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Christopher sat on the bed, staring in disbelief at the closed door. She could not have just walked out like that. He leaned back onto the pillow and called back the memory of their aborted kiss. He remembered the feel of her soft lips beneath his, and the look of surprise in her eyes when he kissed her. If this was another time and age - the medieval period of knights and horses for instance, he would have thought she was a virgin. This is the nineties, twenty-two-year-old virgins are extinct! He had noticed something during the short experiment though. Other than her initial surprise, her features had been carefully controlled just like last night. He promised himself, as he contemplated the feel of her lips beneath his, he was going to break that control, to find out who exactly was this enigma called Nykki.
Nykki hurried back to her room and shut the door firmly behind her. She stepped into the shower and turned on the water to the hottest, trying to wash away all the tension within her. She could not believe what had happened. One minute she and Chris had been wrestling heartily, and the next minute they were necking on the bed. If I hadn't pushed him away just now, I'd be ... She shuddered as she thought of what might have been. Finally, she came out of the shower and put on a clean shirt and pants. Nykki looked at herself in the mirror, and took a deep breath, before opening the door and walking downstairs to the cafeteria.
Christopher saw her sitting with Leander Westfield and Howard Butz. The three were huddled together. Nykki was laughing. Until she saw him. He knew the moment she noticed him. Her silver eyes widened, her body stiffened perceptibly. With difficulty, Nykki wrenched her gaze away from Christopher's face and turned her attention back to Howard and Leander. "As I was saying, this month's center-fold, is like, wow! I've never seen a better one in my life! There are just no words to describe it!" Leander concluded with a huge smile on his face. "I... I beg your pardon?" Nykki asked. "What are you talking about?" "Please!" Howard Butz exclaimed. "Even I know about Playboy magazines. You're the one with the hot-shot prick!" "Not that again. I don't think I'll ever live it down. And about the center-fold, I haven't seen it, so I have no idea what you're talking about." Not that I want to see it, she thought. "Poor child, you haven't seen it yet? Come on, I've got a copy in my room." Leander was pushing his chair away and standing up. Nykki was about to refuse when she saw Christopher striding towards them. She made one of those regrettable, lightning-quick decisions she had been famous for back in college. "Okay. You've convinced me, let's go."
I'm going to be sick! she thought when she saw the magazine. Who in their right mind would do this kind of thing? She stared at the swelling breasts on the center-fold, feeling nauseous. Her eyes then traveled downwards to beneath the model's waist, taking in the uncovered buttocks and the triangle of blond curls between her legs. "Well, what do you think?" Leander asked excitedly. "Isn't that body the greatest?" "Yeah," Nykki mumbled awkwardly, "the greatest." Nykki eased quickly to the door, "Meet you at cross-training." The door closed behind her. The guys looked at her curiously as she left. She hurried out of the room at top speed. She glanced behind her, in case Leander was following her. When she rounded the corner, she was still looking back and thus knocked into a pair of broad shoulders. "Sorry," she apologized, backing away from the shoulders and looking up. The blood drained out of her face. "Where are you going in such a hurry?" Christopher's voice was entirely without inflection, and yet... was that a ripple of amusement she heard beneath the casually spoken words? "I was going to my room," she answered warily. "Good, I'll go with you." "I would much prefer going alone," she replied firmly. "But thank you for offering." "I insist. After all, I must be gallant," Christopher persisted. "You did walk back to your room alone this morning." He paused meaningfully. Nykki surrendered to the inevitable. Chris was going to have a chat with her no matter what. Christopher followed her to her room with a silent thread. She opened the door stepped in, then hurried to the bathroom. Chris closed the door behind him, and looked around the room, seeing it for the first time in daylight. All the rooms in the academy were identical, but each was decorated with its occupants' tastes. The rule applied to Nykki's room. The room was neat, everything was carefully put away. But here and there ... The desk was casually cluttered, books were scattered about. An uncapped high-lighter lay on the criminology textbook. He walked to the desk and put the cap onto the pen. Reference books were arranged haphazardly on the shelf above the table. In the closet, track shoes - black Reebok basketball shoes and Nike running shoes, hiking boots and leather shoes were strewn about the base. Shirts, jackets, pants, ties... they were hanging awkwardly from the mismatched clothes-hangers. He restrained his natural urge to straighten out the messy closet. On the white walls, there were a few framed photographs and pictures. He smiled at the contrast the room presented. It was funny though, but as he stood in the middle of her bedroom, he felt that he knew her better. Nykki walked out of the toilet and saw Chris looking at her closet with a decidedly soft expression on his face. "Are you trying to figure out what else I'm hiding from you?" she called out. "If you are, I'd advise you to start your detective work with the desk. You'll get lost in the closet." Chris turned around and looked at the girl standing a few feet away, leaning against the wall. The loose sweatshirt and pants hid the curves he remembered from the pool. He stood there staring at Nykki, seeing the straight spine and the gentle curve of her buttocks through the bulky clothes, and dreaming about what it could have been, before her voice intruded upon his imaginings. "What do you want Wilder?" she asked bluntly. "I want to know why you walked out this morning," he said. "All was going well until you pulled away from me. Why did you do it?" "I... You... It..." Nykki spluttered. "So far, you're giving me all pronouns. Would you mind throwing in a verb or a noun?" he teased. Nykki let out an exasperated gasp. "You," she pointed at Christopher, "are incorrigible." "I know. That's one of my most endearing properties. And you, are inexplicable." He smiled. "I still want an answer," Christopher persisted. She looked at him squarely, her eyes searching his. "Don't you think it's a hell of a time to get involved with one another? I have people chasing after my hide, and you want me to go to bed with you? Consider this too. I'm supposed to be a male cadet, not as a female. If you were seen leaving my room in the morning or vice versa, what would the people think? You may not worry about maintaining your manliness, but for me, it's a matter of life and death. If anyone else finds out who I am, I don't think I can live through the day." She gave him a grim half-smile. "Think about it, Chris." If he had protested violently, she would have taken pleasure in arguing with him. But all he did was only to give her an enigmatic look with eyes so dark that they were almost violet, before turning and leaving the room. She remained where she was after the door closed, trying to control her shaking shoulders.
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