Chapter 5: Becky
Elle and I entered the living room. The music was loud, but no one was there. We both looked over at the other bedroom door, and it was still closed. Apparently Jeanie and Tom were still in there, and Becky and Will had not gotten back yet. Elle and I looked at each other, and suddenly burst out laughing. There was no one around to know that we had gone into the bedroom together, so we did not have to explain ourselves, unless we just wanted to. We must have both been a little nervous about it because we both laughed hard and long with relief.
As we proceeded to get snacks and drinks, I attempted to be affectionate with Elle, but she did not seem to be the cuddly type. I guessed that if we didn't mean business, she didn't particularly like being physical. One big improvement though was that she gave me eye contact, which was nonexistent before. We ended up sitting on opposite sides of the kitchen table talking about when the others would join us and family issues back home.
Elle looked closely at me, "Hey, your eyes are bloodshot." It occurred to me that this was a side effect of the Viagra, but I explained it away as something that happens when I drink. Then, we actually began to talk about tennis at the college level. It was really just a monologue on my part: In college, tennis is a team sport, so your failures are also the team's failures, and a lot of social pressure comes with that. When the coach recruited you and spoke with your parents, he talked about academics, but don't kid yourself, your number one priority as far as the team is concerned is tennis, and academics only becomes important if you approach academic ineligibility. However, do not neglect your education; the tennis will be essentially gone in four years unless you are one of the lucky few who goes pro. College athletics is just another form of entertainment, so don't take it too seriously. Some professors cut you slack because you are an athlete, and some are careful not to work with you at all, and may even seem resentful of athletics. You will probably hear about under the table cash deals for some athletes; this does not happen for tennis. Make sure to enjoy yourself; not many college students get an opportunity like this. And the most important advice of all: if someone starts hitting drop shots on you, bust your ass to make them pay.
Through the entire talk, Elle listened to every word and we maintained eye contact across the table from each other. We smiled and I told stories about old team mates and parties.
Suddenly the kitchen door burst open, and there was Becky with her dog ear hairstyle and a beaming smile. Will was right behind her with a case of beer. They were both laughing and energetic. Will was half grumbling and half laughing, "It took us forever because Becky insisted we find a store that would check her ID. We had to go to three different places before someone carded her."
Becky beamed her smile directly at me, "I wanted to show proof that I was a woman and not a little girl!" She walked right up to me, threw her arms around me and kissed me on the cheek. I laughed and congratulated her, and then stole a glance over at Elle to see her reaction to Becky's show of affection. Elle smiled slightly at me, shrugged, and raised her eyebrows as if she was saying, 'Don't look at me, I don't have a problem with Becky kissing you.' These two girls must be really good friends. Then I checked out Will's reaction, who just observed, then turned to place the beer in the refrigerator.
Elle got up from the table to help Will with the beer and snacks. Becky and I stood together, and she spoke fast recounting the numerous stores they had visited, and the reaction of the various clerks when Becky told them she would not buy the beer from them because they had not checked her ID. I commented that they obviously could see she was a woman. Becky kind of squealed and hugged me cheek to cheek. Again I checked the reaction of the other two, but they ignored us as I went ahead and returned the hug.
Becky and I stepped apart. Becky stopped smiling and turned to see if Elle was within hearing distance, "Judging from the cars outside and the closed bedroom door, it looks like Jeannie and Tom are still here. Have they come out of the bedroom?"
"I don't think so. We did hear some noise in there right after ya'll left."
Becky did not miss the 'I don't think so' reply. Again she looked to see where the others were as she proceeded, "Before we left, Elle said she might want to borrow you. Did anything happen between you and Elle while we were gone?"
Normally I keep my mouth shut tight at times like this. I figure it's not up to me to tell on another person. In this case, I knew she would talk with Elle anyway, and I could not lie to Becky, "I taught Elle about tennis at the college level."
Becky's face looked very serious as she waited a while before asking, "Did you teach her...everything?"
I looked down into Becky's innocent and wide-eyed face, "Yes, I'm afraid so. I taught her what I knew." I could see the realization sinking into Becky as she lowered her eyes and stole a glance over toward Elle. Elle happened to be looking right at us at that moment.
Becky turned and walked over to Elle. The two of them just stood facing each other, without saying a word. Some sort of communication must have been happening, but it was not verbal. The contrast between them was what I noticed. Elle was tall, erect, and dignified as she looked at Becky without fear or shame. Becky had that hourglass figure and perky attitude and looked back at Elle with openness and maybe even curiosity.
Will walked between me and the girls, facing me with an outstretched arm holding a bottle of beer, "Here, you could probably use one of these. By the way, your eyes are kind of bloodshot." I had to kind of laugh at that. I accepted the beer and followed him into the living room. Will and I busied ourselves getting snacks and sitting down to talk about nothing in particular. We could hear the girls speaking in hushed tones in the kitchen.
Will and I relaxed and listened to music, and before we knew it Becky and Elle were in there with us. Apparently they had decided there was no problem, thank goodness. We partied and chatted about going back home and the future.
The conversation turned to tennis, and Becky turned to Will asking if he had any last minute tennis questions for me. Will threw his hands up in a defensive gesture, "Oh no, not me. I don't have any questions about tennis at the college level!" Becky, Elle, and I laughed so hard that any remaining tensions in the room immediately dissolved.
That one joke from Will opened up the topics of conversation in the room. Elle brought up that Tom and Jeannie were hiding from us in the bedroom. Elle wanted to make sure to stay until they came out, and she asked that Will give her a ride home immediately after.
The girls even joked with me a little bit. Becky got Will to dance with her, and I danced with Elle. Then in the middle of the dance, Becky broke in with a smile, saying, "I'll take him back now!" She and Elle giggled, I just smiled sheepishly, and Will pretended not to notice. While Becky and I danced, she commented that my eyes were bloodshot. I just explained it away, because even though I did not want to lie to Becky, I was not going to admit that I took a Viagra pill.
That was when the bedroom door opened! Jeannie and Tom entered the room, with Tom calling out, "Hey, what's hap'nin?" Jeannie had a defiant look on her face, and Tom was obviously acting out the script they had devised before they came out.
The six of us stood there for a second, and then Elle did not waste any more time. While obviously not looking at Tom or Jeannie, she turned toward the shocked Will and gave him a long hard kiss on the lips. Then she walked across the living room to me, roughly embracing me and kissing me hard on the lips. Next came the real surprise when she went up to Becky and kissed her on the lips too. Still without looking toward the open-mouthed Jeannie and Tom, she presented her middle finger to them as she passed by. Elle continued through the kitchen with Will following, and out through the kitchen door. The whole thing was a powerful "fuck you" statement.
I wish I could say that Jeannie and Tom were shocked into guilt and remorse. Instead, they stood in shock OK, but then looked at each other and burst out laughing. Becky and I did not laugh at all. These two had obviously really hurt Elle, and I think both of us were in touch with what she must have felt tonight.
Tom looked over at me and gave me an exaggerated smile, along with a thumbs-up sign. I had no idea what he meant, but I knew I didn't like it. I returned his exaggerated smile, and gave him a long drawn out bird finger, along with an up-yours gesture. Tom and I both came from the same part of the country. And where we came from, my gestures were a sufficient reason to fight, as long as I obviously meant it, which I did. This erased the grin from Tom's face, but I kept my grin and my gesture. Tom was bigger and stronger than I was, and he could probably take me, but he didn't know that. Jeannie actually looked concerned for once.
I felt myself being pulled across the room. Becky was tugging me toward the bedroom again! I allowed myself to be led and just continued to look at the stony faces on Tom and Jeannie until the door closed and blocked my vision of them.
I started pacing the room, "If that shook him up, wait until Elle tells him he has a little dick!" I continued pacing, and Becky watched me as she sat on the bed. I continued, "I know I'm not completely innocent concerning what's taking place between all of us, but right now I'm focused on Tom and Jeannie and what jerks they are."
Becky commented, "They're jerks all right. But I'd say we all came out OK tonight even so. How about if I make you take a shower to cool down?"
The shower comment brought me back to the present moment, and I looked directly at her, "Oooo, making me take a shower sounds a little kinky. Would you really do that for little ole me?"
Becky jumped to her feet, making her dog ears bounce, and turned on the wide-eyed smile that lights up any room, "Sure!" I think she was glad to get the subject away from others and back to her and me. With that she came at me wrestler-style. We fake wrestled our way over to the bathroom, with both of us enjoying the body contact and accidental touching. Mostly it was just fun to kind of wrestle together, and we laughed the whole time.
