At first, Kaydia thought she was hearing things. Distractions created by a mind more interested in anything other than studying. But when the faint sounds of heavy breathing were interrupted with a gasp and giggling, she knew she hadn’t imagined it. Eyes darted across the table, towards the girl reading, head bobbing to music playing through her earbuds. No one else in the library seemed to hear it.
With a deep sigh, Kaydia looked back down at her notes, trying to remember where she left off. Something about metaphysical idealism? The material world isn’t real, just an illusion to give the experiences of the mind context.
Another gasp, louder this time, drew her attention behind her. What was that? Scanning the rest of the library and finding oblivious disinterest, Kaydia decided it was up to her to investigate. The sounds grew louder, faster, building as she neared the high shelves. Peering through the shelves, she caught sight of a tall guy in a thin white shirt, concealing half of a red and black tattoo on his shoulder blade. Feminine legs wrapped around his waist, and well-manicured red nails dug into his broad shoulders.
“Quentin…”
Holy shit! They really were just going at it in the library. Kaydia couldn’t pull herself away, mesmerized by the movement of his hips and the restrained cries of the woman, until the guy moved his head to kiss her neck, and she made eye contact with the woman. Shit!
She spun on her heels, unable to imagine her embarrassment if they caught her staring at them. But what did they expect, going at it like that in public? It’s like they wanted to be caught. Clearing the thought from her head, she returned to her table and began packing up her book and notes.
“Hey, Kaydia.” Kazak, the cute guy from her philosophy class, greeted her with a single wave. “Are you leaving already? I thought we were going to study.” There was a disappointment in his eyes that broke her heart.
“I, uh…yeah, no, I mean… maybe just move tables?” She explained, brushing loose strands of hair behind her ear.
“Move? Nah, this is good,” he decided, putting his bag down on the table, “If we leave this table we probably won’t be able to get another one.” Kaydia chewed on her lip before nodding. She’d be too busy studying with Kazak to pay attention to the couple, right? So, she sat back down and pulled out her notes.
“Do you get any of stuff about idealism?”
Kazak glanced down at his own notes, “Umm, basically, nothing is real and the physical world is an illusion?”
“Yeah, I think I get that part but I don’t understand the arguments in favor of it.”
“Umm, let’s see… that was Berkeley, right?” He flipped through his book, “It’s on page 54–“ Another gasp cut off his words. Their eyes met, confusion in his, embarrassment in hers, and another cry wafted through the room.
“Wait, is someone…?” he asked, glancing in the direction of the noise. Kaydia laughed this time, flushing red.
“Yep, right there in the stacks.”
“Who is it?”
Kaydia shrugged, “I don’t know. I guess the guy’s name is Quentin.”
Kazak laughed and shook his head, not quite meeting her gaze, “Lucky him, I guess. No wonder you wanted to move.” They were both silent for a moment, except for the sound of Kaydia drumming her fingers on the table and the increasing sighs from the mystery couple.
“We could head to my dorm. My roommate has a late class tonight, so we will be alone,” He met her eyes then, before quickly adding, “To study in peace, of course.”
“In peace, right,” Kaydia agreed, trying not to imagine her and Kazak tangled up like the couple she’d spied on. He smiled, and it was even harder to push the fantasy away. Fuck it. Wasn’t like she was getting anything done here, anyway. “Sounds good.”
It was another week before Kaydia returned to the library. This time she headed for Study Room C, aiming to be precisely five minutes early for her tutoring appointment, but someone was already in there. Blue eyes looked up from his book as she entered, and he seemed familiar in a way she couldn’t place.
“Are you the philosophy tutor?”
“Yep, Quentin.” He offered his hand to shake, but Kaydia left him hanging, lost the recollection of whimpers and moans, and the half impression of a tattoo on strong shoulders.
Quentin…
“And this would be the point where you’d tell me your name,” he teased, features lighting up with an infectious smile.
“Right, sorry. Kaydia.” Finally, she took his hand, shaking it quickly as she tried to push away the memory of catching him in the library.
“What and who are you taking?”
“Intro to Philosophy with Professor Valis.”
“Ah, you’re in luck then. I got an A in that class. What did you need help with?”
“Well, I brought my last exam over, I was hoping we could go over it?” He nodded, and she fished it out of her backpack. Taking the seat across from him, she appreciated his firm figure. A thought that made her feel guilty, since he clearly had a girlfriend, and she sorta had a boyfriend.
“You got a B?” Quentin asked, disbelief in voice.
“A B minus,” Kaydia corrected. And it’s your fault I didn’t get to finish studying that night, but she didn’t dare voice that.
