Chapter 7

The party turned out to be a sorority party, by invitation only. You needed to be on some list which was mostly made up of frat guys and other sorority girls.

The guys who drug me there with them got hustled out and warned off, but somehow I was allowed in, probably because I'd reached my full height of six four that summer and could have passed for a member of the football or basketball team. No one asked, so I kept my mouth shut and mingled.

I wandered from conversation to beer chugging contest to wet t-shirt contest and back to a different conversation with out incident, a water glass full of vodka in my hand. It was my first time drinking hard liquor (I'd had beer in high school) and it turns out I like the taste of vodka with cracked pepper in it.

So there I stood, sipping my ten ounces of peppered vodka and listening to two college seniors discussing the relative merits of deconstructionist theory, when I noticed the woman who was standing next to me. I had to look down a bit. She was only five feet five inches tall. Her hair was reddish, but not like mine; hers was a darker, more burgundy-ish color. Cut short, it was only slightly longer than the ROTC students I'd seen marching around campus. Her skin was pale, but darker than my own and her eyes were an alluring hazel mix of brown and green. Her body reminded me somewhat of Vickie Carter's. Like a cheerleader or a gymnast.

She smiled up at me, inviting me to...

Beats me what the invitation was for. But I wanted to attend, whatever it was.

"Hi, I'm Ike."

"Hello. I'm Carlie. You aren't supposed to be here, are you?"

Damn! Busted and I hadn't even finished my vodka.

"What makes you say that?"

"Well, I haven't seen you actually talk to anyone since you got here."

"Maybe I'm not the talkative type?"

"You look like you might be a football player but you haven't gone to hang with them, so that's out. And you haven't jumped in and started matching wits with these quasi-intellectuals here, so I'm guessing you aren't a frat-boy."

"Okay sheriff, you've got me. Take me away. I won't put up a fight."

Carlie grinned up at me, a genuinely friendly grin.

"Now that would be a shame." She reached up and took my arm and led me towards the front door.

Just as we were leaving a voice called out and caught our attention.

"HEY, Carlie... wait up." A good looking blond guy about her age forced his way thru the mob of bodies and joined us. "Hey babe, where you off to? The party's just getting started."

Carlie's grip on my arm tightened a little bit.

"Harve, this is Ike. Ike... my friend, Harve Lattimor. Harve, my new friend Ike and I are going out for some coffee and conversation. You have a good time. I'll see you later." Using my arm like a trailer hitch, Carlie hauled me out the door and to the parking lot.

We went to an all night restaurant just off-campus where we sat drinking coffee and talking.

Carlie came from a very wealthy eastern family; in fact they owned a good portion of the city of Dover. Her mother was not happy that she had chosen to come out to the wilds of the far west instead of staying in the east and attending some snooty all girls' school. But Carlie had a wild and fiercely stubborn streak and wasn't about to do anything she didn't want to.

She was a grad student, working on her Masters in Theoretical Mathematics. She was the same age as my brother Ivan.

Carlie was surprised to learn that I had only recently turned eighteen. Because of my size and demeanor I had a tendency to come off as older. I guess she thought I was closer to her own age.

Despite the difference in our ages we got along well, and spent the night flirting. I asked her out on a date and she accepted. On our third date I linked with her, we made love for the first time and I finally lost my virginity. Three months later we got married.

I called my mother and told her I was getting married, told her all about Carlie and how we met. Sent her pictures of the two of us together and invited her to the wedding.