He continues to study me. “You say that like you don’t expect this to last that long.”
“You say that like you expect it to last forever,” I counter.
Maybe I expected that, too. The first time.
Chapter Twenty-Five
No one says anything. We’ve been staring at each other for what feels like hours. The band room is off-limits for all of us while the votes are coming in and being tallied. Dr. Kimball won’t call us tonight with the results. We’ll find out together when we report at six a.m. for a noon kickoff. The announcement will be given to the whole band. Not even the section leaders are getting advance notice.
We know because Jake and I already tried to get Shannon to give us updates. She’s not even allowed near the ballots. She’s only there to direct the voter traffic.
Nate finally launches himself off the couch, groaning. “This is driving me crazy. We need to do something. A distraction. It’s out of our hands now anyway.”
“I’m not playing any drinking games tonight,” I insist. “I’m going to bed early. No matter what, tomorrow is game day.”
We all check our phones. It’s only six.
“What about a sectional dinner?” Tim suggests. “We’re the drum major section.”
“So, what?” Jake scoffs. “We can continue to stare each other down but with food in front of us? I’m not even sure I could eat.” He rises from the couch, too. “Fuck it. I’m having a beer.”
“Your ass had better be stone-cold sober by tomorrow morning!” Jim calls after him as he retreats into the kitchen.
“Oh, I know!” Tim actually snaps his fingers. “A porno party!”
“A what now?” I am not sitting in this living room with four other guys while they whip their dicks out and watch porn.
“It’s not a bad idea …” Nate scratches the back of his neck, looking as uncomfortable as I feel. He cuts his gaze to me. “Soph?”
“Oh, shit,” Jim mumbles before facing me on the couch. “I forgot to tell you about this. Once a month, ITK gets together for a porno party. You’re gonna have to get used to them anyway.”
“What kind of sick, twisted fraternity is this?” Maybe I can get out of it since I’m only an honorary brother—whatever that means.
“It’s not a group orgy.” Nate rolls his eyes. “We just watch porn together.”
“Bad porn,” Jim emphasizes. “Like, the ’70s shag-rug kind. Mostly, we make fun of it. It’s not as sexual as you’re imagining.”
“Untrue,” Tim pipes up. “I’ve learned some very important things from porno parties.”
I’m scared to ask. “Like what?”
“Like what a clit is and where to find it.” Nate snickers.
Oh, no. I’m the only woman here. They’re not expecting me to give them a crash course on female physiology, are they? They’re all college seniors, for God’s sake! If they don’t know certain things by now, I’m not sure they can be taught.
Jim shakes his head. “I know how it sounds, but it’s another bonding thing. Some people … exchange sex stories.”
“Uh, nope. I’m out. I’m not exchanging sex stories with any of you.”
“Oh, pipe down. We don’t want to hear yours either.”
Jim shoots Tim a complicated, expressive mix of both gratitude and annoyance before returning his attention to me. “It makes people feel better to know they’re not the only ones who have experienced an accident, or bad sex, or just … the wrong partner.”
I know he’s referencing our previous partners, but … “An accident?”
“Oh, there can be accidents,” Nate assures.
Tim starts laughing. “There was this trombone player our freshman year. He was a senior at the time, and holy shit! What was his name? Zack?”
Jake reenters the living room with a stack of shot glasses, a bottle of whiskey, and several beers. “No, I know exactly what story you’re thinking of. It was Mark, and he played tuba.”
“Whatever, whatever.” Tim waves his hands around like he’s going to lose it if he doesn’t spill soon. “Anyway, so we’re at our first porno party, and there’s some chick bouncing away on the screen. And Zack—”
“Mark,” Jake interrupts.
“Fine. Mark. Mark starts just absolutely cringing. In a way everyone notices. Now, we’re all freshman, right? So, we’re not saying shit. Another senior finally asks him about it, and he launches into this tirade about how porn is so irresponsible because it makes men want things they shouldn’t have.”
Nate picks up the story because Tim is laughing so hard that he can barely speak. “So, now, we’re all thinking we pledged some hard-core Christian frat, and the porn playing on the TV is just a test, right? To see how we’ll react. Shannon, meanwhile, is losing her shit, laughing. Because Mark is only saying how bad it is for men, so Shan thinks she’s safe, and the rest of us are about to have our asses handed to us.”
The front door opens, and the woman of the moment walks in. “Oh my God. Are you telling her the story about how Zack broke his penis?”
All four of the guys yelp.
“Are you kidding me, Shan? We hadn’t gotten to the good part yet!”
“Spoiler alert!”
“Aww, why would you do that?”
“I knew his name was Zack!”
Her eyes widen as she sits by Jake. They exchange a quick kiss. It’s so cute. “I didn’t know you hadn’t gotten to that part yet! Why are you even telling her about that? Did one of you break your dicks while I was gone?” She gasps and turns to me. “Oh my God. Did you finally snap? Did you break Jimbo’s dick? Was it accidental or on purpose?”
“We’re having a porno party to distract ourselves,” Jake explains.
The other residents trickling in the door are on board with this idea.
“Sweet! I’ll make popcorn!”
“I vote for Fast Pussies at Ridgemont High!”
“Wait until I change; I’ve had this bra on about four hours too long.”
That’s right. The only woman uncomfortable with this plan is me.
Shannon claps her hands and bounces on the couch. “Your first porno party! How exciting!”
And they really do think it’s exciting. The residents of the ITK house go all out. Pillows and blankets spread on the floor, snacks made and arranged on the coffee table, drinks procured, lights dimmed, and a stranger’s naked boobs on the biggest screen I’ve ever seen, complete with her high-pitched shrieking in surround sound.
I’m never going to be able to unsee this.
Worse, I’m going to hear it in my sleep.
One of the juniors on the floor starts howling along. They all take turns at it.
“Has anyone ever actually heard a sound like that during sex?” a sophomore sax player asks.
“Shannon,” all three of the male drum majors, except Jake, say—deadpan.
“Shut up! I am not that bad!” she squeals.
Squeals.
And it’s … it’s pretty close, and she’s not even having an orgasm.