The Girls

I picked up the remaining ball and moved to the center of the table to line up my shot. Emily tried distracting me by yelling, "PENIS!" and it worked like a charm: my shot went wayward to the right and didn't even hit the table. I smacked the table with an open palm and muttered, "FUCK!" Emily retrieved the ball, handed it to Katie, and said, "Do we want to tell them that they have to kiss us if we win?" Katie laughed and said, "Fuck no, then they get what they wanted. If we both sink our shots, you guys have to take your shirts off and yell, "We lost to the girls!" Emily said, "Ooh, I like that! But just so you know, they'll 100% do it." Katie said, "Well, it's less fun if they're happy to do it, but fine. You go first." Emily was grinning from ear to ear as she lifted her hand to shoot. The ball landed directly in one of the two cups on our side. My roommate grabbed it and chugged it, before saying, "That's fine, we've seen what Katie can do in this game. I'm not worried." Katie said, "It would be cool if I had some ace up my sleeve. Like, being secretly left-handed this whole time. I laughed and said, "Ha! Like in The Princess Bride!" Katie beamed with a smile and said, "Yeah, I've always loved that movie." My roommate said, "Nerds! Stop stalling, shoot so we can get the balls back and win."

Katie centered herself on the table and said, "My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die." She released the ball and, as soon as it was in the air, everyone knew it was going in. As it landed in the beer, Katie jumped into the air with a shriek and high-fived Emily. I said, "God damnit" and downed the cup as the girls celebrated. I looked over at my roommate, shrugged, and said, "A deal is a deal." I took off my shirt and tossed it towards the girls. My roommate did the same. I jumped up onto the table, steadied myself as it wobbled, and then shouted, "Excuse me! Everyone!" I waited a beat while the room quieted down and everyone turned towards me, and then announced, "We lost to the girls! Katie and Emily are the champions." My roommate stood next to the table and add, "We lost to the girls! Next challenger, please step up!" I hopped down off the table and Katie tossed our shirts back to us. Two other guys stepped up to the table to ask if they could play next, and Katie said, "Sorry, I'm out. I have to get back, it's been a long day." Emily seized the moment and said, "That's probably not a bad idea, we should get going, too." My roommate, always keen to stay out, started to protest that he wanted to stay out and said "John, come on. Hang out with me a bit, it's your birthday!" Emily jumped in quickly, and said, "His birthday is tomorrow, and Katie and I want to go. Let the man rest up for the big day!" Thankfully, he realized where she was heading with this and said, "Yeah, OK. I'm gonna hang out for a few minutes. John, I'll see you when I get back." Katie, Emily, and I walked out of the basement and up to the frat house's front door. As we stepped outside, we realized it was drizzling lightly. Not enough to soak us, but just enough to be annoying. As we left, Emily held me back for one second and said, "I got you. Offer to walk her home, she may hesitate so I'll offer to come, too. I'll follow your lead."

We walked back towards campus and started chit-chatting about our majors and our experiences at university so far. Katie and I found conversation really effortless for the most part, but Emily was great at moving the discussion along any time it got slow. Before we knew it, we'd reached the campus entrance, but it seemed all of us were getting along well enough that we just stood there chatting for a while. The rain got slightly harder and it jarred us out of the discussion. Katie and Emily pulled their jackets over their heads and Katie said, "Ugh, I hate being wet! Well, I guess that's that! I live over by University Center, so I'm going downhill." Emily replied, "Oh, I actually live that way, too, so we're going the same way." Katie looked at me and said, "John, and you?" Emily jumped in before I could answer and said, "He lives up the hill, but I'm closer. Come back to my room until the rain stops." I replied, "Thanks, you're a life saver. Let's hurry before this gets worse." Soon, we were close to Emily's apartment. Emily glanced at me and mouthed, "OK, good luck!" Then she stopped and said, "OK, this is me. I'm going to head upstairs and crash." Just as she finished her sentence, the heavens totally opened up and it began pouring rain. Within seconds, we were all totally soaked from head to toe. Emily quickly opened the front door to her building and we scrambled into the lobby. The girls started wringing out their wet hair and Katie said, "God damnit, I have such a long walk in this. Emily, do you have an umbrella I can borrow? I'll figure out how to get it back to you." Emily said, "Yeah, I do, but it won't help much. Come upstairs and wait it out." Katie hesitated, but nodded. "Yeah, that probably makes the most sense."

We all got upstairs to Emily's apartment and she took our outer layers to hang them up in the bathroom. She ran to grab towels and gave each of us one for our faces and hair. Emily and Katie wrapped their towels around their heads and Emily said, "Katie, do you want a pair of sweats or something?" Katie shook her head and said, "No, my clothes won't fully dry before I leave, and putting on wet clothes would be worse." Emily said, "Fair enough. I need to get out of this, so I'm going to go change. John I can't really help you, sorry!" I shrugged, "No big deal. I'll just hang in this." Emily disappeared into her room and left Katie and I alone for the first time that night.

Since I had been to Emily's place a billion times, I went to the kitchen and asked Katie if she wanted some water or anything. She asked for a glass and I brought it to her in the living room. She thanked me and said, "You and Emily are close?" I nodded, "Yeah, she's pretty much my best friend here at school." Katie smiled, "Yeah, she seems great. Just friends, though?" I hesitated. My answer here could affect my chances with Katie, but I figured honesty was the best option. "Yeah, just friends. There's always been a spark that like, it could be something if we both wanted it, but I don't think either of us have ever felt the need to act on it." Katie considered my answer and said, "That makes sense. But I bet both of you would say yes if one of you asked the question." I thought about it and said, "Yeah, you're probably right. But it hasn't happened." Katie gave me a coy grin, said, "Not yet..." and then took a sip of her drink.

Just then, Emily came out of her room dressed in yoga pants and a tight tank top with her hair up in a ponytail. Katie saw her and said, "Damn, girl! You were hiding that body under that coat?" She quickly added, "Sorry, that was forward. We just met!" Emily laughed and said, "Thast's OK, I'll take a compliment from anyone! It looks like the rain has slowed down. You guys are welcome to hang out, but just letting you know in case you want to get back." I tried to sway Katie's decision and said, "Yeah, I'll stay for a bit. Maybe the rain will stop completely in a little while and I'd rather not get wet again." Katie was clearly hesitating. I assumed she wasn't sure whether she wanted to get home and change out of her wet clothes or hang out with two new people she'd just met. Emily said, "We don't bite, if that's what you're worried about. But your call." Katie chuckled and said, "No, that's not it. Being in these clothes is uncomfortable and if you guys want to be alone, I get it."

Emily laughed. "Be alone? We're just going to put the TV on and eat chips. You don't have to stay in your wet clothes if you stay here, but again, your call. Either way, no pressure." Katie put her water glass back on the counter and walked towards where her jacket was hung.