Fair warning to readers new to this series: I don't bother with much in the way of recaps usually, and this story is no exception. You can certainly enjoy it on its own, but it will make a lot more sense (I think), if you were to start with Chapter 1. Regardless, as always, do not hold your breath for realism in my work. I aim to be plausibly ridiculous.
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A REPUTATION 5: OVERSERVED
When I returned to my room from Fawn's dorm, I plopped face down on my bed. I should be sitting up and studying, I told myself. It was nearly 4:30, and I had done no homework this afternoon. Mitch's scrawny hide would be showing up soon. He would want to get some dinner and go out to frat parties later.
But I was tired. My dick was even tired.
I did have options, I considered. I did not have to go out tonight. I could nap now, and study this evening. I could study now and go to bed early. I could just sleep until tomorrow morning.
But who was I kidding? There was zero chance I would not go out and have fun on a Friday night. I was a college student after all, right? I groaned and sat up. I grab the undergrad's best friend, caffeine, out of my fridge in the form of a Coca-Cola and slugged it down. I lumbered to my desk and went back to work on a sketch for Industrial Design that I felt was shaping up nicely. I had nearly an hour before Mitch's arrival would make work impossible.
A few minutes later than usual, Mitch rolled in to the room, throwing his books down on his bed. I waved idly and worked my French Curve to add another smooth, sweeping line to my design.
"Again?" was all he said, still standing in the middle of the room. I looked up at him and he just looked back, his face a mixture of admiration, jealousy, wonder, and bewilderment. "Again?" he repeated.
I wasn't going to bother denying it. There was no point. "Yes. Again," I replied patiently, almost quellingly. Then I couldn't help but grin, I had just gotten most righteously laid and my mood was pretty high, especially now that I had had some refreshing caffeine and high-fructose corn syrup. "But how the fuck do you know
already
?" I could not help but ask.
"My buddy Ted told me. You know, we are in Japanese Poetry together."
I rolled my eyes. I rolled my eyes every time Mitch said 'Japanese Poetry'. He had seen it and taken it as an elective to slot in an easy A. The joke was on him, because it was killing him with homework.
"He lives in Harwood Hall. Right as he was leaving for class, the place was all abuzz because Shower Guy had rolled in and loudly sexed up some girl over there. He saw you leaving," Mitch said. "His description matched, down to the shirt you are wearing."
"Speaking of that, I'd better take a quick shower before dinner," I mused to myself.
"Dude! Who? How? Uh, how much?" Mitch spluttered. "But mostly, do I know her?"
I looked at Mitch quellingly, and considered. "No names," I said in warning.
"Oh come on, man! I'm dying. You know I can find out. Who was it?"
I considered again. Mitch had in fact shown that while he had diarrhea of the mouth, Kate's name still seemed to be out of the public discussion. "Look, I'm saying I know you can't control that trap of yours totally," I told him quietly, "but I do expect that at least for your part, to never use names, okay?"
"What? Yeah. Of course," Mitch said, actually surprised that I felt I needed to make that point.
"Kim Fawn."
"The Korean girl from last year? Dude, she has a boyfriend!"
"Not for a while, to my benefit."
Finally, to cut off Mitch's relentless pestering for details he was not going to get, I bailed for the shower. I was blessedly, if disappointingly, unmolested there. We went and had dinner without my aroma reminding everyone in the dining hall about me, then I managed another half-hour of work while Mitch got cleaned up to go out.
How fast were Shower Guy stories spreading now? I could have sworn I got some renewed buzz around me in the dining hall.
*
We chose a kegger at Rho Theta Rho that evening. It was kind of the science frat on campus, so I did not anticipate it being too huge of a rager. They had fewer parties than most frats, so I liked to go when they did. Honestly, I felt like I'd have a higher chance of meeting girls at a Rho Theta Rho whose academic interests were similar to my own.
After an hour at the party, I reflected that, while many things had changed for me in recent days, my track record of not meeting girls at frat parties seemed to be remaining intact. I did at least meet up with some people I knew, which was a nice change, even if a few of them had that, 'I Can't Believe Will Is Shower Guy,' look in the back of their eyes.
"Hey Will," I heard, accompanied by a punch on the shoulder. Pete Rollins, from my Circuits class was standing there. Pete is not my favorite guy. He's boring, to be honest. But he's not a jerk or anything, and he never seems to give a shit about my flowering reputation, so he has that going for him.
"What's up, Pete?"
"Work."
"Heard that. I haven't talked to you after class for a while," I said. "What else you have going on? All work and no play makes Pete a dull boy." I winced as soon as I said that. As I mentioned, Pete is in fact, a dull boy.
"I've got a girlfriend, actually," he grinned.
"Noice!" I said, eyebrows rising. "Details?" We were both half shouting over the crowd. For a Rho Theta party, this one was pretty loud.
"Her name's Maisy. She's a frosh, and I met her when she needed tutoring at the Student Assistance Center," Pete grinned.
Good for Pete. "Where is she? Introduce me," I said.
"She wasn't feeling it tonight," he said, still happily.
A girlfriend who doesn't go out with you on Friday night seemed a little sub-par to me, to be honest, but the subtext as out conversation went on was that Pete was, if not getting laid, then at least getting... some. And I suspected that for Pete that was much more than he was used to.
Two weeks ago, it was more than I was used to...
I moved on from Pete. Mitch and I met back up and we ended up in a long discussion with Gunther and Sally about hydro-electric projects and endangered species. It didn't go much of anywhere, of course, because all four of us were long on opinions and short on any actual, you know, knowledge. It was a typical, fun conversation.
I noticed that I was having a more pleasant time than usual at this party. I was having an easy time finding conversations, even a few with new people. It turns out that it is easier to relax and be sociable with people, especially girls, when you aren't, well, hard up. My dick's radar wasn't even on. It was on standby, of course. Every twenty year-old's dick radar is perpetually on standby. But I was not hovering over the screen. Thus, the more enjoyable evening.
I had extricated myself from the devolving hydro-electric discussion to go in search of more beer and possibly someone new to talk to--possibly a new girl. I knew I could not count of females just continuing to hurl themselves at me, burgeoning reputation or no.
And just as I thought that, a soft arm snaked around my waist and a body pressed against me. A voice breathed, "So, you are the Shower Guy. I've been wanting to meet you."
Now, I just put that in the best possible way. Here it is again, more accurately:
And just as I thought that, an arm bumped into my back then fumbled around me, a soft body stumbling against me. A voice slurred in my ear, "Soooo. I hear you, um, are the Shower Guy. I've been... um, wanting to meet me."
I started to turn, then paused because it was instantly apparent that I had become this girl's support, and I did not want her to fall flat on her face. She showed no signs of letting go, so I managed to turn enough to get at least a look at what I was dealing with.
"I'm Jenna," she declared. That at least was clear. She was fairly tall, only a couple of inches shorter than me, with a shock of black hair that was done up in a half-disintegrated styling job that now hung down over half her slack, fairly plain face. She was wearing a set of school sweats, the kind of loose gray outfit that girls wear to hide the fact that they never lost the Freshman Fifteen.
Jenna was drunk. Very drunk. Like, absolutely should not be out, especially at a frat party, drunk.
I was pretty instantly alarmed for her, whoever the fuck she was.
