into a closet and closed the door. "Oh, damn! I don't usually have anyone up here, so the place is kind of a mess. Sorry."
Bill laughed, "Actually, I was sort of enjoying it. I'm so used to you being the epitome of neatness and order that it's almost a relief to see another side of you!"
Pat smiled too... for the first time since they'd left Bill's house. "Yeah and I guess you saw yet another side of me earlier this evening! I'm sure you've been wondering what that was all about, haven't you?"
Bill's smile faded, replaced by a studied look of concern, "Well, as a matter of fact... yes... uhm, that is if you feel up to talking about it."
"Sure.. in a moment. But, first, can I offer you anything to drink? Soda? OJ? Sorry, but I don't have anything stronger," Pat replied, gesturing to the small student refrigerator under the window.
Bill was dumbfounded by Pat's matter-of-fact response. She seemed so calm and yet just a few minutes ago, she had acted so… so… disturbed. Maybe she was in shock.
"Sure," Bill replied, "I'll take a soda."
Pat walked over to the refrigerator, bent over, and removed a couple of bottles of Coke. As she did so, Bill caught a glimpse of bright orange, silky panties, which contrasted strikingly with the smooth dark skin of her ample thighs. He was momentarily shocked... and embarrassed. Shocked to see such obviously sexy undergarments on this woman he'd always regarded as straighter than an arrow and embarrassed that he found himself to be turned on by her. He quickly averted his eyes.
Bill felt his all-too-active libido stirring, as he glanced up to see Pat snapping her fingers and wiggling her butt to the jumping tune she had just put on her tinny stereo. He continued to follow the motion of Pat's body, as she kind of sashayed over to him, Coke in hand. Despite himself, he felt his penis stiffening, but, fortunately, the spell was broken by the distinctly unromantic whooshing sound caused by Pat settling down onto the Naugahyde cushions of the couch.
Pat turned to face Bill, her knees grazing his outstretched legs, as she did so. At even this slight bodily contact, Bill once again experienced a twinge of pleasure. He felt his face redden, as he recognized the inappropriate sexual response he was having to Pat. After all, she was still a student at the U and had taken classes from him just a couple of years ago when she’d been an undergraduate.
Pat interrupted Bill’s thoughts as she began to speak, falteringly at first, about what had happened to her that evening. "O.K. Here goes! The problem is, though: I'm not really sure about it, myself. I mean I know what happened, but I don't know why it upset me so much..uhm...I guess I better just tell you. This probably isn't making much sense to you, is it?"
Bill allowed himself a small smile, "Truthfully? No, it isn't. All I know is that you burst into my house, looking pretty shook up and... and maybe even... uh..."
Pat looked surprised. "Maybe even what Bill?"
Now it was Bill's turn to be surprised. Had he been mistaken? He'd been sure Pat looked disheveled when she entered the house and he'd assumed... maybe he was wrong.... "Uhm, Pat why don't you just tell me what happened? I don't know what I thought exactly. Just go ahead."
Pat followed Bill's gaze down to where his eyes seemed fastened: at her blouse and skirt, which she quickly straightened and pulled down a bit, so Bill could see less thigh.
Then, composing herself, she took in a large breath and launched into a long and somewhat incoherent monologue, which Bill struggled to follow. As best as he could tell, nothing truly serious had happened. Oh sure, apparently Jake had made a pass at Pat after they'd danced together. But, it was all verbal, no physical contact, and she'd managed to put him off without too much difficulty, so no harm there. She even acknowledged that she'd felt complimented by Jake's attention. So what had upset her? he wondered.
Quite suddenly, Pat stopped talking. The abrupt shift from the rapid-fire account she’d been giving about Jake and her jolted Bill, as if he were in a speeding car in which the brakes had been slammed on. He felt a sort of mental whiplash. For her part, Pat was staring intently in at Bill's face, as if trying to read his mind, as if wanting to know how he was taking all of this.
How was he taking it? Well, in truth, he was feeling a jumble of emotions. First, there was relief — obviously nothing of a really serious nature had occurred. Jake hadn't molested Pat or anything like it, which is what Bill had initially feared. Second, to be honest, there was a certain amount of jealousy; even level-headed Pat seemed to have had that head turned a bit by Jake, the Artist-Stud. Third, he had to admit to a really disturbing feeling about all of this: lust. Pat's story was turning him on. In fact almost everything about Pat tonight was turning him on. And so, finally, there was fear — fear that he wouldn't be able to control himself if Pat gave any indication that she were interested in him, sexually — and fear, too, that this might, indeed, be the case.
Links
Naugahyde
The Zombies (Buy CDs of the Zombies and other British Invasion groups)
Go to the next scene in Bill's story
New Year's Eve 1968: Bill, Scene 7 "In a State of Confusion"
Go to the previous scene in Bill's story
New Year's Eve 1968: Bill, Scene 5 "In Need of a Helping Hand"
Go to a related scene
New Year's Eve 1968: Pat, Scene 8 "No Help From Bill"
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