Bryan goes with Scott and Lynn

"Hurry up if you can, Ellen," said Lynn. "You can help me wrangle the set-up crew. It'll be like stage crew, only more clueless."

Ellen laughed. "OK. I'll head on up now," she said. "Why don't you go with Lynn, Bryan. I don't want to keep you waiting while I'm getting dressed, and I'm sure she could use the help."

Bryan's friend Scott cocked his head.

Ellen laughed. "There should be plenty to go around, don't worry," she said.

"Yeah, the more boys I have the better!" Lynn said.

Ellen rolled her eyes at Lynn.

"Okay, see you there, Ellen!" Bryan said.

"I'll hustle my bustle!" Ellen said, and headed up the stairs toward Laura D. Tyson Hall.

Lynn snickered. "Ellen talks like a Hallmark card half the time. She's still got me on whether it's all an act or whether she's vanilla milkshake all the way down."

Bryan furrowed his brow, uncomfortable at Lynn's comment on Ellen.

Scott said, "It must be an act. No girl dresses like that unless she wants to look hot on purpose. Especially those stockings. But if she acts all innocent, she can run off the dickheads by telling them it's all in their dirty minds."

Lynn laughed. "I guess so," she said. "Too two-faced for me, I mean, what do you say when you get attention from a guy you actually like? Is it like, 'ooh, you bring out my bad side!' ? I guess she manages somehow, we've gone guy-watching together and I've seen her catch one now and then." She spread her hands and shrugged her shoulders, making her breasts jiggle inside her white turtleneck. "Anyway, c'mon guys, we gotta go get things set up."

The chatty brunette led Scott and Bryan down the stairs and along the street till the Widley College buildings gave way to a near-college business strip -- bookstores, coffee houses, lunch spots, and watering holes. Lynn led them to whitewashed building with a clay tile roof and a walled yard, looking out-of-place in this northern town. It had a name painted in green and blue above its arched door spelling out THE LAGOON. Painted hula dancers and surfers flanked the door, and a paunchy gray-haired gentleman in a Hawaiian shirt lifted his painted pineapple-with-a-straw drink in greeting.

The double door was propped open -- the start time of 9:30pm was still far off -- and a delivery man was wheeling in beer kegs on a dolly.

"Looks like they'll be well prepared, my man," Scott said to Bryan.

"Uh-huh," Bryan replied.

"OK, boys," Lynn said, "We'll be setting up the inside and outside areas for the contests, and hanging decorations and stuff. Here's where I want you to start.

Bryan did his best to be polite and keep his eyes on Lynn's oversized glasses, but the generous curves on her petite stature kept pulling his attention to the little wiggles, streetches, and twists her clothing made as it accommodated her movements.

Scott didn't bother to hide his staring. He just moved his eyes back to Lynn's face whenever she finished a sentence and murmured, "Uh-huh" to acknowledge her.

"OK, let's get the outside done first while there's still good daylight," Lynn said. "It's all sand out there. We've got some tiki torches to put up, we'll light those later, and we have to clear some space for the limbo stick."

"Babe, looks like you might have that one sewed up," Scott said to Lynn. "Hope it's a nice prize."

Lynn sniffed. "I may be short, but that doesn't mean I can bend over backwards and still stand and walk," she said. "Last year Saechun won, and she's taller than me."

Lynn set Bryan and Scott to work outside, then headed back in to see how the rest of the preparations were going.

"It's gonna be sweet tonight, Bry," Scott said as they set up the area for the Lagoon's part of the traveling festivities. "If you're gonna hook up, this'll be the night."

"OK," Bryan said. "I'll just do as you do, Casanova."

Scott snorted. "Don't get too ambitious, just stick to the point with the girls. 'I like you, do you like me?'"

"What do you think of Lynn?" Bryan asked.

"I'm thinking she makes me feel lucky," Scott said. "How about Ellen, huh?"

"She's...pretty," Bryan said. "And, you know, nice and all. I sort of think Lynn might be jealous of her. Or just confused maybe."

As Bryan and Scott were testing the limbo pole, Lynn came out of the main building of The Lagoon. "Hey guys, this looks great!" she said. "You want a beer?"

"Sure!" Scott said, accepting a bottle from the chestnut-haired coed. He twisted off the cap and drank.

"How about you, Bryan?" Lynn asked, proffering a bottle.

Bryan thought it was a little early, but he was certainly thirsty.