I was back from my first year at university and thinking about what to do for the weekend, when the phone rang. My mom answered and called to me, "Derek, it's Ashley Smith!"
Ashley was a friend from high school who had gone to a different university than me. She was top of our class and, among other things, had been captain of the Chess Club. I had also been on the team, but was only ever able to beat her a few times, once when she was trying something new and probably she was distracted the other times. She was always several steps ahead.
"Hey Derek, I heard you're back in town! Did you know about the party Dave is throwing at his parent's new house? Wanna go?"
I did not know about all this, but knew Dave's parents had moved to the other side of the city. Having no other plans, I just said, "Sure, that'd be great!"
"Awesome. Hey, do you still have your car? My parents are using theirs. Maeve and I were hoping to get a lift."
I did, and I was happy to drive. Apparently Dave had offered that we could stay over so we could party there and not worry about having a designated driver.
Friday came around and I picked up Ashley, then her friend Maeve, stopped by the Beer Store to pick up drinks, and headed out to Dave's place. Maeve and I were just acquaintences, though she and Ashley were very close. They both looked good, Ashley wearing a white halter top, dark tights, and a jean jacket, while Maeve had a buttoned sleeveless shirt and skirt. Ashley was a skinny brunette with a turned up nose that made her nostrils exaggerated, but she was always smiling and laughing. Maeve was more full figured and had mousy brown hair in a bob cut. Maeve was often very serious and bossy, but Ashley knew how to get her to chill and laugh. Sure enough, Maeve had ideas on the best way to get to Dave's, but I told her I was going to go the way I knew how. Besides, we were going to be the nerds who got there at 8 before anyone else. She sighed with some exasperation, and Ashley gave me a brief commiserating eyeroll, but we were on our way.
We got there about 8:15 and were pretty much the first people to arrive... nerds. The good news was that since we were the first overnighters to get there we got to pick a room, the "bad" news was that the three of us were all in the same room with a queen-sized bed. Dave told me I could crash on the couch, which Maeve seemed to like, but Ashley breezily told him, "don't worry, we'll figure it out," and we all tossed our stuff in the guest room.
The party got going slowly. It was a mix of some people from high school and other friends of Dave's. I spent most of my time with Ashley, while Maeve kind of flitted about. Samantha, one of the hotter girls from high school, showed up around 10, and a lot of the attention focused on her. I didn't get drawn in, as I continued to catch up with Ashley and a few other friends.
Suddenly Miles appeared. He was already pretty drunk, but he wandered up to us and exclaimed, "Hey! It's the Chess Club Virgins! You guys still playing tournaments instead of getting it on?"
I was pretty pissed, but I stayed cool and basically told Miles, "Dude, I havent seen you in a year, and the first thing you do is insult us? Is that who you want to be?"
He tried to shrug it off, "I was just teasing you. Jeeze, dont take it so personally," and he wandered off.
Our group was a little quiet, but then there was Samantha asking us, "Did I hear Miles just say that he's still a virgin?"
