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Welcome to the Church of The Reverend Cotton Mather.  This story is
the sole property of the author, and may not be copied or downloaded 
for the intent of profit. Permission is freely given for anyone to 
download or copy for their personal pleasure or use, as long as 
there is no intent to charge money or barter for the privilege of 
acquiring this material.

   (Copyright 2005, revisions c. 2007, R.C. Mather)

E-Mail all comments to RevCottonMather at hotmail dot com
Don't be shy!  I enjoy hearing from you.

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THE COMPETITIVE EDGE:
PLAYING THE GAME III

A Novel

by R.C. Mather



- 7 -

GIRLS WITH BOYS' NAMES



I was nervous as hell.

It was Friday night, and I was going back to the Phi Kap house. They
were having another party, this one much more informal. It was kind
of an end-of-Rush party for the members and their guests. They would
find out how big their pledge class would be sometime during the
evening, so the members and their guests were hanging out together
while they waited for the paperwork to arrive from the Hellenic
Council.

Bryan and Melanie had decided this would be a good opportunity for
Reggie and me to meet. Maybe they thought, with a crowd around us,
things might be easier for everybody. I hoped they were right.

As I was getting ready, I kept glancing over at Westy. He was a
bundle of nervous energy, too. He had accepted an invitation to join
the Sigma Tau Rho fraternity, and he was wired.

"Parties, dude," was all he could say when I asked why he wanted to
pledge a fraternity. "Doobies, beer, and broads."

"What about your training? When are you supposed to start swim
practices?" I asked. I thought a subtle reminder of his scholarship
and its source would be enough to temper his enthusiasm.

"Yeah, well, that begins pretty soon," he admitted. "I'm gonna have
to store up some good partying, because the good times will
definitely slow down once the season begins."

"Okay, whatever you say," I told him. He was determined to burn his
candle from both ends while he could, and nothing I said to him was
going to alter his course. I mentally wished him the best of luck,
and didn't give it another thought. It was no skin off my nose if he
bit off more than he could chew.

It was still blisteringly hot out. The dress for the party was very
casual, but I wanted to make a good impression on Reggie - and on
Melanie - so I opted to wear some tan pressed slacks instead of 
shorts, and topped it off with a plain blue crew-neck shirt. I really 
didn't want to put on socks and shoes, so I slipped on some leather 
sandals. I checked myself in the mirror again, making sure my hair
was okay and I didn't have any food stuck between my front teeth. I paced 
the three or four steps between the door and the couch, back and 
forth, glancing nervously at the clock each time I passed by my desk. 
Westy was perched on the arm of the couch, his hands slapping his 
thighs and his feet tapping alternately on the floor, as he listened 
to his own internal soundtrack.

Finally I couldn't stand it anymore, so I left and wandered around
down by the lake, until it was time to go over to the Phi Kap house.
There were a bunch of joggers out, using the path around the lake as
their track, and there was a large group of kids playing at Ultimate
Frisbee. It looked like a lot of fun.

The walk did me good. I was sweating, but it was from the heat
instead of nervousness. I turned my feet in the direction of Greek
Row.

All the houses were having parties. Music throbbed from every window
of each of the fraternity and sorority houses, and there were kids
moving across the lawns between the houses, visiting back and forth.

The Phi Kap house was no exception. The big wraparound porch was
packed with people, and .38 Special's "Wild-Eyed Southern Boys" was
pumping from the giant speakers in the television room, loud enough
to be heard out on the sidewalk.

I skipped up the stairs, but was stopped by a couple of guys sitting
on the concrete pillars at the top.

"Sorry, man, private party," one of them said as he stood up to
block my way.

"I'm here to see Bryan Watkins," I said. "He invited me."

The other guy spoke up. "Are you Porter?"

"Yeah," I confirmed.

He looked over at his companion. "Bryan told me he was expecting
this guy." He motioned me in. "Him and Mel are over on the side," he
said, pointing toward the corner of the house where the porch wrapped
around.

"Okay, thanks," I said. I wove my way through the mass of bodies in
the direction indicated. I had only gone maybe a half-dozen sliding
steps when somebody thrust a plastic cup of foamy beer into my hand.

"You look thirsty," a voice said. I never did see my benefactor. I
wasn't much of a beer drinker, but it was hot and the liquid was
cold. It went down easily.

I finally made my way around the porch and saw Bryan perched on the
railing. Melanie was sitting in a big wicker chair across from him.
She had on very tight shorts, and her bronzed, thin legs were
elegantly crossed. A gold ankle bracelet winked in the sun. She was
wearing a fancy white tee shirt, also mouth-wateringly tight, with
"Angel" arched across the top of her breasts in rhinestones. I almost
had to agree, if I hadn't known a real angel back home, one with
white-blonde hair. Melanie held a cup of beer in her hand, and she
set it down on the small wicker table next to her chair when she saw
me. She smiled at me, stood gracefully, and stepped over to take my
arm.

"I'm glad you came, Sean," she said as she guided me over to her
group. Bryan was watching her, an indulgent smile on his face. I felt
a little flustered and flattered, just by being the object of her
attention.

There was a very attractive, young girl sitting in a wicker chair
next to Melanie's. Her hair was long and dark, nearly black, with
bangs that just reached her eyebrows. Her eyes were large and brown,
and she was watching Melanie and me carefully. She was dressed
conservatively, wearing a loose-fitting buttoned sleeveless blouse
and a pleated skirt that nearly reached her knees. She looked nearly
as nervous as I felt.

Melanie led me over.

"Reggie, this is Sean," she said. She gave me a little push forward.

Reggie licked her lips nervously, and then put out her hand.

"Hi," she said, so softly I barely heard her.

I shook her hand as gently as I knew how. I didn't want to scare her
any more than she already seemed to be, and I certainly didn't want
to bruise her. She looked far too delicate for a klutz like me to be
around.

"Hi," I mumbled, suddenly unable to come up with anything cleverer
to say.

Bryan laughed out loud at me. "Jesus, Porter, she's not going to
break," he cried. "You probably don't have to be quite that careful."

I glanced over at him, feeling a little panicky, but seeing him
laughing at us pretty much broke the ice. I could see the humor of
the situation all too well, and I smiled, a little chagrined. I
looked back at Reggie, and she evidently thought the same thing,
because she was smiling too, and didn't look nearly as nervous
anymore.

"Um, can I have my hand back now?" she asked, her eyes twinkling now
with amusement.

I dropped her hand as if it was a hot iron. I hadn't realized I was
still holding it.

"Oops, sorry," I said. I moved over to stand next to her chair, so I
was facing everybody. She watched me as I moved, keeping track of my
whereabouts. Melanie sat back in her own chair, a smug look on her
beautiful face.

There was a pretty raucous party going on around us. The Phi Kaps
had a couple of kegs of beer on ice in the back yard, and it flowed
freely. Even the four of us perched against the back rail of the deck
were eventually sucked into the party spirit, as plastic pitchers of
beer were passed around. I refilled Reggie's glass when a pitcher
made its way over to me, and then refilled Melanie's glass. There was
just enough left for one more glass, so Bryan grabbed the pitcher
away from me, poured the last of the beer into my glass, and headed
out into the masses to find his way into the back yard to replenish
our supply.

Reggie and I bobbed and weaved our way around conversations, never
really addressing each other very directly. My mind was on Kayla and
how she would react to this development, and I was sure Reggie was
thinking about her boyfriend back home in the same manner. How to
explain? How to justify?

Finally, though, the beer, the heat, and the crowd around us broke
through, and both of us found ourselves relaxing with each other. We
were both still holding the other pretty much at arm's length, but at
least it wasn't as uncomfortable as it started.

Melanie, Bryan, and the rest of the Phi Kaps helped, too. At one
point, after the sun had gone down, I heard a squeal, and turned
around in time to see Alex jumping up and down and waving. I looked
around, wondering to whom she was waving, and she laughed, pointed
directly at me, and waved even harder. I stared at her and pointed to
myself, raising my eyebrows quizzically, and she laughed and nodded
vigorously. By this time, Reggie was standing next to me, and she
took this all in with an enigmatic smile, glancing back and forth
from Alex to me like she was watching a tennis match.

Alex weaved her way over and gave me a big hug. I was surprised, and
not a little flattered, but I assumed her affectionate greeting was
fueled by the alcohol. Alex let me go, and then turned to Reggie.
Alex and Reggie both started talking at once.

"Oops," said Alex. "Hey, I'm sorry, it's just that Sean was here on
Monday, and I met him then, and..."

Reggie shook her hand at Alex. "It's fine, really. Sean and I just
met tonight..."

They both stopped, and then broke down giggling together. Reggie
grasped Alex by the upper arms, and they kind of collapsed together
as if something was incredibly amusing. I just didn't get it.

Alex was several inches shorter than Reggie, but they both were dark-
haired, fair, and pretty. They seemed to become instant friends.

"By the way, I'm Alexandra Wallace. Everybody just calls me Alex."

Reggie was still holding Alex's arm. "I'm Regina Coverdale, but my
friends call me Reggie," she said.

"Two perfectly gorgeous females who want to go by boys' names," I
said. "Maybe I should call myself Sally."

"You'd better not," said Alex. She slapped at my arm as if I was the
silliest thing she had ever seen.

Reggie, in the boldest move I had yet seen her make, looked me up
and down. "Definitely not a Sally," she said, smiling. She gave Alex
a quick grin. "More like a Mary," she said, and they were off again
into a fit of giggles.

Alex was definitely the party animal among us, and she took Reggie
and me under her wing, introducing us around to nearly everybody.
There was hardly a person at the party she didn't know, and she was
obviously well liked by just about everybody. It wasn't long before
Reggie and I both felt like we were accepted, if not as members of
Phi Kap and their Little Sisters, then as friends of the fraternity.

Much later, as the party was beginning to wind down a little,
Melanie and Bryan came looking for us.

"Hey, Porter," called Bryan, once he spotted me. "Mel and I are
taking off. Don't forget we've got to catch a bus in the morning."

I groaned. I'd forgotten about that. Our bus was leaving very early
to Tuscaloosa. We were playing Alabama in a conference game.

Reggie stood. "Melanie, can you drop me at my dorm?" she asked.

"Of course, dear. Sean, would you like a ride, too?" replied Melanie.

I was about to tell her I would prefer to walk off the influence of
the beer, but the look on both Bryan's and Melanie's faces convinced
me I should accept their offer.

"That would be great," I said.

It took awhile to make our way out of the party. Bryan and Melanie
had to stop often to say goodbye to friends, and, of course, Reggie
and Alex had to have a last whispered conversation together. They
both glanced at me a couple of times during their secret
conversation, making me sweat just a little more. I waited around a
little awkwardly as the goodbyes swirled around me.

Finally, we were walking down the concrete steps, heading toward
Bryan's car in the parking lot. I held the door open for Reggie, and
slid into the back seat beside her. We sat there, not touching,
uncomfortably silent as Melanie and Bryan got into the car. The
animation and easy companionability of the couple in the front
contrasted sharply with the quiet couple in the back.

Bryan started the car, and turned to look through the rear window so
he could back up. Reggie was looking out the side window, and Bryan
jerked his head in her direction and stared at me, willing me to say
something to Reggie.

As he drove down the street, he turned the radio on to provide a
distraction. I steeled myself for the rejection I knew was coming,
and slid over to sit next to Reggie. She looked at me, a bit startled.

"Reggie," I began, "I know this whole thing is kind of strange..."

She smiled. 'At least she smiled,' I thought.

"Here," she said. She handed me a slip of paper. I opened it up. It
had her name, her dorm room number, and her telephone number on it.

I was suddenly very nervous again. "We're... uh... I won't be back
until Sunday..."

"You want to get together for coffee or something Sunday night?" she
asked. Now her smile was warm. Maybe I hadn't blown it, after all.

"I'd love to," I replied. "I'll call you when we get back from
Alabama."

"Okay," she said. She slipped her arm through mine for the rest of
the short ride to her dorm.

I walked her to the front lobby of her building. She turned to me at
last.

"Thanks for being a nice guy," she said quietly. "Mel has good taste
in friends."

I might have blushed. "I'll talk to you Sunday," I said. We didn't
hug, we didn't kiss, but I still felt like the evening went very well.

I got the feeling Reggie thought so, too.





(Continued in Chapter 8)


  
CE07