Despite being the most physically capable of special ed kids he wasn’t really the leader. That honor belonged to “Gandolf” Luke Craig or as he was known around the school as Jean Luke Retard “Captain of the Short bus” In reality, Luke had a minivan he used to transport most of the special ed kids. The only special ed kids he didn’t drive to school were kids like Jeremiah who had their own cars or kids with related classmates whose parents made them drive their special cousins or siblings. The only sad exceptions to this were Tracey and Lisa two special ed girls who were attractive enough to get taken advantage of sexually by the popular crowd of boys.
Tanya was appalled when she learned of the long-standing tradition of using the attractive special ed girls as playthings at partys. She wondered why Jeremiah allowed it and discovered he didn’t really understand the situation. Since it would never occur to him to do something like that he didn’t understand what was happening. He just figured the two girls were better at making friends.
Luke had gotten the nickname “Gandolf” because every day during lunch most of the special ed kids would gather in the back corner of the school library and Luke would lead a long-running game of Dungeons and dragons. Jeremiah would sit outside the group reading a boxing magazine or biography and watch over the group like a gargoyle. If any outsiders entered the space Jeremiah would put down his book or magazine and give them an awkward stare that wasn’t meant to be menacing but came off that way because of his size and powerful build.
As Tanya spent more time around Jeremiah she learned about autism. She learned how it affects people differently depending on where they are on the spectrum. Jeremiah was actually a mild autistic and had a very high IQ to balance it out some. There were times his memory was almost superhuman. Ge retained almost everything he read if the topic interested him. The problem was his interests were very narrow. He was into boxing and could recite dates and records like a computer but he was also able to process and store background information like nothing Tanya had ever seen. Tanya could see how the robot-like efficiency could get obnoxious when talking to him for too long but she found he was a wealth of knowledge about topics like concussions and the effects of training or the Great Lakes Civil War in Africa due to magazine articles he read about injuries, training, and history of fights in far off places like Manila and Zaire.
Tanya found him to be a great asset every week when she was submitting articles for the school paper. She learned his obnoxious little brother was in her journalism class and mostly just had Jeremiah write his required submission for consideration for publication about some boxing-related topic. She discovered unique angles to current events by asking Jeremiah’s perspective from the point of view of a boxing historian.
Tanya had a hard time with her relationship with Jeremiah. Sometimes she was overwhelmed by her physical attraction to him with his huge muscles and his protective instinct but other times his social awkwardness and complete naivete were a major turn-off. She couldn’t deny that since she had started hanging around him and the other special Ed kids all the previous harassment she had previously experienced had come to a complete halt. Even the gang banger kids that she suspected might be carrying guns or knives on their person or stashed in their cars gave Jeremiah a wide berth.
Their relationship progressed slower than anything Tanya had experienced before. Jeremiah didn’t put the full-court press for sex on her the way the previous guys she had been with had. This was both refreshing and infuriating at the same time. She was able to enjoy every new progressive phase of their relationship without fear that Jeremiah would take it as a sign to go for his zipper but she had to be the one to take everything to the next level.
From the clumsy way Jeremiah fumbled about with their first kiss at a special drive-in screening of the first Lord of the Rings movie, it was obvious that Jeremiah had zero physical experience with women. He was a quick learner though. By the end of the night, he knew just how to use the warmth of his mouth on the nape of Tanya’s neck to leave her a spent pool of energy in the passenger seat of his little Escort wagon. After that Tanya would frequently find herself daydreaming about Jeremiah’s soft kisses and the tingles he sent up her spine whenever he kissed her between classes.
Tanya would soon be pleasantly surprised by how good of a shoulder massage Jeremiah gave. Despite her being the first girl he had ever given one to he had spent years kneading out the tension in his father’s neck and shoulders after a hard day at the port unloading freight. Tanya would watch the clock every day in anticipation of a relaxing should massage when she got home that would leave her in a state of tension-free bliss. The activities she enjoyed in the warm bath she would draw herself after Jeremiah would leave would be the most sexually satisfied she had ever been despite not yet taking Jeremiah’s virginity which she knew was an inevitability at this point.
The next time she was alone with Jeremiah, Tanya wore short track shorts and made sure to have her grey sports bra on under her tight black tank top. She doffed the shirt to let Jeremiah rub a cocoa butter and shae mixture all over her. When he was done with her back she rolled over from her stomach and took his hand.
“This is called a feather touch.” she said guiding his hand to the flat of her stomach.
“Instead of using your whole hand, you lightly brush with the tips of your fingers.’ Tanya said as Jeremiah ran the pads of his white fingers over the smoothness of her smooth brown skin.
“All over.” She instructed as she pulled his hand to bent knee.
Jeremiah did as he was told and watched intently for Tanya’s reaction as his fingers glided over the different parts of her body. Despite not being able to read facial expressions or recognize the change in a vocal tone that gave away a person’s emotional state, Jeremiah noted and memorized every time Tanya’s breathing changed in relation to how much she was enjoying how he was touching her.
Jeremiah was finding sensitive spots on Tanya’s body she didn’t know she had. No one had ever caressed the back of her knee before and the sensation tickled all the way to the base if her spine. She closed her eyes and went to a different place as Jeremiah ran his fingers along the inside of her thighs. When she opened her eyes again she saw Jeremiah staring barely blinking. It took her a second to realize her was focused on her chest.