Chapter 4

I didn't know if it was a reprieve, or just stringing out the agony. Both my agony, and the Red Sox'. Though my situation had become a little less agonizing.

Thursday was an off day in the series. But the reprieve/agonizing got extended a bit. I was talking to my Mother Friday afternoon, and she informed me, "They're calling for rain here. The game might not happen."

I thought about that. Again, a reprieve, or just stringing it out? I didn't know. The plot thickened, however, when Callie came into the room after her class. We were talking about the series and about the bet.

"Mitch likes Vinnie," she informed me. "So do I, from what I know of him. Mitch does think he's honorable, and if he says he's a gentleman Mitch said you should believe him. However... see, the think is, Freddie, that Vinnie confessed to Mitch that he's extremely attracted to you."

"Excuse me?" I gulped.

"Yeah. He told Mitch he wants to ask you out. Except he thinks the bet might get in the way. He said to Mitch, 'I'm going to have already seen her tits, most likely, and then I'm going to ask her out? I'm afraid she'd slap me.'"

"I wouldn't slap him," I said.

"How do you feel about him?" she asked.

"Honestly? I don't know. I'm definitely attracted to him. But the bet does get in the way. Because I've found out that, well, it's a turn-on. And I don't know if it's him, or just my hormones waking up."

"Ah," Callie said. "Well, he is cute," she teased.

"Yup. And it turns out he's a hell of a nice guy." I told her what he did when I confessed I was turned on.

"That's pretty impressive. So he knows you'd probably not resist him, at least to a point. But he's still worried you'd slap him if he asked you out."

"Hmm. Yeah, when you put it that way, I see."

I thought about that conversation all through supper. Then, at about six thirty, Mitch came down and I went up to Vinnie's.

"They're calling for rain," I told him.

"Yeah, they said that on ESPN. You might get a reprieve, Princess," he teased.

"Either that, or stringing out the inevitable," I told him.

"There is that," he laughed.

We waited and talked for a little while. It wasn't until a few minutes before game time that they finally decided to postpone the game.

"Well, that's that," he said.

"Until tomorrow, then," I said.

"Yeah. Listen, Fred. A buddy of mine is having a party. Well, his whole floor is." Vinnie named a dorm, not the one we lived in. "The party's just getting started. Want to go?"

"You mean, with you?" I blurted out. Jesus. Stupid, stupid, stupid. He just took me by surprise.

"Well, yeah, with me," he said sheepishly, looking disappointed.

"OK. Yes. Great," I said quickly. "I'd love to go with you."

"Good," he said with a big smile. Shit, maybe he really did like me.

Not that I knew what to do about that, mind you. But it seemed to be a nice problem to have.

We went to the party. And he was a gentleman. He didn't try anything with me. He didn't even try to kiss me goodnight (although he did hold my hand walking back to our dorm). We just hung out together, and talked.

And, honestly, I had a blast. In a social situation like that, Vinnie was funny and cool to be with. He'd only been on campus as long as I had, a couple months, but it was amazing how many people already knew him. He had all kinds of friends greeting him at the part, and hanging out with him.

And since I was there with him, they were hanging out with me, too. It loosened me up. I felt a lot more at ease by the end of the party than I had at the beginning. OK, the two beers I had didn't hurt. I know, I'm a lightweight. Hey, they were almost the first two beers I'd had in my life. Not quite, but almost. And I knew if I went past two, I'd end up a little too loose.

I mean, Vinnie all by himself was a threat to my self-control, without drunkenness on top of it.

Oh, Jesus, did I really think that?

I did. I admit it. I thought it. Especially walking home. Just him holding my hand made me all fuzzy. And, yes, squirmy. If he put a move on me I don't know if I'd be able to say no.

As I said, though, he didn't. He just escorted me to my room and promised he'd see me the next night for the postponed Game Three.

Lying in bed afterwards, that's when it hit me. I wasn't in a sexual situation at all that night. I didn't have any clothes off. We were at a party with a whole bunch of other people. Though I'd had a couple beers and was relaxed, I was by no means drunk.

And he still put butterflies in my stomach.

That's when it hit me. I really liked this guy. Much to my surprise, I liked him more and more every time I saw him. It wasn't just sexual.

And, tomorrow night, I was going to have to sit with this guy I'd just decided I really liked, and strip down to my underwear.