Chapter 3: Winter Term

A few days later I called Ginny B. and we talked for about 20 minutes.

“I didn’t think you were going to call” she said. I could pick out the insecurity in her tone.

“I didn’t want to overwhelm you. This is a new experience for me and I really don’t know how to proceed. You are too important to me to screw things up.” I said.

“I am??” she asked surprised.

“Yeah, you are the first girl I have ever gone out with that seemed to like me and showed it like you have and I don’t want to lose that.” I responded.

My room mate started to make kissing noises in the back ground and pantomiming a couple making out with his arms around himself. “Way to much sugar, I could end up with diabetes if I stick around here for much longer.”he said.

I flipped him the bird as he walked out grinning.

“What was that comment about too much sugar?” Ginny B. asked. “Just my room mate being a total jealous ass. He is so envious of me having a woman of your quality being interested in me.” I replied.

“You mean that?” she questioned.

“Totally.” I replied.

With that she rang off and I went back to studying for my midterms. The rest of term was pretty much like that. We talked on the phone, We went to basketball games together. She would come over to the frat house and would spend all of her spare time at my side. Another girl would pay attention to me she would shoot daggers at them. Got to be funny, to me at least. I had no idea what this budding jealousy would lead to in the future.

We would go for car rides on Saturday and Sunday afternoons, explore parks and shopping malls near campus. Her favorite was to go to the local ice cream store that was a student hangout and people watch while we shared a sundae. She would make comments about other people we would see and try to guess what was going on in their lives. It did make for inexpensive entertainment since we lived under spartan college conditions. When we walked she would grab my hand and hold on tightly as if I might get away from her. Sometimes she would hold so tight my fingers would turn white and go numb.

From the beginning she made in clear that she was saving herself for her wedding night and there was a boundary that intimacy would never cross. I was OK with that. I figured if we were meant to be I could wait cause in my mind she was worth it. In our quieter times together she would crawl up on my lap and lay a lip lock on me that was intense. Then she would repeat her mantra, “I am yours and you are mine and no one will come between us.”

I thought to myself, “She keeps dwelling on this. Maybe we need to have a talk soon.”

It all came to a head about 2 weeks before Christmas break and finals. The fraternity was having a dance to celebrate the end of the term and to let off steam before everyone got serious about finals. Like any other dance there was a band and a couple of kegs of beer. Your typical 70s frat party from what I can remember. The dance floor was crowded and the room was hot despite the doors and most of the windows were open to let in the cool night air. Everyone was having a good time and the beer flowed freely. Ginny B. that night had a couple of beers for the first time and I think it may have hit her hard. By her third one she was hanging all over me and being mushy demanding a kiss from me about every 30 seconds. Who was I to complain? The girl liked me and wanted to be with me. Beggars can’t be choosers so I put up with her demands. About 10:30 the beer caught up with Ginny B. and she headed off to the women’s restroom to take care of business. While she was gone, one of the girls who I was friends with grabbed me and pulled me out on to the dance floor with her. It was a slow dance and we held each other and did the slow swaying shuffle that was so popular then as a slow dance.

“Let go of him, you bitch, he’s mine!” the whole room heard Ginny B. scream.

I was mortified. Please let the floor open and swallow me up. Looking over I saw Ginny B. come storming over ready to take a piece out of the girl who got me up to dance with her. I was just able to position myself to prevent her from taking a swing at my friend. I put my arms around her middle and hauled her body up and over my shoulder. I started for upstairs carrying her in a very undignified manner much to the amusement of my frat brothers. Jeez, I was going to the butt of jokes for weeks after tonight. Ginny B. was really lit up that night. I carried her up to my room threw her on to the couch. Walked over to the door and locked it. I walked back over to the couch and sat down just out of her swing radius.

Then I said those words that no one wants to hear, “We need to talk.”

The waterworks started. “James, you are going to dump me aren’t you?” she sobbed. The tears flowing freely then. “I knew it was too good to last.” she wailed. She put her head in her hands and drenched the front of her blouse and her jeans with her tears.

“No one said anything about dumping you Ginny.” I said. “You have got to quit being so jealous all the time.”

“But someone prettier, smarter or sexier will steal you away from me. If that happened I don’t know what I would do.” She started sobbing again her body trembling from the intense emotions she was showing.

“But Ginny, no one is going to steal me away from you. I wouldn’t let that happen cause I love you.”

Oh Hell what did I just say I thought. I had gone and done it now. My mind was working fast on how to undo the step I had just made. Not the direction I wanted to move in. But I had done it. Time to do some damage control.

“You love me? You truly love me? You are saying that to get me to stop crying aren’t you?” she wailed. The pitiful look she gave me with those sad puppy dog eyes broke my heart even more.

“No, Ginny I meant every word I said. You mean that much to me.” I was a goner. There was no return now. Prepare to meet your fate I thought.

Ginny launched herself at me and being unprepared to take the hit she knocked me off of the couch and onto the floor. She ended up on top of me kissing and hugging me tightly. She was strangling me in her enthusiasm to kiss me. I had to use my last remaining strength to release the death grip she had on my neck as things started to turn black. I pushed her back so I could at least sit up on the floor. Ginny hung on for dear life not relenting.