Phone Game

Phone Game Chapter 7 By Roe St. Alee

This story contains sexual content involving college age males. If this offends you, or if this material is illegal where you live, please leave this page immediately. This story is a work of fiction, and any similarities to real life people, places, and situations is purely a coincidence.

If the above does not offend you, please enjoy! I'm getting a new job and all sorts of other things, so I've been crazy busy and haven't posted in some time. I hope you'll forgive me and keep on reading.

Your questions and comments are always welcome, so email me at roesaintalee@hotmail.com. I promise this thing will heat up within the next 3 chapters...

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I look up to the clock on the wall and it's all of a minute later. Again.

Is this class ever going to end?

I can't be upset at my teacher, and I can't even be too upset at the subject. It's just that I have a party to get to tonight, and this class pales in comparison to the endless possibilities of my first college house party.

Sixteen more minutes.

My first house party. It's crazy. Only sixteen minutes, and it's officially the next thing on my agenda.

It's not that I didn't ever think I would go to a party. Of course I'll go to a party. It's college, there are no parents, I'm a freshman, and that's what you do. It's just that I never thought I would be this excited for one.

Not that being excited is weird either. It's more my excitement to nervousness ratio. Usually it's very heavy on the latter, and the former has to struggle to even try to keep up.

Social things like this were the bane of my existence in high school. In school I was awkward, but I could also be quiet, reserved, and inconspicuous. Totally a different story outside of class, especially at some kind of social event. They were just a chance to be awkward in public, with nowhere to hide. A party like this would have been a few hours of wishing I was home instead.

So I avoided social events. Dances, football games, birthdays, and even the occasional house party that someone had the nerve and opportunity to throw.

And the more I avoided them, the less people noticed that I wasn't there. And the less they noticed, the less I got invited. And so on and so forth. It worked for me, and it didn't seem to bother anyone else.

But not tonight.

Tonight, I am without a doubt excited.

And I know it's not a date or anything, and Josh had the info all along as well, but Corey technically invited me to this party. And while that spiked plenty of those nervous feelings that perpetually threaten to drown out the excitement, they haven't quite beaten them out.

Josh, as usual, has been my rock. This morning he was actually awake and out of bed when I got back from my shower, something I haven't seen in a few days. He reminded me about the party, and seemed pleasantly surprised that I was planning to go without a fight. He seemed suspicious.

So I told him that Corey wanted me to go. And he got pumped. Which in turn got me pumped. He promised to wingman me as hard as he could all night, which seems excessive. I'm over here trying not to build this up too much in my head, and Josh was only throwing fuel on the fire.

As usual, however, his mood was infectious, so by the time I left for class I had high hopes for the party tonight.

I slogged through all my classes, turned in my very first homework assignment, ate a quick lunch, studied for an hour or so at the library, and now I'm here. Deep in the second hour of calculus and dreaming of the moment I can go home, toss down my backpack, and get ready to...

The silence of the room has been building, but it finally hits me. Kayla, our TA, has stopped talking. And it's been a while. Maybe a few seconds, but maybe more.

She's standing in the front of the room and silently chewing on her bottom lip. She's looking out at the class. Or is she looking at me?

Oh no.

Did she call on me to answer a question?

I wait it out for a few more seconds, but every second that ticks by makes it more and more likely that it's me everyone is waiting on. What should I say? Ask to repeat the question? Or just play dumb until something else happens?

I am one nanosecond away from opening my mouth to apologize when Kayla suddenly throws up her hands.

"We're done," she announces. "I'm done, at least. I forgot what I was going to say, and that's it."

I catch my breath and the rest of the class lets out a sigh of relief as well. Maybe I wasn't the only one thinking it was me.

That's the beauty of having a TA teaching your section. She's nice, she's understanding, and she knows that maybe calculus wasn't our first choice for a fun time. But most of all, she's ready for the weekend, just like us.

"I know it's early," Kayla says as we all start packing up our notebooks and pens, "but it's the weekend. Let's get it started. Please don't forget to log in to the e-learning site to do your practice problems, and make sure you..."

The rest of what she says melts into nothing as I scoop up my bag and head for the door. My first week of class is over, there's a party tonight, and for once in my life I'm actually excited.

The first beer wasn't my favorite.

I've tried beer before and I actually don't hate the taste, but I wouldn't say I'm fond of it. It's a little sour and a little sweet, and altogether not something I would choose to drink in normal circumstances.

But the second one tasted a little better.

And now that I'm working on my third, I think I'm starting to get the hang of it. It doesn't taste bad at all.

I almost can't believe I'm saying it, but this party is fun. High school me would be losing his mind right now to know that I'm thinking these thoughts in real life. I am at a party, and it is fun. I've met a few people, had a few drinks, and watched a few games of beer pong. Overall, I'd say that college is really happening for me tonight.

I sip my beer and take another look around the house. It's huge.

Josh said it used to be a frat house, but I can't really figure out which one. There are old Greek letters on the wall, but I've seen a few different sets, so it seems more like a collection than the actually history of the house.

Even so, it's definitely the size of a frat house. There are three or four rooms on the first floor I've seen with closed doors that are probably bedrooms and at least two floors up above us as well. I figure at least ten people must live here, probably more if they're sharing rooms like we are over at the dorms.

And yet, somehow I haven't met anyone who lives here yet. I don't even know the name of the person throwing this party. Josh doesn't know either. He heard about it from his brother's friend, who heard about it from his girlfriend, who heard about it from a girl she plays soccer with. You get the idea.

Along with a lack of introduction for our hosts, the other thing I haven't done tonight is something I'm trying not to think about. Something that is clouding the outside of my mind, threatening to jump in at any moment and ruin my night.

Because I haven't seen Corey.

I'm still having fun, and I'm trying every mental trick I have to not let it bother me. It's working, except when it isn't.

Even though Corey is conspicuously absent, Josh said he would wingman for me and he's doing a great job, if not in the romantic way I was originally imagining. He gets along with everyone so easily, and has no problem introducing us to everyone that walks by. When you're hanging out with Josh, it's easy to be a part of the action.

But after almost two hours at the party, a flash of blonde hair catches my eye. I look over into the hallway and there she is. Corey.

She's laughing and talking with another guy. He looks older, with longer hair and a beard. I don't know who this guy is, but I feel an overwhelming urge to fight him. Or at least to silently not like him.

She gives me a wave as she walks in then settles into a less crowded corner of the room, still deep in conversation with the long-haired dude. I stick with Josh and the couple of other guys we're talking to. I'll just wait it out until Corey is free.

At least that's my plan.

But every few seconds I find myself looking over at her, and paying less and less attention to the conversation I'm in. Something about how the college schedules its business courses. It's not a priority for me.

Instead I'm feeling the excitement wear off, and some of the nervousness move in. She's here, but I'm not talking to her yet. It's not at all how I drew up the plan for my night. After a few minutes Josh elbows me hard in the ribs.

"What are you waiting for?" he asks. "Go talk to her. You've been staring at her long enough."

I try to come up with an excuse, but the truth is probably more than a little obvious. I want to butt into the conversation that she's in the middle of and talk to her, but I'm scared.

"She's talking to that guy," I say.

"Yeah, I know. That's exactly why you should go talk to her," Josh says.

"I don't want to interrupt."

The words sound ridiculous, even as I say them. I can't help but laugh a little, and Josh flashes me a big smile.

"Yeah, you do."

He hoists my cup to my lips and lightly tilts it forward.

"Finish this," he says.

I drink the rest of my beer.

I look over at Corey. She's wearing her hair straight down her back, and it makes me realize how long it is, a bright shock of natural blonde reaching almost to her waist. She's wearing a black skirt with leggings, which isn't too exciting, but her top is more revealing than anything I've seen her wearing in the past, and I can't complain about that. She's definitely dressed to impress.

I take a deep breath and let my legs take that first step in her direction.

I'm surprised again at myself. I'm not nearly as nervous as I thought I was. Even with that other guy over there, I'm not worried about it. I'll just go up to them, make myself known, and see what happens.

Josh was right. I totally do want to interrupt.

I reach Corey and her mystery friend and settle in beside them, waiting only for the tiniest pause in their conversation.

"Hey."

My own voice surprises me, and I smile. It sounded cool. Casual, easygoing. Just like I wanted it to sound in my head.

Corey and her friend stop their conversation and slowly turn to look and me. Corey's right eyebrow perks up like it does when she's amused by something and I feel my swagger cracking in half. Maybe interrupting like that wasn't...

"What's up, Jake?"

She smiles at me and the tone of her voice is excited. Again, just like I imagined it. Even the dude she's talking to doesn't seem mad when I risk a flick of my eyes in his direction.

"I was actually trying to find you," says Corey, "but then I ran into Hunter."

Corey looks back and forth between us, making an introduction with her eyes and smile.

Hunter grabs my hand and before I can react he gives it a solid, friendly shake. He seems nice. In fact, he isn't throwing out any vibes like he's the least bit upset that I'm talking to Corey.

"Hunter and I went to high school together," says Corey, "and I haven't seen him in ages. I didn't even know he was back in town until I got to the party."

Her tone tells me there isn't anything to read into between them. She actually sounds a little apologetic that it's delayed her in finding me. I smile at both of them.

And then it's like magic. Without even the slightest break in the action, we start talking. Hunter launches into a story about his summer internship. I know the company he's working for and I chime in. Then Corey tells me about the town they grew up in and how they met. And so on.

It isn't awkward. It isn't hard.

Maybe I'm better at this stuff than I thought.

We chat for a while and then Hunter heads into the backyard to try to find a few more of his friends. Corey uses the break in the conversation to run to the kitchen to get us another drink. As she leaves the living room, I make my way back over to Josh, who appears to have just scared off a small pack of freshman girls.

Josh looks me up and down and chuckles.

"You ok over there?" he asks.

I instinctively glance around for a reflective surface and touch my face. Is there something wrong? Am I bleeding? Is there a booger on my lip?

He grabs my arm and makes me face him.

"What? I ask.

He laughs. "You're good, man. Honestly it's a good thing that's making me ask." He leans back with a strange look of pride before he explains his concern. "I've never seen you smile this much."

I bring my focus up into my cheeks and I realize he's right. They're tired. My cheeks are actually tired from smiling. I didn't even know that was a thing that could happen.

"I'm having a good time," I tell him. "It's..."

I try to think of the word I want to use. There's something different about tonight. It's like all my hopes for what college could be like are actually happening. I would stop short before I say something like "all my dreams are coming true." It's not quite that. More like they could. It's this feeling that the first two weeks of college have actually been how I was hoping they would turn out, and now everything else that I've been secretly hoping for over the past three years seems possible.

"It's college," I finally say.

He nods in understanding. "Hell yeah," he says.

He flickers his eyes up over my left shoulder and withdraws himself slightly from our conversation. It's time.

I turn around just as Corey steps up behind me with a beer in her outstretched hand.

I shed off my coat and toss it on the couch before grabbing the beer, then lightly tap the bottle against her red, plastic cup.

"Thanks," I say.

"For sure," she says with a smile.

She looks across the room toward the beer pong table and waves at a girl. She turns back to me with a mischievous look in her eye.

"I hope you're not mad," she says.

"About what?" I ask. She brought me a beer, and I'm definitely not mad about that.

"I signed us up for next game on beer pong."

And just like that, Corey grabs me by the hand and whisks me away. And for the second time tonight, I don't feel nervous. My anxiety doesn't get in the way. Like I just told Josh, it's college. And with Corey leading the way, I enjoy it.

We play two games of beer pong, winning handily in the first and barely getting beat in the second. I decided not to tell Corey that I had never played before, and I did alright. Nothing to worry about.

Then we go into the entry room where a bunch of people are playing something called King's Cup. It seems very confusing, but it's fun to watch. A lot of yelling, a lot of drinking, and occasionally everyone jumps up and down or points at the ceiling. Corey tries to explain the rules, but I can only follow about half of what she's saying.

A few more people come in that Corey knows from home, so we follow them into the backyard. We hang out there for another thirty minutes or so. Everyone she knows is so easy to talk to and listen to that I don't even think about being nervous. It all just happens and I have a great time.

And through it all, I almost can't believe it. This is so fun.

It's funny to think that I was so worried about this party. Worried about hanging out with Corey. Worried about college in the first place. This is easy. Everyone is out here to make friends and have a good time.

And for the first time in my life, I feel like they want to do those things with me.

Everyone in the backyard suddenly stops what they're doing as a huge crash comes from inside the house. For a few seconds there is silence, and then a cheer goes up, followed by a bunch of whooping and what sounds like chanting.

All the people outside look at each other for a second, then all move at once to go into the house. Whatever just happened in there, we don't want to miss it.

I turn to follow the group inside, but I feel a tug on my sleeve. I turn around to see what it is and find myself face to face with Corey.

I didn't expect her to be right behind me, and I barely manage to stop my momentum and keep from running into her. They say drinking slows down your reflexes, and it's a close call.

Even so, she doesn't back up or move away. She stays exactly where she is, leaving only a few inches between us. Our faces are almost touching. Our eyes only inches apart. Our lips...

I feel hot all of a sudden, even without my jacket. Like a sheen of sweat suddenly appeared all over my body. Corey still hasn't backed away, and I almost feel like I can taste her, she's so close. It's almost like she...

Without warning she reaches up, grabs the collar of my shirt, pulls me forward, and kisses me.

I'm not sure what to do. I try to catch my breath, but I can't. I think about pulling away to gather myself but it doesn't really seem like the best course of action while Corey is actively kissing me.

Just as it dawns on me that I need to kiss her back, she breaks away and takes a half step away from me. She looks up at me expectantly.

"Sorry," I murmur, "I didn't realize-"

She mercifully interrupts me with another kiss, and this time I'm slightly more prepared. I push into her and try to mimic what she's doing. After a few seconds I even reach up and grab the back of her head, pulling her closer into me.

She must like that, because she responds by sliding her hand down from my shirt, over my stomach, and down to...

Her hand cups over the crotch of my jeans, then squeezes gently.

I push back and break the kiss, trying to process everything that just happened. Maybe it was the surprise of it, or maybe the beer is starting to catch up with me, but I feel weird.

"Let's find somewhere a little more private," Corey whispers. She tilts her head up to look at me, and I see her expression change.

I know exactly what it is, but there's nothing I can do to stop it. It's a chain reaction inside my head, and even though it's only starting, I know what is about to happen.

I can feel that my emotions are leaking up into my face. And I must look exactly like all the things I'm feeling. Surprised, confused, and possibly a little bit sick to my stomach. Not like someone who wants to take this to a private room, but someone who wants to run far, far away.

And now I feel bad. Because I know it isn't the reaction that Corey was expecting me to have. I can see that the wheels are turning in her head and she's trying to figure me out. Like I'm a math problem that isn't quite spitting out the answer she was expecting.

I try to say something, but my familiar defense mechanism of going mute is kicking in with full force. How could I explain all this, even if I was getting words out?

Corey suddenly laughs. It's dry and makes me cringe a little.

"Maybe I misjudged you, Jake."

It was fast. Too fast. Surprising. She caught me off guard. I still want it. I still want her, but maybe this just isn't the right time and place for me. I'm out of my element. I've been drinking. It's too public, too soon, too much...

"See you around."

She takes her first step backwards, away from me. I try to think of something to say.

She takes another step. I open my mouth to speak but nothing comes out.

Another step. Then another. And before I manage to say or do anything to change what's happening, she's gone. Back into the house, and gone.

And as usual, I am frozen. Standing there, standing still, and silent. I could have said anything. I could have grabbed her. So many things I could have done, even when I knew what was happening to me. But I froze, just like I always do.

The rest of the crowd is circulating back out into the yard, and thankfully no one tries to talk to me. I need some time to breathe.

I set my beer down on a patio table and try to suck in a deep breath or two. I try to breathe, and not think about how I just ruined the biggest night of my freshman year.

Even with all the stars lining up, and every possible outcome looking good, I still managed to blow it. When things actually started happening, I froze up. For all my excitement and confidence tonight, I wasn't ready to make it real. Tripped at the finish line.

And suddenly I don't want to finish my beer. I don't want to run after Corey and try to get myself another chance. I don't want to go back to the party and see what other girls might be here. I don't want any more of it tonight.

My first college party is officially over, and I want to go home.

I wander back into the house and look for Josh, but he isn't in the living room. I grab my jacket from the chair I threw it on earlier, then check the kitchen but he isn't there either. Where the beer had me giddy and buzzing a few minutes ago, now I merely feel groggy and hazy. I just need to find Josh and go home.

I pick my way through the crowd and see him in the entry room, leaning against the bottom of the bannister of the staircase. He's chatting with what looks like a few upperclassmen, and it makes me rethink my plan. If he's still feeling it, I figure I don't need him to walk me home or anything. But I should at least let him know that I'm leaving.

I'm still a few feet away when Josh catches my eye. His expression tightens a bit and I can tell he must know what I'm about to say. It's lame, but it's time for me to go home.

But before I can reach Josh, a figure steps in between us, blocking my path.

"Jake," says deep voice, "We keep running into each other."

I look up and into the dark, shining eyes of Kyle Bang.

I swallow hard and try to get hold of myself. If the beers I drank had me feeling a little dizzy, a surprise run in with Kyle has my head spinning.

He takes a small step closer to me.

"It's crazy," he continues, thankfully not waiting for me to reply. "All the new freshmen at this college, and I keep seeing you around."

I try to catch my breath. "Yeah."

"But it's good," he says, his lips curling up into a smile. "You have a good face to see around."

If it was socially acceptable to turn and flee from conversations, I would do it.

"Thanks," I say. "You, uh, have a good face too." Realizing it was a strange thing to say, I take a shot at making it even more awkward. "For seeing around, I mean."

Morays be damned, at this point I would turn and run if my legs didn't feel like jelly.

Kyle, however, doesn't react. Instead he just looks at me. His gaze seems neutral, but something about it is anything but. His eyes lock onto mine, and with a casual glance on his part he looks deep, deep into me. Somehow in the course of two seconds he looks at me harder than I've ever seen anyone do it.

And like that, it's done. His gaze is broken by the girl I saw the other day at the pizza shop, and as he moves his eyes to look at her the feeling returns to my body. She slides into the space against his hip and he puts an arm around her.

"We're outside," she says to him, flashing a brief smile in my direction. It's not unfriendly, but I don't get the impression that she'll be joining our conversation. More that she'll be ending it by taking Kyle somewhere else.

She's even hotter than last time I saw her, but it almost doesn't even catch my attention. Her presence just doesn't have the same weight that Kyle's does, especially after he just penetrated me with a simple look.

Kyle nods to her then focuses back at me.

"Duty calls," he says. "Wish I could stick around for more face time."

With one last searing smile, he and his girlfriend step away. I resist the urge to grab Josh's hand and pull myself the last few steps to him. If I wanted to leave before, now I would say I have a burning desire. I just had my soul pierced by Kyle Bang, and I need to go home to lie down, or take a shower, or something.

But my night has officially taken a turn. From the best of times to the worst. Because a sneering voice from behind me apparently has something to say.

"If only I felt the same way about that face of yours."

He heard me. Of all the people to overhear one of my trademark bungling conversations, it had to be him.

I turn around and roll my eyes. Usually I try to keep my exasperation to myself, but I can't be bothered right now.

"Not now, Dylan," I say.

Dylan smiles at me with a look of faux concern. "Not having a good night, then?"

"I was just leaving," I say. I try to make it sound like it's because of him.

"Come on, Jacob," he says, stepping up to me and innocently putting his hand on the sleeve of my jacket. "The party is just getting started, you don't want to stick around? Even for a few minutes?"

It almost sounds like an invitation. I decide not to respond since I know I'm just waiting for a shoe to drop.

"How will big, bad Kyle Bang see your face if it's somewhere else?"

I knew he wasn't being nice. I feel my body tensing up at his words, although I'm not sure if I'm preparing to bolt out the door or sock him in the nose. Luckily Josh intervenes before I have to make that decision.

"Sounds like you might be jealous."

Dylan scoffs and takes a half step back, thankfully no longer touching me as he does so. I don't think he knew Josh was here, and I'm sure it spoils his plans to antagonize me.

"Jealous of what?" he asks.

"The fact that the biggest hunk of man meat in this school wants to see Jake's face around, and not yours."

Dylan dismisses Josh with a wave of his hand, but I see a tinge of red in his cheeks.

"Please," he says. "I have my eye on plenty of other hunks of man meat, as you put it. Not that big, dumb jock."

Now it's Josh's turn to scoff. "Don't kid yourself."

Dylan pushes past us, not bothering to be gentle as he does so. I find myself, for the millionth time, incredibly thankful for a friend like Josh. Having my back in a situation like this would be more than enough to win my eternal gratitude, but the fact that he's sharp enough to fully defeat Dylan Litchman in a conversation makes it one hundred times better.

"You ready to go?" asks Josh.

I nod and Josh bites his bottom lip in a friendly version of a grimace.

"I hate to give him any credit," Josh says, "but he's right. The party is just getting started. We could definitely stick around."

The raised pitch at the end of his sentence sounds hopeful and I feel a little bad for trying to drag him away from the party.

"You're good," I say. "I'll head back. Just wanted to let you know that I'm going. It's been a long week and I'm super tired."

Josh raises an eyebrow at me. "You sure?"

I manage to give him a smile. "Yeah," I say. Then I add what I know he is waiting to hear. "I'll tell you about it later."

He nods and holds out a fist for me to bump. I hit it and turn toward the door.

I'm glad I brought a jacket. It's chillier tonight than I originally thought it would be, even with the alcohol helping keep me warm. A fitting end to my very first - botched - college house party. A cold walk home, alone.

Even this early in the night, the streets are almost empty. I don't even have to look as I cross the street and head onto campus. It's easy to forget that as bustling as it always seems at the College, this is still a small town. Not many students are out driving after dark, and even less of the local population.

A little breeze starts up and I pull my jacket closer around me, burying my hands into the pockets as I do so. And as my left hand finds the inside of the pocket I feel the familiar texture of a note.

I stop walking and feel a tiny bit of a smile sneak onto my lips.

Even after how disastrously my night went with Corey, apparently she still wants to talk to me. She must have seen my jacket in the living room and put a note in before she left.

I pull out the note and make my way over to a bench off the side of the path in front of what I think is the music building. There's a streetlight directly over the bench and I should have plenty of light to read the paper in my pocket.

I pull it out and immediately recognize the familiar yellow paper. Folded twice as always.

My stomach tenses as I realize what this might be.

Tonight did not go well. This could be it. A little piece of closure from her to me.

Only one way to find out.

I open the note.

[ Maybe next time. ]

I sigh and stare at the paper, trying to be happy about what it says. It's good that there will be a next time, that I haven't completely blown it.

But the first word of the note is the one that I have a tough time with.

Maybe.

And that's me in a nutshell.

Maybe I can hold it together for more than one hour at a time.

Maybe I can pretend to be cool long enough to fool someone into giving me a shot.

Maybe I can fool myself into being a different person in college.

After a strong start, I couldn't do it tonight. With all the pins set up perfectly, I couldn't knock them down. And if I couldn't do it tonight, will I do any better even with a second chance?

I grit my teeth raise up my head. It's college. I can do this, right?

Maybe next time.

In the next chapter: A jog.