The Variations by Jones M (christmas read aloud txt) 📖

the same good emotion that she had felt when he had complimented her earlier.

"Wow. Thanks, Chris," Marie said softly with a smile. 

He looked back at her, and the look in his eyes showed an emotion she could not decipher.

"So, should we get started?" he asked, changing the subject.

 

Chapter 09

 

The hallway was already bustling with students as Marie made her way towards the exit of the building. Her IT class had ended, and she was happy to back to her dorm to catch up on some series.

She took out her phone, intending to call Gwen when she appeared in her view.

"Hey! Are you busy right now?" she asked her. Before Marie could even reply, her hand was grabbed, and Gwen started pulling her towards the exit of the building.

"Watch the nails! Watch the nails!" Kate repeated, referring to her friend's nail extensions that had been digging into her skin.

"Sorry," Gwen apologized. Kate looked at her hand, and she was glad there was no blood drawn.  "I just wanted to talk to you. There's another party tomorrow--"

"No," Kate cut her off. Gwen chose to scrunch her eyebrows, trying to make a cute face.

"You look like you're having difficulties taking a shit," Kate replied, and that had her friend eyeing her in boredom.

"Come on! It's going to be huge."

"No."

"Kate--"

"You know what happened the last time I went to a party on a school night."

"Please?" Gwen begged.

"No," Kate replied. "I can't afford to be late again for class. Besides, I have plans with Chris."

Gwen went to beg again, but at the mention of Kate's new friend, she stopped. Her lips pulled into a smirk.

"What is that look for?" Kate asked. "Are you coming up with something? You're acting really weird today."

"Oh, now I understand," Gwen continued to smirk. "Chris, huh?"

Marie furrowed her eyebrows at her friend. "What do you mean?"

"Oh, you know what I mean," she started nodding at that point with her eyebrows jumping.

It took Kate some time to get what her friend was saying, but once she did, her eyes widened.

"Oh, no. No! It's not like that."

Marie could deny it all she wanted, but Gwen suspected something was happening between her and Chris. 

"Mm-hmm," Gwen hummed. "Look, you don't have to tell me anything. I hear he's good in bed, so I'm glad you're tapping his fine ass."

Without waiting for Marie to reply, she turned to head back to the university.

"What? Gwen, it's not like that! I haven't tapped anything. I'm still a freaking virgin!"

Shocked gasps were heard around the area, and that made Marie actually acknowledge the people around her. Almost everyone was looking at her at that point.

'Oh crap,' she thought. 'Where the hell did they come from?'

"You heard nothing!" she yelled, running towards the doors.

************************* ***************************** ************************** *

Marie had made it back to her dorm room. Fortunately for her, Gwen was not around to tease her further about Chris.

'Huh, Chris. That would be strange.'

Sure, she used to have a small crush on him when she was in high school. But that was just what it was: a crush. They were adults now, and there was nothing between them to explore.

However, Marie's thoughts betrayed her as they decided to take a different direction. She remembered Chris' transformation from his nerdy self to his brawny form. It had been a surprise to her and everyone else in the school.

Not that Kate didn't find him attractive before the change.

His body features had changed, and the growth displayed on his face made him look intense.

'Oh, no,' Marie chastised herself. No way was she planning to think about Chris that way. She found the thoughts she was having about him to be strange. They had just become friends, and thinking about him like that felt wrong.

She turned to focus on the blank page in her drawing book. She had a pencil in her hand, but then she was not sure of what to draw.

She was stuck.

Weeks earlier, she and Chris had agreed on her African theme. They had even sought help from some people they knew in the Literature, Drama and Art departments. The story was polished into something that did not sound like a cliche, and Kate couldn't wait to put it in picture. However, one of the hard parts of making the short film was figuring out the appearance of the characters. 

Kate had been drawing lines on the paper when her phone rang. Marie thanked the universe for the distraction from her lack of creativity.

"Hello?" she answered without checking the caller ID.

"Hi," Chris' voice sounded through the phone, and Kate found herself smiling. "Where are you?"

"At my dorm," she replied, still smiling. "I'm thinking of starting on that essay we were given today."

"Oh. Okay," he said. "Look. I know we had plans, but something came up."

"Oh?" Kate tried to hide the disappointment in her voice.

"Alex came to me and complained that I don't spend a lot of time with him anymore. He even pulled out the I'm-a-senior card. Can you believe the guy?"

Kate chuckled.

"I'm sorry."

"It's okay," she said, still smiling. "Have fun together. Make sure to also greet him for me."

"'Sure will. So, anyway, you're a virgin?"

Marie's smile disappeared before she groaned.

"Who told you that?"

"A couple of guys heard you yell it out as if it was an important announcement before you ran away like a maniac."

Kate groaned again, rubbing her forehead with her head bowed.

"Why does this happen to me?"

"You? What about me? I'm the one shocked here. Why the hell did you even yell it in the first place? And again, you're still a virgin?"

"I didn't mean to yell it out. I was talking to my roommate, and she forced it out of me."

"Your roommate forced you to yell that you have never had sex?" Kate could hear the smile as Chris spoke, and it caused her to sigh.

"She thought I was having sex with you when I told her that. And did you actually call to discuss matters involving my reproductive system?"

"Kate, it's okay to call it your vagina. "

"Chris!"

"What? It's not like I said  something crude like 'pussy'."

"Oh my goodness," Kate said, shaking her bowed head in disbelief. 

"You're blushing, aren't you?"

"... No," Kate had paused a second too long to reply. "But let's talk about the project. I'm stuck, Chris. I have no idea of what to draw--"

"That can wait. Now, back to what you so boldly exposed today."

"Chris!" Kate exclaimed, feeling a blush overcome her cheeks.

"Honestly, I'm surprised. I mean, how are you still a virgin? I saw you making out with the popular guys when we were in high school!"

"So what do you suggest we do about the characters?"

"You can't change the topic," Chris was onto her. "And if you think about ending the call right now, I will come with Alex, and we will tell you a lot of dirty stuff that will leave you blushing for a month."

"I can handle it," Kate said.

"We could even bring sex toys for in-depth explanations."

"Dammit!" Kate cursed. "Are you really going to force me to talk about this? I already feel bad that everyone knows."

"Yes, I am. Now spill, woman!"

Kate chuckled before she said: "Okay. For some weird reason, this seems like a big deal to you. It should be private."

"It became public information the moment you yelled it out, remember?"

"Fine. Yes, I'm still a virgin. Yes, I made out with guys. But Chris, that was just what it was. Making out. I didn't let anyone get further than that."

"... Seriously?"

"Well, there was this one time I went down on--"

"Okay," Chris cut her off. "I get the picture."

"What? Are you suddenly feeling shy?"

"Nope. It's a turn-off to hear about a guy getting a blow--"

"It ended badly for me," Kate cut him off. "And I'm glad it was like that. If I were to have sex, I'd rather it be with someone I trust and love."

"Oh," Chris commented in disappointment. "That was surprisingly cheesy."

"Please don't tell anyone," Kate pleaded.

"Oh, you have nothing to worry about. Your secrets are safe with me. Besides, this thing will blow over in a few days."

"Really? How?"

"I have my ways."

"Oh, thank you, Chris."

"You're welcome," he spoke just as a knock sounded through the phone. "Oh, fuck. Alex is here. Can we talk later?"

"Sure."

"Okay. Bye."

The call ended at that point. 

"Now, what to do with you..." Marie trailed off as she turned to her drawing book.

********************* ************************************** **********************

"Kate? Are you in here?" Gwen called out as she entered the room. She turned to the side, and that was when she spotted her sprawled on her bed in slumber.

"You're still asleep?" she called out, making her friend groan. "What did you do?"

"Gwen, will you please shut up and let me sleep?" Marie grumbled.

"No," she replied, sitting on the unoccupied bed space. "I want to know why you are still in bed. I went to a party last night. I should be the one too tired to even talk, but here we are."

Gwen looked at Kate, seeing she had dozed off. She rolled her eyes, going to wake her friend again, but a text message notification stopped her. She turned to her friend's phone, and what she saw made her smile.

'Hey! Just wondering if you are free today. We could meet up to discuss the project.'

Gwen saw the message was from Chris. She shook her head with a smirk, realizing she had no need to bother Kate. Seeing the message was enough for her.

Without a word, she walked to her bedroom and closed the door. 

 

Chapter 10

 

"I'll be out for a while!" Kate yelled, observing her form in the bathroom mirror as she bunched her hair into a ponytail. Her roommate, Gwen, was heard groaning from her bedroom.

"Why are you up this early?" she grumbled. 

Kate rolled her eyes before replying, "It's cool right now."

She had worn a pink tank top with a pair of gray workout leggings that reached her ankles. Her sneakers squeaked with each step as she prepared to head out in the early Saturday morning.

"See you later," Marie said as she went towards the door. With quick steps, she walked down the stairs until she reached the ground floor. Then she proceeded to walk for a couple of minutes before taking off in a run.

It had been weeks since Kate had exercised. She was hardly getting enough time to do that because her project was costing her time away from class. To be specific, she was still stuck on the drawings for the characters of her short film.

It was going to take quite some time, and it made her doubt ever picking her choice for the project.

Marie shook the thoughts