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The Scavenger Hunt, Chapter 7
Note: There is a tiny bit of anal action near the tail end (pun intended) of this one. There's no penetration, and it doesn't even take up an entire paragraph. Still, I know how some of you folks are -- even acknowledging that a person has an ass makes you all squicky and causes you to light up the comments section like the 4th of July with negativity, ignoring 5 pages in favor of one sentence. So, there's your warning.
This is a long one, and there are a lot of important plot things going on here. Of course, Travis is still getting busy between the sheets (and lots and lots of other places), but this and Chapter 5 are really the chapters where this stops being a silly college game and begins to develop into a serious tale about people's lives. There's plenty of stroke material, but if that's where your head is at the moment, I suggest re-reading an earlier chapter first, to clear out the cobwebs, then come back to the new one.
Shout out to samuraisan and thatsbogus, my editors and beta readers. I usually have something creative and witty to say about them, but creativity and witticism are in short supply at the moment. So I'll just say they're awesome and leave it there for this chapter.
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I felt dirty.
I couldn't really put my finger on why. Yeah, Trina had been drunk last night, but she'd made it clear she wanted me, multiple times. Yeah, Jamie had been watching, but that was hardly the first time I'd had an audience. And yeah, the whole thing had been set up by someone on the outside -- probably Tyson -- but sex had always been sex to me, and the fact that it fell into my lap with zero work on my part should have been a good thing.
I knew Beth was part of it, but there was no commitment from either of us, yet, so I hadn't cheated on her.
I'd had three or four lifetime's worth of sex in my 25 years and not once had I ever felt guilty about it. But this morning, I felt like the world's biggest asshole. Trina Silver was an incredibly sexy woman, and she was obviously enthusiastic about X-rated activities. And I wished I'd never met her.
We had one more game to finish off our weekend series against Winthrop, so I showed up to the field and dressed out early. Our pitching coach threw me some early batting practice, and when that was done, I grabbed my phone and went behind the dugout.
"Hey, Travis!" Beth's angelic voice instantly made me feel a little bit better. "You have a game soon, right?"
"Yeah, in about an hour," I said. "Hey, do you have any plans tonight? The game should be over around 3 or 4, and we could meet up for whatever this evening."
"Umm, shit," she said. "Yeah, Taylor and I are going to go see a movie tonight, after her parents head back up state. I'm sorry, Travis."
My stomach fell.
"Don't be," I said. "Of course you guys are going to have plans sometimes, Beth. I knew that going in. It's really ok."
And it was. I wasn't disappointed because she was doing something with Taylor. I just wanted to replace last night's experience -- and the overall lousy, asshole-like feelings it was giving me today -- with something more positive. And Beth made me feel like a king.
"I can ask her if she'd mind if you came with us," she offered.
"No," I said. "I appreciate it, but I don't want to get in the way of your time together. How's tomorrow night? My practice is over at 6."
"Tomorrow is excellent," she said. "Are you going to pick me up?"
"Sure," I said. "About 6:30?"
"Great!" she exclaimed. "Travis, listen. Thank you for the other night. That was incredible."
"It really was," I agreed. "I'm just glad we didn't get caught by hospital security."
"Well, the sex was fucking fantastic, too," she said. "I've never had better sex with a man, not even Brad. But I was talking about the whole date. You made me feel special, in a way no one other than Taylor ever has."
"You are special, Beth," I said. "I guess I have a talent for showcasing the obvious."
"Shut up," she said with a laugh. "And thank you for handling this so well today. I promise, we'll figure out how to work things so I can spend as much time as possible with both of you."
"I know we will," I agreed. "Have a great day. I'll see you in class tomorrow."
My dad had left this morning, which was good, because for most of the game, I played like I felt -- a big steaming pile of shit. I struck out twice and the one time I did make contact, I hit a grounder that didn't even make it back to the pitcher. I managed to leg that one out for an infield single, but I got caught stealing second base.
Thanks in part to my offensive ineptitude, we were clinging to just a one-run lead in the final inning, and Winthrop had the bases loaded with one out. The hitter smoked a line drive just to the left of the second base bag, and I immediately took off running. I didn't think I had a chance in hell to catch it, but I dove for it anyway.
I misjudged the height of the ball, but I got my glove under it and popped it into the air before it could hit the ground. Lying on my back, I plucked the ball out of the air with my bare hand for the second out then quickly fired it to second base to double off the middle runner, who'd been so sure it was a hit that he hadn't stayed close enough to get back in time.
Just like that, we won the game.
It wasn't until after I showered and got into my running gear that Coach Bazewell said anything.
"Whatever was in your head today, please get it the fuck out by Friday," he said as he passed me in the clubhouse.
I didn't even try to deny it.
"Yes, sir."
I thought that was it, but the big man stopped a few feet away. He waited a beat, then took a few steps back in my direction, stopping when he was close enough that only I could hear.
"That was a helluva catch you made at the end there, kid," he said. "That's what all the great ones do -- your head was somewhere else, but you managed to make the big play anyway."
He walked away as quickly as he'd come back, so I didn't have a chance to respond, but getting any kind of compliment from Bazewell was akin to making a dead person cry. I took the win, and my confidence rose ever so slightly.
I went on a run after the game, and when I got home, the adrenaline from my runner's high was still in effect, so I went ahead and sent the e-mail.
Frat Folks--
Trina Silvachenko, Adapted Physical Activity, Objective 3. You know damn well when and where.
TT
Just reflecting on the previous night's hijinks soured me, and I was still in that head space prior to soccer coaching class on Monday morning. I hoped seeing Beth would improve my mood, but when I got to class, Taylor sat alone at our table.
"Where's Beth?"
"I'm not really sure," Taylor said. "She said she had something come up and she wasn't going to make it."
"Hmm," I said. "I talked to her yesterday and she said she'd see me in class today. By the way, how was your movie?"
"It was great," she said. "Not as good as what happened after, though."
I grinned. "You're such a tease."
"How did you know about that, anyway?" she asked.
"I called yesterday and asked if she wanted to go out last night," I said. "She said you had plans."
"And how did you take that?" she asked.
"Fine, Taylor," I said. "I'm sure this wasn't what my momma had in mind, but she did teach me how to share."
She laughed. "Good. I asked if she wanted to spend tonight getting all caught up on our DVR'd reality shows, but she said you guys had plans. I smiled and told her I wanted details after. It's important that we make this as easy on her as possible."
"I agree," I said. "And just how many details did she give you from last Thursday, huh?"
"It's not how many details she gave me, Travis," she said, her voice suddenly getting softer and huskier. "It's when she gave them to me, and what I was doing to her while she did it."
And there it was... my first erection since Saturday's massive clusterfuck.
We flirted throughout class, and when it let out, we both had text messages from Beth.
"Apparently she wants to talk to both of us when you come pick her up tonight," Taylor said.
"Yeah, I got that, too."
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"Get in here," Taylor said, hurriedly throwing open the door to their apartment and dragging me in by my arm. "Maybe now that you're here, she'll talk."
I'd picked Beth up and dropped her off twice, but this was my first time in their apartment. Of course, it was much more tastefully decorated -- and infinitely cleaner -- than the party pad Jamar and I shared. It was a typical college apartment, with a small living room, an even smaller kitchen, and a short hallway with a bedroom on either side, and a bathroom at the end. I could see all of it from the front door, but I was more focused on the petite blonde pacing back and forth, looking as stressed out as I'd ever seen her.
"What's going on?" I asked as Taylor led me into the living room.
"She won't tell me," Taylor said, leaning against a bookcase with her arms crossed over her ample chest. "She didn't answer my texts or calls all afternoon, and when she finally got home an hour ago, she was already this... this ball-of-nerves thing she's doing now."
"Beth?" I asked. I stepped up to her and took her hand, and that finally got her attention. She looked me in the eyes and I could tell she was worried.
"I... just..."
"Look, Beth," I said, taking both of her wrists in my hands. I held one firmly and extended the other out toward Taylor, who walked over to us and took it. "You know Taylor and I both care about you, right?"
She nodded.
"So, tell us what's wrong," I offered. "Whatever it is, I promise we can get through it. All of us, together."
