Male Stories The Discovery By: J.B. ***Note: PG13*** Sarah considered herself pretty average for a college sophomore. And she was. She was a conscientious student, a good daughter. She was slight and pretty. Sarah was, however, painfully shy; especially with guys. Her friends were always telling her how many guys would love to go out with her. The thought of it frightened her. She would have no idea what to say or what to do. She had a few dates in high school, but those were guys she'd known practically all her life -- not exactly men of mystery. Now in college, Sarah was a little embarrassed, too. She'd listen to the girls in the dorms last year with their stories of drunken one night stands after frat parties and lustful visits to their high school boyfriends in other states. Sarah was a virgin -- which everyone always said was "cool" and supported her -- but she would have preferred to feel life a virgin by choice, rather than because she hadn't had the chance. She did have one sexual secret; one she dared not ever tell. It made her feel a little perverted. She didn't understand it. But it was the only thing that made Sarah feel sexy. Sarah had a "thing" for the sight and sound of a man sneezing. She'd never heard anyone mention anything about sneezing when her friends were talking about the things that turned them on. It made her a little uneasy, but Sarah liked having a secret. So it was another average Saturday night for Sarah. She and some friends were hanging out, watching a video and drinking wine. Actually (for her) Sarah was drinking quite a bit. She'd gotten to Christine's apartment early to help her clean up and had her first glass (a plastic cup, actually) about 8:30. When Andrea poured her another one with a slightly bemused look, Sarah looked at her watch and realized it was 12:30 a.m. "Wow, Chrissie, look at Sarah's eyes. She's bombed," Andrea said. "Don't be stupid," Sarah said with a giggle. But she knew she definitely felt buzzed. When she left around 1:00, Sarah was stumbling a bit. As she fumbled in her purse for her keys in front of her apartment building, Laura, who lived down the hall, walked up with some guy. Sarah may have had a buzz, but she was sober enough to realize how drunk Laura was. The guy had a glazed-over look, too. He could have been drunk, stoned or just plain stupid. As they rode up in the elevator, Laura was rubbing the guy's ass and Sarah smirked too herself. Then, suddenly, the guy sneezed and sneezed again. Sarah went rigid. Her heart beat fast. The elevator stopped at the seventh floor and Sarah let Laura and the guy get out first. Luckily, Sarah's apartment was next to the elevator and she stalled at the door to watch them go down the hall. Sarah unlocked her door, flipped on the light and silently cursed the red light on her answering machine that never seemed to blink with messages when she wanted it to...like tonight. Tonight she would have liked a message from a guy like Laura's escort. Sarah slipped off her shoes and laid down on the couch. She laid her head on the armrest and closed her eyes. She started to fantasize. She was in a sexy black cocktail dress and her string of good pearls, holding a champagne flute. The doorbell rings and a tuxedoed Mel Gibson walks in a kisses her hello. They sit down on the couch and suddenly, Smokey the Cat jumps up to join them. Suddenly Mel is sneezing loudly and with a shudder each time. He's so allergic that he can't stop between sneezes. He just holds his hands up and looks away, sneezing again and again. Sarah opens her eyes for a second, looked around for anyone who might catch her rubbing herself gently, and then returns to the fantasy except the man is now the guy from the elevator in his madras shirt and blue jeans. The fantasy startled Sarah. She got up from the couch and went to her desk to take two quarters out of the top drawer. She picked up her keys and walked down the hall, ostensibly to the Coke machine. When she got close to Laura's apartment, she slowed her pace, looking around nervously for other signs of life. She stopped in front of Laura's door and listened. She heard Laura moaning in a husky voice. She thought she heard the guy grunt once, she wasn't sure. It could have been anything, but she preferred to think it was him. After a few seconds, she made her way to the Coke machine and got a soda. She walked back quickly and with a guilty look on her face. Monday morning, Sarah waited outside her Sociology lecture because she wanted to ask Peter, her TA, a question. She spotted him and ambled over while he was talking to another TA. She seemed to catch him telling about a date he'd had over the weekend. "...and the worst part was, she was wearing this strong perfume and I'm real allergic," Peter was saying. Sarah quickly turned away. She wanted to hear the rest of this without being recognized. She bent over and pretended to look for something in her backpack. "So at the restaurant, I was okay because I could put enough distance between us. But afterwards, we're walking back and I'm sneezing like crazy..." Sarah zipped up her bag, popped up and scurried into the lecture hall. She took a seat in the back corner, as opposed to her usual spot in the center with Andrea. She stared at Peter a lot during the lecture. She had always though he was cute. He was a little short, but he had a nice body and wore glasses, which she liked. He had a lopsided smile which seemed a little sarcastic. She liked that, too. Sarah decided to save her question for Peter's office hours, which coincidentally, were that afternoon starting at 2:00. She met Andrea outside the lecture hall and begged off their usual post-Sociology bagel and coffee, explaining she had been running late all morning. She went home and studied for awhile, but half-heartedly. She was too excited about what she was going to do that afternoon to concentrate on her Spanish homework. After her favorite soap opera, it was 1:00. Sarah showered. She put on a pretty sundress that was a little shorter than the rest. She debated about what makeup to wear. She didn't want to look too out of the ordinary. A quick check of her clock showed 1:45. She felt a combination of guilt and excitement as she opened the drawer she kept her perfume in. She stared at the bottles for what seemed like a long time. It was 1:48 when she decided that Poison was the strongest scent she owned. She looked at the bottle and laughed inwardly and the irony of the name and what she was using the perfume for. Sarah put on more perfume than she had since she was a little girl and played dress-up. She dabbed behind both ears, She rubbed it between her wrists. Then she made a V in her cleavage -- such as it was. She felt a little conspicuous walking to the building where the Sociology offices were. There was a cloud of perfume enveloping her. Walking a little faster, she felt the first beads of sweat on her forehead. Sarah panicked for a second and then remembered that heat actually propelled the scent. She giggled to herself as she entered the building. Sarah stopped and pretended to look at the notices on the bulletin board. She wasn't majoring in Sociology, but she wanted to look unhurried and inconspicuous when she walked in,. That lasted all of about 180 seconds. She walked down two corridors. Thank God no one was waiting and the office was silent, save for the sound of papers rustling. Sarah knocked on the door to Room 132. "Come on in," Peter called out. "Are you busy," Sarah asked. "Nope, what can I do for you?" Sarah pulled up a chair and before she could even sit, she saw it start to happen. Peter looked away and his eyelids started to flutter, as though his whole body was convulsing. Peter gasped heavily, looked straight up and sneezed very loudly. "Excuse me," he said. Sarah was trying to look blase', but it was as exciting as the first time she let a boy touch her bare breasts. "It must be your perfume, I'm allergic," he said. "Oh, I'm so sorry," Sarah said in a high-pitched voice she didn't quite recognize. "I just came in to get the sample test from last year." "Sure, let me grab one," Peter said. He quickly turned and rolled his chair to the adjacent desk. While his back was turned, Sarah moved a few inches closer. "Here you...uhhhhCHOOOOOOO.....excuse me, again." He said with the papers extended toward her. "Thanks...uhh, I'm sorry to make you sneeze," she said. The very mention of the word made Sarah tingle. "Don't worry about it. Just don't wear it Wednesday." Sarah turned and walked out and closed the door behind her. She leaned against the wall next to the door to catch her breath. As she stood there, she listened intently as there was one more labored breath preceding a final, powerful sneeze.