Chapter 7: Girls With Boys' Names

I was nervous as hell.

It was Friday night, and I was going back to the Phi Kap house. They were having another party, this one much more informal. It was kind of an end-of-Rush party for the members and their guests. They would find out how big their pledge class would be sometime during the evening, so the members and their guests were hanging out together while they waited for the paperwork to arrive from the Hellenic Council.

Bryan and Melanie had decided this would be a good opportunity for Reggie and me to meet. Maybe they thought, with a crowd around us, things might be easier for everybody. I hoped they were right.

As I was getting ready, I kept glancing over at Westy. He was a bundle of nervous energy, too. He had accepted an invitation to join the Sigma Tau Rho fraternity, and he was wired.

"Parties, dude," was all he could say when I asked why he wanted to pledge a fraternity. "Doobies, beer, and broads."

"What about your training? When are you supposed to start swim practices?" I asked. I thought a subtle reminder of his scholarship and its source would be enough to temper his enthusiasm.

"Yeah, well, that begins pretty soon," he admitted. "I'm gonna have to store up some good partying, because the good times will definitely slow down once the season begins."

"Okay, whatever you say," I told him. He was determined to burn his candle from both ends while he could, and nothing I said to him was going to alter his course. I mentally wished him the best of luck, and didn't give it another thought. It was no skin off my nose if he bit off more than he could chew.

It was still blisteringly hot out. The dress for the party was very casual, but I wanted to make a good impression on Reggie - and on Melanie - so I opted to wear some tan pressed slacks instead of shorts, and topped it off with a plain blue crew-neck shirt. I really didn't want to put on socks and shoes, so I slipped on some leather sandals. I checked myself in the mirror again, making sure my hair was okay and I didn't have any food stuck between my front teeth. I paced the three or four steps between the door and the couch, back and forth, glancing nervously at the clock each time I passed by my desk. Westy was perched on the arm of the couch, his hands slapping his thighs and his feet tapping alternately on the floor, as he listened to his own internal soundtrack.

Finally I couldn't stand it anymore, so I left and wandered around down by the lake, until it was time to go over to the Phi Kap house. There were a bunch of joggers out, using the path around the lake as their track, and there was a large group of kids playing at Ultimate Frisbee. It looked like a lot of fun.

The walk did me good. I was sweating, but it was from the heat instead of nervousness. I turned my feet in the direction of Greek Row.

All the houses were having parties. Music throbbed from every window of each of the fraternity and sorority houses, and there were kids moving across the lawns between the houses, visiting back and forth.

The Phi Kap house was no exception. The big wraparound porch was packed with people, and .38 Special's Wild-Eyed Southern Boys was pumping from the giant speakers in the television room, loud enough to be heard out on the sidewalk.

I skipped up the stairs, but was stopped by a couple of guys sitting on the concrete pillars at the top.

"Sorry, man, private party," one of them said as he stood up to block my way.

"I'm here to see Bryan Watkins," I said. "He invited me."

The other guy spoke up. "Are you Porter?"

"Yeah," I confirmed.

He looked over at his companion. "Bryan told me he was expecting this guy." He motioned me in. "Him and Mel are over on the side," he said, pointing toward the corner of the house where the porch wrapped around.

"Okay, thanks," I said. I wove my way through the mass of bodies in the direction indicated. I had only gone maybe a half-dozen sliding steps when somebody thrust a plastic cup of foamy beer into my hand.

"You look thirsty," a voice said. I never did see my benefactor. I wasn't much of a beer drinker, but it was hot and the liquid was cold. It went down easily.

I finally made my way around the porch and saw Bryan perched on the railing. Melanie was sitting in a big wicker chair across from him. She had on very tight shorts, and her bronzed, thin legs were elegantly crossed. A gold ankle bracelet winked in the sun. She was wearing a fancy white tee shirt, also mouth-wateringly tight, with Angel arched across the top of her breasts in rhinestones. I almost had to agree, if I hadn't known a real angel back home, one with white-blonde hair. Melanie held a cup of beer in her hand, and she set it down on the small wicker table next to her chair when she saw me. She smiled at me, stood gracefully, and stepped over to take my arm.

"I'm glad you came, Sean," she said as she guided me over to her group. Bryan was watching her, an indulgent smile on his face. I felt a little flustered and flattered, just by being the object of her attention.

There was a very attractive, young girl sitting in a wicker chair next to Melanie's. Her hair was long and dark, nearly black, with bangs that just reached her eyebrows. Her eyes were large and brown, and she was watching Melanie and me carefully. She was dressed conservatively, wearing a loose-fitting buttoned sleeveless blouse and a pleated skirt that nearly reached her knees. She looked nearly as nervous as I felt.

Melanie led me over.

"Reggie, this is Sean," she said. She gave me a little push forward.

Reggie licked her lips nervously, and then put out her hand.

"Hi," she said, so softly I barely heard her.

I shook her hand as gently as I knew how. I didn't want to scare her any more than she already seemed to be, and I certainly didn't want to bruise her. She looked far too delicate for a klutz like me to be around.

"Hi," I mumbled, suddenly unable to come up with anything cleverer to say.

Bryan laughed out loud at me. "Jesus, Porter, she's not going to break," he cried. "You probably don't have to be quite that careful."

I glanced over at him, feeling a little panicky, but seeing him laughing at us pretty much broke the ice. I could see the humor of the situation all too well, and I smiled, a little chagrined. I looked back at Reggie, and she evidently thought the same thing, because she was smiling too, and didn't look nearly as nervous anymore.

"Um, can I have my hand back now?" she asked, her eyes twinkling now with amusement.

I dropped her hand as if it was a hot iron. I hadn't realized I was still holding it.

"Oops, sorry," I said. I moved over to stand next to her chair, so I was facing everybody. She watched me as I moved, keeping track of my whereabouts. Melanie sat back in her own chair, a smug look on her beautiful face.