I have written a trilogy. Each story is perfectly readable and understandable on its own, but if you want to read them in order, start with Charlie then Gary and end with Mark. It will give you a bit more context and continuity.
I was sitting in the back row of class, idly doodling while Dr Green - off subject due to a carefully crafted question from Charlie- regaled us with a story about the ash from his cigar blowing into the back of his station wagon, setting a number of paper bags containing dried plant samples on fire as he blithely drove across one of the Dakotas. The wind from the open windows fanned the flames, well you know where this is going. We all did. It was a great way to spend the last 15 minutes of class. It was a typical day in Plant Identification class. Dr Green was easily distracted.
I have a degree in agriculture. During college I had several classes where I was one of maybe two or three women. The rest of the class was filled with cowboys as far as the eye could see. What's not to like?
"You wanna study tonight, Miss Smarty Pants?" Charlie leaned over to whisper to me. The plant id midterm was looming in two days.
"What time?"
"Let me see when the guys can get together, probably about 7. That work for you?"
"Sure, just let me know."
The guys Charlie was referring to were all in the back row with us. Our study group was an interesting combination. Three cowboys, a Hawaiian and me. It sounds like a joke: "Three cowboys and a Hawaiian walked into a bar. The bartender asked, 'what'll you have?' The cowboys each ordered a draft beer. The Hawaiian said, 'I'll have an okolehao.' The bartender just looked at him so he ordered a draft beer too."
Charlie came from a team roping dynasty. If you follow roping at all you have certainly heard of his brother. Charlie was not particularly tall, but bowlegged and had a perpetual twinkle in his eye. He was a few years older than us, but that didn't affect his judgement in any way. He was the ringleader and we willingly followed him because where Charlie went, fun was sure to follow. Charlie was a playboy- but he had a certain charm that made women find it impossible to say no to. I was pretty sure Charlie knew my name, but I had never heard him use it.
The twins, Matt and Mark were tall, quiet and studious. I never could figure out what they saw in Charlie, except that he had an infectious personality and he got them to go out from time to time. They were identical, with similar taste in clothing. Their wardrobes consisted entirely of t-shirts, Wranglers and a King Ropes hat to match each shirt. The only way I could tell them apart was that if I tried to visit with one of them Mark would visit back. Matt was too bashful to say much. Mark was a gentleman, polite to a fault but he also had a playful side. There was something about him I just couldn't put my finger on. I was convinced he had a secret hiding somewhere. Matt was dating someone from back home and he had plans to get married to her.
Throughout the college of Agriculture, Gary was largely considered an exchange student from Hawaii. Most of the guys I went to college with probably knew Hawaii was part of the US, but nobody could figure out why Gary had chosen a college with a 75 day growing season to study plants. I thought of him more as a refugee from the botany department. He didn't fit in there at all, and we just adopted him in our department. He was good company and exceled at identifying obscure plants. Gary was pretty laid back and game to try anything new.
These four guys were my friends. Don't get me wrong, we flirted like only people who know each other very well can, but mostly we operated as a team of five friends.
Several of my classes through the years involved identifying plant samples. The herbarium held thousands of specimens. The best way to study for a test was to go over several examples of each plant, looking for the tiny parts on each sample that made its species distinctive.
There was a student lounge with a large table in our department. Between classes you could usually rustle up a game of cribbage or ten-point pitch to go with the bad coffee. The air was heavy with BS, lies and laughter. In the evenings it was usually empty and a great place to spread out and study.
Charlie showed up with a paper bag that had a distinctive clink as he walked into the lounge. Beer bottles. This was going to be more fun than our usual study sessions!
"You want to keep that cold?"
"Uh, yeah, what do ya got in mind?"
"This way," I beckoned and he followed me down the hall to Dr Varney's office. I slid the key into the door and paused for effect.
"You have the key to Varney's office? What, are you sleeping with him?"
"Ick, no! I work for him. I am doing some data analysis on one of his field studies. He gave me his key so I could get his research data when I need it without having to hunt him down for the key all the time."
"By the way, I am not buying that story, but he has a fridge under his desk, and that is what's important here." We carefully stepped through the piles of papers and theses on the floor to the desk. I sat on the floor and opened the fridge to find three cans of Slimfast.
"Ho ho! Varney needs that for sure," Charlie chuckled.
I set the cans carefully on the floor by the chair and Charlie handed me beer after beer until the fridge was full.
"You are a smart one, Cupcake."
"Okay, study time."
By the time we made it back to the lounge the twins and Gary were looking over plant samples. We spent an hour poring over dried plants glued to paper and discussing the distinct characteristics of each species.
Charlie seemed a little friendlier than usual that night, he would place a casual hand on my hip or shoulder in close to me as we looked over a specimen. With all the accidental brushing and bumping, I was feeling kind of hot towards Charlie, a feeling I had not really had before. Charlie's verbal flirting had turned physical.
"Break time!" Charlie announced. "Follow Girly-girl there," he indicated me with a grand gesture. I led the way to Varney's office and unlocked it. The room was long and narrow with a wall of windows across the far end overlooking the college of Education. One side wall held Varney's desk, the edge against the window and a bookcase. The wall behind the desk was file cabinets. He had two chairs that were not covered in papers; his desk chair and a stool. I crawled under the desk and grabbed five beers. Charlie opened them and passed them out. I perched carefully on the desk, which was covered with several data sets and what appeared to be someone's thesis awaiting a final review by Varney. Charlie took the office chair, the twins leaned against the file cabinets and Gary took the stool.
"Okole maluna," Gary said raising his beer towards the rest of us before taking the first swig.
That was the Hawaiian coming out in Gary. We assumed it meant "cheers." We tipped our beers to him.
"You reckon we are supposed to be drinking in here?"
"I am pretty sure we aren't."
"Then I don't feel guilty about not sharing with anyone else."
The beer went down easily and the conversation turned to whether or not Varney had some kind of grade book stashed in the mess. (This was the early 1990s). We searched half-heartedly for several minutes then when our beers were gone, we made our way back to the lounge. Charlie took this opportunity to grab a handful of my ass as he followed me down the hall. I let out a little squeak of surprise which I tried to disguise as a cough.
A handful of other students were also reviewing the plants, so we focused on the plants we were having problems with.
Normally friendly Charlie became quite a bit more friendly than usual. If his hand wasn't on my knee under the table, he was running his fingers along the inseam of my jeans. Once he leaned over from behind me and managed a quick cup of my right breast. When I leaned over a specimen he would run his fingers across my lower back. He had no idea, but this is a huge turn on for me, by the end of our study session, my pussy was sopping wet and my nerves were on high alert.
After a heated five-way discussion about the differences between cedar and juniper we decided we had enough studying for one night.
We still had seven beers left so we made a bee-line back to Varney's office again, settling into our usual places.
"Whatcha doin' this week?" Mark asked Gary.
"I'm in a pool league down at the bar. I don't know what's going on with my partner, though. It is a mixed league and she has a new boyfriend. I might be looking for a new partner before too long."
"She's getting ready to leave you, huh?"
"Nah. We just play pool together."
"Uh huh," Charlie said skeptically. "So, anybody going on that extra credit field trip for Bucks and Ducks?" This is what we called our wildlife class. It was a requirement for our major, but Gary, as a botanist, wasn't in the class with four of us.
"I need the extra credit, but I don't have a tent," I offered.