Annabelle

The school library was flooded in amber light, the dark midnight sky pooling through the windows all about her. Annabelle wore tired eyes and an oversized sweatshirt. Cramming for finals had become a full-time pursuit riddled with messy buns and late nights. And despite all of it she could still feel the man's eyes appraising her from across the room. Only a handful of students still remained on campus given the hour and as such, Annabelle and this stranger shared the entire west wing of the library between the two of them. He'd arrived roughly an hour ago and chose a spot with a conveniently clear view of Annabelles desk. Of course, if she'd caught his attention it hardly offended her, he was far from the first. Annabelle found herself at the bottom of her third cup of coffee that night, and realized her focus was waning. She caught herself stealing looks at the man in the reflection of a window. It seemed he too was left wanting for concentration, his eyes darting randomly around the room only to fall back on her every so often. For whatever reason, he seemed familiar to her.
She noticed how tall he was right away, and the thick beard along his chin. She had to admit, he was far from unattractive, mature and self-assured without the usual desperation. Annabelle could hardly study now, the moonlight and isolation of it all filling her with impassioned ideas. She turned around to face him, tilting her head to one side.
"Do you know what time the library closes?" she asked, already knowing the answer. He pretended she'd only just caught his attention for the first time.
"Midnight," he said. Annabelle glanced at the time on her phone screen, 11:35 pm, it read.
"They might lock us in if we stay too much longer," she joked. Annabelle pulled her sweater off over her head, beneath which she wore nothing but a thin crop. It caught his attention right away, just as she'd hoped. She stretched her hands above her head accentuating her tiny waist. He stared plainly at her now, without feeling the need to hide his interest.
"What's your name?" he asked. She smiled, meeting his eye again.
"Does it really matter?" she said, the man looked taken aback.
"I guess not. Sorry, I'll leave you be," he said. She rolled her eyes at him.
"We can talk, but let's leave our names out of it. It's more exciting that way, don't you think?" she said. He smirked in spite of himself.
"What do you want to talk about then?" Annabelle let out a vulnerable grin.
"I want you to ask me a real question," she said. The man dawned a confused look.
"What do you mean?" Annabelle pulled out her hair tie with a single motion of her hand, letting her long blonde curls fall across her back.
"It's almost midnight, let's not waste our time with semantics." The man dawned a knowing look.
"Can I join you?" he asked, nodding his head toward the open desk chair just across from her. She smiled and shrugged approvingly. The man closed his laptop and packed it into his bag.
"That's still not your real question, is it?" she chidded. The man crossed the room, taking a seat.
"You're bold, I'll give you that," he said. Annabelle flourished her shoulders, pleased with herself.
"You want my attention, I'll give it to you. But you'll have to humor me first." The man sighed.
"What's a girl like you doing on campus this late on a Friday night?" She took a breath.
"I was trying to study, but now I'm too busy contemplating ways to distract myself." She met his naive eyes which could barely contain their excitement. Men were so simple, she thought. He would probably do anything she asked of him, and he might even thank her for it. The man let out a sharp breath.
"How old are you anyway?"
"Old enough," she replied without much forethought.
"Are you always this evasive when you're asked a question?" The man laughed.
"Not when I find the question interesting," she said. The man stared up at the clock.
"It's starting to get late, you should probably get home to your boyfriend," he said. She stared passed her glasses at him with an amused gaze.
"Do you always avoid saying what you're really thinking?" the man dawned a self-effacing look, then shrugged.
"You know what I mean. Besides, you don't seem like the type of girl who lacks male attention." She shrugged agreeably.
"That might be the case," she shrugged. "I didn't think you were the type of guy who would care either way," she said. The man fell back into a humored grin.
"Why do I get the impression that you're flirting with me?"
"Would you like it if I were flirting?" she replied. The man's face flushed red.
Annabelle turned back to her desk, grabbing her sweater and her backpack from off the table. "They'll be locking the doors up soon." The dazed look dissipated from the man's eyes all at once.
"Right…" he said. Annabelle stood up to leave with the man still sitting across from her.
"Are you coming?" she asked. He looked up at her, then nodded stupidly, getting to his feet. They walked side by side until reaching the large glass doors that looked out onto a near empty parking lot.
"Maybe I'll see you around campus again sometime," he said. Annabelle looked back at the man with her hand already around the door handle. Perhaps the stress of finals was getting to her head, but she felt his eyes begging her to stay a moment longer. That is, when they weren't trying to make out the outline of her breasts through her shirt.
"I might need a souvenir to remember you by," she said. The man looked confused, but their eyes remained fixed on one another all the same.
"What did you have in mind?" he said in a soft tone. Annabelle smiled knowingly, letting her hand fall to his chest. The man fell silent, interpreting her body language right away.
"You know, I've always wanted to fuck on this campus," she said. The man's finger rested itself just below her chin, tipping her face up toward him. He leaned down and suddenly their lips were entwined with each other. She loved how he towered over her and the caress of his thick beard against her cheek. Her hand crept behind his ear into his golden brown hair. They kissed passionately. The man explored her small figure, his hands running along either side of her. He felt along the curve of her hip, to her waistline. She could feel his fingers creeping down the front of her pants, which only excited her further. As they explored her, a wetness permeated between her thighs. Her hand felt its way below the back of his shirt as if by instinct, exploring his surprisingly toned body. His hand made its way deeper below her waistline. He gripped around the front of her thin lace underwear and pulled on them until they were tort against her body. Annabelle gasped below her breath and for a moment, she hoped he might rip them right off of her. But then she pulled away from him again, noticing the time on the clock just behind him. He hesitated all of a sudden, appearing taken aback and his hand made its way back out of her pants.
"Midnight," she said, with a disappointment in her tone. She pulled the library door open behind her.
"You're really just going to leave me here like this?" he asked, practically pouting. She nodded right away.
"Unfortunately I have to go." He had a disappointed look across his face.
"You can come back to my place," he said. She gave him a sideways glare. Men had no patience, she thought to herself.
"We'll finish what we started, but not at your place and not tonight. After all, where's the fun in that?" The man sighed.
"How can I get in contact with you?" Annabelle smiled and shrugged.
"These things have a way of working out in my favor. I'll find you again, and when I do I'll keep true to my promise." She winked at him, then turned, heading back toward the parking lot. The man just stood there a moment, stunned to silence, but his frustrations never weighed on Annabelle's mind, if anything it only made it better.