SS(S)S - Tennis with Sal

The sun sets as you play tennis with Sal, occasionally forgetting what you’re there for and getting into it a bit. You learn quickly, and praise from Sal feels good. So does doing this. She was right: exercise is good for reducing stress and feeling better.

As you sit with her at the edge of the court, drinking Powerade and watching one of the cheer teams practicing in the neighboring quad, you realize that there’s a part of this that you didn’t think about. You’re both drenched in sweat. It’s not that you mind needing to take a shower. Your whole plan was to seduce Sal, but now the idea of being naked around her is very intense.

“Feel any better?” she asks, setting her bottle aside and looking critically at her racket. She looks over at you when you don’t answer right away. “Getting shy again?”

You fold your arms and return her gaze.

“You know why I joined CCL?”

“You seem smart. You’re probably a business student. CCL girls like to end up as execs and stuff,” she says.

“I wanted the excitement. That’s why I checked them out. But I got really into it because of Athena.”

“Oh.” Sal looks taken aback.

“I used to watch a lot of anime. It’s my whole lesbian fantasy. She’s this beautiful, classy older girl,” you say, letting it hang. You shake your head. “I have such a crush on her.”

“Oh.”

“And you have the exact same energy,” you tell Sal bluntly. “And you’re being so sweet to me. So yeah. I’m being a little shy.”

Sal smiles, embarrassed. “Fair enough,” she says.

You sigh. “It’s just not what I thought. Real life can’t be like fantasies,” you say.

“You mean CCL isn’t all orgies and parties?”

“I’ve been around them all the time for a month and I’ve gotten action on exactly two occasions,” you say. It’s true, you’re just spinning it a little.

“That’s messed up. There’s more girl-girl than that every night at our place,” Sal laughs.

“I didn’t say there wasn’t girl-girl, I’m just not getting it.”

“They don’t haze you pledges and make you do stuff?”

“Not anymore. Not since, you know.”

“Right.” Sal sighs. “That must be hard. It doesn’t bother you? Being in that house?”

“It does. It hangs over us.” Athena would be way less stressed if CCL was just normal.

“Maybe you belong in CGH. Our hazing is just drinking some beer and doing karaoke in your underwear. They used to make you do pushups.” Sal yawns, then finishes her Powerade. “But we don’t do that anymore. It’s kind of ableist.” She looks down at herself. “OK. I have to clean up.”