Tall, Dark and Bennet

I was living in a dorm. I was single. I no longer had to adhere to dress codes. I could stay out all night. I had only one rule: pass all of my classes. I could handle that.

This was a huge change from midnight curfews, don't miss practice, don't skip class, hiding sexy shirts in my purse so I could change once I got into my car and making out in the back seat of Ace's car. I was no longer hiding. This was college, and I was going to enjoy every bit of it.

So, I found Taylor.

He was perfect. He was tall, skinny, dark hair, smarter than me, from Oregon and didn't remind me of Ace, at all. He had blackheads on his nose and hair did this weird flippy thing. He wrote in computer language, and he could barely lift me up off the ground before his thin figure began to shake. He was a virgin, and at the time, one of my best friends. The best part of the whole arrangement, this "boyfriend/girlfriend thing" he insisted on, was that he lived with my four smart, funny, good-looking guy friends, most of them better looking than Taylor.

He shared a room with my very best friend, Bennet. Bennet was tall, a bit taller than Taylor. He was smart, a bit smarter than Taylor. And he was hilarious, a lot funnier than Taylor. They both liked cold weather, basketball and huge basketball shorts. It was as if they had been paired to live together on purpose.

I always felt like I was on some strange game show when I hung out with both of them. I would sit in the middle of the two of them on the couch during movies, and I would be holding Taylor's hand with my left while my right hand played thumb wars with Bennet. Bennet and I danced and laughed to R Kelly's "Love Slide" while Taylor sat on the sidelines. (He didn't know how to dance.) I could be a pretty, mysterious California girl for Taylor, and a Warrior-loving, love-sliding goof ball studying chemistry through the night with Bennet.

Don't get me wrong, I liked Taylor. He had large, soft hands that always found comfort in mine. He had dark, green eyes that shined like emeralds, but his greatest asset was his ability to compliment.

He would always grab me, and look at us standing next to each other in the mirror or a window, inside or outside, any reflection he could find. He would just hold me tight and tell me how pretty I was and how great we looked together.

At first I thought this was cute, then I started to find it strange, then I started ignoring it all together. I had never met anyone so obsessed with looks before, especially mine. He would always notice when I had make-up on, did my hair, got new clothes, anything. He always commented on it.

Bennet didn't. Bennet smiled his big, toothy smiled at me the same way every day in Chemistry class, in the halls, in the dining hall or at a party, whether I just woke up or spend two hours getting ready. He would cock his head to side and shine his newly brace-less teeth my way.

I could get everything I wanted from one place, Taylor and Bennet's dorm room. I could be kissed, cuddle and doted on. I could laugh, dance and play.