Bryan chats up Ellen

Scott took another quick look at the four Widley girls on the stairs and leaned over towards Bryan. "I think we should start right here. Let?s introduce ourselves, and follow my lead," he said.

Scott stood up from the bench and waited for Bryan. The two of them walked over to the stairs and towards the girls.

"Hi girls, I'm Scott, and this is Bryan," Scott led off.

"Hi," Bryan said.

The girls looked them over. "Don't you know a Scott, Ellen?" the dog-collared redhead asked the blonde.

"Um, not him," Ellen said. "My... I mean my friend from high school, he's coming to visit next weekend."

"Hi guys," the brunette with big glasses said. "I see you've come for the party." She nodded to Bryan.

Bryan raised his eyebrows. Were they that obvious?

"We'd heard Widley was a good place to hang out," Scott said.

"Uh-huh," the redhead said. "Z'at a hall pass in your pocket or were you just coming to hit on us?" she asked Bryan.

He looked down. The corner of the bright orange party flyer was sticking out of his pocket where he'd folded it up.

"So whip it out, don't be shy!" the dark-haired girl in olive drab and camouflage said challengingly.

Bryan pulled out the orange flyer and unfolded it, smoothing out the creases. That picture...the girl on the end? He looked up.

The curvaceous little brunette laughed. "Yes, that's me all right!" she said. "I'm Lynn." She stood up and crossed her hands protectively across her ample chest like her topless pose in the picture, then opened them again. She moved down a few stairs to greet them. "Pleased to meet you. I'm helping organize. We're still trying to recruit for some starring roles tonight."

"All right, whatcha got?" Scott said. The compact young man with his swimmer's muscle development leaned forward.

Lynn tilted her head and looked at Scott. "You look like you'd go great in the duck-a-dude tank," she said. "You're really cute and you've got a little definition there, it'd look good when you got wet."

The girl with short-on-the-sides hair cast an appraising glance at Scott. "How about the gingerbread man contest? He's got really short hair, he's already tan, and he looks pretty smooth." She crossed and uncrossed her legs. Under the short-chopped camouflage shorts, a tail of check-patterned fabric showed through. Boxer shorts?

"Yeah, Sherah," Lynn said. "Frosting and whipped cream give you any trouble?" she asked Scott. The white turtleneck did a great job of accentuating her breasts while still looking plain, almost demure.

"No," Scott said.

The redhead voiced her opinion. "I think Scott should do Sardines in Oil," she said.

The blonde laughed. "Yeah, Amy, he'd be pretty cute all slipping around," she said.

"Wait, what...?" Scott asked.

"Right," Lynn said. "For your friend Bryan here, what d'you think... Gals?"

"Blanket toss?" the blonde said. "He looks like he'd play nice."

"That's just the pre-party, you know, in the park," Lynn said. "I meant at The Lagoon..."

"No-hands banana?" the blonde said, and batted her eyelashes.

Sherah snorted. "Why do you always do that, Ellen?" she asked.

"Do what?" Ellen replied.

"Eh, I bet you could pick a worse partner," Amy said. The redhead tilted her head, looking at Bryan obliquely. She shifted position on the stairs, capturing Bryan's eyes as her loosely confined breasts jiggled and her faded denim mini-skirt slid and rippled over her thighs. He thought he caught a glimpse of gray knit panties. Or were those men's briefs?

"What else is there for starring roles?" Scott asked. "I tried out for cheer, and I can do some gymnastics, y'know, and some of the lifts."

"You think Marcie...?" Ellen asked Lynn.

"Maybe, I thought she had someone lined up, but you know how it goes with Marcie sometimes," Lynn said.

Amy burst out in a little fit of laughter.

"What?" Ellen asked.

"Nothing!" Amy, Sherah, and Lynn all said in chorus.

"Maybe he should go with Laura. Good height match," Sherah said.

"Huh?" Bryan said.

Sherah indicated a statue of a tall, strong-featured woman with a long nose, wavy hair and hoop earrings wearking a wide-lapel suit and collared blouse. "Laura D'Andrea Tyson, of course." Sherah said. "She's the quiet type, too."

Bryan's mouth dropped open.

"She's a better match for your hair style, Sherah," Lynn said.

"Not short enough on the sides," Sherah said, rubbing the velvety scalp above her ears.

Bryan cleared his throat and addressed Ellen, the prettiest of the four in his eyes. "Are you helping with the party too, Ellen?" he asked.

"I'll be there!" Ellen said, "But I'm just planning to have fun. I might do some of the contests. I mean, some of them need partners. You good at trivia?"

"Yeah, I used to really clean up, and there's this place I do pub quiz at..."

Scott looked over at Bryan, chatting brightly with the cute blonde. His shy pal seemed to be doing pretty good even without his help. The last time he'd seen Bryan this way, he'd been talking to the long-legged dance teacher who'd come by in tights and leotard to help the cheer squad add some grace to their moves.

"Your friend making a conquest, Romeo?" Amy teased. She rolled her shoulders, stretching the black ribbed tank top over her chest. "I thought you looked like the expert."

"Another fine upstanding man laid waste by stockings," Scott said.

Amy smiled. Sherah laughed. Lynn giggled.

Ellen turned her head. "What?" she asked.

"Nothing!" the other girls said.

"So, what's there to do until the party really starts going?" Scott asked them.

"Some folks in the park, you know, Hoop Meadow," Sherah said. "Getting all hot chasing things around, I expect."

"Yeah, kinda a pre-party, I heard," Amy said.

"You hungry?" Lynn asked. "Widley sponsored a barbecue there, too."

"Kinda," Scott said.

"Or there's the old quarry by the river bend," Amy said. "Pretty quiet. Nice and cool, and there's a swimming hole. The bottom's all flooded."

"Getting dark soon," Lynn said.

"We like the dark! Dark for dark business," Sherah said.

Bryan perked up his ears. Sherah was quoting from "The Hobbit!"

Amy cracked up. "You're such a freak, Sherah. But your feet are just not furry enough to be Bagginses," she said.

Lynn stifled a laugh.

"Gollum, gollum!" Sherah said.