In preparation for the shot, he quarters a lime, pours the shots and hands me the salt. Just as I'm about to lick my hand, Matt grabs it and slowly runs his tongue across it, all while staring straight into my eyes.
Wow.
He is so hot.
And his intentions are so clear.
He pours some salt on my hand and quickly does his own. We clink the glasses and down our first shot.
You know I'm wondering, does he always have this stuff lying around or was it purchased just for tonight? The good news is, I saw him break the seal on the tequila, so I don't have to worry about anything getting put into my drink.
We do another shot, after he toasts to IOUs, and somehow I persuade him to go back out to dance.
See. I escaped his room without harm. I'll have to tell Phillip that his rules are stupid.
Or not. I would probably get a lecture on how lucky I was this time.
It's getting a little late and the music has slowed down. We dance some more, very close.
I'm feeling the tequila and dancing close to him like this is starting to drive me nuts. Time for that kiss, I think!
“So, are you planning on collecting that IOU tonight or some other night?”
He thinks I want him to ask me out on a date.
“Uh, some other night?”
“Wrong answer. Try again.”
This time he answers with a wide sexy smile, “Tonight,” he nods. “Definitely tonight.”
“Good. We're getting out of here though. If we're not in the frat house the kiss can't go on my record. Right?” I give him my best bedroom eyes, trying to convince him, although I think he'd agree to just about anything at this point.
He nods yes at me, and I drag him out the front door. We're barely out the door, when he pushes me up against the wall and tries to kiss me. I quick put my hand up to his mouth to stop him.
He looks at me with frustration. I grab the IOU and hold it up to his face.
“I owe you, remember? Not the other way around. Why don't you relax, and let me kiss you?”
I pull him around the side of the house. Behind some bushes.
Tacky I know, but hey, they were there.
I gaze at him intently. He follows my gaze down to the front of his oxford where I unbutton a few of his top buttons. I start the IOU by spreading his shirt open and kissing the upper part of his chest. Next, I move up to his neck, all very slowly and very deliberately. Eventually, I work my way up to his mouth.
I'm fairly sure I paid my IOU in full.
And I enjoyed it. A lot.
I did leave the party later, much later, but with Phillip as planned.
After a few dates with Matt, whether or not I would ever lose my virginity was no longer an issue. We were pretty much inseparable. I was convinced that, just like my mom, I had met the love of my life as a freshman. Matt treated me well and had almost earned Phillip and Danny's stamp of approval. But when we got back from Christmas break, he informed me that he had sort of gotten engaged to a girl from home. Sort of meaning: I gave her a ring, she's planned the wedding, bought a dress and booked the church for June. I have to admit, I was crushed. I really thought he was the one. That's also when Phillip decided to tell me he always knew Matt was too slick to be trusted. I asked Phillip to please give me an honest opinion of the next guy at the beginning of the relationship, otherwise to keep his big mouth shut with the I told you so's when it ended.
However, looking back, I'm now convinced there should be a university-wide mandate, just like the one that says that freshmen should live on campus, so they can experience the social aspects of college properly, that freshman girls should not date one guy exclusively.
Because if you liken the boys available to date at your high school to a meal, then you'd be choosing that meal from a half-filled vending machine.
But at college, choosing a boy to date is like choosing a meal from the biggest, most incredible, All-You-Can-Eat Buffet ever imagined.
And there will be no dieting for me!
Hmm, lets see, I think I'll start with a couple of frat pledges, the buff wrestler in sociology class, and the more mature, but totally hot, history grad assistant. Then maybe one of those football players, that hottie who always seems to be on the treadmill next to me when I work out, maybe I'll even have some of that cute photographer.
College is so awesome!
It's really too bad they try to ruin it with classes!
Sophomore year, there were more big changes in my life. They were good changes though because I decided to make them. First, I sold the house I grew up in. This was a difficult decision, but it was getting hard to keep up and was really just sitting there empty all the time.
The Mackenzies and Diamonds helped me go through everything. They advised me on what I should pack up and keep, and what we should sell.
For example, I kept all the pictures and videos of our family, the cedar hope chest Dad gave to Mom before they were married, Mom's wedding dress, Grandma's dining room set and china, things like that. The rest got sold at a big auction. The Diamonds offered to buy the empty lot next door. They didn't want to miss our annual Thanksgiving Day football game!
Mr. Diamond has been handling the estate and helping me with financial decisions. He really has been doing his best to fill in for my dad. I don't know what I would do without him. We took some of the money from the sale of the house and bought a town home in Lincoln. It's new and within walking distance of the university.
I'm sure in a ploy to keep me safe, the Macs and Diamonds suggested that Danny and Phillip live with me. Which is fine by me. We get along great and our place is SO cool!
It has three bedrooms and a very open floor plan.
At first, the boys said they didn't care how it was decorated.
“Whatever you think is right,” Danny had said.
So just to prove a point, Mrs. Mac and I got a swatch of this really ugly pink and purple floral fabric and managed to tell the boys, with a straight face, that we were thinking of ordering a couch in it.
All of a sudden, they cared.
With the moms' guidance, we had the walls painted a neutral golden color and the trim white. The kitchen has dark wood cabinets and stainless steel appliances. It was supposed to have a wall separating it from the living room, but since we picked it out while it was still being built, we changed it so there is a long bar area instead. The formal dining room has a pool table in the middle of it, and the walls are decorated with beer signs and Nebraska football memorabilia.
The living room looks like a Pottery Barn catalog, with two red leather club chairs and soft, slouchy khaki ultra suede couches. There are fun pillows and funky curtains that Mrs. Mac made using a bold, geometric patterned fabric in khaki, red, and golden yellow.
And God forbid, I should forget to mention the huge TV, sound, and gaming system.
I should warn, if you are on a budget of any kind or even have any kind of time constraints, don't take boys with you to the electronics store!
Just go by yourself, and buy a damn TV.
With the boys involved in this decision, what should have been a simple task, took three very lengthy trips to the store, nights of on-line comparisons, and I'm certain we could have fed a small country on what was spent.
Anyway, I really like the way it has all turned out. We even brought the big hot tub from my house and put it on the patio. We use that thing all the time!
We don't have big parties or anything, I've seen what parties can do to a house and want no part of that! But there always seem to be people over. Danny believes in taking good care of his offensive line, since they have to take care of him, so they're over most Sundays during football season. They play pool and watch pro football games all day. I usually end up cooking and am always making yummy treats for everybody.