V8 of Eights – Chapter 1

It took Stacy a moment to unfreeze herself and show any kind of emotion. She was not sure what to think or how to respond. Todd had looked so cute in his bashful ways. So, it turned out that, he was not interested in Stacy, but her wing-woman instead. Sure, her bff was amazing, but to Stacy… she was just Meg.

Todd didn’t wait for the full confirmation; he nervously shook Stacy’s hand awkwardly then took off to find Meg. The two did not emerge from where they were for a few good long days.

As far as Stacy was concerned, they had either fallen out and were hating each other, or, they had fallen in and were loving each other to death. Either way, Stacy was a little worried that her wing-woman was now gone and off the job. This meant having to beat off all these thirsty hungry guys who just wanted to put her name in their black book… alone.

Meg, on her side of campus, quickly learned that Todd was more show than substance. He was a great guy who was not entirely sure of how he should proceed once he got a woman’s attention. This was not entirely good news. He was that typical good guy who thought he’d finish last. His confidence was only suit deep. The man knew how to strut but knew nothing of the pound.

After some long intense conversations, Todd convinced Meg to give him a chance. He was promising to be a quick study and work very hard to be the man she wanted. From her end, Meg felt a lot like Stacy. There was not that many good quality guys around for her to feel optimistic of doing better. Todd was not bad. He was handsome. He was connected. He would be a great provider. Just not a kinky version of a provider.

When Stacy and Meg finally met up to talk about their dating lives, the conversation was quite different in tone than usual. Instead of the depressive talk about the lack of men, it was all about how Todd was this but Todd was not that. The man was a good man, as far as a few initial dates was concerned. He was a safe guy. The type you brought home to your parents, the type who stayed loyal, faithful, steady.

Meg wasn’t looking for the adventure type either. She just wanted to know that once she allowed Todd to enter the bedroom, she was not going to fall asleep from his lack of creativity. It was too early to tell what his potential was going to look like. What Meg did enjoy was the envy of the other women on campus who felt they deserved Todd more than she did.

Many so-called friends quickly evaporated. True friends started to emerge and encourage the new couple to figure out how to spark true crazy passion. Stacy was most happy that she had not lost her wing-woman. They would continue to work as a team. On rare occasion, Stacy agreed she’d drop hints to help Todd see the light to ignite Meg’s fancies.

From his line of sight, Mark was increasingly more convinced he had issues with his heart. He was just so drawn to Stacy. They had not really met formally or spoken to each other. What he was struggling with was how pure and angelic he saw Stacy to be. He knew it was his mind and heart acting like some addict hooked on sugar, but it was tough shaking the feelings. After all this time, it had to be real. It just couldn’t be a passing crush.

Mark loved how Stacy just radiated sexy without any effort. Her movements were effortlessly sensual, her way of gliding around campus was like watching a slow motion Bay Watch scene. She just did everything in the most confident and sexy of ways. Even as she shot down the advances of boys and Meg deflected the attention of more mature boys.

Over the course of time, Mark had done a lot of work to address his lack of confidence and insecurities around women. He had learned to be less hard on himself and quiet down his inner critic. While the available resources he had would never allow him to dress the part, he had worked hard to become the part. It was just a matter of decades before he had the financing to match the inner game he had worked on.

Mark felt like the world’s luckiest man. Stacy never dated anyone during the whole time he worked on himself. She was available. She was still ever so perfect. His last hurdle to cross, besides Meg, was the news he got that Stacy came from money. She was polished like she had money but never flaunted it. That was the last issue he had to overcome. Would he ever let the difference in economic power hold him back from going after the woman who had arrested his heart?

After much work practicing his approach in front of the mirror, Mark finally got the nerves to approach. It was late in their college career. If he failed this one, graduation would catch him out and he’d not have time to build any lasting connection. This had to be perfect. Absolutely perfect.

The fateful day that change life forever happened, less by plan and more by chance than anything else, as far as Mark was concerned. He had stumbled into a room where the ever gorgeous Stacy was entertaining potential suitors and he had accidentally made eye contact. It was over. He had to act. This was the only chance he had and it had to count.

Without showing his nervousness, he walked straight way over to her, as if, that was his sole purpose in life. Without excusing himself, he passed up all the guys waiting, stood in front of her, introduced himself, and asked if he could have the honor and privilege of speaking with her next week in a less crowded public space so he could run an idea by her.

The group of guys around her sat totally miffed by the audacious and brazen way by which Mark had maneuvered about and around them, to ask the hand of the loveliest catch on campus. One even tried to pull on his Target shirt to set him straight but was met with stiff postural resistance of a man solidly built.

Meg looked Mark up and down with a bored look then flashed a stern reproach that cleared the area of nearly all the potential dates. They knew the look. She didn’t have to even emphasize it with a change in posture. Mark was different.

Stacy was very perplexed by the reactions of the other guys. They had never been so easily set off by the arrival of another challenger. In fact, the circles were nearly all the same, just the names and faces changed a bit over time as one after the other got tired of asking and getting turned away. This Mark guy was different.

He owned his air. He walked with purpose. He moved with charisma. He knew what he was after. She had spotted him enter the room long before they had made eye contact. She had seen him arrive and had concluded that this man was one who lived with strong purpose and direction. He was the kind of working man she had seen growing up. The ones who took pride in what they did and did it to the best of their abilities.

As soon as they had made eye contact, as she was a bit curious who this student was, something clicked in his focus. He walked over with an unspoken expectation that he was getting an audience with her and that was final. Stacy had greatly appreciated the refreshing solid confidence of a real man. That must be why Meg had not blocked or stopped his approach. She must have sensed it too.

Mark was not the first man to move in on her with strength and confidence. In fact, on several such approaches, Meg had to stand up and physically block the oncoming testosterone mess. That’s how she had earned her reputation as being iron tough. The former captain of the lacrosse team, had moved in on them once, just like Mark had. Meg had shown great agility, strength, and speed to block and intimidate that guy. He had not expected such power from such a small frame and though he tried to recover, Meg soon had him on his knees tapping out from her strong arm twist grip she laid on him.