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.
"How did you do on the test?" Gary asked me after our plant identification midterm.
"I had the plants down pretty well, but I can't spell in Latin, so I know I lost points on the spelling. How 'bout you?"
"For some reason Latin comes easy to me. Maybe I could help you study spelling for the final."
"You mean without these clowns?" I indicated Mark, Matt and Charlie who were sitting on the other side of Gary. "That sounds good."
"We might get more done if we don't invite them."
"You playin' pool tonight, Gary?" Charlie interrupted.
"I am. At Racks. Are you going to come watch?"
"We should." He turned to the twins, "You guys wanna go heckle Gary tonight at Racks?"
The twins exchanged a glance, "Sure," Mark answered for both, "What time?"
"League starts at seven and lasts about an hour. Then it's open tables if you want to play."
"Did you get a new partner?" I asked.
"No, are you offering?"
"I can play, but I'm not very good."
"I am going to need someone after tonight, Linda is bailing on me. League is on Wednesday nights..."
"I think I can make that work, it should be fun, as long as you aren't too serious."
I hitched a ride with Charlie to Racks to watch Gary play pool. We walked into the smoky bar (this was the 90s, remember?) and found Gary. Racks had two rooms of tables, five in the main room and an additional three in a smaller room, off to the side. Gary was playing in the main room. Matt and Mark had a table and a pitcher of beer waiting for us.
"Hey there," they greeted us.
"What did you guys do after we left the other night?" Mark asked.
"We just finished the beers off," Charlie said without a moment's hesitation, "there were only two left."
"Did you now?" said Matt, skeptically.
"Then we had wild sex."
The guys couldn't decide whether or not to believe that, so I smacked Charlie.
Charlie was the biggest flirt around and he was known for his way with the ladies. I had not been immune to his charm in the past. The very recent past. We had indeed shared a hot fuck in my advisor's office after a study session on the night in question. The only proof was some RNA we had left on somebody's thesis which had been on the best flat surface in the room. Charlie had a certain charm that made him impossible to say no to, even when you knew better. He was grand fun as a friend but not the guy you would take home to your mother.
Matt and Mark were as alike as two peas in a pod, if they were cowboy peas with long, skinny legs and hats that advertised ropes. The only way to tell them apart was that Mark was likely to answer a question, whereas Matt would just look at you and blush. Matt had pledged his love to someone back home, so I left him alone. His brother had no such alliances, and we flirted shamelessly. Mark was a gentleman and a cowboy. I knew something was going on in his pretty little head because every so often he would get a far away look in his eye and blush when he came back to Earth.
A Hawaiian washed up in the middle of the mountains, Gary was a walking plant expert. He was serious about college. His intense focus, which served him well in plant identification, also drove us crazy most of the time. Gary went through life to the beat of his own pahu. His colorful surfing t-shirts from actual surf shops made him stand out among the Wrangler brushpopper shirts on campus. Gary was more than a little suggestible. You could tease him about doing something and before too long he would find himself doing it. Charlie liked to see what he could plant in Gary's fertile mind.
These four guys were my buds. I hung out with my roommates from the dorm too, but these were my people. They understood me. Oh, we were friends, but I can't deny there was an underlying sexual tension among us. Well, except with Matt who was oftentimes just along for the ride.
Over the top of my beer, I idly watched Gary lean over for a shot and realized his ass was pretty darn cute, even if he wasn't wearing Wranglers. He was slender in the way of someone who is always active, and his arms were sinewy with well-defined muscles. I am a sucker for nice arms. I guess I hadn't looked at Gary quite this objectively in a while. His brown skin contrasted beautifully with the crisp white tee shirt he wore.
"This weekend is the big night, isn't it? The field trip for Bucks and Ducks." Charlie interrupted my reverie. He gave my ponytail a quick tug. "Don't do anything I wouldn't do."
"I'll be with the twins. Don't worry about my virtue."
"That horse is out of the barn and over the hill, I am talking about theirs, Chica." Despite our little rendezvous, I knew Charlie didn't have any plans for a relationship with me, outside of our banter. I was another notch in his headboard. "I'll send some extra condoms with Matt," Charlie continued.
"Please don't!"
Gary came over for a swig of beer while his opponent surveyed his next shot.
Just as he got a mouthful of beer, Charlie asked, "You ever screw anyone on one of these tables? They look pretty sturdy."
Gary sputtered and choked on his beer. "Jeez, Charlie. Get your mind out of the gutter."
"Just looks like a nice flat place to knock one off."
We sat in the peanut gallery enjoying a couple pitchers of beer and watched Gary and Linda handily beat the team they were playing. Gary and his soon to be ex-partner Linda joined us for a round before she begged off and left me with the guys.
The waitress stopped by to make sure we wanted another pitcher then she was on her way to tidy up the now empty back room and turn off the light.
A new pitcher arrived and Gary poured a glass for each of us. "Okole maluna," Gary raised his glass to the rest of us.
"Okefenokee," Charlie was never at a loss for a smart-ass response. The rest of us tipped our glasses in acknowledgement and we sipped the cool beer.
We were having a good time and the pitchers kept coming, thanks to Charlie who had an agenda.
"Let's play a game, Suzie-Cuesie here and me against you and one of the Doublemint Twins," Charlie suggested to Gary. We agreed that sounded like fun. Matt was starting to nod off, so Mark grabbed a cue.
I brought my own cue, it came from Walmart but I could count on it being straight. I was no great pool player-but I generally took it if I thought I would have a chance to use it. I would show up, unzip my bag and screw my cue together as everyone watched in awe, thinking, "she must be good if she has her own cue." Then I would miscue the break and my secret would be out.
As the night wore on, we were all a bit drunk. Charlie would occasionally walk around the table and casually drag a ball to the edge of a pocket where he could easily shoot it in on his next turn. He always made sure Gary was momentarily distracted by something, because that is exactly what he would notice. Mark was too concerned with his beer and flirting with the hot waitress to pay Charlie any mind.
It became clear that Gary and Mark were better players than Charlie and I were, despite Charlie's re-arranging the table. They were beating us soundly.
After our second loss, Charlie backed me into a corner and unbuttoned my shirt a button. "Let's up the game a little." I was sporting a B cup in those days, but I was wearing a pretty bra, so I didn't argue. I didn't have any cleavage to speak of, but I was displaying a lot of skin and a hint of white lace.
Gary waited at the other end of the table for the losing team (us) to rack the balls, so I moved the triangle to the middle of the table before reaching down for the balls. He noticed after my third trip down to get balls. And there it was. Gary's one-track mind had switched tracks from playing pool to getting a glimpse of my bra peeking out of my button-down shirt. I was very proud of myself for getting his attention. This night might not be a loss after all. Charlie noticed too, and casually walked behind me while I was shooting and pinched my ass.
I made it look unplanned, but I gave Gary plenty of chances to get a glimpse down my shirt as I took aim at the striped balls on the table. Gary did his part too, moving around the table to keep his line of vision open, appearing to scrutinize my every shot. He even forgot himself when I was trying to figure out a combo and he bent over me from behind to correct my angle until Mark called him for fraternizing wit the opposing team. I managed to give my ass a little wiggle into his dick before he stood up. His low voice in my ear and the scent of his cologne lingered after he left. In my distracted state, I missed the shot anyway.
Unfortunately, Mark was oblivious to my show and he carried Gary in the final game.
