The Scavenger Hunt

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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."

It was easy to see how strongly Taylor felt for Beth -- just a few seconds ago she was angry and stewing, but now she was smiling and nodding and trying to tell Beth without words that everything would be okay. Beth's eyes rapidly darted back and forth between the two of us, and when they met mine, I did my best to hold them and convey the same feelings. Finally, she took a deep breath and sat down, pulling Taylor onto the couch with her. I pulled over a chair and sat down in front of them.

"You guys are what's wrong," Beth said. Taylor and I looked at each other, and I could tell from the look on her face that she was as bewildered as I was.

"Yeah, you're going to have to explain that one a little more, Beth," Taylor said.

"Taylor, you know I love you, right?" Beth asked, and Taylor just nodded. "And Travis, I've connected with you more strongly than any man ever."

I nodded as well. "How is either of those things wrong?" I asked.

"They're not, but..." she trailed off. She closed her eyes and I could tell she was trying to find the right words. "You're both just... such awesome people. I love you, Taylor, and I can see myself getting there with you eventually, Travis. I want to spend every free moment I have with both of you... but I can't. I can only spend it with one or the other."

Something tickled the back of my brain, but I wasn't quite sure where she was heading just yet.

"When you asked me to go out last night, Travis, it killed me to have to say no. I asked if you wanted to come with us, but you did the gentlemanly thing and backed off. Then Taylor, last night, when you told me you wanted to stay in and watch TV with me tonight... I've never turned down spending time with you. But Travis and I already had plans. I asked if you wanted to tag along, but you did the same thing as Travis, and told me to have a good time."

"We know what you're trying to do, Beth," I said. "Yeah, I wanted to hang out Sunday, and I'm sure Taylor did tonight. But we know it's hard for you. I can only speak for myself, but I'll never begrudge you spending time with Taylor. If I start to feel a little ignored or neglected, I'll let you know, but I want you to be happy."

"Me too," Taylor chimed in. "I want nothing more than that. I love you."

"That's just it," she said. "I want to be happy, too, but having to tell either one of you no makes me just the opposite."

"So..." I said, thinking I might have to fall on my sword and just cut this thing off as quickly as we started it. After all, Taylor was here first, and --

"You know how the other day on the quad, I said none of us were sure how this was going to work?" Beth asked, and both Taylor and I nodded. "Well, I know how I want it to work. No... how I

need

it to work."

Taylor and I looked at Beth in anticipation. We were each holding one of Beth's hands, but she let them both go and instead, guided them together until we were holding hands with each other. Taylor's right hand was in my left, and Beth picked up our free hands and interlocked her fingers with both of us so that were sitting together in a continuous circle. Taylor and I stared at the junction between our hands, and Beth stayed silent, letting the symbolism sink in.

"I need you guys to want each other as much as you both want me," she finally said.

Whatever I'd been expecting her to say, it wasn't that.

"Um... say that again?" I asked.

"Does she really need to?" That was Taylor, and now she was focused on me.

"Did you know about this?" I asked Taylor.

She shook her head. "I had no idea."

"I'm sorry," Beth apologized. "I know I'm springing this on you both. But I think this is what I need. If you two could just connect with each other the way you have with me, then we could all do things together, and... maybe we could develop an even stronger relationship with the three of us."

I looked back and forth between them. I was already heading down that path with Beth, but could I do the same thing with Taylor? Honestly, I wasn't sure.

"What do you think?" Beth asked.

"I... wow, Beth," Taylor said. "I mean, I really don't know."

"Obviously you're attracted to each other," Beth said.

"Sure," I agreed. "But by itself, that doesn't mean anything."

"Is it by itself?" Beth asked. "I know I grilled you about Taylor the first time we went out, Travis. You thought I was worried about getting hurt, but that wasn't it at all. I really didn't know how things were going to go, but I thought if you were interested in Taylor, too, it might be easier on all three of us."

"I see that now," I said. "I wondered why you kept asking me about it. But I didn't lie to you, Beth."

I turned toward Taylor.

"Taylor, you're a very cool woman. You're a sports fan and competitive as all hell, so we have that in common. You're fun to talk to, you're intelligent, and you can match me joke-for-joke. And yeah... you're obviously very, very open-minded and adventurous in bed. I don't need to tell you you're one of the sexiest women on campus. But at least right now, I don't feel anything for you other than friendship."

She smiled back at me.

"Wow," she said. "That's pretty much exactly what I was going to say."

"But look," Beth chimed in. "You're already thinking the exact same things."

"Yeah," Taylor said. "That we don't really have feelings for each other." I laughed.

"Maybe not yet," Beth said. "But you have a laundry list of things you like about her, Travis, and Taylor, you said you agreed. So why couldn't those things develop into more?"

"Beth, I..." I started, then trailed off. "Honestly, I don't know. Maybe it could turn into something more, maybe it couldn't. Right?"

I looked at Taylor for concurrence, and she nodded.

"So why not find out?" Beth asked.

"Umm.." Taylor said. "How do you suppose we do that?"

"I'm glad you asked!" Beth exclaimed. "Travis and I are going to go out in a few minutes. We'll figure out the rest of the week. But I know both of you have a home series this weekend, and I don't have any classes Friday. So, Thursday after class, I'm going back to Spartanburg to spend the weekend with my dad. And you two are going to spend as much time together as possible over those four days."

As far as confusing the fuck out of us went, Beth was on a roll. I'm sure the surprised look on Taylor's face matched my own.

"Beth, I don't know if this is a good idea," I said. "I mean, I'm assuming nothing would be off-limits, right?"

"Of course not, you pervert," Beth giggled.

"Okay," I said. "So, do I see the benefits of spending four days with a woman who completely blew my mind the first time we were together? Sure. But Beth... you and I have only gone out a couple times. I know we're going somewhere. Are you sure this is the right time for me to focus on someone else?"

"I'm not asking you to focus on just her," Beth said. "Yeah, just focus on her this weekend, to kind of get the ball rolling. But my hope is, if you want to be with both of us -- and we both want to be with you -- then we'll be able to grow this together as a group. Not just me and her, or me and you, or you and her. All of us."

I thought about it for another minute. I remembered how awful I'd felt the day before, when I really wanted to be around Beth but she had plans with Taylor, and I knew if things worked out the way Beth wanted, I wouldn't have to feel that way again.

"Okay," I said finally. Turning to Taylor, I added, "I'm willing to give it a shot if you are."

Taylor smiled at me, then looked back at her girlfriend.

"I get your logic," Taylor said. "But this is kind of sudden, Beth, and--"

"Please?" Beth pleaded, releasing my hand and taking Taylor's in both of hers. "For me?"

Things between Beth and I were new, so she was still trying to convince me to go along with it, but Beth and Taylor were already in love. They'd do anything for each other, so Beth didn't need to explain it or try to make her point. Obviously, she felt just asking should be enough.

I could see the gears turning in Taylor's mind. I was guessing she'd go along with it, but by no means was it a slam dunk.

Beth knew what she could do to make it one, though.

"I promise I'll make a huge batch of fried chicken before I leave," she said. "Enough to last you both the whole weekend."

Taylor sighed, and I laughed.

"You just used an Uzi to kill a butterfly, Beth," I quipped, and Taylor started laughing as well.

"Okay, okay," she said. "It's a date."

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

"Jesus, Travis," Taylor said. "I haven't been pounded like that since... hell, maybe ever."

She waited for me to lie down on the bed next to her prone body, then lifted her head onto my chest. I wrapped my arm around her shoulders and pulled her close.

"You and Beth don't use anything?" I asked. "You know, vibrators, dildos, a strap-on?"

"We do, on occasion," Taylor said. "But if you really want a cock, no toy can compare to the real thing."

"Good to know," I said, smiling to myself and stroking her shoulders. Her massive tits pushed into my side, and a couple of points in particular let me know she was still turned on. "You didn't think I could measure up, did you?"

"I knew from the bus you were pretty damn good," she said. "But after your little helicopter stunt, Beth made you sound like some kind of Greek sex god. I thought she was exaggerating."

"And now?"

"Well, you're not Greek," she said, and joined me in laughing.

Beth and I had, in fact, gone for a long walk across campus on Monday night, and though there was no incredible sex at the end of it, we both enjoyed it thoroughly. She and Taylor had done something together Tuesday, and all of us had met for dinner at a seafood restaurant just off-campus on Wednesday.

The following day, as Beth had requested, Taylor and I started spending time together. We talked a lot while eating Beth's chicken on Thursday night at their apartment, but decided to leave the more serious topics -- her side of how she and Beth met, and what the fuck was going on here, for two -- for later in the weekend. We stayed up studying together late into the evening, but I went home and slept in my own bed, with a promise to have Taylor over the next night. I'd spent most of my free time during the week cleaning up Jamar's pigsty. I kept my space pretty clean, but Taylor would have to go through the rest of the house to get to my room, and I didn't want her to vomit.