Chapter 10

Those thoughts made Derby smile. He was much happier now. He could almost see Martin for what he was: a cartoon character to be enjoyed, both for the amusement factor and for his vulnerability as a vent for Derby’s frustrations. Maybe it would be worth it to keep Martin around just so he wouldn’t need to buy a punching bag. If he could use these girls as his own personal cum-dumpsters, he could use Martin as his favorite non-sexual victim. Maybe he could even pretend to himself that Martin represented Joe, his ex-best friend that had stolen his precious Megan. Of course, that could be pretty dangerous for Martin. Oh, well.

The campus was much more crowded now than it had been the day before. The upperclassmen were showing up. Derby took a walk down fraternity row, admiring the lifestyle he imagined the brothers enjoyed. All that freedom, all that camaraderie with guys like him who just wanted to fuck as many hot chicks as possible. And speaking of hot chicks, there were all the sorority sisters. Wow. Out of his league for now, since he was a lowly freshman, but wait until next year!

Derby strolled along, checking out the sights. One frat house in particular caught his eye. There was a truck outside unloading kegs of beer, and there was a volleyball court in the side yard, with some guys playing volleyball with a bunch of girls in micro-bikinis. Sweet. These guys knew how to live. He had already heard a little about this frat house, which apparently had the reputation of being the big party place. Supposedly, they were always on the verge of getting closed down by the college, but some of their alumni were big contributors to the school, so the house stayed open. He could try to find out more about the place later.

Tonight he would see if he could fuck Josie. He knew he would need to bring his A-game, but his success the last two nights gave him confidence. He would have dinner with her, just like he had done the night before with Melissa, walk around the campus with her, take her for ice cream, like he had done with both Christy and Melissa, and then head to the old courtyard and fountain. That was where he had done his tearful act that had worked with the other two girls, and he figured it should work again.

After dinner, he implemented his plan with Josie. She was really shy, but he pulled out all the stops and charmed her into relaxing with him and talking. She seemed to enjoy their stroll around the campus, and he helped her find the buildings where all her classes would meet. The whole ice cream date thing went well, and she let him take her hand for a while when they were walking toward the secluded area with the stone benches. In the moonlight, he began his well-rehearsed routine. He even managed to choke out a convincing-sounding sob when he turned on the tears.

Josie’s reaction was, at first, what he had hoped for. She hugged him and said, “I can’t imagine how badly you were hurt by Megan,. I’ve never been in love, so I won’t pretend that I really understand how you felt. Sometimes, the hurts we suffer in life seem like they’ll never heal. I remember how horrible I felt when my best friend was killed in a car accident. I wasn’t sure I could go on. I just sat and cried for days after her funeral.”

“What did you do to get over it?” Derby asked, hoping to draw her out and find out more about how her mind worked.

“I went to Mass every day, morning, noon, and night. I lit candles for her. I prayed almost constantly. I went to confession every day. Finally, I found comfort. You can, too, Derby. I gather that you were not raised Catholic, but surely you know that God loves you. Let me take you to Mass tomorrow morning. You may be surprised how comforting the hymns and the peace of God’s love can be.”

That was not exactly what Derby wanted to hear her say. What was this chick, some kind of religious freak? He had run across some Protestant church nuts in his day, and had always given them a wide berth. But he had never met a zealous Catholic before. He decided his chances of fucking this bitch tonight had gone from slim to none. But before he ran screaming for the hills, he risked one more try.

He turned toward Josie and put on the saddest face he could create. “You’re so nice, Josie. I do need comfort. Would you hold me for a moment?”

She didn’t hesitate. She hugged him, chastely. He hugged her back. She felt nice in his arms, if a little stiff. When they broke their hug, Derby stroked her face tenderly with the back of his hand. Then he leaned in to kiss her.

When Josie understood what he was doing, she quickly turned so his kiss landed on her cheek. Then she moved away slightly and said, “I like you Derby. You seem really nice. I’d like to get to know you better, but I’ll have to know you for a while before I could be comfortable kissing you. I’m sorry if that disappoints you.”

Derby was more than disappointed. He was pissed. He had just spent a couple of hours trying to loosen this bitch up so he could fuck her tonight, and now she wouldn’t even kiss him? Who the fuck did she think she was?

“I’m sorry too,” he said. “I’m sorry you’re such a stuck-up little cunt. I would have fucked the living shit out of you tonight, and you would have loved it. Maybe I should introduce you to my roommate. You’d like him. He’s so damn ugly and stupid he’ll probably die a virgin. Maybe he could read the fuckin’ Bible to you in Klingon!