College Boy : A Novel (9781416586500) Read Online Free PDF Page B

He smiled at Peter, preparing himself to laugh again.
    â€œNo. I met a few nice girls, but I wouldn’t try to take them to bed so soon. I feel I would lose respect for them like that.”
    James cracked up. “Yo, homes, I’m tellin’ you now, this is college, and it ain’t like they gon’ wait around for you to get ready. You gotta act like you want some.”
    â€œDig, Pete, you can’t come up here thinkin’ these girls are all little princesses. You gon’ get hurt like that,” Troy suggested. “So what you do is, you always try a girl first, then you see what happens and how she acts.”
    Peter nodded as if he was planning to heed the advice.
    â€œYeah, ’cause a lot of these babes have boyfriends back home that they cheatin’ on anyway. Don’t they, Troy?” James asked, assuming.
    Troy nodded and smiled. “Yup.”
    James checked his watch and saw that he was running late for his next class. “Damn, I gotta get up out of here!” he wailed, grabbing his jacket and books. He left his tray on the table.
    Peter and Troy finished their lunch soon after. They left the cafeteria after tossing their trays onto the dirty dish rack and walked through the freshman lobby.
    Peter promptly recognized a friend he wanted Troy to meet.
    â€œHey Troy, I want you to meet my boy Doc. He’s from here,” he said, leading Troy to him.
    Doc was leaning against a soda machine, lighter-toned than Peter, with curly black hair. He was what some women would call a pretty boy.
    â€œDoc, this is my boy Troy. And Troy, this is my boy Doc,” Peter said as Doc and Troy shook hands.
    â€œI seen you up at the gym last night. You got a nice game,” Doc said.
    Troy smiled at Doc’s squeaky voice as he humbly agreed. “Yeah, man, practicing makes you talented. And the more you work, the better your results,” he commented. “But look, I got some work to do, so I’ll catch y’all later,” he said, leaving Peter and Doc standing next to the soda machine.
    â€œAy’, Pete, that’s a strong-minded brother, man,” Doc said, watching Troy head for his dorm building.
    Peter grinned. “I heard he’s from a tough area. I figure he has to have a strong mind.”
    Doc nodded. “So what building are you in, Pete?” he asked.
    â€œI’m in Forrest Hall right now, but I’m trying to get transferred to a single room, over at Clayton.”
    â€œYou got a roommate?”
    Peter laughed before answering. “Yo, man, your voice takes me out,” he said. “But I got three roommates. We’re all pretty cool, though.”
    â€œYeah,” Doc responded blandly. He motioned toward a girl he knew. “Well, I’ll get with you later, Pete,” he said, heading toward her.
    Peter smiled. “Aw’ight, then, Doc.” He walked in the opposite direction, still beaming as he began to think about the classes, the responsibilities, and the freedom he had acquired in college. No more Mom and Dad telling him what to do. No more household chores or errands to run. No more curfews and third-degree questions. No more feeling mistreated. No more missing out on wild adventures. No more external discipline. Peter could finally do what he wanted to do.
    He could finally have sex. He no longer had to wait for permission to go out. And he had no older brothers or sister to get on his nerves. He hated being the youngest and the most obedient anyway. His siblings had gotten away with murder.
    â€œI used to steal dad’s car late at night, but don’t you do that,” his oldest brother told him.
    â€œI remember Mom and Dad told me not to go to Bermuda, and I did anyway. I had the greatest time of my life there,” his sister had said. “Mom and Dad felt that girls shouldn’t travel without an escort. But you should listen to them, ’cause they know