My Cousin's Sorority

I woke up groggy. It took me a moment to remember what happened. I opened my eyes and saw my cousin Tara's sorority big sister asleep next to me. Toni was a beautiful Jamaican girl. Seeing her lying there naked made me smile. I was tempted to wake her, but she looked too content. Besides, I needed to talk to my cousin and make sure everything was okay.

I climbed out of bed and got dressed quietly. I leaned over Toni before I left and gave her a gentle kiss goodbye. She smiled in her sleep.

I made my way to Tara's room. I took a deep breath before knocking. My cousin opened the door wordlessly and I entered. The first thing I noticed was that Tara was alone.

"What happened to Sarah?" I asked.

"She left to go study. I told her we'd meet her for dinner in a half-hour," Tara replied, both of us avoiding discussing what she saw earlier.

"Is it safe for me to eat with her?" I joked, trying to lighten the mood. Tara frowned.

"Sarah is really a nice girl. She had a fight with her boyfriend Sam, that's why she overreacted to the pillow fight," she replied. I sighed because I could tell that Tara was upset. My cousin went to her closet and pulled out a towel.

"Here. You need a shower," she said without preamble. I turned red and opened my mouth to explain, but she turned away and led me to the guy's bathroom before I could respond. My cousin grabbed my shoulder just before I entered.

"Look, just be careful. Toni is one of my best friends," she said with a sigh. Tara turned without another word and left me to my shower.

I thought about her concerns as I showered. I realized sleeping with her sorority big sister was probably a mistake. I would only be here for three days, but she would have to deal with whatever I did long after I was gone. I didn't want her losing friends because of me.

Of course, it's not like I got the opportunity to sleep with women like Toni all the time. I couldn't regret what happened, but I could try and remember how my actions would affect Tara's coed life going forward.

The door was open when I got back to Tara's room, but no one was there. I shrugged and got dressed. I was just finishing brushing my hair when Tara came back. She was smiling. She gave me a quick kiss on the cheek.

"We're going to be a little late. Toni coming with us as well," she said. I shrugged to myself. I guess things were okay between my cousin and Toni.

Twenty minutes later Toni came to the room. She smiled warmly at me, but said nothing about our earlier activity. We met Sarah at the cafeteria. I apologized for the earlier pillow fight, but she just shook her head.

"I should be apologizing to you," she said with a smile. She had striking blue eyes and her smile was just as attractive in person as it was in her pictures.

"No, it was your room. If there's anything I can do to make it up, please let me know," I said sincerely. Toni laughed.

"Watch this one, Sarah girl. He's dangerous," she said. Tara snorted and I blushed slightly. Sarah watched in confusion. I quickly changed the subject.

"Let's go back to the room and have a couple of drinks before going out," my cousin said once the meal was done. We stopped and picked up some wine and beer on the way.

Sarah set up a trivia game as Tara poured us drinks. Sarah was pretty upset about her fight with her boyfriend Sam. He wanted to see other people. Sarah told him that he could see whomever he wanted, just not her anymore. It sounded like she was serious.

I went to the bathroom after an hour or so and when I came back they quickly fell quiet. I figured they were talking about me from their expressions. Sarah was looking at me oddly, so I guessed they informed her about Toni and my earlier antics. She sat further away from me as we started playing the trivia game again. I sighed.

Another hour passed and we once again laughing and playing. There was a phone call and Tara looked unhappy as she spoke to the person on the line. She hung up the phone and cursed.

"Toni, you and I have a sorority function to go to right now," she said after she calmed down. Toni nodded.

"A big sister's job is never done," she replied with a sigh, and then she added, "I think I know what this is about. If I'm correct, then we won't be back until after midnight." Tara cursed again.

"Sarah, would you mind entertaining my cousin for the rest of the night?" she asked her roommate. Sarah smiled and shrugged.

"No problem. My plans for tonight are open," she said, half in jest. It was obvious she was thinking about her breakup with Sam.

"Thanks," Tara sighed.

"Sarah, be careful. He's sneaky," Toni added.

"Hey!" I said. Toni cut me off before I could say anything else.

"But he is very talented!" I blushed as both Toni and my cousin left. Sarah watched me wearily.

"Oh, relax! I'm not a hormone-crazed monster. What happened between Toni and I was as much a surprise to me as it was to her. I'll get us another glass of wine. You reset the game," I said and went to their small fridge. We began chatting about the difference between our schools. This seemed to relax Sarah.

We were both feeling no pain an hour later. The games were close and I was having a lot of fun. I was resetting the board once again when Sarah surprised me by asking questions about what happened between Toni and me.

"So, did you and Toni really sleep together?" she asked calmly.

"Yes," I replied honestly. Both Sarah and I blushed.

"Was it as good as she says?" Sarah asked.

"I enjoyed it," I replied, stunned at the turn in the conversation. "Sarah, where are you going with these questions?"

"Well, you are attractive and I like you, but Tara's my roommate and I don't want to screw our relationship up," she finally said.

"Hey, don't worry about it. I have no intention of making things difficult for you and my cousin either," I replied.

"Yeah, but we've been drinking and I'm well into buzzed, coming real close to drunk. After today, that's not necessarily a bad thing. However, I need to know whether you would take advantage of a drunk girl," she said seriously.

"Only if she asks nicely," I replied nervously. It was a stupid statement, but I had far less experience then my cousin and her friends seemed to think.

"No, I'm serious!" Sarah snapped. "My relationship with Sam was not a good one from the start. I need some time before I get involved with someone else."

"Hey, relax! I'm not into taking advantage of anyone," I replied. She started at me for a few moments.

"You sure you're just not interested in me?" Sarah asked. I groaned to myself. First, she thinks I'm going to take advantage of her, and now she thinks I don't find her attractive. Women!

"Sarah, you're very attractive and a man would have to be crazy not to want to be with you," I said. She looked at me carefully, finally nodded, and visibly relaxed.

"So, you would sleep with me if I were willing?" she asked.

"In a heart beat," I replied honestly.

"Even considering that I'm your cousin's roommate?" she asked. I knew she was just teasing me, but I decided to go with it.

"Look, you're a beautiful girl. I wouldn't want to lead you on or anything, but if you were just in it for the sex, well..." I replied.

"Toni was right. You are a horny devil!" she said with a laugh. I smiled and shrugged.

"Why don't we go for a walk?" I asked, changing the subject. "We could probably both use some air and a chance to walk off the alcohol."

"Sounds good," she replied. Sarah took me to a bar just outside the campus. The walk helped clear both of our heads.

The bar was a sports bar. There were lots of televisions and games. There was even a pool table and a foosball table. Sarah wanted to play pool. I tried to bow out gracefully since I was a poor pool player, but she insisted and I finally agreed. I wasn't surprised to find out that she was very good. We were laughing as she beat me for the third time straight. Suddenly, Sarah fell silent.

I looked up to see a guy walking in with a hot blond. Another couple followed them. The first guy noticed Sarah and smirked until he saw me with her. He frowned and started working his way toward us. The others followed.

"I need a huge favor," Sarah said nervously. I frowned.

"Sarah, I sorry, but I don't think so," I replied. She looked confused.

"I haven't even asked you yet," she said.

"The guy coming this way with the ditzy blond is Sam. You want me to play more than a friend," I explained.

"No, that's not it," Sarah replied with a frown. "I mean, you're right about that being Sam, but not the favor. I'm not into petty games."

"Good for you!" I said with a smile, and then asked, "In that case, what do you need?"

"Sam can be an obnoxious jerk. I need you to ignore whatever he does. I don't want a scene here," Sarah sighed.

"No problem," I replied far too easily for Sarah satisfaction.

"No, you don't understand. He'll say nasty things and if that doesn't work, he'll try and start a fight with you. If he succeeds, Larry will join in," she added.

"Charming. Don't worry, I'm a lover not a fighter," I joked.

"Well, will you promise me?" she asked nervously. I sighed.

"I can't promise that nothing will happen, but I will promise to do my best not cause a scene," I replied.

"I guess that will have to do. I just hope..." she began, but then shrugged as Sam and his friends neared. I went back to the pool game. I shot and missed.

"It's your turn Sarah," I said turning around.

"Tom, this is Sam, Larry and Leslie," she said in introduction. Sam didn't look happy. Neither did Larry for that matter. Leslie on the other hand was all but laughing.

"I'm sorry, I don't know your name?" Sarah asked the ditzy blond politely. I would have thought Sarah was perfectly fine if I didn't know better.

"Tiffany," the girl said. I almost laughed out loud. Not only did Tiffany look like a ditz, but she sounded like one as well.

"Who's he?" Sam asked gruffly, ignoring my offered hand. Larry did likewise, but his girlfriend Leslie clasped my hand warmly.

"Nice to meet you," she said with a smile. I smiled back.

"You too," I replied.

"This is Tom. He's Tara's cousin. He's up for the weekend," Sarah replied.

"So where's Tara?" Sam asked.

"Oh, you know her. She's involved with the sorority. She had a mandatory function. Tom and I have been hanging out," Sarah replied.

"Leave," he said looking at me. I would have laughed, but he was actually serious.

"Okay. Sarah let's go," I replied with a forced smile.

"She stays," he added. I sighed. Sarah had certainly asked a lot of me.

"That's a problem. I doubt I could find my way back to the room without Sarah," I said.

"You're staying in their room?" he asked, his face turning dark in anger. I groaned to myself.

"Yep, I brought my sleeping bag. There's a nice comfortable spot right in front of the fridge," I said, trying to keep things light. It was a waist of time with a guy like Sam.

"No you're not," he said. This was getting ridiculous. Thankfully, the ditz interrupted.

"What the big deal? Why can't he stay in Sarah's room?" she asked.

"Sam, she's right. We're not going out anymore, but even if we were this shouldn't matter. He's Tara's cousin and he's sleeping on the floor," she said. Sam hesitated. He was jealous, but if he wasn't careful, Tiffany was going to get pissed.

"Anyone care for a game of pool?" I asked, trying to change the subject and lighten the mood once again. I quickly realized that this was a mistake. I wasn't sure why, but Sam and Larry were smiling and Sarah looked unhappy.

"Pool's a wimpy sport. Let's play foosball instead," Sam said.

"Okay," I replied.

"Sam don't do this," Sarah said. I was somewhat confused, but I figured I'd understand soon enough.

"What's the big deal? He wants to play," Sam said with a grin. Sarah sighed.

I went to the table and waited. Sam made a big deal about taking off his jacket and rolling up his sleeves.

"The rules are that each goal is a chug," he said simply.

"That's a little harsh," I said.

"Hey, what are you a wimp? Can't hold your beer?" he taunted.

"Oh, I can hold my beer, but a chug a goal would hurt even the best drinker," I replied.

"So," he said. He was a man of few words, most of them stupid. I though I'd give him one more chance.

"Look, Sam, I'm pretty good at this game. Why don't we just stop this right now," I said calmly. Sam snorted and Larry laughed.

"Sam's been the bar champ since his first day on campus. His father was the champ when he came here. He taught Sam how to play foosball almost at the same time he showed him how to ride a bike," Larry said with a grin. I was wondering if he could talk. These were the first words he said all night.

"Well, that's impressive. I've only been playing for a year and a half now. My father never went to college. He was doing boring war type stuff in the rangers. Maybe I should quit before we start," I said.

"I knew you were a wimp," Sam said snidely.

"Tom, let's go," Sarah said nervously. I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. I promised her.

"Okay," I sighed and turned away from Sam. He grabbed my arm and spun me back. I was tempted. I was sorely tempted, but I kept control.

"You wuss! You let a woman tell you what to do!" Sam growled. I shrugged his hand off my shoulder.

"Sam, we don't know each other," I began coldly. "And I'm not all that impressed so far, but I've got to assume that you're just having a bad night since Sarah dated you. If all of this is because you still care for Sarah, then why don't you sleep it off and talk to her tomorrow?"

"I'm done with her!" Sam growled.

"That's your decision," I replied with a shrug. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I think my cousin may be back from her sorority function."

"Your not excused!" he snapped. "I don't want you going anywhere with her!"

"Why?" I asked. "What does it matter if you no longer care for her?" Sam looked confused. He was drunker than I originally thought.

"How would you like to step outside?" he asked. I fought hard not to roll my eyes.

"Why don't we settle this at the foosball table?" I offered. He grinned.

"Okay," Sam replied, smiling victoriously. We took opposing sides of the table and he dropped the ball into play.

He was good, very good. The first goal was his. Larry brought over a pint-sized glass.

"That's a little large, isn't it?" I asked. Larry just shrugged. I sighed and drank it down.

"By the way, what's this game go until?" I asked easily.

"Ten," Sam said with a smile.

I put the ball into play. Sam made a beautiful shot. It would have gone in if I were a little slower.

"Nice shot," I said. Sam looked up angrily. By the time he looked down the ball was already in the goal. There was silence around the bar. Everyone was looking at us.

'Oh well, I wondered whether Sarah considered this a scene,' I asked myself.

Sam drank his beer quickly. He spilled half of it, but I said nothing. He was going to be drinking a lot more before the night was over.

"Sarah, did Tara tell you I joined a fraternity at my school?" I asked as Sam put the ball in play. He shot and I blocked, but he got the ball back.

"Yeah, being a pledge was real tough," I added. Once again he shot. This time I caught the ball.

"The toughest part was the foosball contests," I said as I made an easy pass to my front line.

"Angle shot's open, Sam," I said.

"Bullshit," he replied.

"We played everyday. Of course the penalties were a little lighter there, but we still drank a lot of beer," I said.

"Shut up and play," Sam growled.

"Angle's still open," I replied.

"Fuck you!" he yelled. I shrugged and put the ball in the corner of his goal.

"I told you the angle was open," I said. Sam drank his beer and put the next ball in play. He was a mad man. He tried every trick shot I'd ever seen and one I hadn't. It almost made it in. I had the ball with my goalie.

"You know, I've always though that bank shot were the hardest," I said.

"No way! It's not open," Sam snapped. I looked carefully.

"You're right, but the double bank is," I said as I shot with my goalie. Sam was a little slower in drinking this beer.

"Why don't we call it a draw and go our separate ways?" I asked. Sam wiped his mouth and burped loudly.

"Play and don't talk," he snarled.

"Okay," I said with a shrug. This time I remained silent as I score quickly twice. Sam chugged his beers, nearly choking on the last. He drank five pint-sized beers in five minutes. Okay, he wore most of it, but still, I decided he had enough.

"That's it. Game's over," I said.

"No way!" Sam growled.

"Sam, this is silly. I have no intention of making you drink ten pints. You'd be lucky to last another one without puking. I know you and Sarah have a past, but let it go for now. I'm no threat to that. I'm here for a few days to visit my cousin, that's it," I said. I should have expected it, but I was somehow surprised when he punched me. I gave him a short jab to the solar plexus. He fell to the floor gasping for air.

"Larry, take your friend back top his room," I said with a sigh. Larry hesitated, looking at me carefully.

"Leslie, talk to him. My father didn't teach me foosball, but he did teach me how to take care of myself. He was an Airborne Ranger. He showed me things that still give me nightmare to this day," I said to Larry's girlfriend.

Leslie quickly grabbed hold of Larry and led him to Sam. Between them, they got him out the door. Tiffany had obviously been bored with the whole scene. She was on the other side of the bar talking to a bunch of guys.

I turned and found Sarah looking at me. She was slowly shaking her head back and forth.

"Sorry. I did the best I could," I said sheepishly. She snorted and smiled.

"Let's go, Tara should be back by now," she said. She didn't say a word as we walked. When we got back to the room Tara and Toni were there.

"What happened to you two," Tara asked. Sarah proceeded to tell her in detail. I relaxed as she told it because she laughed a lot.

"...And then Sam took a swing at Tom," Sarah said. Tara snorted.

"Big mistake," my cousin said.

"You're telling me," Sarah replied.

"Why?" Toni asked.

"Remember me mentioning a party we had this summer at the beach house where the police showed up because of some party crashers?" both girls nodded.

"Didn't it end up in a fight?" Toni asked.

"You could call it that. I neglected to tell you that Tom was the only guy present who lived at the house. There were three guys who ended up attacking him," Tara said.

"Tara, that's enough," I said, a little embarrassed and not particularly proud of that night.

"Oh no, that's not fair. You've got to tell us what happened," Sarah said.

"Let's just say two of them ended up in the hospital," Tara replied. Sarah and Toni looked at me.

"Hey, it was a bad night. I was more than a little drunk. My girlfriend at the time had just broken up with me and one of them was stupid enough to pull a knife," I said.

"I can understand the second part," Sarah said with a grin.

"Well it's time for me to go to bed. I'm wiped," Toni said. I stood up.

"Oh no! You're the reason why I'm wiped out. Tara and I have to get up early for a meeting. Besides I'm too sore from before," she said bluntly. I turned bright red.

"I just got up because I had to go to the bathroom," I said in embarrassment.

"Sure," Tara said with a snort. It was the truth, but I knew better than to try and convince them of it.

Tara and Sarah were already dressed for bed when I got back from the bathroom. I laid out my sleeping bag. We all lay down and talked for a few more minutes. Sarah got up to shut the lights. Before she climbed back into bed, she came over and gave me a kiss on the cheek.