Before driving home from the airport after our Cancun Spring Break vacation, we did some grocery shopping. We would be home now until we left for the wedding and then our honeymoon in Monte Carlo. I was getting tired of eating out at restaurants every night and some home cooking sounded good, even with Alexis' meager cooking skills.
After putting away the groceries and unloading our one suitcase, I went to my study room and closed the door. I had a power lab report to write and then I really needed to study for a mid-term exam in Thermodynamics. Alexis knew that the door closed to my study room meant that she shouldn't disturb me. She adhered to those rules because she had her own study room and the closed door meant the same thing for her.
So, I was surprised when Alexis knocked and immediately opened the door. She stuck her head in and said, "Baby. Rachel is here and says it's urgent that we come over to her side of the house ASAP." I groaned and dropped my forehead to the textbook like I was trying to quickly absorb the contents through osmosis.
"What's the emergency Babe?" I said. She shrugged her shoulders and looked as confused as I was. "Can you ask her?"
Alexis responded, "I can't. She hurried back to her house. She seemed frazzled. I have no idea what's up."
I pushed myself back from the desk and said, "Well, I guess we should go find out what's going on."
We went down the hallway and through the door separating her mansion from our guest house. No one was in sight, so we walked through the foyer, which ran around eighty feet from our door to the front door with several rooms branching off to the right and left. Two chandeliers hung down from the twenty foot ceilings and both were turned to maximum illumination. We had never seen either of them on high before. The Oriental carpets muffled our footsteps as we headed toward the front door.
Mitch appeared from the last doorway on the right which we knew was the study. She was urgently waving us toward her and we picked up our pace. Alexis looked at me with confusion on her face and said, "What the fuck is going on?" It was my turn to shrug my shoulders. Mitch disappeared back into the study and we turned the corner and stopped short as a room full of people jumped out at us yelling, "Surprise. Happy Birthday."
There must have been fifty people in the room as party poppers and blaring horns sounded. Alexis grabbed my arm and looked up at me like I was going to make everything crystal clear. I was as confused as she was. Rachel came across the room, took our hands and pulled us into the room. She was all grins as she said, "I told you I'd have to plan a party for Alexis' birthday. I decided that we hadn't celebrated your birthday either so I invited everyone you two know."
I looked around the room and random faces became members of the Football team and cheerleaders; Alexis' friends from her classes. The SH5 team was there which included January along with her Basketball friends, Jemelle, Jo and Julia and even their coach, Jennifer, who was grinning broadly at me. I hadn't seen her since that day in her office. I hadn't been hanging out in the gymnasium or the field house much since football season was over.
Dean and Josie came over and said, "Happy Birthday, guys." Jan came over and introduced us to Holly. She was exceptionally tall with light brown hair pulled back in a tight pony-tail. Neither Alexis nor I knew her. She was the fifth member of the starting girl's basketball team. She had not been there that day in the sauna. She was scanning me up and down with a lascivious look on her face. Alexis saw the look and looked at me for an explanation. I shrugged my shoulders.
Cheerleaders Mindy and Morgan and former cheerleader April pushed through the crowd and hugged and kissed Alexis. Right behind them was their former Coach Hannah. She smiled and kissed and hugged me and then Alexis. Alexis looked up at me with a "WTF?" look on her face as she dutifully hugged Hannah back. I shrugged my shoulders again. I was doing that a lot lately.
Mitch muscled her way through the crowd surrounding us and hugged and kissed us both. She ran her open hand across my crotch when she kissed me. It didn't go unseen. Rachel had moved to the doorway behind us and was talking with John. He was apparently working as he was pushing and pulling wheeled carts with food and snacks consisting of shrimp and cocktail sauce; Buffalo Chicken bites and bleu cheese; scallops wrapped with bacon; crackers and sliced cheese and a variety of other snacks. John set up the carts along the far wall and two minutes later was back with two more carts. One held desserts of all kinds and another with every variety of soda and bottled water. I was certain that this crowd would have preferred beer but Rachel, as the University Chancellor, was not going to be caught in a scandal providing alcoholic beverages to under-age students.
The crowd thinned around us as everyone headed for the food and drink. Football friends: JR and Jason, Spitfire and Rocket, who along with Dean and I had given Olivia the ride of her life when we got back from the Bowl Game, came over and shook my hand and said "Happy Birthday Meat". They all hugged and kissed Alexis. I was sure that was more their goal than wishing me a happy birthday.