“I’m sorry I didn’t get to see you after the game yesterday.” The team went out for a victory dinner after yesterday’s home game, and then Tank and Kirby and I wound our way through a couple of parties on the quad. “But we can make up for it tonight.” She gave me a sloppy open-mouthed kiss and popped her gum back into her mouth as she backed away. Ah, freshmen women.
I put my jacket on, and Vanessa and the two other girls strutted like peacocks after Tank and Kirby as they collected a few more willing members of the team on our way out.
By the time we made our way over to the freshman dorm, the rest of the cheerleading squad was already camped out in Vanessa’s room, and their shrill laughter filled the hall. They didn’t have a keg, but somebody had lined a medium sized rubber trash can with a plastic bag and filled it with ice and a variety of beer, both cans and bottles. Vanessa darted into the room with a loud “Woot!”and kicked off her shoes. She ripped off her coat and tossed in onto one of the four beds with a pile of others. She did look pretty hot. She must have found a good salon to keep a tan like that, and her shorts were, well, short. I reminded myself what a sweet little handful that ass was, and when she turned around my eyes went straight to the mounds her breasts made under her pink cropped sweater. I was starting to think this wasn’t such a bad idea after all.
Vanessa’s roommate Tina shouted for the Google mini to play Pitbull, and then commanded it to turn up its own volume, and the party was on. Vanessa took a swig of her beer before she handed it to me. Two lines formed on either side of the hallway. Some people were dancing in the middle, and everyone was chanting. Somebody accidentally kicked over a beer, and when a small towel sailed out into the hallway with a school logo on it, Vanessa caught it in her hand. But instead of wiping up the beer with it, she twirled it over her head.
The next thing I knew, Vanessa leaped up onto my back. It took me by surprise, but she really wasn’t that heavy, and it was either hoist her up or let her fall on her ass. I grabbed her thighs, and she locked her free arm around my neck while she twirled the towel over our heads. I just kind of danced in place with Vanessa riding me like that. Kirby was grinding up against some girl I had never seen before, and Tank had a beer in each hand and was shuffling back and forth to the beat of the rap song.
I was facing the exit end of the hallway where we’d come in, and I wasn’t really paying any attention to what was going on behind me. I sure as hell hadn’t heard anyone else come out of their room. I assumed that everyone on the floor was part of the party, because who could possibly study with all of this noise going on? I was wrong.
I felt Vanessa twist on my back, and I turned at the same time to see what was up. And that’s when I saw her: Keira Wells. All five foot nine inches of her. I had only seen her once since I’d graduated two years ago, my first summer home. We hadn’t had the same friends in high school, plus we were two years apart, so I never really saw her when I was home on holiday breaks. She looked the same as she did back then, only exponentially so. Her adorable little nose was still turned up at the end, and she still wore her hair piled up in a messy bun on top of her head. Her grey-green eyes glinted—she was pissed. And oddly enough, that was the biggest turn-on to me in that moment. Keira had always been super smart, which was at the root of the secret crush I’d had on her my last two years of high school. So of course she’d been studying tonight, and Vanessa’s obnoxious little party had totally crushed that effort. The fact that she had come out into the hallway to give us all a piece of her mind made me want to haul her up against me and kiss those full, pink, pursed lips of hers. Unlike Vanessa’s cropped sweater which didn’t leave much to the imagination, I had no trouble imagining what Keira’s black and white flannel shirt had underneath it. That first summer home? I’d seen her at the pool, wearing a purple one-piece. Maybe some guys thought bikinis were sexier. But the sides were cut high on her thighs, and her legs went on for-fucking-ever, and I wanted her to wrap them around me right then and there. She didn’t have large breasts by any stretch, the suit she’d worn that summer day had cupped them and lifted them so perfectly. I knew they would fill my palms perfectly. Suddenly, Vanessa’s fuzzy pink encased globes seemed so… fake. Everything about her seemed fake. I wanted real. I’d always wanted real, and it was standing right in front of me.
My mouth seemed to water and become totally dry at the same time. I thought I saw a flicker of recognition on her face, which made me both excited and wary, because the only thing she probably remembered about me was just what I’d broadcasted as the school’s biggest jock.
Van climbed down – making a remark, something about Keira being dried up that didn’t sit well with me— and I said something less than convincing and so lame… I don’t know why I called her Van like she was my girlfriend or something. I hadn’t expected Keira’s comeback, which would have been awesome if it hadn’t implied me as part of Vanessa’s extracurricular activities.
But besides that, somebody had switched off the music and the mood was killed. Not to mention that the RA was suddenly standing in the hallway with us. Yeah, this party was officially dead.
Tank, as usual, took control of the situation, and suggested that we just head to the frat house. The guys all nodded, knowing that anyone who was with Tank would be granted entry into whatever fallout from the barbecue that was happening over there.
So we went, and of course Vanessa and some of the girls tagged along. I disengaged myself from her arm when she grabbed it and tried to stay two steps ahead of her. The last thing I wanted to do now was hook up with her. I didn’t even want another one of her slobbery blow jobs. Since I couldn’t have what I really wanted at the moment, I’d settle for something to eat, and a couple of more beers. Which we got, and I guess Vanessa ended up with some frat boy for the night, which was just fine by me.
On the way back to our dorm, Tank got curious all of a sudden.
“So that chick back at the frosh dorm—the one who broke up the party…”
“Yeah, what about her?” I said with more annoyance than I intended. Tank’s sudden curiosity about Keira wasn’t doing anything to help the indigestion that stale barbecue had given me.
“Nothin’. It just seemed like you knew her or something, the way you were defending her against Van.”
“I wasn’t defending her, man. I just thought Vanessa was being a little harsh, calling her dried up and all.” I yanked my collar up on my jacket and jammed my hands further down into my pockets.
“Well, her comeback was far from sweet.” When I just shrugged, Tank pressed me again. “So, do you know her or what?”
“Nah.” Please let that be the end of this, I thought.
“You sure about that, hoss?” Shit. I couldn’t lie to Tank, and he knew it. I stopped in the middle of the path we were on.
“I mean, I don’t know her, you know, like that. We went to the same high school is all.”
Tank looked at me for a second, and then he started to laugh.
“Brother Buck, maybe you don’t know her ‘like that’ but it sure seemed like you wouldn’t mind getting to know her if she gave you the chance.”
“Whatever, man,” I said and started walking again. Suddenly I felt tired. Really tired. Not just from having played a hard game the day before. But tired of dodging Vanessa’s manipulations. Tired of worrying about how I was going to hang onto my academic standing when my classes were getting more and more difficult. Just plain tired.