WE GATHER TOGETHER by Edward L. Woodyard

We Gather Together Chapter Thirty-Nine

Alison Donnelly woke up in Ben's dorm room, not entirely sure where she was. Through a blur, she saw a digital clock on Ben's desk; it registered: 8:32. She then saw Ben on the floor beneath her; he was lying on his back on top of the chair cushions. She realized two things when she saw him: he was late for his exam and he had an involuntary morning erection.

She shook him. "Ben, wake up! Your exam. You've got ten minutes to get there."

Ben sat up immediately. "Oh God."

He was still in a daze. He stood up and then noticed what was visibly bulging inside his corduroys. "Oh God."

Alison starting laughing, but then realized that the professor might lock the door once the test started. She started to panic along with Ben. "Take my bike. It's right by the front door. The combination to the lock is nine, eight, seven, six. It's easy to remember."

"I'll meet you later."

Ben wasn't really sure if he had heard Alison. He was too busy readjusting himself in his trousers and then squeezing toothpaste into his mouth. He used his finger to brush his teeth while trying to spit out the toothpaste. He was frantically searching the room for something. Alison knew what it was.

"Your cell phone and laptop. They're on your desk. Your backpack is on the chair."

"Oh God." He decided to swallow the toothpaste as he tucked in his shirt and slipped on his running shoes. He threw on his fleece jacket, then saw Alison pointing at the laptop and cell phone. He grabbed both, put them in his backpack, and ran out the door of his room into the hallway. Alison decided to follow him to her bike.

The two of them ran down the hallway, down the steps, into the foyer and out the main door. Alison pointed Ben to her fat tire bicycle and unlocked it while he put on the backpack.

"Oh God."

"Oh God what? You'll make it in time." She pulled a chain from the bike rack and the straps of a bicycle helmet. She put the helmet on Ben's head which he strapped to his chin.

"Oh God. I may not make it," he said, admitting, "I have to go to the bathroom so bad."

He jumped on her bicycle and pedaled across campus as fast as he could.

As Alison watched him go off on her bike, she thought that she could be in love with him. She questioned if she had dated his roommate last year just so she could be close to him.

Alison would figure that out later since she stood in front of her dorm long enough to realize that it was forty-two degrees out – and she was in jeans, socks and a tee-shirt.