Moving On Read online

  MOVING ON

  By Ryssa Foust

  Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the above author of this book.

  Copyright © 2014 Ryssa Foust

  Kindle Edition

  This is a work fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.

  Table Of Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Thank you for reading “Moving On: A New Adult College Romance”

  Chapter One

  Sasha was feeling nervous. It was disconcerting to imagine think of two hundred pairs of eyes trained on her as she did her presentation. The idea of having to stand at the podium and speak to her entire development psychology class made her stomach feel queasy.

  She brushed back a lock of hair behind one ear and shot a quick look down at her body. At least she didn’t have to worry about not looking presentable. Her knee length black jean skirt topped with a tank top and boyfriend blazer was her go to outfit for these kinds of occasions, the look was completed with a pair of black leather wedges. With her dirty blonde hair flowing in soft waves down her back, her dark brown eyes accentuated with some liner and mascara she knew that she looked both polished and professional. Her lips felt dry so she quickly whipped out her lip balm and applied it generously on her rosy lips.

  Her eyes kept darting to the clock on the far end of the auditorium unconsciously ticking away the minutes in her head. Sasha felt so nervous she couldn’t even concentrate on what the professor was talking about. But all too soon she heard her name being called out. Looking up startled she realized that she was up.

  Taking in a deep breath she stood up and with her legs trembling slightly she walked down the rows and to the front towards the podium.

  Don’t be nervous Sasha, she told herself, you can do this, just think of Josh, you’re doing it for him.

  Gaining strength from her pep talk and the memory of her brother she began her presentation in a clear and confidant voice. She began by briefly introducing herself before moving on to the topic of Josh and his suicide and the effect it had on herself and her family. Sasha had to take in a few steadying breathes to keep her emotions in check. Even after four years talking about her older brother’s suicide was still the hardest thing she ever had to do.

  Once she was done with that part, the rest was a breeze. Moving on to the final part of her presentation, Sasha discussed mental health and the importance of providing support and ended her speech by encouraging everyone to reach out to anyone who was going through a hard time. She provided them with information on her website which talked about mental health and available resources in more depth. Lastly she asked for volunteers for the university’s mental health support network.

  “Here at the University of Florida, we are very lucky to have this network which has been put in place to help people in need. But we can’t do it without the help of people like you so please if you have a few hours to spare here and there please come out and volunteer.”

  The end of her presentation was met with thunderous applause and Sasha couldn’t help but blush. Her heart swelled with love.

  Josh if you’re watching down on me, I hope you’re feeling proud of you little sister.

  She hurried to her desk and began to gather her books, class was over and people were starting to trickle out.

  Sasha was so lost in her thoughts as she packed her book bag that it took her a few seconds to realize that someone was calling out her name. Looking up she was rendered almost speechless. Standing before her staring at her intently were a pair of dark blue eyes on a handsome chiseled face with a narrow nose and a serious chin. The intensity of his gaze made her stomach suddenly flutter and she could have sworn that her heart started to beat faster. For whatever reasons this man standing before her affected her deeply, she felt drawn to him although his face didn’t look familiar and she couldn’t place him. Some of her confusion must have been reflected on her face because he gazes at her a wry smile and held out his hand.

  “I’m Julian and I’m in this class.”

  When Sasha still didn’t reply, he smiled at her,

  “I promise I don’t bite!”

  Sasha’s face flushed with embarrassment,

  “Sorry, I didn’t mean to be rude.”

  “That’s alright, you weren’t rude. Great speech.”

  “Thank you.” Sasha said feeling a little shy, “Is there something I can do for you?”

  “Actually, I was hoping that I may be of some use to you. I wanted to get involved with the network.”

  “Well, I was actually just heading to the club headquarters right now so if you’re free you could join me and we can talk on the way.”

  Julian flashed her another smile,

  “Sounds like a plan.”

  On the way to the club headquarters she told him a little more about what they did and their mission.

  “What we really strive to do is create a safe place for people to come in and talk about things if they need to. We also have doctors on staff who do counselling and therapy sessions for free. And the point of all our events and activities is to spread the word and raise awareness about mental health. That’s where we need most of our volunteers. But depending on what your interests are I’m sure we could find something for you that you would enjoy.”

  She stopped talking at that point not sure of what else to say. Sasha was trying very hard to not stare at him, she didn’t know why she was feeling so flustered. He was incredibly sexy and she was intensely attracted to him.

  “So do you want me to grab you some pamphlets and brochures?”

  “Er…no, that’s okay I think I have everything I need, actually there’s something else that I wanted to ask you.”

  He suddenly looked a little shy as Sasha looked at him expectantly and after clearing his throat for the third time he finally said in a rush,

  “Would you like to go out?”

  She was too surprised to be coy and blurted out, “On a date?”

  “Yes, like a date. I think you’re great not to mention incredibly attractive and I would love to go on a date with you.”

  Hesitating only briefly Sasha accepted the offer wondering even as she said yes if she was doing the right thing.

  Chapter Two

  Sasha hadn’t dated a lot in her life. When most of her friends were busy falling in love or obsessing about the crushes, Sasha was too busy grieving and coming to terms with her brother’s death and after that she had been so wrapped up in her studies and volunteer work that boys and dating had definitely taken a back seat.

  By the time the weekend arrived Sasha was a lot more nervous than she would have liked to admit. Julian hadn’t given a clue about what they would be doing but she figured they were probably headed to a party or other. It seemed to the new thing to do on dates. She spent a long time dressing carefully and again she was surprised at her actions. It wasn’t like her to care so much about what a guy thought or put so much effort into her appearance for the sake of o
ne. But there was something about Julian and she wanted to look her absolute best while remaining fairly casual. After much debate she finally settled on a pair of dark jeans a loose fitting tank top topped with a jacket. She kept her makeup minimal and brushed her out until it shone and hung in soft waves down her back.

  When the doorbell rang Sasha looked at her watch, it was 6:00pm on the dot. He was right on time. Quickly grabbing her purse Sasha went to open the door.

  “Would you like to come in for a drink?” she asked him after they exchanged their greetings.

  Julian shook his head,

  “No thank you, we have to be somewhere soon.”

  “Where?” Sasha asked curiously thinking that it was rather early to be going to a party.

  Julian’s eyes twinkled,

  “You’ll see, I hope you enjoy it.”

  They walked out together and to his car and like a perfect gentleman Julian held the car door open for her and waited for her to be settled in before gently closing it shut. Sasha couldn’t help but be impressed, it was nice to see that chivalry wasn’t completely dead. It was the sort of thing Josh used to do.

  Shaking her head to clear out sad thoughts of Josh she concentrated instead on looking out the window curiously as they drove down familiar streets. She couldn’t figure out where they were going. When they pulled into the parking lot of a rock climbing gym Sasha turned and gave Julian a quizzical look¸

  “Are you sure we’re at the right place?”

  He beamed back at her, “Yup, positive.”

  “So we’re going rock climbing?”

  He nodded,

  “I thought it would be a fun activity for us to do together and get to know each other properly.”

  Sasha couldn’t help the burst of laughter, which escaped her lips.

  “What’s so funny?” Julian looked concerned, “We don’t have to do this if you don’t want to, we can go to the movies or something instead.”

  Waving away his concern she explained,

  “No, no I’m laughing because I thought we were headed to a party or something like that.”

  Hearing that Julian suddenly looked uncomfortable and as they walked towards the entrance he confessed looking slightly embarrassed that he didn’t drink or like the party scene too much.

  “That’s very admirable.” Sasha said honestly,

  “Especially when there is so much pressure to always drink, go out and party or do drugs, it takes a strong character to resist it all.”

  Her answer took away all his discomfort and he smiled,

  “I knew there was a reason why I liked you so much.”

  It was Sasha’s turn to feel embarrassed and she quickly changed the subject,

  “So rock climbing huh, do you do this often?”

  “Often enough, I like doing real activities, especially physical ones because it’s really important to me to be fit and healthy.”

  Sasha nodded her head in full agreement, “Healthy body, healthy mind.”

  “That’s exactly it.”

  A short while later they were changed and strapped into their climbing gear.

  “How silly do I look? On a scale of 1 to 10?”

  Julian looked at Sasha and he replied seriously,

  “You look cute as button.”

  Sasha blushed at the compliment.

  “I have to warn you I’ve never done this before. So get ready to laugh a lot!”

  “I promise you’ll be in very good hands.” Julian replied solemnly.

  True to his word, he was the perfect teacher, patient and diligent and Sasha was having a blast. Although if truth be told her enjoyment in the activity had more to do with Julian’s hands on her as he guided her through the process. Either on her arms as he taught her the proper way of gripping the rocks or on her waist as he gave her a boost here and there.

  By the time their session ended Sasha was comfortable enough to climb without any help. When she finally made it all the way to the top she gave Julian a triumphant thumb up sign.

  By the end of the session Sasha was feeling exhausted, who knew that indoor rock climbing could be so exhausting! As they unstrapped their gear, Sasha wondered whether Julian was going to be taking her how now. She felt a secret thrill shoot her body when he asked her casually,

  “Are you hungry? I thought we could grab some pizza if you were up for it. Or do you have to be home soon?”

  Sasha quickly shook her head,

  “I’m not in a rush we can grab some pizza.”

  “Awesome! I know this really neat place close by that serves the best all dressed pizza ever.”

  Over pizza Sasha told Julian a little about more about her life but seeing that he was reluctant to discuss his own they talked about other things swapping stories about their trips, places they had seen, people they had met. Sasha had never before felt so comfortable and so at ease with someone. He also had a surprisingly wonderful sense of humour making her crack with laughter with his subtle jokes.

  Watching him talk Sasha couldn’t help but stare at the way his lips moved and she suddenly found herself wondering what it would be like to kiss those lips.

  “Earth to Sasha, earth to Sasha? Hello?”

  Julian’s laughing voice brought her back out of her reverie. She coughed to cover up her embarrassment.

  “Everything okay? You kinda zoned out there for a minute.”

  There was no way she was telling him that she was fantasizing about kissing him so she thought up a plausible excuse.

  “Yes, everything’s okay, I’m sorry I totally spaced out for a second because I just realized that I have a paper due in the next few days that I completely forgot about.”

  “Uh oh, that’s no good, do you want to go home now?”

  “No, really it’s fine. I have plenty of time.”

  His face brightened immediately, “How do you feel about gelato?”

  “I love gelato!” Sasha replied enthusiastically.

  As they walked along the streets, enjoying the warm night air and their delicious gelatos Julian finally made the move that Sasha had been longing for all evening. Pretending to brush back a lock of her hair he leaned in and captured her mouth in his. The kiss caught her completely by surprise and she yielded to him almost immediately twining her fingers through his hair and pressing her body close against his.

  “Want to come over?” she asked him in a husky voice.

  Wordlessly he nodded and pulled away from her. They drove to her apartment in silence. Sasha was distracted by thoughts of the kiss, she couldn’t get it out of her head, she had never felt such a strong attraction for anyone in her life and that kiss was heavenly. She could hardly wait to go home.

  Once they got to Sasha’s apartment she checked to see if Jenna, her roomie, was still awake then led him quietly into her bedroom. Without wasting any more time, Julian swept her in his arms again and began to kiss her as he gently rubbed the small of her back. Moaning a little Sasha pulled him towards the bed. Lifting her in his arms he laid her down against the mound of soft pillows and began to kiss her again. His tongue trailed down her neck and towards her cleavage until he found what he was looking for. He softly tugged at her nipples until they sprang free. As his mouth wrapped around a rosy, hot nipple Sasha moaned out loud in delight as desire shot through her body. His mouth placed firmly around her breasts he began to undress her gently removing her clothing one by one until she lay naked beneath him.

  With trembling fingers Sasha unbuttoned his shirt and jeans until he lay naked too. Her eyes widened with appreciation as she ran her hands over his rock hard body. She lifted her body towards him aching to have him inside of her already.

  But he was playing with her instead. He kissed every inch of her body, rubbing her thighs, her breasts, toying with her body in a way that was driving her crazy. Finally unable to take any more she pressed up against him again and begged him with her eyes to take her right then and there.

  With careful, measured
movements he lifted himself and gently entered her. A wild cry escaped her lips as her body moulded against his. Very slowly and gently he pushed himself in and out of her until she was writhing in bed and clawing at his back.

  Julian increased his thrusts going faster and faster until he knew that they were both ready. Within moments they both exploded, bucking against each other as their bodies throbbed and vibrated with wave after wave of pure orgasmic pleasure.

  Making love with Julian was everything that any girl could ever hope for, there was passion, tenderness and love. As Sasha drifted off to sleep she couldn’t help but marvel at how lucky she was to have met Julian.

  Chapter Three

  Sasha stared hard at the date on the calendar sitting on her work desk. It had been a full week, seven days to be exact. Seven whole days since her date with Julian and she had yet to hear from him. Not a word, not even a text.

  She was starting to feel incredibly foolish and angry.

  Foolish for impulsively sleeping with him on the first date and angry for being so easily swept off her feet by a player. Because clearly that’s what he was.

  “Hey you okay?” Jenna’s voice floated through her cloud of angry thoughts and Sasha looked up at her friend in despair.

  “He hasn’t called or texted or anything.”

  “The rock climbing guy?”

  Sasha nodded, “Yeah.”

  “Didn’t you guys go on like one date only?”

  “Yeah, so?”

  “Hate to break it to you hun but guys don’t always call after the first date. Hell they don’t even call after three dates.”