Bound By The Campus Secret

Chapter 2. The Escape

I struggled to get dressed and fumbled with the zipper on my skirt as I heard the clang of the guard’s keys hit the floor outside, and it sounded like someone’s death knell. As I looked onto the guard through the frosted glass with a flashlight shining and swung it from side to side at the entrance, I smoothed my blouse, but my face felt so hot that I thought I would catch on fire.

My hands were shaking so much as I hurriedly shoved books into my backpack that I dropped my pencil which rolled beneath the table, but there wasn’t time for me to get it back. I just zipped up my bag and turned to face Leo.

Leo already looked somewhat ready, albeit somewhat disheveled. He ran a hand through his messy dark hair — which I had messed up — and surveyed the room for an exit as he did this. The guard’s flashlight beam scanned the floor, ending just inches away from the door with a beam coming from it.

"Come on," he whispered urgently, in a quiet tone.

As Leo pressed my back against the wall in a small corridor, he used his own body to shield my view of the outside world. The close contact was intoxicating; I could smell rain, cedar, and also the primal scent of s*x. This smelled like a mixture of both mystique and alertness.

"Shhhh..." he whispered close to my ear.

I heard the metal knob open with a loud click as if fired off from a gun. My throat tightened, and I buried my face in the shirt he had on. His heart beat rapidly on the side of my cheek, and I could tell that he was very aware of how fast my heart was beating, as well. If the guard would have taken one more step toward the left, we would have been exposed.

The door groans open, and it's incredibly loud in that tiny space! A beam of dirty yellow light from outside comes in to illuminate the haze of dust blowing around. The wooden table that I was just at is empty, and the blank wall is where I had my computer, which was taken away from me today!

Leo and I are laying face down on the floor in front of the wall, and we are both terribly still! Leo is standing next to me, and I can feel that he is tensed up; if he has to spring into action, he'll be ready! We are both panting from our earlier exertions, and I can smell the sweat and other things between Leo and me like it is some sort of aromatic perfume. The heat and heavy, humid smell of "what-we-just-did" is surrounding us, and it's like a neon sign flashing over our heads - "WE JUST HAD s*x ON THAT TABLE!"

The guard was singing to himself off-key, and his voice was horrible; it interrupted every sound in the room. He walked over, stood in front of the table for a second and shined his flashlight directly at the table - specifically "at the dark smudge left by my elbow where I was holding myself up."

"Hah," was the guard's sound, low in doubt. He continued walking towards us, the beam of his flashlight getting closer to the place where Leo and I were hiding. The light touched the edge of Leo's shirt, and I could feel his whole body go tight against mine as he pressed me into the wall and lifted his hand to put it over the back of my head while he prepped to face the person on the other side of the wall.

I could feel my heart beating so loudly that I thought it would give us away. The air in this alcove felt heavy, warm, and smelled so strongly of us (s*x, sweat and adrenaline) that it would seem impossible for us to hide. I waited for the light to find us, for the shout to yell "Found You".

The light travelled away towards the bookshelf. "Damn kids," he said, and was satisfied no one was in the room with him. He began humming the same silly tune he had been before while he left.

As the guard walked toward us, I felt the sound of his boots on the floor as he got close to the door. Every single second seemed like an hour. I was holding my breath until I felt pain in my chest and my fingers were pulling hard on Leo's shirt. Before he turned to leave the room, the guard stopped one more time to look around the empty chair area and made a noise that meant nothing before finally leaving.

After he closed the door, we were left in darkness with only the faint light from his flashlight beam moving out into the hall.

For a long period of time after he left us and we heard no more sounds from him, I stayed where I was so that I could continue to feel the adrenaline that was still coursing through my body. My limbs felt very weak and light because of the adrenaline. Leo's heart was racing at such a fast pace against my cheek as I could hear it beating at a consistent fast pace. Eventually, Leo's heart slowed down, but he maintained hold of my hair in a way that made it feel secure and like he wanted to protect me.

After he exhaled a tremulous breath into the pause of silence, I held him close without releasing him from my grasp. He was still holding me closely, even after the threat of danger had gone, protecting me with his body. I could feel the heat of Leo radiating through my clothing and warming the chill of the adrenaline rush that had coursed through me.

With my head tilted back, I looked up into Leo's face. Although the room was completely dark, I could feel the intense weight of Leo's gaze searching for me. My heart was still racing against my chest, but it was slowly becoming something else—something giddy and crazy.

"You and I are going to be alright," he whispered as he spoke softly into my chest with such roughness and low volume that I could feel it vibrating within my body; his hand smoothed over my cheekbone in a gentle caress that caused my breath to hitch. "Are you alright?"

"Probably. Yeah. I mean I'm alive. At least that's what my heart feels like right now; it feels like it's trying to break free of my rib cage. But I'm okay," I said while leaning into his touch, my eyes beginning to adjust enough to see a faint outline of a jawline. A bit breathless and slightly hysterical, I couldn't help but laugh too.

He let out a huff of laughter under his breath before kissing my forehead softly, lingering as if claiming me for himself. "We need to go," he said. "Don't lose me."

He pulled back slightly, taking my hand firmly, yet tenderly. I clutched onto him tightly and felt a deep, calming breath escape my lungs. The aroma of the room was filled with the smell of old books, wax polish and sweat from what we had just done.

It was like a movie about robbing someone, with none of the cool gadgets, but all of us were shaking with fear while we tried to escape. He opened the door just a little bit to see into the very dark hallway; as he turned back to me, I saw his eyes shining from some residual adrenaline and what I took to be a feeling of triumph.

Leo mouthing the words "It's all clear," tightening his grip on my hand.

We left the study room behind us, leaving a smell of what we had done in the study.

We both walked back to the dorm acting like newly born babies.Leo stared at me with a long gaze. His smile faded as he softened his gaze towards me. Slowly leaning in towards me, I had time to pull away if I wanted to. I did not want to.

When his lips met mine, the kiss was not fast or aggressive as it had been in the library, but rather soft and slow. Leo moved his lips gently over mine, tasting my lips and kissing me sweetly. Laying my arms around his neck, standing on my tiptoes, I felt as if I wanted to close the distance between us completely .

Suddenly, a heavy shoe crunched against the gravel path right behind us. We both snapped apart, our eyes wide with fear as we stared into the dark. A tall, dark silhouette was standing beneath the old stone archway, watching us intently. Before we could say anything, the figure turned and vanished completely into the shadows.

"Who could that be?" I whispered, my voice shaking as I gripped Leo's arm.

I walked into my room feeling restless and unsettled as the thought of the unknown kept ringing in my head: who could that be? Who was saw us? I need to find out.