You actually just want to hang out with Griffin

“It’s got to be one of the Zeta girls,” Val says.

“Uh… not quite,” you answer.

“Oh, so one of the Theta girls then,” Mars says, glancing over at their spot in the stands.

You shake your head again.

“You really want to know who I have the hots for tonight?” you ask.

Mars and Valentine both nod eagerly. You pause, pretending to ponder your answer.

“Don’t make us wait all day, pretty boy,” Val says, resting a hand on your knee.

You burst out laughing.

“Nobody!” comes your answer. “I just wanted to see how you two would react. I was just thinking of taking it chill tonight. Hang out, grab a couple beers, that kind of thing.”

“Boring,” Val mock-yawns. “So many hot girls here and you couldn’t even pick one.”

“So boring,” Mars agrees, though her yawn seems like a real one induced by Val’s fake one. You can’t resist the urge to yawn either.

“See?” Mars continues. “Even you think so.”

“There’ll be plenty more nights like this to get a girl,” you say. “I can take one off. Besides, it’s less work for you two.”

“Yeah, but I was looking for some fun,” Val says. “Oh whatever. I was planning on doing something spontaneous tomorrow, I’ll just have fun then…”

“It’s not spontaneous if you’re planning it now,” Mars says, raising an eyebrow at Val.

“Fine, quasi-spontaneous, whatever,” Val says with a roll of her eyes. “But don’t ask me about it! I’m keeping my lips sealed about it until then.”

You and Mars share a look, and then you both shrug, unable to figure out this girl. Instead, you lean back and enjoy the basketball game.

The game closes out with Stonewall trouncing Schmarvard with a twenty point lead. You cheer with Mars and Val as the team does a victory lap around the court, and then the three of you head back out to the tailgate after-party to celebrate and get sloshed on cheap beer. Along the way, you run into Griffin, and he joins your group, the four of you picking up a case of PBR and a stack of red Solo cups.

The air outside is starting to get chilly, but it’s not so bad. You crowd around a picnic table and set up the cups for a game of beer pong.

“Boys versus girls?” you ask, pouring the last of a can into the final cup.

“Careful with that suggestion, because we’re going to give you a lickin’ as good as the Crimsons got today,” Val says, rubbing her hands together.

Mars tosses the ping pong ball in her hand, nodding along to Val’s words.

“Oh yeah,” she says. “We’re the toughest girls on the block. There ain’t nothing you guys can do to beat us.”

“Cheap talk,” Griffin laughs, miming a talking mouth with his hand. “We’ll see how good the two of you still are in a minute.”

“More like a second,” Mars quips, tossing the ball at your side of the table.

It plops in a cup and Griffin growls.

“Luck,” you say, shaking your head. You fish the ball out and polish the cup, firing it back yourself.

Your ball plops into one of their cups, and now it’s tied one for one.

The rest of the game flies by, you and Griffin never falling too far behind Mars and Val. Before you know it, you’re down to your last cup, while Mars and Val still have two remaining. Griffin passes you the ball and you throw it down quick, a fastball in contrast to the arcing basketball shots that you’ve been watching tonight. The ball goes straight down into one of the two remaining cups.

“Fuck, I was really hoping you’d miss that,” Mars grumbles, draining the cup with a flourish.

She pops the ball into her hand and aims at your last cup. She goes for a bounce shot, but a quick swipe of your hand blocks the ball from landing in its intended target.

“Wow, you thought that would get past us?” Griffin laughs, picking up the ball. He aims at the last cup and shoots it in a clear arc.

“Brick,” Val predicts, and sure enough, it misses the mark.

She scoops up the ping pong ball with confidence and tosses it, shouting: “Kobe!”

That seems to do the trick. The ball lands in the cup. Mars and Val spring into each other's arms, cheering and laughing as Griffin grudgingly finishes off the final cup.

“Told you we rock,” Mars crows. “Now what have you got?”

“Good friends?” you say, taking the loss in good humor.

Val splashes the beer in her remaining cup at you and laughs.

“Great friends," she nods at your dripping face, and the four of you all burst out laughing.

“Let’s get back to the dorm,” Griffin says, once the laughter dies down. “I could use some sleep.”

“I’ll see you three around then,” Val says, waving goodbye to the rest of you guys.

“Goodnight!” Mars calls out, and you and Griffin echo her.

Mars +15
Valentine + 15
Griffin +15