On a small college campus, you get to know pretty much everyone. This is both a blessing and a curse. Obviously, it is nice to be a part of such a tight knit community. However, there are certain times where you wish there were more options of people to be around.
This is especially the case when your campus is overrun with guys who are hipsters and nerds. It is sometimes a difficult place for an ex-athlete like me.
My name is Wilson Douglass. A former three sport athlete in high school, I was given multiple offers to play sports in college. However, I decided to forego those opportunities to allow myself more time to focus on class work, since I was majoring Pre-Med.
I've been told I'm handsome guy. I have never been the guy girls fawn over, but still have gotten my fair share of attention. At 6'2" 200 pounds, I am easy to notice, especially with my athletic build. I've been told I have a softer face, as girls gush about my deep blue eyes and thick brown hair.
At the start of college, I had a girlfriend, my first girlfriend ever, who still attended the high school I had graduated from. In hindsight, it was a tremendous mistake to have been dating someone entering college, because it prevented me from being able to flirt with all of the cute girls I met those first few months. As the cute girls found out I was taken, I either got "friend zoned" or forgotten, as they found another guy they liked.
My girlfriend and I broke up the summer before my sophomore year, but the damage was already done. Even with Facebook notifying possible bachelorettes about my relationship status, many of the girls that I had liked ended up moving on to someone else. I decided it was best to focus in on my studies and just enjoy the friendships I had made.
My best friend was also one of my roommates. Ryan was a guy that I had gone to high school with and had forged a strong friendship with, even before college. He too had been a star multi-sport athlete (dare I say an even more accomplished than myself), and was playing on the university's tennis team.
Ryan was a very attractive guy. He had a much more sociable personality then I did, which caused him to have a lot of friends, especially females. Ryan was always more of a flirt, with relationships being relatively short lived. With the powerful combo of his charm, athleticism and good looks, he had his choice of almost any girl in school.
As I mentioned before, I had been "friend zoned" early in school when girls realized I was taken. One such girl was Rebecca. Rebecca was tall brunette who was a little on the heavier side, but not fat. She was very sweet and fun to be around, which made our friendship work well.
Rebecca and I had a number of classes together and had developed a pretty good friendship. She would invite me over to her apartment on weekends to hang out with her and her friends, or occasionally grab a bite to eat in the school cafeteria. Rebecca's initial attraction to me wore off as we became friends, which was okay given the great friendship that blossomed forth.
One of Rebecca's friends was a girl named Rachael. Rachael was cute; I noticed that from the first time we met. She had a very cute face, with a bright smile and blue eyes. She had medium length hair that floated between being dark blonde and light brown, depending on the time of year. Rachael was short, probably only 5'2", which had been useful for her as a gymnast in high school. Her physique was curvy, with a large butt and breasts; but she had a very healthy form. Her stomach was flat, giving her almost an hour glass figure. She had wide hips which shot down to strong thighs that had been trained for years on the balance beam and gymnastics mat.
Rachael and I became good friends, but never really hung out on our own. Rebecca and Rachael spent a lot of time together, so hanging out with both of them was normally what worked the best.
As much as I enjoyed my friends, I was a family man at heart. My birthday was in January; which was a quiet time of the year on campus, given it was the start of the semester. It was the perfect opportunity for me to go home and celebrate with my family who lived three hours away.
I returned to campus on Sunday night, as I had maximized my time at home eating my mother's wonderful cooking. It was chilly and my coat was doing little to stop the bitter wind that was blowing across the residential parking lot. My walk turned into a light jog, as I hauled my duffle bag on my shoulder toward my dorm room.
As I approached my building, I could see the light to our living room was off, as our window sat dark. Between Ryan and my other two roommates, normally someone was always in the room. To see lights to the room completely off, especially on a weekend was practically unheard of. I unlocked the door and flipped on the living room lights.
"Surprise!" the room of full people screamed, as they were suddenly uncovered from the veil of darkness that had covered the room.
My heart nearly pounded out of its chest, as I stood startled by the unexpected crowd that filled my dorm room.
Ryan came darting across the dorm room laughing at my reaction, "You should have seen your face. Welcome back man! Happy Birthday!" he said giving me a pat on the back.
"Holy crap, that scared me to death," I laughed finally realizing what was going on.
The room was filled with all of my friends, along with some people I had merely met in passing. The party had food and music, which is about all it takes to get college kids interested. I stood in the corner of the room, watching everyone party as I talked with Ryan, occasionally pausing to acknowledge a birthday wish from a passerby.
"So, how you liking the party?" Ryan asked.
"Ah, you know me man. This isn't necessarily my scene, but it is still fun to hang out with everyone."
"Well, I'm glad you are enjoying it. You deserve to have fun every once and a while. You've spent far too much time with your nose in textbooks since you and Jessie broke up."