The Scavenger Hunt

Special thanks to my editor, samuraisan. We decided the only thing we can't agree on is comma usage, so if you feel there's a few of those out of place here, blame me, not him. (He'll probably have an issue with that last sentence.) Other than that, he's been instrumental in... well, just about everything I've published from 2017 until now, and a ton of net-yet-finished drafts sitting on my hard drive. Also a big thanks to thatsbogus, whose gentle prodding and encouragement have gotten me off the bench and back in the game. He's also a writer on this site -- go find him and read everything. You won't regret it.

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The Scavenger Hunt: Chapter 4

Frat Folks--

Lexi Briggs, Motor Skills & Development, Objective 7. Thursday morning, during the swim class she teaches, in the pool.

TT

I sent the e-mail a few hours after I left the pool, but there was no response until the following morning. It came in while I was half-dozing through yet another anatomy lecture. I'd been studying so much anatomy up close lately that I could probably teach the class on my own.

Pledge Temple--

The swim class is not one of your classes. Therefore, it doesn't count.

CAU AKP

Short and to the point -- and also incorrect. I fired back immediately.

Frat Folks--

Read your task e-mail again. Objective 7 simply states "Sex during a class." It doesn't specify that it has to be one of MY classes.

TT

I thought it would take a long time to get a response. I watched another half hour tick off the clock, then saw the inbox tab on my e-mail go bold again.

Pledge Temple--

Fair point. We should have considered the language in the task more carefully. We are quite certain you knew the spirit of the law, but as your encounter does satisfy the letter of the law, we will allow it to count for Objective 7 and your Motor Skills class (once verified).

CAU AKP

I only had a few seconds to be satisfied with my tiny victory, when the fire alarm went off.

"All right, all right everyone," the professor said, sounding as annoyed by the interrupting fire drill as the students were elated by it. "Everyone leave the room in an orderly fashion, and leave all your personal belongings. They'll be here when you get back."

I actually liked this professor, so I resisted the temptation to laugh out loud, but I still rolled my eyes. If there ever really was a fire in the building, most of us in this third-story classroom would be goners, because exactly nobody left their personal stuff behind. Anyone who had laptops out packed them away, and even the few studious ones stowed their notebooks before they got up. It was only 10 minutes before the end of class, anyway, so no one was coming back.

We moved down the stairs like a herd of elephants. I'd just stepped off the last stair before the second-floor landing when a female bowling ball crashed into me.

"What the--" was all I could say -- I was far too busy trying to ensure that both she and I didn't hit the deck and get trampled on. It was clear that her intrusion wasn't intentional -- she was definitely pissed at someone, but it wasn't me.

"God, Mike, you're such a fucking dumbass," she exclaimed. She was Laci Daniels, one of my classmates and a member of the CAU dance squad. The Mike in question was a football player, already halfway down the stairs at this point.

"Did you try to play chicken with the left tackle, Laci?" I asked. I had her wrapped in a tight bear hug with one arm, while my other arm pushed off the nearest wall. She shot a brief smile at my quip.

"He was joking about how he'd be acting if this really was a fire, and started flailing his arms around like an idiot," she said. Then, she raised her voice and directed it down the stairs: "If all our offensive linemen are as uncoordinated as your goofy ass, no wonder our football team sucks!"

She got a few laughs from the other people heading down the stairs, and a couple of choice insults from Mike and his teammates down below. Once the stampede had passed, I set her on her feet. She could have backed away, but chose not to.

"Thanks for breaking my fall," she breathed. "Did you get hurt?"

"Nah, I'm good," I said. "Quick reflexes. I'm glad you weigh about 78 pounds, though, or that could have been ugly for us both. Next time just run him over with your car or something."

Laci was maybe 5-foot-3 and 100 pounds submerged in a swimming pool. She had dark, curly hair and was presently wearing way too much makeup. We had a couple classes together last semester, and one other one this term. I'd talked to her a handful of times, and she'd been my lab partner once or twice. She seemed friendly and fun, but I'd never taken a shot at her for whatever reason.

She decided she was going to take a shot at me, apparently, because instead of pulling away from me, she gave me a classic package check. That particular part of my body wasn't all that inspired when she made contact, but by the time she let it go, it was awake and checking out its surroundings.

"Very nice," she whispered. "You'll have to let me thank you for being my landing cushion sometime soon."

"I definitely will," I said, watching with an amused expression as she continued down the stairs. I hadn't even started thinking about the next objective for my pledge task yet, but apparently, it had been thinking about me.

********

The following day was Saturday, which meant my afternoon picnic with Beth. I'd told her she could invite Taylor, but this was one of the few weekends where the baseball and softball schedules differed -- we were off for the weekend, but the softball team had a series in Georgia.

So it was just Beth and I, sitting on a blanket in the middle of a city park, eating a basket of homemade fried chicken and sipping on a bottle of 2-dollar wine. I thanked my lucky stars that the weather had decided to warm up some this weekend -- if it was still in the mid-40s, Beth likely would have worn more than just a white flower-printed tank top and yellow shorts that barely reached mid-thigh. Keeping all that smooth, creamy skin under wraps would have been a crime.

We'd made small talk during the walk from the parking area to our picnic spot, but once she broke out the food, my mind had been unavailable for conversation. As soon as I'd taken a bite of her chicken, I was in heaven. I'd told her as much as soon as I'd swallowed, but I'd spent the next few minutes devouring as much of it as I could. She'd actually kept up fairly well -- I'd eaten 5 or 6 pieces, and she was on her fourth.

"Jesus, Beth," I said once we'd finished our feast. "I haven't had fried chicken that good since... hell, maybe my grandma's is that good, and I'm only saying that because I'm sure that woman can hear me even from her living room in North Carolina."

She giggled, displaying pearly white teeth and a playful smile.

"Smart man," she said. "And thank you. It's my mama's recipe. I'm still trying to perfect it."

"You can stop now," I said. "Seriously, I don't know if I've ever eaten anything better than that."

"I almost made you a batch of mama's banana pudding," she said.

"Almost?" I asked. "I mean, I try to stay in shape and all, but if the chicken is any indication of how good your banana pudding is, another mile or two on my morning run would have been worth it."

"Trust me, it would have been," she said. "But I just wanted you to like me. I didn't want you to propose."

It was my turn to laugh now. "How on Earth do you cook as well as you do and still look like that?"

"I run marathons," she explained. "I ran one in Atlanta last month, and I'm hoping to do another one in Charlotte in the fall."

"Ah," I said with a nod. We cleared all the picnic stuff away, leaving only the bottle of wine on the blanket with us. We laid down next to each other and stared up at the sky.

"So, you can make me laugh without even trying," I said. "You own a car but still choose to run 26.2 miles on occasion, so you're at least a little bit mental. You could put Colonel Sanders and the Popeyes lady out of business anytime you choose. You're so stunningly beautiful that Stevie Wonder could write a song about you. You play for both teams, and you're not exactly quiet during sex. Anything else I should know?"

Her laugh was melodious and infectious. My favorite sound on planet Earth was the crack of a wooden bat hitting a baseball right on the sweet spot, but her laugh was quickly catching up.

"Well, I'm an Aquarius, my turn-ons are confidence and tall, dark and handsome men, and I like long walks on the beach."

I chuckled at her phrasing. She was either spoofing Playboy or beauty pageants -- apropos, because she'd fit right in with either one.

"Ok," I said. "Well, happy belated birthday. I'm a Marine, a baseball player and a 25 year-old man on a college campus, so I have no problems with confidence. I'm 6-foot-1, so, fairly tall, and I tan up pretty well in summer. I'll have to let you decide about handsome, but you're here, so I feel pretty good about that one. And there just so happens to be a beach a few minutes behind us. You want to go for that walk now?"

I felt her hand fall onto mine. Her warm fingers interlaced with my own, and they fit perfectly.

"Maybe next time," she said. I was genuinely excited that she wanted to see me again. It was a foreign feeling to me -- usually, 'next time' was something I decided whether I wanted or not, and if I did, I'd make sure it happened.

I looked over at her. Her blond hair was splayed out under her head, her eyes were closed, and a playful smile teased her lips. She was drawing deep breaths and exhaling slowly through her nose.

"It worked, you know," I said.

"Hmm?" she asked.

"The chicken," I said. "It worked. I like you."

She smiled and opened her soft hazel eyes just in time to see me lean in and kiss her. I just brushed her lips with mine at first, but when she kissed me back, I went a little deeper. I gently sucked her bottom lip into my mouth, savoring the taste of her skin. She'd put on some watermelon lip gloss after we finished eating, and I couldn't get enough of it.

We kissed for a few moments longer before I pulled away. She rolled onto her side and gently pushed me onto my back before laying her head on my shoulder.

"So, am I just another conquest, Travis?" she said into my shirt. "I know we laughed about it the other day, but please tell me this isn't just you trying to bang the other hot bi girl."

"You know, when I asked you out the other day, I wasn't really sure," I said. "I know I felt differently about you than I have about other girls in the past. I know I've had a hard time getting you out of my head the past few days. But even today, driving over here, I wasn't entirely sure. But now that we're here..."

I trailed off, trying to collect my thoughts quickly so I didn't leave her hanging.

"I can safely say that no, you're not just another girl I'm trying to hook up with. I don't know what this is or might be, but it feels different, and for now, I'm gonna go with that."

"And you're not just saying that?" she asked, looking up and making eye contact with me now.

"I've always been honest about this stuff," I said. "If there's nothing there for me, I won't lie and say there is just to get a girl into bed. There've been a couple times where I realized the girl thought I wanted more while we were actually in bed together, and I cut it off right there."

"I know," she said. "Christine told me."

"I told her that first night that it was just about sex," I said with a sigh. I stroked Beth's neck and shoulders as we talked, and I found it mildly odd that we were talking about my past sexual encounters while cuddled together. "She accepted it. A month later, I was back in Charleston, so I figured I'd call her up and see if she wanted to get together. She seemed excited about it, but right after our clothes came off, she asked if I'd ever tried to have a long-distance relationship. I told her I wasn't much for relationships, and that I was just in it to have fun. If she wasn't ok with that anymore, we should stop right there, and we did. I hope there were no hard feelings, but I never lied to her."

"I know," she said. "I wasn't accusing you."

We lay there in silence for a while before she threw another curveball at me.

"What about Taylor?" she asked, making me dizzy. "Is there anything long-term there?"

"I should probably be asking you that question," I answered.

"You probably should, yeah," she said with a grin. "But I asked you first."

I knew this might be a delicate, touchy subject. Since I didn't really know the score between Taylor and Beth, I really had no idea what she needed me to say. So, I did what I usually did, and stuck with the truth.

"I had fun with Taylor last weekend," I said. "It was incredible, and I would bet she thought so, too." Beth just nodded. "It sounded like she was in a flexible but committed relationship. She had no problem doing it once, so I thought maybe we might hook up another time or two, maybe when both teams are in the same hotel on a road trip. But did I think there was anything more to it? No."

Her eyes focused on mine. "And what about now?"

"Nothing's really changed," I said. "The only difference is that I'm into a girl she has a relationship with. I would like to know how much deeper that goes before things go much farther between you and I, but if you're asking me if you and her having sex together is a problem for me, then the answer is no."

She smiled and nodded.

"I'm glad to hear that," she said. I thought the subject had dropped, but after a few moments of silence, she brought it back up. "I know you said you didn't think there was a chance of anything between you and Taylor, but let me ask a different question. Do you like her?"

I understood. I'd basically said I had some feelings for Beth, and I sensed that she had some for me, too. But I'd also been intimate with a good friend of hers -- at least -- recently, so she wanted to make sure there was no threat. I tried to respond as emphatically as I could.

"As a friend? Sure," I said. "As more than that? No. I have no feelings for her."

I thought that would satisfy her, but she frowned instead.

"But could you?" she asked.

"Could I what?"

"Could you develop feelings for her?" she asked. "Could you see yourself feeling the same way about her that you do about me?"

This was getting to be a bit much. I'd already told her I didn't have feelings for Taylor. I wasn't sure how much clearer I could be.

"Beth, what is this about?" I asked. "I've always been a stand-up guy. Like I said, I've never been anything but honest, and I'm telling you the truth now. You have nothing to worry about."

"I know that, Travis, and I'm not worried," she said.

"And besides," I continued. "I don't know what you and Taylor are, but it's pretty obvious that she at least cares about you a lot. So why do you think she would be willing to hurt you, even if I was?"

She looked as confused as I was for a moment, but then she broke into a huge smile. "Just kiss me again."

I wanted to understand, but I also wasn't the world's biggest fucking idiot, so I did as she asked. It wasn't exactly a French kiss, but our tongues touched just briefly before I pulled away.

"What exactly is going on between the two of you, anyway?" I asked.

"It wouldn't be fair to answer that without Taylor being here," she said.

"Okay," I said. "Look, I'm fine with just going with the flow for now, Beth. But I told you -- I'm honest. I don't have a ton of experience with relationships, but I know that anyone I'd even think about getting serious with has to be the same."

"I understand," she said. "I'm not going to hide anything from you. Just wait for Taylor to come back, and we can all get together and talk, ok?"

I agreed. We packed up the picnic stuff and I drove her back to the off-campus apartment she and Taylor shared. Beth asked me in, but much to both our surprises, I declined.

"Don't get me wrong," I said. "I want to. If you were someone else, I definitely would."

"So, then...?" she asked.

"Different, remember?" I asked. "This feels different, so I should probably act differently."

She blushed, which turned me on something fierce.

"I had a great time today, Travis," she said.

"So did I," I agreed. "And I want to do it again as soon as possible, ok?"

I leaned in to give her what I had planned to be a simple, chaste kiss on the lips. Beth had other ideas, wrapping a hand behind my head and pulling me in for a longer, steamier kiss instead. Our tongues definitely got involved this time, and when we were finished, she was panting and my cock was hard as granite.

"Ss... see you in class Monday?" she asked, clearly flustered.

"I wouldn't miss it."

**************

"So where's Chet tonight?" Jamar asked. I parked as close to the bar I could, giving Jamar, Lex and myself a two-block walk. We were meeting a few of our other teammates at one of the popular night spots in town. Normally Chet was our fourth wheel, but--

"He has a date," Lex answered.

"Really?" Jamar asked. He'd already had a couple beers at the house. I'd had maybe half of one, but since I was driving, I let Jamar finish mine, too. "That boy asked a girl out on a date?" That was news to me, too.

"No, actually," Lex said.

"I told her she'd have to ask him," I said. "She did it, huh?"

"Sorta," Lex said. "We were sitting around earlier today, I'm kicking his ass at Call of Duty, and there's a knock at the door. He answered it, but I did most of the talking. She said she came over to kidnap Chet, but since I was the only one talking to her, maybe I wanted to go instead. That got his ass in gear. I dunno where they went, but he texted a while ago and said they were going out."

"Wait, wait," Jamar said. "I miss something?"

"Chet met one of my friends the other night after we beat VMI," I said. "He liked her, and she was into him, too. I told her she'd have to make the first move."

"And she did," Lex finished. "You're all done with that, right?" He was looking at me now.

"Yeah," I said. "Of course. Was just a one-time thing, anyway. You think Chet would be mad if he knew I got there first?"

"Nah," Lex said. "Pretty sure he knows that anyway. As long as you're not going back."

"Nope," I said. "She knows that, too."

"Good, good." We got into the club, and there were people everywhere. It was Saturday night, and with the improved weather, the girls were out in force and not wearing a whole lot of anything. Usually, the place had live music on the weekends, but tonight there was a DJ and the dance floor was packed.

Jamar went to go do his thing on the floor. Lex wasn't going to dance until his girlfriend arrived, and I wasn't much for dancing anyway, but finding a table was impossible, so we hung out near the bar. A few teammates found us, and we stood around bullshitting for the better part of an hour. Everyone else hit the sauce pretty hard, but I limited myself to one beer.

Lex's girlfriend, Anita, showed up a little before midnight. She was a tall, black girl from St. Lucia, in the Caribbean, at Atlantic on an academic scholarship. She and Lex were both computer science majors, and to hear him tell it, she was the only student in the program who could keep up with him.

She'd brought a friend, and after a few minutes of chatting, the girls led us out onto the dance floor and into the mob of writhing flesh. The more talented and graceful people found just enough room to do actual dance moves, while the rest of us just kinda swayed to the beat and tried not to get run over. I danced with Anita's friend for a little while, but other guys had taken an interest in her, which was fine with me. I started to slowly dance my way back to the rest of my teammates when I felt a tug on my arm.