Chapter 48: Hungry Like The Wolf

Wednesday, November 27, 1985

Tonight was Bonfire Night. Candice and Sherry were both pretty excited by the idea of seeing the giant ‘stack’ (really, more of a massive circular 50-foot tall, 45-foot diameter structure) of thousands of logs burning. Until you’ve seen something like it, there’s nothing much to compare it to, especially if you exclude disasters like structure fires.

For the rest of us, it was already a tradition. Every time I saw the stack, though, I had thoughts of the deadly collapse of the future. It was on my list of things to influence. A relatively small number of safety changes would have prevented the disaster, and I could already envision ways to do so. All it would take was effort and money, and I could hopefully supply both.

It wouldn’t be just me, of course. Making a change of this sort was almost certainly ‘safe,’ in that we wouldn’t have to tip our hand very much. There had been safety concerns at one level or another for years. Someone stepping up and expressing the same concerns but offering a path to resolve them might be welcomed. Even so, this would be a group decision. For now, the others were unaware of things, but — if history repeated — we had more than a decade to take action.

Of course, this was a different universe. Perhaps the disaster would come years earlier. I had to hope it didn’t, because I was not in a position to make any changes now without putting us much more at risk.

When she arrived for the party, Darla was wearing a loose green blouse, a short gray skirt, and flats, with her hair in a ponytail. And glasses, of course. Practical, but it said ‘date’ to me.

Darla confirmed it almost immediately, saying, “I’m doing pretty good. So, unless you’re out, it’s a date.”

“I’m definitely not out,” I said, giving her a playful leer that got her laughing.

We agreed to maybe go out for ice cream or something else after Bonfire in order to make it more ‘date-like,’ but that was a discussion for later.

By six, we had nearly everyone we expected. Beer and wine flowed, but in moderation, as was typical for our parties. Darla and I both passed, though. Since this was a date, we both wanted to be sober and alert.

About an hour before Bonfire itself was set to begin, our group (now well over thirty people) headed off to the polo fields, where Bonfire was held. And, yes, they were actual polo fields, though at least one was obviously out of commission during the fall!

Bonfire itself was much the same as last year. They kept the crowd back — well over 100 feet from the stack — and waited for late twilight before bringing out tanker trucks of aviation fuel. After they doused the stack of logs, the band and Yell Leaders came out. After marching around the stack a few times, the Yell Leaders lit torches and tossed them onto the stack. The whole thing burst into flames instantly, raising the temperature many degrees within a minute or two.

Next, the team and coaches came out on flatbed trucks. About a dozen of them spoke, and then we sang ‘The Spirit of Aggieland’ and the ‘War Hymn’.

Plus, of course, doing the ‘Beat The Hell Outta t.u.!’ yell four or five times.

Good fun, and I got to have both Jas and Darla in my arms for quite a lot of it. They pretended to be cold, but I was pretty sure that wasn’t the real reason for all of the snuggling. Most of our friends were used to things like that, but I’m pretty sure it surprised at least some of them.

After the team had left and things had settled down to being just a huge crowd watching thousands of logs burning, Louise came by and said, “I’m going to hang out with a bunch of the girls in the TV room for a few hours. We’ve got a big watch party planned, since we’ll all be away for a few days after this.”

“Sounds good,” Darla said.

All very innocent, but neither of them was a good enough actor to completely sell it.

It got worse with Louise’s next comment. She said, “Wanna head back with me?”

“Nah,” Darla said. “Steve will walk me back. Won’t you, Steve?”

Angie, unseen by either of them, was pantomiming laughter.

“Of course, honey,” I said, giving Darla a squeeze.

“See you later!” Louise said, before setting off with a few of the others who were also heading to the Commons. A&M’s campus was fairly safe for a woman by herself most of the time during regular semesters, but far more tonight with tens of thousands of people walking all over the campus for hours to come. Still, I was glad Louise was traveling with others.

Darla and I hung out for a bit longer, then said goodbye to the others. I gave Jas a warm hug and kiss. As we were separating, she whispered, “Nail her!”

I whispered back, “Medical limitations!”

We both chuckled a bit at that.

I added, “Nail Monique!”

She just grinned in response.

I offered Darla my hand, and we made our way through the slowly thinning crowd. Once we were mostly free of fellow students, she shifted closer to me and slowed down her walk a bit.

“That was as bad as I thought it was, wasn’t it?” she said, giggling a little.

“What?” I said.

She elbowed me gently.

“Don’t play dumb! Louise excusing herself to go watch TV.”

“It was ... well, I’m convinced that she’ll be in the TV room,” I said.

Darla giggled a bit more.

“Fair enough! She will. She really does like that. Anyway ... yeah. We don’t have the acting skills you Drama kids do.”

“And?”

She pressed in close again, still walking.

“And I want time with you, and ... there are a bunch of options, but our room feels like the best one.”

“I’ve actually never been in one of the dorm rooms with the door closed,” I said.

She laughed at that, then said, “Oh, the door will be closed. And locked. And a chair blocking it!”

“Come into my parlor, said the spider to the fly...” I said.

“Or said the little girl to the Big Bad Wolf,” she said.

“That, too.”

“Louise ... is interesting. When you and I started dating, she didn’t know what to make of you, really. I know Kay had ... opinions ... but Louise mostly just figured I would make whatever choices I wanted. I don’t know her boyfriends that well, either. She’s had four this semester.”

“Harder to know them when they change that quickly,” I said.

“I probably shouldn’t call them ‘boyfriends,’” Darla said. “Two were one-date wonders. One lasted two dates. The fourth is up to three, so ... progress.”

“Definitely,” I said, thinking with amusement about Tiffany’s third-date rules.

“Anyway ... we started talking more, and ... she’s not a Linda, but I think ... she’s kinda the Linda I need right now.”

“I’m glad you have her,” I said.

“I put her on the phone with the actual Linda. Louise said ... and I quote... ‘That girl would get you doing things I’m not ready for! I like her, but ... she’s a lot.’ And she is. But I needed a lot in high school.”

“That sounds really good.”

She sighed, hugging me slightly, and said, “The whole thing has been really good. Is really good! I know we’re probably not going to last past the next semester — though never say never! — but I’m feeling more and more like I know what I’m doing once the training wheels are off.”

“Which is quite a bit of the real goal. Not the only goal, but ... you know.”

“I know,” she said, grinning and nuzzling her head against me. “Meaning, I still don’t know what I want before they’re off, but ... I know what I want tonight, and that’s my Big Bad Wolf.”

“Here and ready to do a bit of howling.”

She giggled at that and squeezed my hand.

“Not too much, thanks to medical limitations.”

She giggled a bit more and said, “Silly doctors!”

Even with the giggle and the wording, it seemed obvious it was still a plus for Darla. This could be the last night it was a plus, but it was also the last night of limitations.

And, honestly, the restrictions didn’t preclude anything. Jaya and I could have had her first time even so, after all. But claiming them was a plus for Darla, and not incorrect, so it was a win-win.

Darla continued, saying, “It’s a shame I can’t tell Mom about some of this. I can’t, obviously. That would be a disaster on several levels! But ... if it wasn’t me, and you weren’t you, she would probably give good advice. What I would get is nonsense, and if she knew it was you, she would give me several times as much nonsense.”

“That is a shame. On the other hand, I really get it. I don’t know what Mom would think of the relationship Jas and I have, but it’s not something I’ve had the guts to mention head-on.”

“She must know something after all of that time with you and Jessica.”

“She does,” I said. “But those were just dinner and conversation, and Mom can understand that, even if we call it a date.”

“‘Just,’” Darla said, making finger quotes with her free hand. “And a bunch of kisses. Many of which violated school rules.”

“Someone had to set the record,” I said, chuckling.

She giggled at that, and said, “Girls talk. I know it wasn’t ‘just.’”

“Guys — honorable ones, at least — don’t. So, for me, it was ‘just.’”

“Another reason why we’re walking to my dorm room,” she said. “Actually ... two. It’s seriously flattering to be going out with someone who dated Jessica Lively.”

“You’re smart, lovely, funny, fun, and just ... a good all-around person to date,” I said. “Now, Jess is, too...”

“As I know, very well,” she said.

“But you have nothing to apologize for or find lacking in yourself.”

“I’m working on it,” she said. “And, again, this is helping. I know it’s just who you are, and other guys might have other ‘types,’ but I like being able to be ... girly, but still a tomboy. I think my ‘someone’ is going to have to accept both sides of me or it won’t work.”

“Then that’s that,” I said. “Compromising on that is likely just inviting trouble.”

“It’s easy to compromise when you think there’s no one out there who fits and you want someone,” she said, sighing. “But I’m getting much better at that. Mister Right might not be easy to find, but I’m pretty sure he’s out there.”

“Plus, the matchmakers will get going as soon as you want them to,” I said.

She giggled at that.

“They have a great track record! Claire seems happy with Larry, and vice versa.”

“I’m optimistic. He seems to be a great guy, and Claire deserves that.”

“Your ... exes ... seem to have good luck.”

I shrugged a bit.

“Honestly, until you and Claire ... and Candice, but that’s very different ... I don’t even know if I have exes. Most of the girls were a date or two or three.”

“Two, at least. I know you,” she said, giggling. “But I get it. Claire and I are different. And Amy.”

I nodded.

“And Jess,” she added. “Well, and Jas, but she’s anything but an ex.”

“The only missing name is Nancy, really,” I said. “And I’ve completely lost track of her. I should try to track her down. I hope she’s doing well.”

“The odds are pretty good,” she said. “Not that I know Nancy. I can barely put a bit of a face to the name, but it’s been years.”

“That’s the problem, that and most of it being years where neither of us were that great at keeping in touch long-distance.”

“Sucks, but at least you learned from it.”

“I did. It’s amusing that I’m better long-distance friends with people I never went to school with than with a former girlfriend, but also sad. I really should try to find her. At some point, anyway.”

Darla said, “So ... we’re almost there. I vote no more discussion of other girls.”

“You brought them up,” I said, chuckling.

“I did! Intentionally! And now I’m done talking about them!” she said, grinning.

“Works for me, my lady. The Wolf is focused only on his prey,” I said.

She giggled a lot at that, blushing as well. That was what she wanted, after all, and we both knew it very well.

We arrived at the Commons, which was buzzing with activity, and stopped by the cafeteria long enough to get some ice cream and make small talk for a bit. I’m not sure if it really made it more of a date, but it felt right to me.

After we’d finished our ice cream, we headed to her room. Her hall itself was quiet, which I think made her happy. She unlocked her room, opened the door, and said, “You don’t even have to blow the door down.”

“Which is good,” I said, looking at the cinder-block walls. “Because they definitely built this house out of stone!”

She giggled, hung a red ribbon around the door handle, then closed and locked the door.

“Oh, my!” she said. “Alone with the big bad wolf, and the door is locked. Whatever could happen next?”

I moved quickly to her, wrapped her up in my arms, and looked into her eyes.

“This, for starters,” I said, and brought my lips to hers, kissing her deeply. There was very little hesitation before her tongue came out to play, and not much more before my hand was on her ass, caressing and squeezing.

She moaned loudly. Her hands wound up on my back and ass, caressing and exploring pretty eagerly.

Being the Big Bad Wolf, I was a bit more aggressive than I might otherwise have been, unbuttoning her blouse and loosening her skirt while we kissed. Darla, much less practiced than I was, got my shirt a bit open and belt loose, but that was it. Still, it was plenty of confirmation that we were on the same page.

When we broke the kiss, she stepped back, panting. That did interesting things for her breasts, still covered by her bra but much more on display.

“Oh, my!” she said.

I stepped forward and slipped her blouse off completely, then kissed the tops of her breasts.

“‘Oh, my,’ indeed!” I said.

She grinned.

“Guys...” she started, then stopped.

“Yes?” I said.

“I was going to say that guys like those a lot more than girls did. Then I remembered who you live with. Comment withdrawn!”

“I think girls like them — to look at, I mean — more than most guys like any particular part of other guys.”

“You ... have a point,” she said.

Then she stepped closer and tugged at my shirt. “My turn!”

I let her take my shirt off. She didn’t hesitate, but went on to finish unbuckling my belt and opening my pants.

I kicked my shoes off, which prompted her to step out of hers. My pants slipped down to the floor along the way.

We’d been in the car in dim light before, so being this visible was new. Even so, we were still more dressed than we might have been in the hot tub, for instance.

She shivered a bit when I stepped closer and brought my hands to the clasp of her bra, but let me unhook it, then slip it off.

“Lovely,” I said, then kissed each nipple lightly.