To Live Again, For the First Time!

Chapter 180 - Birth Of The Campus Couple Pt III: (Soft And Hard Tactics *wink* *wink*)

(AN: Longer chapter)

Theodore gave the girl a stern look as if reprimanding her, and Jenna's questioning eyes could only look away from Theodore.

"Uh- I – um…"

How was she supposed to know that that was his first kiss?

In this day and age, by the time one got to college, it wasn't strange to see close to no virgins, much less people who had yet to have their first kiss.

If this was widely known, considering Theo's good looks, many might think he was an alien from another planet altogether, and one far from here at that.

Jenna had kissed Theodore half out of impulse and a half due to interest in the other person.

Her thought process was that Theodore had already taken quite a bit of initiative, and so shouldn't she reciprocate?

It didn't help that Theodore was so damned attractive. 

No one would be repulsed by the idea of kissing him unless they preferred someone of a different gender, and even then, it would probably take a hard thought to reject, but Jenna was just a little more out there.

Not to mention, she was encouraged by Theodore's show of interest.

But who knew that she had hit an iron plate?

[A very handsome and attractive iron plate, but still.]

Coming across someone who seemed to have been deprived of water for years, this little spring of sweet water suddenly didn't know if she could handle this Big Buddha.

Back then, Theodore had never corresponded with any of the people who sent him love letters nor those who had confessed to him.

It became such a daily occurrence that they even became like annoying background music.

[All the high school girls and bent guys: TTATT]

He hadn't thought much of it, and those people had never really gotten further than that.

At some point, those girls and bent guys had already long agreed that no one could get together with their male god, but Theodore didn't know that.

He still got the same number, if not more, presents on his birthday and chocolates for his valentines as well as the letters throughout his daily life.

But now, at college, the whole setting had changed.

Clearly, it couldn't compare to high school's social scene.

People who were dating grew exponentially and other than studies and connections, that would seem to be the only other thing on these people's minds

Theodore had also been exposed to a whole lot more scenarios in his day-to-day life.

Including people who had had multiple changes in boyfriends/ girlfriends even though the school year had started in less than 2 months.

People who approached him but weren't quite interested in getting together seriously.

As well as people who approached him asking whether he wanted to get involved in carnal pleasure together when he didn't even know the other party's name. 

They would even emphasize that there were more people when he rejected as if that would make everything more acceptable.

Well anyways, Male and female relationships really seemed to be in a lot of people's minds, and this didn't differentiate between people who were doing well in their classes and those who were not.

It seemed to be the only other thing everyone was thinking about, including even Kayden.

Not to mention, his parents had been nagging him to get a girlfriend for weeks now.

Every day, every call.

Something on the matter would be mentioned.

It would be a lie to say that he was not somewhat persuaded and thus his thoughts on the matter had also changed.

Of course, this did not include those sexual relationships that people he did not know were approaching him for.

He was mainly speaking of a romantic relationship.

Theodore went from thinking that it was a nuisance to being something that he may want to experience before judging for himself.

Not to mention, he couldn't help but be attracted to Jenna's cute appearance and personality.

She had adorable moments and fierce moments as well as lazy moments and determined moments. 

These different sides of her made one unable to ignore her presence.

Theodore couldn't help but look her way when they were either in class or spending time together with others.

Wondering, how is she feeling right now?

Or, how she would react to this or that.

Wondering what expression, she would have when something interesting was being said and looking her way to check if he was right.

Of course, this didn't reach the point of loving the other party, he had simply taken an interest in her, and it couldn't be denied that he liked the novel feeling.

It made his life a whole lot less mundane, adding so many more aspects to his thoughts, even though many may think that those thoughts of his were a waste of time.

He didn't.

There were many qualities that one wasn't born with, and one of them was the ability to make smooth social interactions.

That came with experience and not talent, and it was also something that Theodore wasn't quite abundant with.

But, sometimes, with Jenna, he would find himself giving in, not correcting her words as long as they didn't affect her.

That wasn't something that he would usually do.

He felt his personality change a little, and for the better, as he was influenced by her, just a tad.

And he was sure that he was getting along with others because of that, even with people whom he didn't know in his other classes.

His improvement was especially noticeable in Improv class, has become more flexible in that aspect.

Of course, this all came later, and it was only recently that he had noticed such a change.

Then again, these things could still be said to be friendly interactions, and people change because of the friends they hang out with as well.

His parents nagging would also fail to convince him to get a girlfriend so soon, he wasn't that impulsive.

But this time, it was Jenna who moved first.

The moment she was nudged into his arms and their lips met, he felt like a whole new world was opened up for him.

Back in high school, he wasn't the biggest fan of physical contact with others, be it with men or women.

There was this strange impulse within him that just made him want to stay further away from them, especially if it was in a humid and enclosed space like the male locker rooms.

This is what made some mistake him for a cold and detached person, which wasn't really the case.

Even so, due to his good grades and how good he was at sports, he still had people to hang out with.

Not to mention, by comparison with Emilin, he didn't seem all that cold at all.

But once he came to college, he had dropped that habit of not having any physical contact with others.

And he had also realized the reason for him having such an impulse.

At times, he simply didn't want to come into contact with others as he was going to come into contact with his family afterward.

If he did, he would feel a little dirty when going back home.

Just touching made him feel like that, so a closer relationship such as that of having a girlfriend, well, that was even more impossible.

Their family was really close-knit and things had always been like that, so he hadn't noticed such a reason, but now that he was going back to the dorms, he didn't seem as bothered by something like physical contact with others.

And maybe the fact that he had to take 2-3 showers every day also had some play in all of that.

Of course, if he could help it, he would still rather not.

Though that was just his preference and habits do die hard.

On the other hand, at this moment, despite the humid weather, Theodore couldn't help but want to bring Jenna closer to him.

Not forgetting to give the girl a peck or two while staring her down, which left Jenna even more dazed than she had already been.

Then, her words finally stammered out of her slightly swollen mouth.

"I-I didn't know…"

What else could she say?

Could she look at this dazzling man's beautiful lips that were swollen because of herself and still claim innocence?

Well, the short answer was, absolutely not.

Theodore's eyes drooped and his innocent eyes glazed.

Suddenly, the whole world seemed to become a little darker, as if feeling distraught for him.

"Then… does that mean that you're going to leave me like this after having a taste?" Theodore's arms loosened their grip a little as his hand reached for his lips.

Jenna suddenly felt like she had defiantly committed a great sin.

She had sinned against the world!

She was definitely a scumbag among scumbags!

Defiling flowers and then leaving them with words like, "It's not like we were together! Weren't we just having some fun?"

Jenna felt like she had wronged the world and Theodore acted like he had been wronged by the world!

"Of course not!"

Jenna's mind churned in a frenzy.

"Didn't I just agree to go out with you?"

Something that had meant to be just getting dessert together at a shop as friends with a rather ambiguous relationship suddenly became their first date!

Theodore suddenly smiled and the whole world brightened.

Jenna could almost see the stars shining a little brighter as if to congratulate the two of them.

"Okay," Theodore said shyly, like a little white lotus girl, and leaned in for another kiss.

He was addicted, and he was no longer willing to let this feeling go.

Theodore had no other choice but to act like this and then grab this opportunity tight.

His arms also grabbed her tighter than before.

And in the middle of another intense make-out session where Theodore finally learned how to use his tongue, Jenna suddenly found herself confused.

Why had she felt like she was a scumbag when this guy was the one eating her lips like there was no tomorrow?

Her lips were definitely no less swollen than his!

As for Theodore, he smiled throughout.

He too had realized something of great importance through this experience.

Sometimes, one had to use soft and hard tactics.

Those little tricks that he had used when he was much younger had resurfaced today, and they still worked like a charm.

;)

He found that, sometimes, to get what you want, the tactics that worked well were still the best.

No matter how shameless they were.

It really all depended on the situation, and for these situations…

Indeed, both soft and hard tactics had to be used in unison, and in the end, the results were also just like this.

One of them was soft enough to collapse on the spot while the other was hard.

Definitely, hard.