The Scavenger Hunt Ch. 11

As promised, here is Chapter 11. In this installment, Travis goes on the offensive, trying to locate and deal with the outside forces that are trying to ruin his and his friends' lives. There are still some "good parts" but they're closer to the end. If you're looking for quick-stroke material, some of the earlier chapters are better for that. This one is mostly story-driven.

Thanks to Samuraisan and Thatsbogus for all their help in getting these stories ready for publication. Go read Thatsbogus's stuff when you get a chance; you won't be disappointed.

Ch. 12 should be published same time next week. There will be two more chapters after that... but they're not written yet. Sorry.

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The Scavenger Hunt, Chapter 11

I could break my next 24 hours down into four specific periods. And none of them involved even a minute of sleep.

Phase 1: Numbness.

It was a little after 9 on a Sunday night when I left Beth and Taylor's apartment. I wasn't about to go home, because Jamar would be there by now, and he'd either be fucking Jaleesa -- rather noisily, I might add -- or he'd be playing video games with wall-rattling rap music in the background. I wasn't in the mood for any of that, but there weren't a ton of other options available.

I plugged my phone in and texted Lex, to see if maybe Chet was out somewhere -- Lexi's house, perhaps -- and I could come over there for a bit. He informed me that Chet and Lexi were indeed together, but in Chad's bedroom. He told me I could still come over if I wanted, but I obviously declined. He asked if I was OK, and I guess I lied well enough for him to believe me.

I turned the phone back off, letting it charge while I drove aimlessly around town for a few hours. I consciously avoided thinking about Beth and Taylor -- too much pain there -- and the fraternity -- too much anger there. I forced myself to name every World Series winner and loser since 1970. I did my best to recite every single line from the movie Major League, even belting out "Wild Thing" when the script called for it. I tried to remember the name of every single Marine serving in my platoon the day I caught a bullet in Afghanistan.

I did everything I could to focus on rote, boring, mental tasks, but by 1:30 a. m., my focus was gone. All the bars had closed a half-hour before, which might have been my subconscious' way of protecting me from myself. So, I settled for a Waffle House about halfway between Conway and Myrtle Beach, alternating between disgusting black coffee and even nastier ice water.

Which rolled into Phase 2: Pity Party Extraordinaire.

I finally let the floodgates open, and I'm not too proud to admit that I shed a few tears in that little corner booth, thinking about what I might have lost over the weekend. Beth truly was one of the most special women I'd ever met, but she had deep-seated -- and well-known -- trust issues when dealing with my gender. Sure, she was kinky and open-minded and free-thinking when it came to sex, but honesty was still a requirement, one that I'd fallen woefully short of meeting.

And Taylor... she'd been so sure Beth would be perfectly ok with what Christi and I had done. So sure, in fact, that she wanted to wait a whole 24 hours to tell her, so we could tell her in our own special way.

Quite obviously, Taylor had been wrong.

Taylor wasn't blameless, but she wasn't the most to blame. Sure, she'd given me the explosives, but I'd pushed the button that blew up the building.

I could only hope her and Beth's relationship wasn't permanently damaged by this. The two of them were so in love and needed each other so much, and I didn't know if I'd ever forgive myself if my stupidity forced them apart.

We'd only known each other for a few weeks, but I couldn't imagine life without either of them. Sadly, that was my likely reality going forward. All the thoughts of the two of them just blended together into one big pile of sadness and for a while there, I was down so low that I couldn't even try to analyze the situation. I just wallowed in my own self-pity.

But a man can only take so much of that, so around 4 a. m., we moved into Phase 3: Survival.

I freely admit that I didn't know relationships. Quite obviously, I didn't know women in anything more than a physical sense. Even though I was a 5-year member of one of the longest-standing ones in the country, I didn't know fraternities. So, I had to latch on to the couple of things I still did know -- survival and baseball.

I left Waffle House and went to the only other place I could think of. I knew it wouldn't be unlocked at this hour but I was willing to climb or claw my way inside if I had to. It turned out to not be that hard. All I had to do was scale a fence and I was in the CAU baseball stadium.

The lights were off, of course, but there was enough light from the surrounding streetlights and parking lots on campus to at least have a vague idea of where I was going. I was still wearing the sandals I'd worn on the bus, so I shucked them off and ran barefoot sprints across the wet outfield grass. I ran like Michael Johnson in the Olympics. I ran like Forrest Gump on a voyage of self-discovery. I ran like a politician from the truth.

I couldn't put any more thought into Beth and Taylor right now. It hurt too much. Anyway, the eventual outcome of whatever the three of us might have depended on the decisions of others. I wasn't focused enough to deal with the rest of the shit on mind yet. So, I ran. By the end of it, I was barely running -- but I ran.

The sun was just starting to peek over the ocean horizon when I finally ran out of energy, so I headed home. Thankfully Jamar was either asleep or gone, because the house seemed quiet. I grabbed a shower and changed clothes, then I headed off to the student union. I bought a couple of energy drinks and snagged a prime table overlooking the quad, just a few hundred feet from where Taylor, Beth and I had shared lunch the first time, not that long ago.

Most of the night, I'd been passing through varying levels of grief. Now that the sun was up, it was onto Phase 4:

Time to Fix Shit.

I couldn't fix things with Beth and Taylor. Not yet, and not on my own.

But there were things I could figure out. Starting with... just who-the-happy-fuck had sent Beth that screenshot?

I didn't think it was Christi. I wasn't sure if she and Beth even knew each other, but if they were on good enough terms to share such information, then for one, I'd probably have heard of her before now, and two, Christi would have just texted her directly, instead of sending a screenshot of a text. And hell, Christi had been well within her rights to send the text message. I hadn't acted like it needed to be a big secret, because I didn't think it needed to be. All she was doing was bragging to a friend -- a friend whose name began with a V, apparently -- about how well she'd gotten fucked.

So, the other suspect was the mysterious V. But still -- how had she known to send it to Beth? Christi knew I was dating Taylor, but I don't think Christi knew I was also with Beth.

Or, it could have been someone else... someone who read the text on either Christi or V's phone and knew that the information would hurt Beth. But honestly, Beth and I weren't really out as a couple yet -- probably would never be, now -- so I couldn't think of anyone who would have known that Beth would care. Beth and Taylor's relationship was public, and I guess Taylor and I were semi-out, at least among the baseball and softball teams. Maybe that was the connection -- maybe someone was trying to tell Beth that Taylor had a side piece.

Except the screenshot said nothing about Taylor's involvement. So, either Christi and V had kept texting after what Beth saw, and Christi mentioned Taylor being there, or Christi had talked to someone and filled in more of the details.

Whatever. I opened my text app, where I saw about 50 unread messages. There was nothing from Shawn or Jamie, so I ignored every one of them, including a couple from Taylor -- self-defense mode: activated -- and sent Taylor a text, asking for the phone number the screenshot came from. If that was a dead end, I could talk to Christi directly in class on Tuesday.

By the end of our shower conversation Saturday morning, Taylor and I were pretty convinced that the frat was behind the threats against Lexi and Laci. They were the only ones besides the primary actors who knew what had gone on in the pool and at the roller hockey game.

I didn't see what business the frat would have with this one, though. They weren't threatening Christi -- they couldn't, since we'd had sex in a hotel room. This move had been designed solely to hurt me and Beth, and possibly Taylor. The frat didn't know about Beth -- I'd made damn sure of that -- and really, they'd been going out of their way to protect me thus far. The school admins knew about Lexi and Laci, but they apparently didn't know who the stunt cock was in those scenarios. That couldn't be an accident.

As for Taylor... yeah, the sex we'd had on the bus a few weeks ago could have gotten her in trouble, but if they had any proof of it, which was doubtful, they hadn't used it against her yet. All this screenshot did was get her in trouble with her girlfriend, and that was only if they knew she'd been in the room with Christi and I.

So, this almost had to be something else, but that didn't mean I wasn't going to ask the first fucking chance I got.

I had two classes on Monday mornings, but I wasn't about to attend either of them. Motor Skills -- I shared the class with Lexi, and I wasn't going back to it again until I had some answers for her. And Soccer Coaching? I shared that one with Beth and Taylor. There was a good chance I'd already been to my last meeting of that class, my GPA be damned.

It was a long six hours, but I only got up twice, once to piss and once to grab a slice of tasteless cheese pizza for lunch. As the hours ticked by, I started to feel myself slip into attack mode. A few people recognized me from baseball and offered up congratulations. I always smiled back, but there was nothing behind it.

First, I had to get Accounting out of the way. I didn't want to go, but Dr. Walters counted attendance as part of our grade, and things were fine between Brianne and I. In fact, before class started, she made another offer to get together and "study." I just smiled back, but there was nothing behind it.

Then, there was baseball practice. Bazewell took it easy on us since it was the day after we swept Radford, and we had three days before the conference tournament started, right there on the very field I'd run on this morning. We all took batting practice, and I was assaulting the ball like it wore a fraternity pin. When my turn was over, some of my teammates were admiring how locked in I appeared to be.

I just smiled. There was nothing behind it.

Finally released from my obligations as a student-athlete for the day, I could pursue my own agenda. I walked over to Greek Row and took a seat under a tree across the street from the Alpha Kappa Pi house. I'd sent Shawn another text this morning, but he didn't answer. This time, he'd have no choice.

I sat under that tree for damn near two hours, and I was starting to wonder if I'd run out of daylight before he came out. Finally, a little after 7 p. m., the front door opened and Shawn stepped out. I quickly scrambled to my feet to confront him, but I realized he wasn't alone.

He looked around everywhere, as if he was afraid of being caught, and I had to slide behind my tree to avoid his glance. Finally comfortable everything was clear, he and his female companion took an immediate right turn, walking past the hedges and around the corner of the frat house.

I stayed across the street, but walked far enough down the treeline that I could see them. They didn't go far, stopping just a few feet around the corner. Shawn pushed her up against the side of the house and planted a kiss on her that would have caught a blind man's attention. Hell, if the circumstances were different, I might have been content just to stand there and watch them. It certainly looked like they might have more in mind than just a clandestine make-out session.

Alas, they did not. Their lips pulled apart after a minute or two, and they talked quietly for a minute or two after that. Finally, he turned to walk away, but she smacked his ass before he got out of reach. He turned around and shot her a grin before turning the corner and heading back into the house.

The girl stood still for a few seconds, seemingly trying to gather her thoughts for a moment. Finally, she headed back to the sidewalk and turned away from the AKP house.

I had some training in the stealth department, so I followed her to the end of the street, hoping like hell she'd turn right. A left turn would put her near a few blocks of on-campus student housing, and I might lose her before I could catch up. A right turn, though, took her right toward the very quad I'd stared at all morning. There'd be a bunch of people around, and a lot of wide-open spaces I could use to have a conversation with her. Thankfully, she turned right and I shouted out a silent hallelujah.

And just who was Shawn Lindstrom, the vice president of CAU's AKP chapter, sneaking around with in the shadows, might you ask?

Why, that would be the president's girlfriend, and the woman who'd been fucking up my world for the past few weeks.

Jamie Tarver.

She was only 50 feet onto the grass when I sidled up next to her.

"It's crazy, running into you like this," I said. She jumped about 10 feet in the air.

"Jesus, Travis!" she cried out, slapping my bicep with some authority. "You scared the shit out of me!"

"I'm sure in another universe, that would upset me, Jamie," I replied.

"Have you been following me?" she turned, her icy blue eyes locking onto mine in anger as she stopped mid-stride.

"I mean, not all day, no," I said. "I wouldn't have had any idea where to find you. I don't know where you live, or your class schedule. Hell, I don't even know your major. Thankfully, you're not the only one who can answer my questions. And the other person who can... I know exactly where he lives."

The implication was clear, and from the look on her face and the way her eyes flamed out immediately, I could tell she understood.

"You don't know anything, Travis," she smirked, resuming her brisk walk. Luckily, I was about a foot taller, so I had no problem keeping up.

"I agree," I said. "That's why I've been blowing up your phone all weekend. But I gotta say... I know a hell of a lot more now than I did 15 minutes ago."

She glared at me. "What do you want, Travis?"

"What do you mean, what do I want?" I fired back in exasperation. "Grab your phone, look at my texts, and answer any of the 50 questions I asked you since Wednesday night."

She stopped again, sizing me up while she contemplated her answer.

"You know I can't do that," she said. The wind picked up a little right then, and while it whipped her brown ponytail around, I was a little more interested in the effect it had on her tits, bouncing around underneath a gray T-shirt and apparently, nothing else.

"You're staring," she said. I was hoping she noticed -- that was the only reason I'd been looking.

"Course I am," I said. "You got a hell of a body, Jamie, and I figure if you're passing it out like candy on Halloween, I might try to get my name on the list."

Her eyes lit up in anger and her nostrils flared out, and I was ready when she punched my arm. It hurt a lot worse than the slap had, but still, not that much.

"I am not 'passing it out,' you fucking asshole."

"No," I agreed, immediately changing my tone from flirty to business-like. Truthfully, sex was the last thing on my mind right now, but I wanted her off-balance. "No, I didn't think you were. But that's not what I'm gonna tell Tyson."

Her jaw dropped at that. "You wouldn't."

"Why the hell not?" I asked. "I mean, you're probably right. I guess I don't really need to make shit up, do I? I'm sure once I show him the sweet pictures I got of you and his second swapping spit outside the frat house, he's gonna get angry enough that anything else I add on top of it isn't gonna move the needle all that much. I think I learned about that in Econ last semester. Something about 'diminishing returns.' Or some such shit."

"Bullshit," she said. "You didn't get pictures."

She was right, but she didn't need to know that.

"What?" I asked. "You think you're the only one who knows how to use a camera to capture people in compromising positions?"

That took the wind out of her sails. I actually still had her camera, the one she'd used to take the video of me and Trina.

"Travis," she pleaded. "It's not my place to tell. Truthfully, I don't even know everything."

"You know more than I do," I said. "Let's start there."

I gave her most of a minute to respond, but she just looked at me.

"Now you're staring," I said. "But that's fine. I might not know anything, as you put it, but I know enough to burn everything to the ground. I have the pledge e-mail. How do you think the dean of students would like seeing physical evidence of a pledge task that forces a student on a God-damned sexual rampage across the campus, huh? One that specifically says he's gotta fuck somebody in a classroom? A married woman? A professor? Better yet, how do you think the campus newspaper would like it?"

Her face went pale.

"It's not like you didn't happily play the game, Travis," she said. "You'd get expelled, too."

"Maybe," I said. "But you motherfuckers are messing with my friends now, Jamie. If they're going down, I'm going down with them. And if I'm going down... then fuck it. Everybody's going down."

"We're on your side, Travis."

"Except you're not, Jamie," I said, spitting her name out. "I've been begging for help and answers all weekend, and I've gotten nothing but a metric asston of 'calm downs' in return."

She suddenly found her feet super interesting. They were wrapped up in white, strappy sandals and her toenails were painted dark purple. In a different place and time, I might have found them interesting, too.

"So here's what's going to happen," I said, waiting until she met my eyes to continue. "You're going to tell your boyfriend -- whichever one you want, really -- what I just said. And he's either going to tell me what the fuck is going on, or he's going to give you permission to tell me what the fuck is going on. Otherwise, tomorrow morning, I send an e-mail to the student newspaper and the Myrtle Beach TV stations, and I march a paper copy up to the administration building. And Tyson gets some spank bank material sent to his phone."

She just gawked at me now. I turned to walk away.

"You have until 8 in the morning," I said. "Then I end this."

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Was I actually going to do any of the things I'd threatened?

Honestly, I didn't know exactly what I would do if no one contacted me by the next morning, but I was damn sure going to do something. I'd have time to think about it more between now and then, so maybe I would come up with a better option.

Then again, maybe not. I'd been awake since sometime during the bus ride back from Virginia, more than 24 hours ago, and sleep was starting to settle in on me. I sat at the desk in my bedroom, the multitude of texts on my phone still unanswered but tempting me something fierce.

Nothing new had come in since I'd left Jamie alone on the quad, fuming in her sandals. I was afraid if I checked anyone else's texts, there would be more bad news. I'd be ready to face whatever in the morning -- right now, I only had enough energy to wait for the phone to ring or vibrate with information.

Right around 9, I'd just about given up hope and was getting ready to pass the fuck out for the night, when I heard the tell-tale vibration of my phone. It was a text -- from Shawn.

"You still up?" it asked. I didn't bother sending a reply. I just called him, and he answered on the first ring.

"Hey, Travis," he said nonchalantly. It made me want to reach through the cell tower and rip out his throat. Instead, I took a deep breath.

"You have something to tell me?" I asked.

"Tomorrow morning," he said. "I know you said 8, but can we meet at 8:15? I have a racquetball match first thing in the morning."

Someone was trying to set me and a whole bunch of my friends up, and this asshole thought I cared about his racquetball match? I started to answer -- and he wouldn't have liked it -- but I took yet another deep breath. I could wait another 15 fucking minutes.

"Lemme guess," I said. "With Jamie, right?"

"No." He didn't elaborate, and honestly, I didn't give a fuck.

"So tomorrow at 8:15," I said. "Where?"

He chuckled. "You wanna do it at the frat house?"

"I'd rather light myself on fire with a blowtorch."

"Fair enough,' he said. "The quad is easy enough then, right?"

"Fine," I answered.

"See you then," he tried to end things.

"Not just yet, Shawn," I said. "You're going to give me something tonight."

"Travis, I know things are screwed up right now, OK?" he answered. "I need you to trust the process, brother. You've known me your whole life. I know we haven't been super close, but I have your back on this."

"Shawn, the fact that our families go way back is the only reason I haven't already pulled the trigger," I said. "Give me something tonight, or the tiny fucking fragment of patience I still have runs the fuck out."

He was quiet for a minute, then let out a deep sigh.

"What do you want to know?"

What did I want to know? I mean, there was so much I wanted to know, but to pick one single thing off the pile? I was a half-second away from asking who sent the text message to Beth, but I stopped myself. I wasn't even certain the fraternity was behind that -- though, if they weren't, I had no fucking idea who was -- but really, as much as I wanted to know that, the only things at stake there were my relationships with Taylor and Beth. Pretty fucking important to me, sure, but there were two other people with a lot more to lose.

"Have you been following along with my progress?" I asked.

"Of course," he said. "And I gotta tell you, you're either slacking off down the home stretch, or you haven't been keeping us in the loop."

"Think back to a month or six weeks ago," I said, ignoring him. "Within a few days, I had sex in the swimming pool with the girl teaching the swimming class, and I had sex in the auxiliary gym during a roller hockey game."

"Okay," he said, obviously waiting for the question.

"Why are those two girls in trouble with the school now?"

I wasn't going to name names. It seemed a little cloak-and-dagger-ish, but I didn't really know if getting into details was safe on this phone line.

"Define 'in trouble.'"

I sucked in a sharp breath, trying oh so very hard not to snap and lose my mind on him. The sleep deficit was really getting to me right now -- I could just feel my mental acuity bouncing all over the place.

"One has been suspended from teaching her class, and has been told that she faces expulsion if their investigation turns anything up. The other was told by a member of the faculty that a video of our little encounter exists, and now she's worried about getting expelled, too."

"Fuck," he said. "So that's what you meant by your friends."

Shit, I thought. Either he's a really fucking good actor, or he's hearing this stuff for the first time.

"You didn't know?" I asked.

"I knew... I knew something shady was going on, but no. Not the specifics."

"Well, fuck."

"That doesn't mean I can't fix it," he said. "Give me the names again."

"I didn't give them to you the first time, and I'm not going to," I said. "Not over the phone. They're in my e-mails, and if not, I'll tell you in person tomorrow."

"That's fair," he agreed. "Can you tell me who tipped off your second friend?"

"Oh, yeah," I said. "It's J. D. King. He teaches in the sports management program, but I don't think he's a full professor. He's also the one who told me what venue you guys wanted me to use." My brain started firing back up. "Come to think of it, I need to go have a fucking talk with him in the morning. He might be a key to this."

Shawn laughed, a little harder than was necessary in my opinion. "Nah, don't do that. I know J. D. I'll talk to him. I'll get this fixed."

"You fucking better, Shawn," I said.

"I will," he replied. "This is all gonna work out, Travis. A few weeks from now, you'll be a full member of the fraternity, and this will all have been just a bump in the road."

We said our goodbyes and hung up. I felt like a small weight had lifted off my shoulders -- not a huge one, not yet, but at least a little of the burden was being shared. I relaxed enough to fall asleep, but before I did, I had to chuckle just a little bit at Shawn's optimism.

Because I'd already made my decision about the frat, and Shawn wasn't going to like it.

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Of course, it was pouring rain when I got up the next morning. That would make meeting on the quad an impossibility, but I didn't care. I was well-rested, refreshed, and yet still somehow pissed off and ready for battle. There was nothing this fucking day could throw at me that I couldn't pick up, light on fire, and toss right back, hand-grenade style.

I had two morning classes today, but the first was Anatomy, which I shared with Laci. Same deal as yesterday -- I wasn't going again until this shit got ironed out.

My Adapted Physical Activity class was right before lunch, and I'd definitely be going to that, to see if Christi had any answers about her text. I figured she'd be happy to see me, if the last time we'd spoken was any indication, but she might get defensive when I started asking about her texting habits. That would be reasonable, and that might be an obstacle.

But that was four hours from now.

One of the first things you learn about warfare in the military is that an off-balance enemy is a vulnerable enemy. It was why I sometimes swung at awful first pitches against pitchers who'd never faced me. It was why I'd damn near called Jamie a slut last night, and it was why I was sitting at the gym at 7 a. m. watching Shawn arrive for his racquetball match. He shucked the windbreaker and track pants he'd used to shield himself from the rain in favor of standard workout gear and made his way to the courts. He entered court 4, and I could see someone else already in there. They had apparently arrived before I did, but I didn't care who it was.

He'd already texted me, asking where I wanted to meet since the quad would be a swimming pool shortly. Once I saw that he and his partner had begun to play, I texted him back.

Me: Just head toward the quad. I'll find you.

I waited, and I waited, and I waited some more. Slowly but surely, the phone in my hand turned into my own personal garden of Eden. I was sorely tempted to read all the texts and listen to the messages. Lex and Jamar had texted. Coach Bazewell. My mom and sister. There was nothing from Lexi or Chet, but there were a couple from Laci. Brianne, probably again trying to hook up. There were several from Taylor, not counting the one I'd actually read, which was the phone number I'd asked her for.

There was even one from Beth.

I didn't even want to think about what that meant. It had been almost 36 hours since I'd left their apartment, and so, so much could have happened between now and then. She could have been officially breaking things off. She could have just been venting some anger at me. She might have more questions, or hell, I might have left something at their apartment before we left for Virginia and she was letting me know which dumpster she'd thrown it in. I allowed a tiny, tiny part of my brain to entertain the minuscule possibility that she was forgiving me, but even then, it was similar to my class situations -- I needed answers before I could face her. Both of them, really.

So, I watched my phone carefully, but didn't dare unlock it.

About 45 minutes later, the door to court 4 opened. Shawn and his playing partner grabbed their bags and headed to the locker room. When I finally got a good look at his playing partner, my blood pressure shot up exponentially.

J. D. King.

I had to take several deep breaths, calling on all my military training to keep myself calm. A solid 97% of me wanted to rush into the locker room and grab Shawn by his neck -- somehow, the other 3%, the sliver that was content to simply glare hellfire and brimstone at the locker room door, won out.

If I was Superman, though, the metal door would have had two holes in it by the time Shawn left. Alas, I couldn't shoot lasers from my eyes, so the door's integrity remained intact. Eventually it opened and Shawn came out alone. I faded into the scenery as he pulled his phone out of his pocket. As amped up as I now was, I still needed to let things play out.

Shawn: Uh, you know that's kinda creepy, right?

I badly wanted to answer with something about his racquetball partner, but that was better discussed in person. So, I just spewed a little more of the venom I'd stored up.

Me: A little. And living vicariously through other people, and fucking up their lives to the best of your ability, that's all perfectly normal, right?

I watched as he exited the gym and then followed him at a safe distance. He looked at his phone, but I was too far back to hear or see any kind of reaction. He put his phone in his pocket without answering.

He started his car and put it in reverse, but he hadn't quite gotten it moving when I opened the passenger side door.

"Morning, Shawn."

"FUCK!" he shouted out. "You scared the fuck out of me, Travis."

"Good," I said, settling into the passenger seat. "I scared Jamie last night, too. This little game you two are playing is scaring a lot of people I care about. So, I'm glad you're getting a little taste."

"You said you'd find me at the quad!"

"No," I shook my head sadly, as if scolding a kindergartner. "I told you to head toward the quad, and I would find you. You're heading to the quad now, are you not?"

He just nodded.

"And hey, look at that. I found you," I finished. "Start driving."

He pulled out of the parking lot and started down the hill.

"So, how's J. D.'s racquetball game?" I asked. Shawn glanced over at me in mild surprise. "What, you don't think I staked out your car in the pouring rain, do you?"

"No, I guess not," he replied.

"Tell me why I shouldn't just beat the fuck out of you right now, Shawn. Give me one God-damned good reason."

"Wait..." Shawn's face morphed from surprise into genuine confusion. "What?"

"Man, I hadn't slept in damn near two days when we talked last night, so I might have been out of it," I said. "But you told me about your little poor man's tennis match right when we got on the phone, when we were setting the meet time. I didn't mention J. D.'s name till right at the end, when I was begging you for information you still refuse to give me."

Shawn said nothing. He just stared at me passively, as if waiting for me to make my point.

"So either you changed opponents after we got off the phone, or you already knew J. D. was involved with this. And if you knew J. D. was involved, it's most likely because you're the one that involved him."

Shawn smiled. "OK, first off, J. D. is an AKP member, from his undergrad days in Virginia. He reached out to the local chapter when he first got a teaching job here, which was my freshman year. He's a friend of the fraternity, but even moreso, he's a friend of mine. I play racquetball with him three times a week."

That made me pause for a minute.

"And even if I did get him involved with the task, that doesn't explain why you're threatening me."

"Ok, Shawn, I'll play your stupid little game. Step one: I send an e-mail asking about which public venue the frat wants me to use for the pledge task. My answer comes in the form of a cryptic office meeting from a guy you sent. Any problems so far?"

"I'm not answering all of your questions, Travis. By the terms of the pledge task, you shouldn't even be asking them. I'll let you finish, then I'll tell you if I have anything to say."

Now it was my turn to be taken aback. Shawn was caught off-guard by my sudden appearance, but he wasn't backing down from me. I was damn sure going to get what I wanted, but I'd finish painting my picture for him.

"Fine. Step two: I bring someone to the venue in question, only to find Tyson's girlfriend there watching us, but now I find out, she's your girlfriend, too."

His cheeks flushed a little at that, but he stayed quiet.

"Step three: A few weeks later, that someone gets told a video of our hook-up exists, and she's about to be in trouble, by the very same person you dispatched to set up the location. And you don't see why I should be angry with you?"

Again, he remained silent, which let my mind continue to connect dots.

"Shit!" I called out. "Jamie took a video of me with Trina, but I bet that wasn't her first video, was it? Not only was she there, but she took video of me and Laci in the gym, didn't she?? A video that YOU sent her there to take, and a video that's now going to get Laci in deep shit."

Silence. I realized I'd dropped Laci's name, but I didn't much care right now.

"Fuck this," I said. "I still have Jamie's camera at my house. I didn't look at anything else on it besides the video with Trina, but that's about to change. Pull over at the next--"

"There's no video, Travis," Shawn finally said.

"Say what?"

"What," he deadpanned. "There's. No. Video."

"How do you know that?" I asked.

"Fine," he said with a heavy sigh. "I'm going to give you this part -- but only this. You're right, ok? I did send J. D. to tell you about the gym. And I sent Jamie there to watch you, but not to take a video."

"Then why?"

"I... I'm not going to get into all those details. Not yet. Let's just say I wanted her to make sure everything was above board."

"You mean, besides the part where I was banging a girl during a roller hockey game."

He half-chuckled. "Yeah, besides that."

"OK, so Jamie didn't take a video," I said. "But J. D. told Laci there was a video."

"He lied," Shawn said. "Well, he didn't know he was lying. He was told there was a video, too, but I assure you, there is not."

"Who told him that in the first place?"

"Again... Travis, there's an endgame here, and I need to get to it with as little outside interference as possible," Shawn said. He'd reached the Student Union and took the first available parking spot. "Once you finish this whole thing up, I promise you, I will spare you no details. Right now, just trust me on this. There's no video."

I didn't like it. Not one fucking bit. But he wasn't giving me a choice.

"Could there be another video? Maybe from a school camera?"

He shook his head. "I asked about that. The only cameras in the auxiliary gym are by the door, to watch the ticket tables. Nothing inside."

"Ok. So, Laci's in the clear. I'm gonna need J. D. to tell her he was misinformed. She's not gonna believe me if I tell her. It's gotta come from the person who told her about it in the first place."

"Already done," he said. "I mean, I asked him to do that while we were playing racquetball, and he said he'd do it today."

"So that's one," I said. "What about the other one?"

"Lexi Briggs, right?" I just nodded. "That won't be a problem either."

"How?"

"All I'm going to tell you is that there are people much higher up the food chain getting involved. I can't say any more than that," Shawn said, and before I could thunder back, he lifted a hand in a halting motion. "I know that's not acceptable to you, but it's gonna have to be, at least for now."

"The fuck it is," I said. "You forget that I have leverage here; both over you personally, and over the fraternity in general. And I'll fucking use it, Shawn. You've known me a long damn time, so you know I'm not bluffing."

"I do know that," he said. "Give me this. If you don't hear from her that it's fixed by the end of the day, then go ahead and do what you gotta do. I won't stop you."

"Fine. I'll give you until tonight. But I swear, Shawn, if I don't hear from both of them by then, this is over. They're both in jeopardy here, so getting just one of them out of trouble isn't going to be enough."

"You have my word," he said. "The rest you're just going to have to trust me on."

"Actually, I'm not," I said, unbuckling my seat belt and gripping the door handle. "Oh, I'll trust you about Laci and Lexi. For now, anyway. But I don't give a fuck about the rest of it. I'm out of the frat."

"Excuse me?" he asked.

I shrugged. "You're excused."

"Travis, why stop now? You're this close. I know there are some tasks you haven't told us about. The professor, for one -- that was us, too, warning you."

"Warning me against what?" I asked, but before his face even tightened up, I shook my own head. "No, no, I know; you can't tell me. Well, whatever -- thanks, I guess. But that's exactly why I can't go through with this anymore. Whatever you needed to warn me against? It's fucking up people's lives, Shawn, and after this past weekend, it's started fucking directly with mine, too. I was doing this for my dad, but it's become painfully clear that it's just not worth it anymore."

Shawn said nothing for a long moment. Then: "You're going to fuck up a lot of my plans, Travis."

"Pardon me if I don't weep for you," I said. "Honestly, this whole God-damned thing is fucked up. I had to fuck a friend's girlfriend. I had to fuck in public places, which got people in trouble. I had to fuck a professor, which could have gotten her fired. I mean, this whole thing is morally bankrupt."

"Yeah, and that really seemed to bother you when this began," Shawn fired back. Jamie had made the same observation, and neither was wrong.

"You're right," I said. "But people change. You're not wrong, Shawn -- I'm one requirement away from finishing the pledge task. And you know which one I have left? I have to fuck a married woman. A married woman, Shawn."

"You're on a college campus, Travis," he fired back. "There are plenty of folks around here leading alternate lifestyles. Fucking a married woman doesn't mean she has to be cheating."

"Maybe not," I said. "But I'd be opening whoever the unlucky girl is up to all the horseshit Laci and Lexi have had to deal with. I mean, thank God I didn't e-mail you about the professor, or who knows what the fuck you assholes would have done to her. You wouldn't think twice about ruining some random girl's marriage."

Shawn looked hurt. "Who the fuck do you think I am, Travis?"

I sighed heavily. "I don't even know who I am anymore, Shawn, much less who you are. But what I do know is that I have a shot at a real relationship now." His eyebrows arched at that. "Something built on real, concrete trust and feelings." I chuckled at myself. "Well, that trust is broken now, thanks to this fucking pledge task."

"Wait," he said. "What does the fraternity have to do with it? I don't think anyone even knew you were in a relationship."

"It doesn't matter, Shawn," I said. "All I know is that it's probably too late to salvage it, but it's damn sure worth trying. As long as you fix the shit I got my friends into, I'll leave you alone to do... whatever the fuck it is you're trying to do. I won't say a word to Tyson about Jamie, and I won't tell anyone about the rest of this shit. But, no, I'm not going to change my mind."

He nodded solemnly as I got out of the car and shut the door. It was still raining -- not a torrential downpour anymore, but more than a drizzle. Still, an idea flashed in my brain, so I turned back to the car and tapped on the window. He rolled it down.

"If we're really still friends after all of this... you think you could do something for me, something that might help me fix my own shit?"

"Like I said, I don't know how we're involved in it unless you tell me," he replied. He laughed out loud, hearing how ironic it sounded coming from his lips instead of mine. The humor wasn't lost on me either, but I didn't have the heart to laugh. "But sure, man. If you think there's something I can do for you, let's hear it."

I pulled my phone from my pocket. "I'm gonna give you a phone number. Can you track it down for me?"

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

He didn't know the number right away, but he said he'd look into it.

But Christi actually gave me the name first, after our late-morning class. She hadn't been thrilled that I'd asked, but once I told her that someone was using our little tryst to hurt Taylor, she softened up.

The name alone didn't help any. I didn't know her. Maybe Taylor or Beth did, but I wasn't there yet.

Just before baseball practice, I got a text from Laci.

Laci: Whatever you did, it worked. J. D. told me he checked into the rumor he'd heard, and it turns out, there is no video after all. Probably just some idiot frat boy playing a prank.

Ouch.

Me: Probably. Frat boys are worthless. Anyway, I'm glad I could help.

Laci: I'm still down to hook up again. Probably not in any kind of public place next time, though.

Me: LOL. Yeah, good call. I'm not sure if that's going to happen or not. I'm into something else right now, with serious feelings. I don't have a lot of hope that it'll work out, but I've gotta focus on that for now.

Laci: Yeah, I actually heard a rumor that you and Taylor Greene might be a thing now. But I thought she was a lesbian?

Me: LOL. It's complicated. But listen, I'm sorry you had to worry for a few days, but I'm glad it's worked out now. I had a lot of fun with you.

Laci: Ditto. If things don't work out for you and Taylor, you know where to find me.

I slogged through practice, trying my best to stay focused and start gearing up for this weekend's conference tournament. We needed to win to make the NCAA Tournament, but honestly, my mind was in 16 other places. Bazewell either didn't notice or didn't worry about it, because he said nothing.

I was on my way to my car afterward when a large hand fell on my shoulder. I spun around to see Chet standing there. It was the first time he'd interacted with me one-on-one since the practice where he'd tried to clean my clock.

"What's up, big man?" I asked.

"Lexi's off the hook," he said, and my shoulders slumped in relief. Laci's situation was one thing -- a faculty member heard a rumor; uh oh. Lexi's was something else entirely, having been elevated to the administration and official action having already been taken against her. So, to hear that hers was solved as well buoyed my spirits considerably.

"I'm glad, man," I said. "What did they say?"

"They were pretty vague, she said," he replied. "Something about a misunderstanding, and discipline being taken against someone for lying to the higher-ups in the education department. But they gave her her keys and her class back, and basically begged her to teach summer and next semester."

"Is she going to?" I asked. He just shrugged. "Well, anyway, like I said. I'm glad it all worked out."

"What did you do?" he asked.

"Just talked to some people in higher places who owed me a favor," I said. "Told them to fix it. Looks like they did."

We just stared at one another for a few awkward moments. "All right then," I started, and went to open my car, but he stopped me.

"Stop." He had a pensive look on his face. I waited patiently. Whatever he needed to say, he was entitled to it. "I'm not great with words. But... I don't know how to feel here, Travis. I mean, you fixed it, obviously. But why did you tell anyone in the first place? Even if it wasn't the girl I really, really like... anyone in that situation would have gotten in trouble. That's not like you."

I looked at the ground for a long time. As patiently as I had waited for his response, he was willing to do the same.

"It's not," I agreed. "I got caught up in something. It started as a game... I never expected anyone to get hurt by it, even temporarily. But that's still not an excuse."

"I don't understand... a game? What game requires you to fuck somebody in a pool and then blab about it?"

I made a snap decision in my head.

"Look, wait until after the tournament this weekend. If you still want all the gory details, I'll give 'em to you. Lexi, too. For now, just know that I fucked up, OK? I made some mistakes and almost got a few people in some deep shit. That's all I can say for now."

He nodded slowly. Whatever he wanted to do from here, I'd accept it. If he wanted to throw another punch, I wouldn't dodge it. If he wanted to scream at me, I'd stand there and listen. If he wanted to shake hands, fist bump, hug... whatever, I'd do it.

"See you tomorrow," he said, then turned and walked to his car.

I wanted to tell Chet everything. Fuck the frat's rules -- I was done with them, so it no longer mattered who I told.

There was just someone else who needed to know first.

I got in the car and started it up, but instead of driving, I grabbed my phone. Now that I knew Lexi and Laci were safe, I could let myself worry about my problems. Taylor had texted several times. Yesterday's messages were all checking on me, but today's had grown increasingly more concerned as the day dragged on, especially when she sent me the screenshot phone number and I didn't respond, other than to say thanks. The last one, sent about 30 minutes ago, was the worst.

Taylor: Seriously, you're starting to scare me. If... I mean, if you don't want to deal with this anymore... just don't ghost me. Please, just say something.

Beth had only sent two. The first was the one I'd had to fight from reading this morning.

Beth: So, Taylor says there's something you need to explain to me. Something that will make everything make sense. She wants to tell me, but she said you'd want to.

The other had been sent right around the same time as Taylor's last one.

Beth: Look, I'm sorry I was so cold to you the other night, OK? Please don't hold that against Taylor. You've really made her care about you. We need to talk.

I noticed she'd said that Taylor really cared about me, but nothing about whether Beth herself still did.

I opened Taylor's text and replied.

Me: Can I come over?

She answered almost instantly.

Taylor: YES!! When?

Me: 20 minutes. Need to stop home to grab something.

Taylor: Hurry.

I drove quickly. I'd just left my house when my text chime went off.

Jamie: That number you asked Shawn about. It belongs to a sophomore in AOB, your sister sorority.

Your, she'd written. I laughed spitefully.

Me: I'm not in a fraternity, so I don't have a sister anything, besides, ya know, my actual sister. And I already learned the name. How is she connected to all this?

Jamie: We're not entirely sure.

Me: Not entirely sure... what are you sure of?

Jamie: I want to tell you, Travis. Believe me, I do. I just... can't yet.

Me: Of course you can't.

Jamie: Tell me why you want to know. It might help us figure out exactly what's going on.

I smirked. Fuck that.

Honestly, it no longer mattered. The frat had gotten me at least two different ways, with Laci and Lexi, and now that I knew the mystery texter was part of AKP's sister sorority, I had to assume the frat was behind the screenshot to Beth, too. I'd handled the first two, and only I could handle the third one. As long as I was completely honest with Beth from here on out -- if she even let me back into her life -- then the frat couldn't hurt her anymore.

Jamie: Travis. What happened that made you ask about her phone number?

Me: It really sucks when people refuse to tell you shit, doesn't it? Goodbye, Jamie.

Jamie: Travis!!

I closed my phone with a self-satisfied grin. She could blow it up all night, for all I cared.

It buzzed twice more as I made my way over to Beth and Taylor's apartment. I didn't even take time to collect my thoughts as I parked, grabbed my stuff and headed up the walkway to their building.

I didn't get a chance to knock on the door before Taylor exploded out of it. She smashed into me so hard that I hit the opposite wall, and the intensity of her hug made it hard to breathe. I returned it in kind. She kissed me hard, and I started to return that as well, until I noticed Beth grinning at us from the doorway. I pulled away from Taylor with an audible pop.

"Hi, Beth," I gasped, trying to catch my breath. She was wearing a teal CAU volleyball jersey -- one of Taylor's, I assumed, based on how it hung down to her thighs -- with black athletic shorts.

"Hey, Travis," she said. She'd be a hell of a poker player -- neither her texts, her words nor her body language gave me any indication of how she was feeling. "You better come on in before Taylor throws you down in the hall and fucks your brains out."

"You're no fun," Taylor giggled as she slipped past me into the apartment. She was dressed much more provocatively, wearing a skimpy tank top that bared her entire midriff and tight boy shorts that hugged her ass like shrink wrap. A lesser man would have stopped and stared. Me? I followed her into the apartment.

And then I stopped and stared.

"That's not what you were saying this morning," Beth's voice sing-songed.

"I'm glad to hear that," I added. "And not just for the admittedly awesome visuals that gives me. I was legit worried about the two of you."

"Me too," Taylor said. "At least for a little while."

"Taylor told me about the softball player," Beth said, relaxing into the couch. Taylor sat on the other end, giving me enough room to sit between them, but I didn't feel comfortable enough to sit. "And I owe you an apology, Travis. I should have waited for an explanation before assuming the worst."

"You owe me nothing, Beth," I said. "I deserved every bit of the way you treated me. Taylor was sure you'd be ok with it, but I wasn't. Instead of taking her word for it, I should have called you and made absolutely certain."

"I understand why you didn't," she replied. "Taylor told me about the plan to seduce me with it. It was a great plan, and if I hadn't gotten that text, and you guys did what you wanted to do, I'm pretty sure I would have had no problem with what happened on the trip."

"Maybe," I said. "Taylor has that familiarity with you, but I don't. I shouldn't have assumed. I'm sorry it made you so upset."

"Well, I got that text about 30 minutes before you guys showed up," she explained. "Think of it from my perspective. It basically looked like you'd fucked some girl on the trip, by yourself, without saying anything. I texted Taylor to ask her about it, but she didn't answer. I know now that her phone was off. So, I had half an hour to convince myself of the worst, so even when Taylor told me she was there, I just lashed out at you both. I think if the screenshot had mentioned Taylor, I would have at least been ok until you got here to explain it."

"So, you're ok with it?" I asked hopefully.

"It sounds like it was pretty hot," Beth said with a nod. Her face flushed slightly. Her voice got a little softer and a lot huskier. "And it might be something I want to do down the road, watch you bang some girl within an inch of consciousness."

I had absolutely zero expectations of getting it involved tonight, but my cock recognized the sudden potential for a change of plans and started to harden in my cargo shorts.

"So does that mean..." I trailed off, trying to tamp down my expectations before saying the rest. "Does that mean we're ok?"

"That, I don't know," Beth said, and I was momentarily confused. "There's still a couple of things I'm worried about."

I didn't answer, just waiting for her to continue.

"For one, I still don't understand why I got that text. Taylor said you might know," Beth continued. "And for another... Taylor said the thing with Christi wasn't entirely about her wanting to see you bang another woman, or about 'busting her slump,' as she put it. There's something else to it, but like I said in the text, Taylor thought you should explain it."

"First thing: I know who sent you the text. But I'll get to that."

I took a deep breath, then reached for my bag. I pulled out a folded-up sheet of paper. Rather, I pulled out THE sheet of paper. The sheet of paper that started all of this. I handed it to Beth. She accepted it, but didn't look at it, choosing instead to stay focused on me.

"It's all wrapped up in the other thing, the thing Taylor didn't want to tell you about. And she was right, Beth... I'm sure you were mad at her for not spilling everything, but really, you need to hear it from me."

"Ok," Beth said. "Am I going to be angry?"

"Maybe," I said. "Taylor thinks maybe not. I'll accept whatever your feelings are." I motioned at the paper in her hand. "Unfold it and read it. Then we'll talk."

She looked befuddled again, but she did as I asked. I stopped pacing, leaned on the wall by the TV, and watched as she read. Her eyes widened a few times, and there was a gasp, but she said nothing. Taylor watched her, too, but after a minute or so, she beckoned me over and held my hand as we waited.

I watched her eyes as she reached the end, then went back to the top to read it again. This pass-through was quicker and when she finished, she looked up at me. Her cheeks were flushed bright red, and I didn't know if it was in anger -- as I thought it might be -- or possibly arousal, as Taylor had guessed.

"Is this for real?"

I actually laughed out loud. "Those were pretty much my exact words when I read it the first time. But yes. It's turned out to be very, very real."

"And you... what? Did you finish it?"

"No," I said. "And I'm not going to." Taylor's eyes widened at that. I looked at her. "I know you wanted me to finish it, Taylor, but you can see now, right? I can't. It's already hurt too many people. You said that if got to the point where Beth was getting hurt, I had to tell her. I'm doing that, but it can't stop there. I have to pull the plug now."

Taylor nodded.

"Wait," Beth said. "You encouraged him to keep going with this?"

"Wait a sec, Beth," I said. "She thought it was extremely hot, yes. But she also wanted me to tell you from the beginning. The e-mail says I can only tell one person. Taylor was my one. It was my call not to tell you, and I regret that I made such a stupid decision."

"Why was she the one you decided to tell?" she asked. She wasn't mad, really, nor did it sound like she was jealous. She was simply asking because she wanted to know.

"I didn't decide," I laughed.

"I found that piece of paper and the notebook he used to keep track of his progress in his sock drawer, that weekend you left us alone together," Taylor said. "He didn't try to deny it or act like it was anything besides what it was. He just answered all my questions truthfully. I even made him reenact everything he'd done till that point with me."

"Wait, what notebook?" Beth asked. I pulled that from my bag as well and handed it over. Taylor helped her open it to the right page. "Wow," she exclaimed. "You were really into this."

"At first, I was."

I talked her through everything, telling her as much as she wanted about each of my first five encounters. She'd heard all about the bus ride back from Asheville with Taylor, so I told her about Brianne in her apartment, including my confrontation with T. J. a couple days after. I told her about Lexi in the pool and the locker room, and I told her about Laci in the back alley of the bar, and later in the auxiliary gym. I finished up telling her about Trina in the frat house. She didn't want me to get into super explicit details, but I'd still told her enough that she was still clearly hot and bothered by the time I was done.

"Ok, you're right, Taylor," she said. "This is pretty damn hot. If we were reading this on the website or something..." she trailed off but was caught off guard by both Taylor and I busting out laughing.

"Again, that's exactly what she said when I told her. She even told me all about your little Literotica fetish."

She blushed harder but didn't back down.

"So what if she did, huh?" Beth pushed back. "I bet that turns you on, doesn't it? Thinking about me reading some dirty story online, leaning back in my bed and fingering my pussy? Soaking my sheets while reading about some decorated Marine college student fucking his way across the campus?"

My cock had slackened some while we talked, but now things had fired back up and it was just getting angry.

"It does turn me on," I said. "Though, not quite as much as watching your face as you cum while some decorated Marine college student eats your tasty little pussy."

Her eyes rolled back a little as she moaned. Taylor giggled.

"This... I missed this the past two days," Taylor said. I agreed, and Beth finally opened her eyes and nodded.

"Anyway... what next?"

Taylor took that one. "That's when I tried to convince him to tell you about it--"

"--and when I should have fucking listened, the rules be damned--" I cut in.

"--but he was worried about failing if they found out he'd told more than one person. So, he decided he just wanted to get it over with as quick as possible. So... I told him I'd help him finish it."

"Oh, you did, did you?" Beth asked, turning a raised eyebrow toward her girlfriend. "So, when we set him up with Sandy that week?"

"Objective #2," I nodded. I had the damn thing memorized by now.

"But you know how much she needed it, Beth," Taylor said. "She'd been so unhappy since she got pregnant, and she didn't deserve how her husband was treating her. Yeah, I didn't really think about hooking her up with anyone until I saw this, but... you talked to her afterward just like I did. You know she got as much, if not more, out of that as Travis did."

"True," she said. "And this weekend with Christi?"

"That one is a little complicated," I said. "Initially I was going to use Taylor for #4. That was my plan when we hooked up on the bus back in April, but... she decided she wanted to be used for #8 instead."

"Number 8?" Beth asked, then looked down at the sheet. "The threesome... wait. You were going to use me for this thing?" She seemed a little heated at that.

"It was my idea, Beth," Taylor said. "And I'm so, so sorry. I should have tried harder to convince him to tell you about this, then made sure you were ok with it before he... well... he hasn't yet."

"Hasn't what?" Beth asked.

"I haven't told them about it yet, and I'm not going to," I said. "The first five, the ones I just told you about... the next day, I sent an e-mail, just like the paper there says to. Told them the girl's name, class, which objective it filled, and when and where. But I never did with Sandy."

"Why?" she asked.

"This is where shit gets shady," I said. "Honestly, at first, I just forgot to. I was just happy with life that next morning. I hadn't just used Sandy to fill the pledge requirement; I really, really enjoyed myself with her. It was obvious that I'd given her back a lot of the confidence she never should have lost in the first place, so I felt good about that, too, on top of it just being a great night with a sexy woman. In retrospect, I'm glad I didn't."

"You haven't told her about Jamie yet," Taylor said.

"No, no, I haven't," I agreed. "She's probably blowing up my phone right now."

"Why?" Taylor asked.

"Who's Jamie?" Beth asked.

"I'll answer you in a second, Taylor. Jamie is the frat president's girlfriend," I said. "Well, sort of, anyway. Since the last time we saw each other, I've learned that she's also the fraternity vice president's girlfriend. The VP knows she's dating the president but not the other way around."

"Wow, really?" Taylor exclaimed.

"Yup," I said. "Let me get Beth caught up first, then I'll tell you both the new stuff."

I spent the few minutes getting them both up to speed on everything that had happened, starting with a brief explanation of my encounter with Laci and Jamie's involvement throughout for Beth's benefit, and continuing up until I'd found out Laci and Lexi were safe a few minutes before.

"So, they're both safe," Taylor said. "Thanks to you."

"Yeah, I helped clean up a mess I made in the first place," I said. "Real gentlemanly of me, ain't it? Anyhow, the only other loose end is this mysterious screenshot."

On cue, my phone buzzed again. It was laying on the table next to Beth, and she handed it to me.

"Go ahead," I said, handing it back. "I'm not going to lie to you, or even withhold things from you, ever again. Open it and look. Passcode is 2297."

"Does it mean anything?" Beth asked as she typed it in.

"Hank Aaron's career RBI total," I said, to which she just chuckled. Taylor was more blunt:

"You're such a baseball nerd."

"Guilty."

"Man, this Jamie chick is lighting you up," Beth said.

"Yeah, I gave them a phone number to run down for me," I explained. I finally sat down in a chair across the living room from them. "Do either of you know a Veronica Adamson?"

They both shook their heads.

"She's the one who sent you the screenshot," I explained. "Or that's her phone number, anyway. Apparently, she and Christi are members of AKP's sister sorority, and they're roommates at the sorority house. Christi couldn't wait to get back to share her good fortune with her bestie."

"I mean, I can understand that," Beth said, uncrossing then re-crossing her legs. "Just thinking about it makes me a little wet, so I'd probably want to tell someone, too. But why did this Veronica person send it to me?"

"That, I don't know," I admitted. "I figure it's got to be connected to the fraternity somehow. But that's why Jamie's texting me non-stop. I only gave them the phone number -- I didn't tell them about the screenshot, or give them any reason as to why I wanted it. And I'm not going to."

That confused her. "Why not?"

"Beth, to my knowledge, no one knows about you and I," I said. "They might know about you and Taylor, and they might know a little something about Taylor and I, but not you and me. And yet, still, somebody knew that you'd be upset about that text."

"Yeah?" She wasn't there yet.

"I'm not giving them even more ammunition," I said. "I already got Taylor involved in this, way back before things got serious with us. I can't help that now, but I'll be damned if I'm getting you involved. I'm not telling them shit, about anything. Not anymore. From here on out, everything I do is geared toward protecting the two of you. Toward protecting us."

She looked at me for a long, long moment. Taylor's head was bouncing back and forth like she had box seats at the Wimbledon finals, just waiting for one of us to do or say something else.

I broke first.

"I'm sorry, Beth," I said. "I really am. Most of this shit happened long before things got serious with us. Hell, the first two boxes were checked before we even met, and the next two names were crossed off before we went up in the helicopter. I even tried to quit the frat to focus on you, but my dad showed up and then got my family involved, and I added Trina to the list that night. I'm not particularly proud of that one, and if that's a dealbreaker for you, then so be it. But ever since you told us you wanted us to be a committed trio... there's only been two women besides you two, and you know about them both. I know I should have been honest with you from the beginning, and I'm really sorry that I made a bad decision. I--"

"Stop." Beth held up her hand as she stood up and took two steps toward me. She crooked her index finger at me. "Come here."

I met her halfway, and she melted my lips with a soul-crushing kiss. It must have gone on for two or three minutes, and I don't remember breathing. When we pulled our lips apart, our foreheads stayed pressed together.

"It all stops, right now?" she asked, plaintively.

"I promise," I whispered. "I'm all yours." A throat cleared from behind Beth.

"And hers," Beth quipped.

"And hers," I agreed. I pulled the taller woman toward us and we engaged in a hot 3-way kiss for a few minutes. Hands were flying every which way as each of us tried to feel up as much of the other two's bodies as we could.

"I missed you these last two days, Travis," she murmured. "We both did."

"I missed you, too," I answered. "I don't know what the hell you've done to me, but I need you... both of you... so much."

"Show me."

Beth spun me around and pushed me onto the couch where she'd just been sitting, then climbed onto my lap. I pulled her face down to mine and slipped my tongue between her lips as we kissed, trying to immediately ramp up the intensity. She moaned back into my mouth as I slid my hands up under her jersey, grinning when I realized she was wearing nothing underneath it.

"Squeeze 'em, Travis," she called out. "Squeeze hard."

I was happy to oblige, pinching her nipples until she gasped. Her hands shot up as Taylor pulled the jersey up and over Beth's head, and her arms circled my neck as she collapsed into me, squashing her bare chest against my face. I sucked hard on the upper swell of her right breast, knowing I would leave some evidence behind and not giving a damn.

"Fuck, baby," she spat out. "Mark me."

"You wanted me to show you, right?" I asked, slobbering all over her tits as I talked. "I need you, and I want you. Worse than I've ever wanted anything in my life." I sucked one nipple into my mouth and bit down, drawing the desired groan in response. "I hope you can feel it."

"I do," Beth muttered. "I need you, too."

Beth's hips rose off my lap and I could feel fingers fiddling with the zipper on my shorts. Those same fingers curled around my waistband a minute later, and I lifted my own hips so they could pull my shorts and boxers down.

"Oh, fuck!" Taylor cried out as my cock popped free.

"Is he hard?" Beth moaned.

"As fucking concrete," Taylor answered. Beth tried to moan again, but I pulled her back down for a kiss. When that broke off, I went to her ear. In between licks and nibbles, I muttered.

"We owe you, Beth," I said. "We should have been more careful this weekend. We put you through hell, even if only for a few hours. Let us make it up to you." I grabbed a handful of her hair and tugged, not enough to hurt, but enough for her to flush a little. I waited until her icy blue eyes settled onto mine. "Tell her what to do. Tell us what to do to you."

Her eyes lit up as she smirked.

"You," she reached back and grabbed a Taylor by the hair, making her look up from my cock. "You're going to suck his cock while you rub my pussy. Get us ready for each other."

Taylor smirked. "Girl, I could tie you to the bed spread eagle and tease your pussy for an hour, and you wouldn't be more ready than you already are."

Beth grinned back, but held her ground. She used that hair to shove Taylor down onto my cock. "Shut up and get to sucking."

The combination of Taylor's hot mouth and Beth's aggression made me groan.

"And you, mister," she turned back to me. "You're going to sit here on this couch while I ride your fucking amazing cock. You don't get to touch anything more than my hips, just to hold me in place, until I cum once. After that, you can do whatever you want, but you don't get to cum until I cum twice. You got it?"

"On one condition," I said. She looked the question at me, and I pulled her down into another hot, passionate kiss. After about 45 seconds, I let her go. "You're so fucking hot when you're bossy."

So that's what we did. Beth let me kiss her and rub her back while Taylor went to town on us, but once Taylor settled Beth onto my cock, I dutifully held her hips while she basically used me as a sex toy. Not that I was complaining -- Beth was fucking beautiful, and even moreso when she was blissed out. Sometimes she would just impale herself on me and grind her hips, and I'd get to watch her impressive abs twitch and flex. Sometimes she would put her hands on my shoulders and pound herself up and down on top of me, and I'd have to fight the temptation to reach out with my tongue and graze her nipples, or to run my fingers through her soft, blonde hair.

I somehow managed, and after a few minutes, Taylor took the boobs opportunity away from me anyhow. She slid her hands around Beth's front and squeezed those delectable nipples, earning a gasp and then a sexy growl. I could feel Taylor grinding her pussy against my knee as she fondled Beth from behind.

When Beth finally came, she collapsed against my chest and screamed into my shoulder. I moved my hands onto her ass and held her down hard against me, trying to generate as much friction on her clit as I could.

Once she couldn't grab Beth's boobs anymore, Taylor fell away from us and sat on the floor, splaying her legs wide and feverishly thrusting two fingers in and out of her glistening pussy. I licked my lips involuntarily, and Taylor noticed.

"See something you want?" she cooed from the floor.

I grunted affirmatively. "I do, but I have something else I need to take care of first." I gestured at the blonde girl sitting on my lap.

"Didn't you just do that?" Taylor asked.

"He doesn't get to cum until I cum again," Beth said. "That's his 'punishment.'" She did the air quotes to let us know what she really meant. "Yours was having to play with both of us before we fucked, without getting any personal attention."

"You'd be a terrible judge," Taylor laughed.

"I know, right?" I added. "You're guilty of shoplifting, and your sentence is an all-expenses-paid shopping spree."

Beth giggled. "Whatever." She pushed back off of me and stood. "I believe you have some more work to do."

"How do you want it?" I asked.

"I said you could do whatever after I came the first time," she replied. "So, how do you want it?"

I took both their hands and led them back to Beth's bedroom. I laid Beth in the middle of the bed and quickly climbed between her legs. I hadn't cum since the whole thing with Christi, and the past hour had been killing me. I was anxious to make Beth cum again, not only because I genuinely loved getting her off, but because I couldn't wait to get my own.

I wasted no time with foreplay or gentleness -- as soon as her legs were spread, I plunged right in. She squealed in delight, then moved her hand down to rub her clit. I pushed it away.

"No, no," I said. "There's someone else here who can help with that."

As if on cue, Taylor climbed on to the bed next to us. Instead of using her fingers, though, she planted her face on Beth's pelvis and attacked her clit with her lips and tongue.

"Oh, fucking shit!" Beth cried out. "God, I love your tongue!"

"Mmmm," Taylor hummed. "And I love how you taste."

Beth grabbed Taylor's right leg and pulled it toward her, and the larger girl got the message, sliding over and sitting on Beth's face. Taylor immediately gasped when Beth's mouth made contact with her pussy, but she was still focused on the task at tongue. She lifted Beth's legs up and planted her palms on the bed inside of them, so she couldn't lower them back down. Not that she wanted to -- I used the wider access to lean over farther and pound her even harder.

Taylor laid flat against Beth's midsection, giving her clit even more attention and occasionally brushing her lips over my cock in between strokes. I leaned down as far I could on Taylor's back -- I couldn't quite reach her amazing ass with my mouth, but I could sure as hell spank it, so I did.

It wasn't long before Beth stopped eating Taylor's pussy and started gasping for breath.

"You gonna cum for me?" I asked. Before she could respond, I rephrased. "Let me fix that. Are you gonna cum for us?"

Beth's expression was desperate, but she couldn't say anything other than a tightly hummed "mmhmm!"

"Do it," I said. "Cum for us, then I'm gonna cum for you."

I leaned back to a kneeling position and fucked her for all I was worth, using Taylor's broad, sculpted shoulders to steady myself.

"Oh, fuck!" Beth exclaimed, and her legs lifted up and tightened around Taylor's chest as her whole body spasmed. My own orgasm was right there waiting, and after a few seconds, Beth seemed to realize it.

"In me!" she stammered, moving her mouth away from Taylor's thighs just enough to spit it out. "I'm on the pill!"

"Nope," I said. Although I wanted nothing more, I couldn't do that just yet. Instead, as soon as I knew she was on the back side of her orgasm, I yanked my cock from her with a quickness. I had no idea what I was going to do with it, but--.

"Mine!" Taylor declared, then took me as far in her mouth as she could, which was damn near almost all the way. She reached between my legs and fondled my balls, and that was it for me.

"Holy fuuuuucckk!!" I cried out, my hands tightening in Taylor's hair as I fired off what might have been my largest load ever straight into her mouth. It was definitely the most intense orgasm I'd ever had with the two of them.

"No fair!" I heard Beth call out from underneath Taylor. "I wanted that!"

Taylor grinned as widely as she could without opening her mouth, then quickly spun around and kissed Beth. She shrieked in surprise when Taylor started feeding her my cum, and for my part, it was one of the hottest fucking things I'd ever seen in my life. Taylor was still slowly grinding her pussy against Beth's leg, though, and I realized she had yet to get off.

I curled two fingers in between her and Beth and jabbed them up into Taylor's pussy, and I spanked her generous ass with my free hand.

"Oh, God, yes," she moaned. "I need to cum so fucking bad."

"Poor baby," Beth fake-consoled her. "Have we been neglecting you?"

Taylor fake-pouted in return. "Yes," she whined. "I really, really need it."

I wasn't going to get off again anytime soon, but--

"Holy shit, he's still hard!" Beth exclaimed.

"What do you expect, when the two of you start making out right after I came in her mouth?" I replied. "You realize just about every man in America would trim a year or two off his life to live that fantasy, right?"

"Well, we apparently like doing it," Taylor said. "So you better not be one of those guys, or you won't live much longer."

"Just proves my point," I said as Beth rotated around until she and Taylor were in a 69 again, this time with Beth's head near Taylor's pussy and my cock. "You two are better than any fucking fantasy."

Beth pulled my fingers out of Taylor and affixed her mouth to Taylor's clit, right about the time I sank my cock into Taylor from behind.

"Oohhhhhhh, fuck, me," she groaned out, and I'd have been surprised if no one else heard it.

"I think he is," Beth giggled, but she stopped when Taylor sank her hips down a little harder, nearly smothering Beth. I knew she wouldn't need long, so I plowed her as hard as I could. I could make out slurping noises below me, and occasionally I could feel Beth's tongue on my balls.

I gently pressed the pad of my thumb against Taylor's ass, remembering how much she loved it at the hotel. The moment I applied just the slightest bit of pressure, she went off like a rocket. She only screamed out loud for a second or two before I pushed her face down into Beth's leg to muffle her.

When Taylor was finally through, the girls collapsed next to each other on the bed. I went and washed my hands before joining them. Taylor and I made a Beth sandwich.

"Two things," Beth said. "I've never really explored anal with you, but I guess we need to look into that, huh?"

Taylor blushed, but I reached across and took her hand. "No judgments, babe," I said. "Whatever you're into, we're into."

"Of course," Beth agreed. "I just didn't ever think about it, I guess. Maybe I'll have to try it, too."

And now I had a brain full of images of me playing with both of their asses, and them playing with each other's ass. Because that won't be distracting.

"And you," she said, looking at me. "Why didn't you cum inside me? I told you I'm on the pill, and I'm clean."

"I'm not entirely certain I am," I said. "Christi, remember?"

"She was in a month-long slump before the other night, Travis," Taylor offered.

"Still no guarantees," I said. "And maybe I should have used a condom period, but it's too late for that. But Beth, seriously... I wanted nothing more. I'd love to be able to shoot off inside both of you, very soon. But we can't take chances. I need to get tested -- hell, I'll do it tomorrow, but until it comes back, I'm gonna have to wait."

Beth smiled at me and kissed my chest before cuddling in against me. Taylor did the same with my cheek before laying back down.

Something tickled the back of my mind right then, something about how great everything was. Not only did I get to watch one of the two sexiest girls on campus eat the other one's pussy, but she did it while I was fucking said pussy. Then, I fucked one until I came in the others mouth. And THEN, they swapped it back and forth.

Somehow, some way, these two amazing girls wanted me -- still wanted me, even after everything that had happened.

I wasn't gonna let anything fuck that up again. Fuck the frat, fuck Shawn, Jamie, Tyson, my dad, frat pledges... nothing was going to get in between me and what was most important.

Still, as I drifted off to sleep, I couldn't shake the idea that something sinister was still going on, and that it wasn't quite through with us yet.

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Hope you enjoyed! Please vote, comment, and send feedback. I like interacting with readers and knowing what you think. It makes me write faster (hint, hint). Look for Chapter 12 soon!