Freshman Freedom

Welcome and thanks for reading. This is my first time publishing any of my writing publicly. Previously it has just been for my fiance and I to enjoy. If everyone likes this one then I’ll consider posting some of our raunchier works.

I won’t be releasing chapters on any set schedule but I’ll try my best to keep it consistent.

DISCLAIMER: All characters are 18 or older. Generative AI has not been used for any passages, prose, or story beats. HOWEVER AI was used to generate images of the characters.

Lily and Jake lay panting in the back seat of his car, the air thick with the scent of sex and the heat of their bodies. The windows were fogged up from their young lovemaking, the glass a hazy canvas for the fading light outside. Lily, pink-flushed and sweaty, trembled against Jake as he held her close, his cock softening slowly against her thigh. They lingered in the moment, savoring one of who knows how many left before college pulled them apart.

Lily was the go-getter of the two. She swore up and down that she was the one to make the first move, which Jake playfully denied every time. She had been proactive in high school, seizing every opportunity—extra-curriculars, AP classes, anything to push herself further. Her hard work paid off when she got into her first-choice college, the premier polytechnic school in the state— nestled among cliffs on the sunny coast. She loved seeing the fruits of her labor, but if she was honest, she’d done it all to please her parents. Her mother and stepfather both had master’s degrees and had always made sure Lily stayed on top of her studies. They weren’t overbearing or controlling—she’d had the freedom to do what most teens did in high school. It just all kind of got put on the back burner.

Jake, on the other hand, had coasted through high school. He never put in more than the minimum effort to pass, never dipped below a C- but rarely touched an A. His folks were more lax, giving him a long leash—or perhaps enough rope to hang himself. Still, he’d managed to get into a few colleges, though none were close to Lily’s. Come August, he’d ship off across state lines settling in the desert at some state school.

The two of them had gotten together at the end of freshman year, after spending their whole first year both simultaneously too scared to ask the other out. They’d shared many firsts together, guiding each other through the messy, exhilarating maze of teenagehood. Now, three years later, they were graduated, legal adults, lying in the back of his CRV as the sky bled from twilight to dark. The one question that weighed heavy on all high school sweethearts’ minds hung between them, making the air inside the car feel suffocating.

Lily was the first to speak.

“Have you thought about what happens at the end of the summer?” she asked timidly, her voice barely above a whisper.

There was a pregnant pause as Jake searched for his response, or maybe hoped an answer would manifest itself.

“I try not to.” His voice was rough, as though he was suppressing something.

“I really love you,” Lily said, sitting up to meet his eyes. Tears swelled slowly in her own.

Jake looked her over, his gaze soft but heavy. “I love you too. But what is gonna happen to that love when we’re hundreds of miles away?”

“You don’t think we could weather it?” Lily’s voice squeaked as it became harder and harder to hold back her tears.

“No, no, no,” Jake stumbled, placing his hand tenderly on her cheek. “It’s just that there are so many horror stories about long-distance relationships.”

“Do you trust me?”

“Of course. Do you trust me?”

“One hundred percent!” she shouted, wrapping her arms around his neck.

Jake breathed in, feeling the heat of her skin against his. He’d never been good with these talks—he had a million thoughts but never the words to express them. Eventually, they came to the conclusion that they would try long distance. They knew their love wasn’t like all those failed relationships. Theirs was strong. Real. Maybe they were naive, but they’d be damned if they didn’t try.

They made out passionately for a bit before settling into an easy, light conversation, neither bothering to put their clothes back on. Lily loved the way Jake looked at her with those hungry eyes when he thought she wasn’t paying attention. It made her skin buzz and sent a warmth pulsing between her legs. She was about to act on it when she glanced at the clock.

“FUCK!” She hurried to get dressed. “You have to drop me off at Megan’s—I was supposed to be there thirty minutes ago!”