After movie night had ended, Teddy wrapped me up in his big arms to bid me goodnight. I suppressed a yelp of surprise. The poor guy didn't understand the concept of personal space. Still, I didn't want to make a fuss and embarrass anyone. After all, he treated Helen the same way, and they were just friends.

Teddy gave me one last squeeze. "It was so good to finally meet you."

"Finally?" I asked with a quizzical brow.

"Eric's been talking so much about you," he exclaimed. "Couldn't wait until you joined us for movie night."

Poor Eric turned beet red just before he busied himself with cleaning up the leftover debris in his room. I stared at my feet. God help me, I couldn't stop the widest grin from spreading across my face. 

Helen gave a frustrated sigh. "Well, if you ever want the Sixth Fleet to know something..."

"Oh, oops!" Teddy said with a look of chagrin. "Sorry."

"Yeah." She huffed but opened her arms wide. "Come here, you big bear."

Dave, Steve, and John were content to wave goodbye to us as they headed back to their dorms. Helen winked at me and whispered, "I'll meet you back in my room when you're done."

That left Eric and me alone for the second time that night. He approached me but couldn't meet my gaze. "Don't mind Teddy. He's a good guy--one of my best friends. But..."

"It's fine," I said with a nervous chuckle. "At the risk of sounding silly, I couldn't keep quiet about it either. My friend Care is dying to hear some news. She's like Teddy, but way more subdued."

His head perked up at my words. "Really?"

I took a step closer to him. A part of me was dying to hold his hand, but I didn't risk it. Not after everything had gone so well.

"It's not just you, you know," I said.

Eric directed his intense hazel gaze at me. It looked like he wanted to say something, but he closed his eyes and shook his head with a scoff. 

"What is it?" I asked. "You can tell me."

"I was thinking about what Helen said...at lunch...about..." He shuffled on his feet and ran his hands through his hair. "About teaching you to dance."

"Well, don't feel any pressure. You know Helen."

"That's what I said," he said with a curled lip. "To you."

"I'm a really blunt person," I admitted with a shake of my head. "I've been hiding it to be polite, but it's very hard for me not to speak my mind. Quite brusquely, I might add."

"Please do," he said in an insistent tone that sounded almost foreign coming from him. "I hate trying to guess what a woman is thinking. Why do you think Helen and I are such great friends?"

"I would love to learn how to dance, but I don't want to make you feel uncomfortable."

"Then let's do it," he said with a smile. "When do you have time?"

"Tomorrow evening maybe?"

"Perfect. I'll see you then." 

We both exchanged a relieved smile. "What should I wear?"

"Whatever makes you comfortable," he replied. "Just bear in mind that we will have to touch occasionally even though I won't break through your personal space."

My heart beat furiously at his words. "Of course, you have to teach me how to dance with a partner. So we have to dance like we're partners."

His cheeks flushed crimson. "Yes, I suppose we do."

I drew a step closer to him. "Thanks for inviting me to movie night. I had fun."

"My pleasure," he replied. "Jess?"

"Hmm?"

Eric drew a step closer to me as though we were improvising our own dance. 

"May I hug you goodnight?" he asked.

I nodded.

Eric dipped down as I rose on my tiptoes, and he wrapped me in a gentle embrace. Because he was so much taller than me, I rested my head against his chest. His heartbeat was strong. Insistent. Fast. Like his fingers dancing over the keys during the third movement of Moonlight Sonata.

Eric moved his hand back and forth in a soothing motion, while my forearms extended up his long torso. Once again, I caught the gentle hint of his shower gel. 

I have to know what that is. It's intoxicating.

My head spun as he pulled away and pursed his lips. 

"See you tomorrow," I said.

"See you then, Jess."

He opened the door for me, and I disappeared down the hall.

Helen didn't even wait for me to knock. Opening the door, she beckoned me inside with an excited gesture. After we'd closed the door, we both broke out into a fit of giggles worthy of a gaggle of twelve-year-old girls in a chicken coop.

"Oh, God!" she said, trying to suppress her mirth as she flopped on her bed. "I don't know who is more smitten. You or him."

I tried to wipe the smile off my face, but up it cropped up again of its own free will until my cheeks hurt. "Hopefully it's equal on both sides..."

"I've never seen him in such a state," Helen said, wide-eyed. "What spell have you cast on him?"

"If anything, I think he cast a spell on me," I said, equally amazed, gesturing between his room and ours. "I don't do this. I never wanted to play Girl Talk as a kid. Hell, I didn't even know what half of it meant. This is a foreign universe to me."

"Awww, you're so cute. So tell me everything. What happened?"

I sat cross-legged and silent on the bed, unsure how to respond. "Nothing happened per se. It's more how it felt. The energy. The electric tension. A kind of bond. And...there's something about his music."

Helen gave an excited squee. "Oh, my gosh! It's so romantic. Like Phantom of the Opera! Go on."

"Well, less murderous, but yes," I said with a bemused look. "I guess you could say his music connected us or something."

"Tell me more."

My mind raced as I struggled to put amorphous feelings into words. "It was as if he was emoting through the piece. You know, speaking. Just to me." I sighed and shook my head. "Or maybe that's just wishful thinking..."

"Awww, no, I can't believe that. I saw the look in his eye. You're on the same wavelength, aren't you?" she said, her eyes twinkling. "You get each other. There's a spark!"

"Yes, and it goes beyond the mere physical," I said, musing aloud. "Although I freely admit he's cute. But I don't know what it is...I don't know how to describe it yet."

"You guys are so cute together," she said as she dressed into her PJs. "Don't know if you noticed, but he couldn't take his eyes off you during the entire trilogy."

"Really?"

"Yeah, but it was cute, not creepy." She chuckled. "Gosh, you don't pick up on social cues very easily, do you? No offense."

I blushed and shook my head. "Helen, can I ask you a personal question?"

"Yeaaaah," she said in a suspicious tone.

"What did you say to him before the movie started?"

She turned around and blushed. "Okay, promise you won't tell?"

"If you promise not to talk about what we're discussing now..."

"Agreed," she said. "Okay, well I told him to invite you to sit next to him...on his bed...and snuggle like two little bunnies."

I buried my face in my hands. "No! You didn't!"

"I knew he wouldn't," she said with a wily smile. "But I wanted to gauge his reaction."

"You clever devil."

"I know, right?" She looked proud of herself. "Guess we know what he'll be thinking about before bed."

"Helen!"

"What?" She gave a nonchalant shrug. "He's asexual, not dead."

"Oh, Lord!"

"Oh, please! Like you've never scratched an itch."

"Nah, I don't really see the appeal," I said with a nonchalant shrug. 

Helen raised a quizzical brow. "Are you for real?"

"Well, I don't know how much you want me to get into my...uh...personal life..."

"I'm an open book. Tell me anything," she said with a shrug. "You don't have to talk about it, but if you need advice, you can think of me as your personal sex-o-pedia."

That could be useful. I scoffed. Sure can't talk about this with Mom.

Or with Care, really. She's cool, but she has just as much experience as me. Which is to say: none.

"Okay, well. I tried. Once. I think. Like just to see." I cocked my head, trying to put it into words. "I was kind of interested...scientifically, I guess you could say. But then I got bored. So I stopped."

"What were you thinking about when it happened?"

"Mostly just what the different parts were and what they did. And whether they would feel different, and they didn't. Apart from this one bit that almost hurt to touch. So I didn't."

"Oh, dear!" Helen rolled her eyes. "You need to think of something sexy. Or, like, you know...romantic and comfy." She looked like she had an epiphany. "Like how you felt this evening with Eric. Not necessarily him, but like the feelings you had. And try again."

I blushed. "You're not weirded out by me talking about this?"

"Pfft, no!" She rolled her eyes. "Besides, who are you going to tell? Your grandma?"

"Good point."

"Of course, you still might find it boring," Helen said with an analytical expression. "If so, that's cool too. But I think it's worth another attempt."

"But if I'm asexual, what's the point?"

"Uh, it's a great stress reliever?" Helen said. "If you're randomly horny? If you're bored? If you've been reading a bit too much erotica and you're all O-M-G?"

I shouldn't be talking about this with her. Mom would kill me. But it feels so good to share with someone.

"But that's the thing," I said. "If I read a steamy part of a book, I feel a bit warm and tingly. You know--"

"Whew! Well, there you go. Perfectly functioning lady parts."

"But then it goes away, and I'm fine."

"Well, I suppose you could just let it go," she said with a wink. "But where's the fun in that?"

Where's the fun indeed? 

I've often asked myself that very question...but about sex itself.

"I suppose you make a good point," I conceded.

"Well, there you go," Helen said with a grin as she settled in under the covers. "That's your homework."

I chuckled and shook my head. "Thanks, Helen. For everything."

"It's cool," she said. "We gals need to stick together and help each other."

After I'd changed into my PJs and climbed into bed, I couldn't help but imagine what it would feel like to snuggle next to Eric. 

No funny business, of course. Just holding one another.

I imagined feeling his warmth as he snaked his arms around me. His fingertips as he brushed the hair from my neck and placed a soft peck of affection on my shoulder.

And the warm tingles returned.