The Ethics of Staying

Part 2

Jasmine woke up the next morning naked and unsure of where she was. She stretched and looked over at Lucas, everything came flooding back to her, well most things. Ash, Lucas, the old photo, and the subsequent sex the photo had caused. She decided she was just going to sneak out and deal with the repercussions later, but luck was not on her side. As she was pulling her pants on Lucas stretched beside her.

"Morning," Lucas said, the remnants of sleep prevalent in his voice.

"Morning."

"So, last night?"

"It was uh, something?" Jasmine offered not sure what else to say.

"It was too much alcohol and reminiscing," Lucas answered, voicing the thoughts she was unwilling to say herself.

"Oh, thank God. It's not that it wasn't great. I just don't want to come to college and start dating my high school ex. I want new experiences" she trailed off staring at the floor.

She looked up into his bright green eyes and she smiled. They held their gaze with each other for several seconds before they started to laugh. Once the dam broke there was no going back. They laughed for what felt like hours. Until their stomachs hurt.

"I think the only thing calmer and more sensible than that conversation was the one we had when we broke up," Lucas finally managed to choke out between thier laughs.

"Stop or you're going to make me start laughing again" Jasmine wheezed.

They blamed the photo, called it closure sex, and decided to just be friends.

As Jasmine walked back home to her dorm her thoughts drifted to Ash. And what he thought of her. Especially after she walked upstairs with Lucas the night before. She wondered if Lucas's fraternity was going to give him a bid, and if they did could she use Lucas to re-introduce them?

She ended up not needing any help though. Ash was in a couple of her classes, and after confirming she wasn't dating Lucas, asked her out. She thought he was cute, and it was easy. Their first date Ash took her out for coffee then a walk through the quad. They ended up sitting and talking until it was dark. Feeling bad for making her miss dinner he took her out to eat at one of the best places around campus.

She spent the first couple weeks comparing him to Lucas and boy did he pull ahead in every category. The first time she slept with him was the night he had officially accepted a bid from Alpha Kappa Epsilon. There was none of that familiar feeling she had had with Lucas. Everything about Ash was new and exciting. They had thrown a massive party for the new pledges and he recreated the first night they met.

"Can I get you a drink?" he offered as he walked up to the bar.

"No thanks, I have one. But do you wanna dance?"

"Sure."

They spent the night dancing with each other. Being even a little friskier than they had the first night.

"No Lucas to cut in this time, huh?" he whispered in her ear as his hands slid down to rest on the lowest part of her back.

"There is not a chance in hell I am letting him get anywhere near me tonight. Besides we're just friends I told you that."

"So, you're saying you didn't sleep with him that night we met?"

"It's a long story," she sighed.

"So, you did," he said gruffly and pulled away from her. "I don't know if I can do this. Be with you and be in the same fraternity as him? Especially here where it happened."

Anger was Jasmine's initial reaction. How dare he. They were not dating when she slept with Lucas. They had barely even had a conversation yet. It was the look on her face that got through to her—fear. Fear that he wasn't enough. She realized that like her Ash had been comparing himself to Lucas. Taking a moment to compose herself she took the high road.

"Not that I have to, but let me explain. We can go back to my dorm and I'll tell you on the way. Then, if when we get back, you're done we can just go our separate ways."

So, they got their things and he walked her back to her building. On the way, Jasmine explained that when she'd settled on Chancers University, she had let Lucas know and they had started to talk again. Because there had been no anger in the breakup, they thought about maybe getting back together. Though the talking was innocent enough there were clear indicators that they were both single and willing to see what could happen. Curious as to whether they were going to get back together or not. Then as she was getting a drink at the bar when she had been asked to dance by this really attractive guy. Since Lucas had made no move, she thought at the very least it should get his attention. Then the guy ended up being a pretty good dancer and he was funny. But when Lucas cut in, she remembered why she had come to the party in the first place. And though she liked the guy she had been dancing with she was still curious about Lucas. They danced until he asked if she wanted to go to his room to catch up. They started reminiscing, recalling the good times they had together sneaking around, and one thing led to another and they kissed. Their kisses turned into something more. Jasmine told Ash, the next morning they woke up and she told Lucas she didn't want to start college with her high school boyfriend. She told Ash; they had ended up laughing about the whole thing. It was nothing like the way they had remembered it. And she wanted to move forwards not backward. So, they settled on being friends rather than more.