Prologue: Staircase

“Now, sex, when casual, devalues it in a way. Like coins, it becomes boring, taken for granted,” our professor said in her opening remarks, putting a pause before a split-second smirk came on, erasing as she dropped the closing sentence, “Though in moderation, oh, trust me, it’s a lot of fun.”

Looking around the room to the impressionable assembly, she threw something to get us going or to expose us. Who knows. So she bellowed out.

“So, a show of hands of those who have experience!"

A chuckle came from my classmates, with someone playfully remarking, "Foreplay included, ma'am?"

Another chuckle. Yes. So I shyly raised my palm just right beside my face. I was still trying to keep a low profile among the other classmates who had their hands shot up—then turning the question around to only those who’ve done foreplay and were, by society’s labels, virgins. Some hands retracted in response. I have only done the latter. The former just barely came close. At least, that’s what I tell myself. I kept my hand up. And now, everyone else turned their heads and looked around for a match.

"No way,” Chaehyun chuckled beside me, “seriously?”.

I shrugged because she had hers raised too.

She probably thought I would’ve been a full bachelor after all the times I’ve managed to slip in quietly and mingle at parties. I put my hand down and picked my pen up. I gave it a second or two for the presentation to start before I leaned in and back with a quick whisper.

“I don’t know. I thought you’d got some too."

Chaehyun looked at me, stopped writing as she thought of a reply, and looked back down at her notebook as she continued writing.

"Sometimes I wish I did.”

I just agreed with her. Minding my own business as we were quickly being left behind. Being coursemates, we just followed a couple of our classmates around as the afternoon reached its end. We could only catch up as soon as it was just the extracurriculars for some, and for us, nothing more. I caught up with her on the third-floor staircase, slowly walking down while on her phone.

“You wanna go to 7/11?” I asked her as we often did. It had become a habit as we became acquainted two years ago as partners in the other section, a necessity being only a quarter the size of the first section. Even as the classes merged, it was still a partnership out of circumstance. She knew my persistence, so this seemed like just another question. Being the sometimes overly prodding personality, I am. I was not about to let this revelation go quietly. It was about our sex lives, and we were twenty. So I ought to have chosen my words carefully but didn’t.

“Prof exposed us, huh?” I started. She just agreed as she took off her jacket.

Some unnecessary drivel on our part started to justify our sexlessness, thankful we weren’t being driven insane by it. Just riding along with the conversation as we slowed down to a crawl. We both understood that we were envious of peer pressure. So I asked her again.

“A girl like yourself? A virgin?"

"Well, I like being alone sometimes,” Chaehyun replied.

She snapped back quickly and closed the door on me.

“I did think you’ve had at least some experience."

"Honestly, I lied,” I snickered, raising my hand and shaking it, “It was, um, eh, might as well say my second time was my first.”

“What, you came early?” She replied. I admitted to it, of course. Though in review, I was too excited and went too fast.

“And you? Don’t you think you got something to admit to?"

"No,” she said, “I am a virgin.”

“So only foreplay then?” I replied, chuckling.

She just shrugged and admitted to it. Before I could press further, she went on talking, reassuring me that maybe it wasn’t our time, even with my regrettable first attempt.

“Don’t tell me you suddenly wanna try it,” I added as we turned the steps. Chaehyun shifted, and I did too.

“Well,” she started clutching her bag, taking a deep breath, then whispered, “what if I do?"

Chaehyun and I stared daggers into each other. I tend to be sulkier to unnecessary surprises, yet I only felt flustered and blank. I just hoped she shared the same sentiment. It was already an awkward request on her part. The last thing I needed to do was make it worse. But I was a friend too, not some stranger at a party, and she usually wasn’t as straightforward as me. I hadn’t gotten to this point, so I needed to charge headlong.

"When?”

She closed the distance, stopping at the step right above me.

“Let’s start now."

Chaehyun said as she took my hand, which had also been clutching the strap. Tensions haywire at the spontaneity of everything as she dragged me down the hall, briskly disappearing into an unused wing that was only used on Saturdays. It was Thursday afternoon, and tomorrow was a holiday. We were throwing our bets not to run into another couple that was far friskier than we were planning to be. The silence that greeted us as we took a turn gave a preview of what was to come.

We arrived at a staircase, which was dark enough to make me start asking her why we just had to be here. But hearing her drop her bag aside made me follow her lead and give one last peek down the hall. Unless one of us moaned loud enough, there shouldn’t be anyone going this way.

Putting her hands on my chest, she slowly put me against the wall, huffing as she dug, then softly pressed her fingers on me. I saw her hesitating, glancing downward, where my hands held her, then at my lips, as I didn’t perch forward. I just waited. Though I thought she would run away, she closed the gap and put her lips on me. Hand coming on my neck as the other raced down to my crotch, lightly squeezing and tracing up along my shaft, breaking away as she reached the tip, blinking as she smiled.

"That’s,” Chaehyun collected her words, “something.”

“You can see why I popped quickly."

"Tried to push too deep, hm?"

"And cost me my ego,” I replied. Chaehyun came in for a kiss and finished my words for me, “So be gentle for me later.”

I just nodded. Coming back to the frisky antics we’d already started. I moved my hands up from her ass, stopping under her tits, pressing on her bra to try and send a message, pulling me deeper to give the green light to it, moving up to get my fingers around and squeezing her tits, eliciting a quick squeal. Not too fast. Cupping her tits and slowly kneading them worked just as well, seemingly not noticing my hand going downward. But just before I could get to her skirt, she asked.

“Wanna sit?"

So we did, sitting where we both had just been standing. Chaehyun got on top of me, and before I could even say anything, she pressed down on me. She just resumed what we had been doing a few seconds ago. I put my hands back on her tits, lightly squeezing them as I had thought my initial haste was too much for her. Hand went into her skirt and rubbed her thighs, making her start grinding. Telling myself to stay calm and follow her lead—this was what she wanted—and this was her show now. I was merely a conduit.

We were finding ourselves on a dark staircase, sitting on the steps with her body weighing me down, her lips and hands rubbing my crotch, doing her best to soften me up. I did the same with a hand on her tits, another switching between her thighs and ass, squeezing the soft, pale flesh both ways. I thought she was just making out and teasing me instead.

"Are we just gonna make out?” I asked, my impatience barely pulled back.

“No, I just took my time,” Chaehyun replied.

Her other hand moved between and started undoing my belt, having done more than enough as she unzipped and got off of me and, taking a kneeling position, created impromptu by throwing her jacket on the ground. While she had done that, I saved her the work by pulling my pants and boxers off just to my knees, with her pulling them further down, biting her lip as she put her fingers around my shaft, giving me bedroom eyes as she slowly started stroking it up and down its length.

When it came time, she thought I was hard enough. Chaehyun asked that question.

“You got a condom, right?"

I just shook my head, having expended the only one a week before I broke up. She slumped her shoulders, sighing, thinking of a way to bail out our situation, but chose to press ahead. Having that twinkle in her eyes as she prepared to answer, slowly licking her lips as she knew I had my eyes on her.

"So you have a week then,” Chaehyun replied, chuckling as she came close, “I might even have to borrow a friend’s dildo.”

She stuck her tongue out and traversed from the base to the tip. Stroking it as she put her tongue back, noticing the look on me as she perched down.