Jason took Jillian's advice and hurried home to shower after his class. The last thing he needed was to smell like some other girl's perfume before picking up Beth. He had about two hours before he had to get her, followed by Kira and Tessa. He prayed this night went smoothly. Jason worried less about Kira and Tessa. He thought they would be respectful of his relationship with Beth. The great worry to him was how Beth would handle the other two. Would it be a night of bickering or him playing peacemaker. He wasn't looking forward to either.
He showered quickly and dressed for the game. He wore jeans, warm socks, two shirts and a heavy Theta Chi hoodie over it all. Before he put the hoodie on, he managed to catch the weather on TV. It would be clear but would drop down into the upper forties. Jason hoped the girls would be warm enough and not want to leave before the game was over.
With about a half hour before he had to leave, Jason grabbed his notes for earth science class to study. Earth science would be one of his first exam next week. He had just started when Chad walked in.
"Hey, Dude," Chad said.
"Roomie."
"What you up to? Studying?"
"Yeah, but I got to leave for the game in twenty minutes," Jason informed.
"Oh, I nearly forgot. All I can think about is tonight with Stephanie and Pam. What time is Mark getting here?"
"He called earlier and I told him to be here before eight. Pam and Stef will be here at eight. Keep an eye open too for Brad from the swim team will you. I told him which room and when to be here but he might get lost or something."
"Okay. What're your plans after the game?"
"I'm going to try to be back first thing in the morning, if I spend the night with Beth. Not sure what she has in mind or arranged with Haden but I'm guessing she got her to move out for the night."
"You're amazing!"
"What?"
"You've got one of the hottest chicks on campus in Beth and yet you're trying to get back here for Pam and Stef. How much pussy you need, Man?" Chad chided.
"I know. You're right. I'm a fool for sure if I blow it with Beth. She's something else. I should be content with just her. I know she thinks so, but I'm not quite ready yet to settle into a permanent relationship."
"You blow it with Beth and you'll be one sorry ass."
"Don't I know it."
"I must admit I haven't been able to think about anything else myself other than fucking those two nymphets, Stef and Pam, but I'm not in your shoes with a gorgeous girlfriend like Beth. Those two sluts are the main element of my otherwise measly sex life for now."
"You're welcome," Jason boasted.
"True. Without you I'd be getting nothing but sore palms."
"No problem, brother. What're roommates for?"
"I got the best," Chad proclaimed.
"Thanks. Well, got to go," Jason lamented.
"Don't be so sad. Any of us here would give our eyeteeth to be going on a date with three beautiful women. Too bad you can't get all three in the sack at one time. That would be extraordinary."
"Sure would, but not likely," Jason fretted.
"Oh well, too bad. You might set a house record for nailing three girls at one time for that," Chad offered with a laugh.
"Might at that," Jason agreed laughing too.
Jason gave the engine of the older Camry a minute to warm up. The cooler weather brought out the age of the used car. The transmission even clunked a little when he eventually put it into reverse. The old car still ran good once it was warmed up though and purred smoothly by the time he parked near Beth's dorm.
He ran the short distance to the entrance and bound up the stairs to her floor. Beth answered moments after he knocked.
"Hi, Jason," Beth said, but made no move to kiss him.
"Hey, Beth," Jason responded and entered when she stepped away from the door.
"How warm do you think we need to be?" Beth asked with her back to him.
"I'd wear several layers," Jason suggested. "I checked the weather and it's supposed to be in the forties."
"Ouch. That's cold," Beth fussed.
"Bring gloves too if you have them," Jason added.
"Good idea."
Jason watched as she pulled on another shirt, a sweater, and lastly a university hoodie similar to his own frat one. He couldn't help thinking that with all those clothes on nothing would happen at the game between them. And the way things were going, maybe he'd be home earlier than expected. Beth grabbed her woolen cap and gloves and announced she was ready to go.
They didn't hold hands either as they walked to his car. The sun was burning golden orange on the horizon. In a few moments, it would drop out of sight. Jason could already feel the drop in temperature as the sun set.
"I think you'll be glad you're warmly dressed," Jason said breaking the silence.
"Definitely," Beth agreed.
"Where was Haden?" Jason decided to ask.
"It's her sister's birthday this weekend. She went home for a few days."
The way things had started, Jason didn't want to be too presumptuous, so he hid the inner smile he felt. He hoped this meant the stage was set for them to spend the night together but didn't feel sure of that at the moment. He unlocked the door and let Beth in.
A minute later, Jason pulled to the curb outside Hill dorm. He fingered Kira's cell number on speed dial and called her. Beth watched him.
"You have them on speed dial?" she asked incredulously.
"Yes," Jason replied. "I told you that we've done this ..."
"Before," Beth finished. "Yes, you told me. Am I on your speed dialing too?"
"Of course. Beth, you're not going to be..."
"A bitch all night? No. I'm sorry. It's just that this feels weird going on a date with you and two other women. Two women, you've undoubtedly fucked before too."
"Let's just enjoy the ...Kira, you ready?" Jason said cutting himself off to answer Kira's hello.
Beth could hear the excited voice on the other end of the phone and made out some of the words. Kira was rattling off sports predictions on the game from the local newscasters. She kept on until another muffled voice spoke too. Kira announced they were now ready and would be right down. Jason signed off and put his phone back in his pocket.
"She does sound like a true fan," Beth admitted.
"Kira? Oh yeah, she's a baseball nut. Tessa too. They'll probably have their Yankees and Mets hats on," Jason claimed.
Sure enough, as they watched the girls exit the dorm and walk to the car, you could make out the popular logos on their baseball caps. Both had their hair pulled back and Kira's long blonde hair swayed in a long ponytail behind her head and back. They were dressed warming too, with polar fleeces on, jeans, and most likely several layers underneath too. They were talking excitedly as they neared.
"They're cute," Beth said softly to Jason before the girls got too close.
Kira and Tessa jumped into the back seat and Jason made the introductions. He was pleased to see that Beth smiled as she shook their hands. She acted like everything was cool but Jason wasn't so sure if it was just an act for now. He pulled out of the Quad and out the entrance of the university.
They arrived about twenty minutes before the game started. The Thunder was still finishing warm ups when they took their seats. The two extra tickets had been at will call just as Jason had ordered. The girls had offered to pay but Jason waved them off. The conversation between the three women so far had been friendly and mostly focused on the game or what they had on for warmth. Now that they were out of the car, both Tessa and Kira produced tiny cute earmuffs that Beth thought were adorable. In the park, Jason sat on the aisle next to Beth, with Kira and Tessa in from her.
Feeling they were getting along so far, Jason excused himself to go to the bathroom. On the way back, he bought two beers, the maximum they would sell one person at a time, and four hotdogs. He got a soft pretzel too. As he approached the girls again, they were still talking pleasantly. He handed out the food and offered to go for more beers but Tessa and Kira said they were fine for now. They all talked animatedly about the game as they ate. The stadium was filling fast and despite the cold the Thunder would have a large crowd to cheer them on. Kira even pointed out some Reddington Redlegs fans on the other side of the field. They were clearly outnumbered but still more opponents than they had seen at any other Thunder's home game.
Since this game was do or die for the Thunder, with the Redlegs up two games to one in the best of five series, the excitement was high in the stands. When the national anthem finished playing and the Thunder took the field, the crowd cheered loudly to show their support. Jason was encouraged to see Beth enjoying herself. Tessa and Kira were explaining things to her about the teams and even which players they thought were the cutest. Jason was happy to see how they were getting along and almost felt left out sitting on the end.
In the first three innings, there were lots to cheer and boo about. The Redlegs had scored in the top of the second after the Thunder had taken an early one to nothing lead in the first. It was tied two to two in the top of the third when a controversial call by the umpire on first got the crowd riled. The Thunder's ace had given up a hit, but then he nearly picked the runner off as he stretched out to attempt a steal. The ump called him safe and the replay on the jumbo screen showed a close play that Thunder fans thought was a wrong call. They voiced their discontent loudly with the first base umpire. Comments about his eyesight, lineage, and bulky physic were the kinder of the outbursts.
The call soon made a huge difference as the Redlegs great clean-up hitter put a rocketing line drive into the left field seats. The two runs gave the Redlegs a four to two advantage. The first base umpire took another round of obscenities and curses to his poor eyesight.
Fortunately, the Thunder managed a rally of their own in the bottom of the third to again tie the score. It stayed that way for two more innings until the Redlegs scored one in the top of the sixth inning. The Thunder failed to score in the bottom of the sixth, but did hold the Redlegs lead to one run going into the bottom of the seventh. The Thunder's first baseman led off with a double and moved to third on a bunt single attempt by the second baseman. He was thrown out at first. The next batter hit a long enough fly ball to allow the runner to score from third to tie the game at five each.
The crowd was into the game and going crazy with the tension of a five to five tie. Kira and Tessa were jumping up and cheering on practically every play. Beth was excited too which made Jason happy she was enjoying the game.
Jason got Tessa and Kira beers upon returning from a second earlier trip to the bathroom to show Beth where they were. After that, they just ordered sodas from the vendors and unshelled peanuts to munch on. The cold didn't seem to be affecting anyone. You could see your breath but no one seemed to care.
Tessa and Kira finally got up to go to the bathroom in the top of the tenth inning as the game went into extra innings. Still tied five to five, each team now had relievers in for their starting pitchers. When the girls had left, Beth leaned into Jason for more warmth.
"They're nice," she stated.
"Glad you think so."
"Cute too. I'm jealous of Kira's beautiful hair," Beth bemoaned.
"What! Your hair is fantastic," Jason retorted.
"Her's is beautifully long and blonde."
"I like your red hair better," Jason replied.
"You're just saying that," Beth accused.
