Chapter 16

After the shock of discovery came a simmering anger that sputtered between full boil and a dull heat for the rest of Saturday. Around the frat I was able to pass off my distracted emotional state as the result of my breakup with Gerri.

Sunday was better as perspective stealthily made its way back into my brain. After all, if there's an ideal time to breakup with someone, before the first date would be it.

But I doubted I'd be able to block out my emotions enough to conceal my discovery from Kendall when we met at class on Monday. I didn't want to risk creating a scene in front of Wes and Hayley, so I decided to try to talk to her Sunday night. I didn't want to create a scene in her dorm suite either, so I called her when I knew Wes was going to be out of our room for a while.

"Hello?"

"Hi..." After getting no reply..."It's me, Randy."

"Oh, hi!"

"How was your weekend?" I asked, realizing that I might have sounded a touch sarcastic. There was a brief silence.

"It was fine. Hey, can you come over here?"

That was unexpected.

"Uh ... I still have quite a bit of homework to do here ... what's up?"

"I need to talk to you," she said.

"Okay ... that's why I called ... is now a good time?"

"Yes, if coming over here now works for you, it'll work for me."

That wasn't what I meant... "Well, I don't know if..."

"I'll see you in a bit then?"

I sighed. "Well ... okay."

"Good. I'll see you soon."

Her roommate was out when she opened the door, and after she closed it she turned to hug me tightly.

She was wearing cotton shorts and a UT sweatshirt that felt soft and thick when I put my hands on her back. But she released me when I didn't pull her to me in return.

She took my hand and pulled me to sit beside her on her bed, clasping my hand in both of hers, resting the pile of paws on her thigh. Her blue eyes looked intently into mine.

"Randy ... I saw you." My throat constricted.

"What?"

"In front of the building, when you saw me get picked up," she said, gesturing with her chin towards her window, which overlooked the entrance to the dorm. The conversation wasn't starting the way I'd anticipated.

I stared back at her for a moment, wondering how to respond. Then I remembered I wasn't the one who had anything to hide.

"Yeah, I saw you."

She spoke in a business-like manner. "I'm sorry for not telling you where I was going, but I didn't think you'd understand."

"You got that right!" I replied. She sighed, breaking eye contact to look out the window.

"I didn't think you would, but I hoped you'd understand," she said. I stood up, pulling my hand free from hers.

"What's there to understand? You said you wanted to go out with me; that you're not seeing anyone else; that you're going home for the weekend; and all of it was a lie!"

"I do want to go out with you, Randy," she said, after a visible struggle to stay calm. "Can we talk about this?"

"What's there to talk about?"

From her annoyed expression, I guessed I'd succeeded in bumping her off her script for our encounter. Then her expression hardened.

"I don't know," she replied. "Maybe you're right. I guess if I found out a guy I was considering dating had recently been with two lovers, I shouldn't trust him enough to go out with him. I shouldn't have even bothered to listen to his explanation, let alone believe it."

"Kendall, that's not the same thing at all. I found out that Gerri loved Sharon, and that was the end of our relationship. My having a threesome with them one time isn't the same thing as you being in a relationship with Paul and Gina for I don't know how long."

She shook her head. "You're right, but it's ... complicated. I enjoy being with Paul, and having sex with him and Gina..."

I thought absently that it was an interesting if somewhat clinical differentiation between her lovers.

" ... so yes, I've had more than a summer romance with him ... them. They care for me, and they treat me like a whole person, not just a pair of big tits. And the sex is, well, great. But they're in Atlanta; I'm here. I have to be open to moving on ... like you say you are."