Monday September 4 2006
University of California San Diego
"Yeesh," Eddie said. "Do you think maybe we're taking this 'hide in plain sight' thing a little far?" The line to the Registration office in front of Eddie and Bobby moved forward a few feet, and they shuffled forward to close the gap. "I mean, I bet we go up on the roof of the Medical Building, we could see La Jolla, and Westminster Mall, and even that air base."
"No bet." The line moved forward again, and they followed. "It's just for initial registration. All our courses are gonna be online. We'll never see this place again, unless you feel like watching a game or something."
"Or something." Eddie eyed a pair of girls strutting past in brief jogging outfits. "Where's Kat?"
"Done. I think she was waiting for the doors to open this morning. She's crazy about school, you know that." The line moved forward again. "Besides, the fewer people see her here the better, I think. People we know probably come here. We need to keep a low profile."
-0-
"What's this all about, do you suppose?"
Roxy and Sarah exchanged looks as they strolled down the sidewalk near school. A line of students, all male, had formed up at the front of one of the fraternity houses, ending near the front door and starting somewhere around the far corner. The two girls walked further down the sidewalk and saw that the line extended all the way down the far side of the house and disappeared around the back.
Sarah kept walking. "Kegger, probably."
"An hour after classes, in the middle of the week?"
A male voice came from the front of the building. "Uh, girls? Ladies?"
"Just keep walking," Sarah said. "Told you parading past frathouse row was a bad idea."
"Ladies. Please. Can you hold up a minute?"
Still walking, they turned their heads to see a young man, frat boy probably, hurrying across the lawn after them. Roxanne stopped. Sarah's first impulse was to grab her hand and keep walking, but the harried expression on the young man's face gave her pause.
When he got within reasonable speaking distance, he said, "I'm not trying for a pickup or anything, okay? Just hear me out." He waved at the line running along the building. "You heard of PETA? People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals?"
Sarah had been a member for years. "I've heard of it."
He plunged in. "Well, we're doing a fundraiser. But the response is way bigger than we expected. We need help, before we start losing people." As he spoke, two men drifted out of line and walked away.
She looked at Roxanne; the little pixie gave her a head shrug. "I'm game. I know you're nuts about this stuff."
Sarah turned to the frat boy. "You want us to do something? Punch tickets or…"
"No." He gave them a sick little smile that reminded Sarah of someone with gas pains. "It's a kissing booth."
She throttled down a momentary surge of anger. "Who put you up to this?"
"Put… no." He grabbed one hand with the other. "Summer and Brittany are getting swamped, and I saw you walking down the street, and… Well, hell, I'd pay you for one. Don't take it wrong, okay?"
Sara slipped a fingertip under the black triangle pinned to her lapel. "Didn't you see this?"
He looked at it, and his mouth thinned to a line. "Look. I've heard all the stories about frats, too. You can't believe what everybody says. If you got a problem with alcohol, nobody's gonna try to shove a drink in your hand."
Her ill mood popped like a soap bubble. Roxanne snorted. The frat boy looked at them, perplexed.
Sarah crossed the grass to the line of waiting boys, Roxanne and the frat boy following. She tapped the shoulder of a boy near the end. When he turned and his pupils dilated, she stepped close to force eye contact and asked, "Hey. What's the line for?"
"Uh, it's a kissing booth for PETA."
"You know what PETA does?"
"Well, lots of stuff. For animals. I think they protect the wild mustangs."
She walked down the line a dozen places and interrogated another philanthropist: "They fight unnecessary product testing on animals."
Another: "They're trying to invent a meat substitute, so people won't raise animals for slaughter anymore."
She nodded to herself. All the answers were true, but she'd been pleasantly surprised three random subjects had known. Her bubble popped when a fourth boy said without turning, "Dunno. But it's a kissing booth, and the chicks are hot."
Behind her, Roxanne said, "You're not really thinking about it, are you?"
The frat boy who'd first approached them was still at their elbows. "Please. It's for a good cause."
She looked down the portion of the line she'd walked past. Boys were stepping partway out of line to stare at the two girls. She turned to her sister. "You know me, always a sucker for a noble cause."
She walked down the line, her stride lengthening as she approached the building's back corner. Behind her, Roxanne said, "Wait up. Or at least slow down, Stilts. I suppose you know you're leaving a trail of dangling tongues."
"Well, why shouldn't I be feeling a little nervous? Besides, what makes you think it's me?"
"You know mine only kicks on when I'm having fun."
"Exactly, you little boy-toy."
They turned the last corner and were behind the house. In the middle of the back yard, the line ended at a long, narrow counter, hardly more than a waist-high barrier made from two-by-sixes. Two girls stood on the other side, each waiting for the next boy in line to drop his contribution into boxes with slotted tops sitting on the counter, then leaning over to give him a brief kiss.
One of the girls glanced their way, and her eyes widened in recognition. "Sarah? Well, okay, but you have to get in line too."
"Hey, Summer. Move over."
"Uh? Oh!" She stepped aside to make room for the two newcomers. "I'm grateful as hell, Sarah, my lips are going numb, but…"
"Are we expecting a delegation from the Daughters of Bilitis or something?" Brittany was Summer's sorority sister, one of the most popular girls in school, a likely candidate for Homecoming Queen, and, in Sarah's opinion, a total jerk. Sarah knew the girl did charity work, but suspected she was motivated more by image than compassion. "Otherwise, I don't see how you being here is going to lighten the load."
Sarah ignored the barb and raised her voice to address the line. "Tongues behind teeth and hands to yourselves, or we're out of here. Who's next?"
A boy detached himself from the front of the line and shuffled towards the table, seeming embarrassed - or having second thoughts. He saw the little lapel pin and hesitated with his folded fiver half through the slot in the top of the box. "Uh..."
"Leave it half out," she said. "If you don't think it was worth it, take it back." She leaned forward, lowered her eyelids sleepily, and imagined Bobby on the other side of the counter. Five seconds later, the boy tapped the bill down the slot - after missing the bill with his fingertip twice - and walked away, looking a little dazed. The next one stepped up briskly.
After a time, Sarah realized she was enjoying herself, and not just because she was helping one of her favorite causes. Even though she could count on her thumbs the men who'd ever stirred her sexual desire (well, on the fingers of one hand, at most), she'd found the attention of men entertaining since puberty, even after she'd discovered women. Being with Bobby hadn't changed her orientation, really; he was still the miraculous exception to the rule. But, her preferences notwithstanding, being with him had caused her to acquire a certain appreciation of, well, maleness. She could feel facial hair or even a little beard stubble on her lips or cheek and not be repulsed. In fact, if she closed her eyes as she leaned forward and imagined kissing Bobby, the sensation was rather pleasant.
"Hey," Brittany said peevishly. "Quit holding up the line. Next one step up."
She glanced down the counter and saw that no one was standing in front of Summer or Brittany. The next boy in line reluctantly stepped forward, bought a kiss from Summer, and hurried off towards the front of the house.
Roxanne came down off the balls of her feet and unpuckered her lips, grinning at the boy in front of her, who grinned back and slipped an extra single into the box beside her.
In a brief interval between customers, Summer said, "Haven't seen you guys around lately."
"Transferred," Sarah said as she removed her fingertips from the tops of a boy's shoulders. "East Coast school. We're just back for a visit."
"Damn shame," the boy said as he moved away.
A few minutes later, a boy in a varsity jacket stepped in front of Sarah, displaying a smile she was sure he'd used to good effect in the past. "How much for a kiss?"
"Five dollar contribution."
"What do I get for ten?"
"Two. But you'll have to go to the back of the line for the second one."
He made a show of looking behind him. "Long line."
She nodded seriously. "Must be worth the wait."
"Don't doubt it. But I gotta be on the field in fifteen minutes." His eyes were blue; not quite Bobby's shade, but pretty, and long-lashed as a girl's.
She lowered her eyelashes slightly. "Well, maybe, we could throw in a little something extra."
He gestured towards the lapel pin. "Is that misdirection, or what?"
"No. But you know what they say about gay chicks. We're the best kissers."
"Sarah," Brittany said, "the line." She gave a quick peck to the boy on the other side of the counter, and he left for the front of the building with the haste of someone on an errand. "Next."
Sarah turned back to Varsity Boy. "Now or never."
He gave a heavy sigh and pushed a bill into the slot.
She closed her eyes and imagined Bobby smiling at her sleepily with his hair disarranged on his pillow. Seven seconds later, when she pulled her face back and opened her eyes, the boy blinked and came back into focus.
"Whuh." He drew a thumb across his lower lip, which bore faint impressions from her teeth. "No false advertising there." He ambled off.
Twenty minutes later, the frat boy who'd recruited them made an appearance, and began emptying the cash from the boxes into a larger container. "Thanks, girls. This is going way better than we expected. And the line is still getting longer. Guys are calling their buddies while they wait their turn. You don't know - hey, what's with all the tens in this box?"
A little while later, Summer said, "I don't know how much longer I can keep this up. I've been at it for four hours now, and there's no end in sight."
"Um," Roxanne said, pointing with her chin as she touched the back of a boy's neck with her fingertips, "the end is in sight."
They looked at the opposite corner of the building, and saw the tail end of the line backing into the yard; it now stretched around three sides of the frat house.
"Where are they all coming from?" Brittany's voice had a panicky edge, Sarah thought.
"See for yourself." Roxanne looked pointedly at a boy who'd just left the booth: he walked to the corner of the building and got back in line. "Who'd guess college guys are such animal lovers, huh?" She smiled up at a boy at least as tall as Caitlin who presented himself for a kiss. "Gawd. Somebody get me a box to stand on."
"No sweat," he said, placing a plate-sized hand on the boards, to bend over the counter, and her, making her lean backwards. The other hand found the small of her back and steadied her as he cocked his head and smiled. "I'll come to you."
Things went on that way for some time, the four of them barely keeping pace with the line, and Summer and Brittany coaxing customers to their portion of the booth. Summer took the boys' preference for Roxy and Sarah with good humor - "Guys are always looking for strange, and they don't come any stranger than you two," she'd joked - but Brittany was clearly affronted. Sarah could have told her that her pissy attitude was obvious to the boys at the head of the line and made them even more reluctant to lay down a Lincoln for a few seconds of her attention, but she doubted the advice would be received well.
Brittany finished with her latest customer, and looked to the head of the line, about to call the next one over. Instead, she glanced over to Sarah. "All yours."
A tall muscular figure in a sleeveless shirt and a ball cap strolled up to the counter opposite Sarah. Sarah said neutrally, "Hey, Deb."
"Hey, Sweet Cheeks." Deb grinned down at her. Deb was about six feet tall, and would have been a fairly pretty girl if she'd been straight and had fruit and cereal for breakfast instead of protein drinks and steroids. She spent hours lifting weights at the gym, and intimidated most males who crossed her path. Sarah had turned her down twice for a date when she'd been at MacArthur. Deb was the sort of lesbian she avoided at all costs: a stereotypical butch dyke, determined to outdo men at everything. Including, apparently, behaving badly towards women she was trying to impress. "Ready to give up a real one for a sister?"
"Same rules, Deb. No tongue, no grope. I mean it."
"No prob." She dropped a folded bill into the slot and placed her hands flat on the counter, leaning over. "Show me what you got."
Sarah tilted her head, closed her eyes, and leaned forward. She heard a small breathy stir from the boys in line as they watched the two girls' lips meet. She felt a moment of... not irritation, exactly, but she just didn't understand the male fascination with girl-on-girl. The attitude seemed strange and unnatural. She couldn't imagine being turned on by two guys kissing.
After a few seconds, she started to pull back, and felt strong fingers at the back of her head, holding their faces together. She opened her eyes. Deb's were open just a slit, lost in sensation. Sarah felt the girl's tongue pushing at her teeth.
Sarah got both her hands on the other girl's wide chest and pushed. Deb resisted for a moment, then allowed Sarah to pull her head back a few inches. Deb's smile of satisfaction disappeared when a fat spark popped between their faces, making her jump. She let go and her hand flew to her mouth. "Jesus. What…"
"Static," Sarah said. "Next."
A while later, Brittany gathered up her purse. "Headed for the little girls' room." She looked at Summer. "Coming?"
Summer picked up her bag as well. She looked at Roxy and Sarah. "I'll be back."
"Meaning Brittany won't," Roxy said as the two girls left. "Good riddance. She was taking the fun out of it." A young man resembling Orlando Bloom stepped up, and she smiled. "Almost."
"Hi."
Sarah turned from Roxanne to the young man in front of her: medium height, heavyset, maybe a little old for a college student… His face tugged at her memory. "Hi," she said uncertainly.
"I'm not stalking you or anything. They called me and said you were here. I just had to see for myself." He studied her face. "You don't remember me. Big surprise."
"Of course I do," she said, and suddenly she did. "But... you've lost some weight, especially in your face. How are you, Josh?"
"Don't. Please. I don't know how you know my name, but we never met." The corner of his mouth twisted up. "I kinda lost it that night. I went through every pocket I owned and moved all my furniture, looking for a slip of paper with a strange number on it. I was about to start pulling up the carpet when I got a grip. No way did I ever trade ten words with you and then forget."
She swallowed. "Sorry. I shouldn't have done it. But I didn't like the way your friends were making fun of you."
The smile grew into something more genuine. "I was quite a celebrity for a while, till I finally told them I must've lost your number. Then I was the biggest asshole on the planet."
"You said they told you I was here? Where are they now?"
He tilted his head towards the corner of the building. She gave it a quick glance. Two boys were standing near the end of the line as if about to get in, trying not to be obvious but watching. The instant she saw them together, she recognized them from the bus bench that day. She also realized they'd each bought a kiss from her.
He nodded. "Yeah. They told me I should come down here and see what I missed."
Not knowing why, she said, "I have a boyfriend now. I didn't then."
A line appeared between his eyebrows. He looked pointedly at her triangle pin.
She shrugged. "Works better than a ring."
He nodded slightly. "Spose so. Bet it's still not enough sometimes. Your boyfriend's a lucky guy."
"Hey," a boy called from the head of the line. "There's people waiting here. You gonna kiss her or talk all day?"
Josh produced a five-dollar bill. "Still didn't tell me how you know my name. I don't want anything for this, by the way." He brought the bill to the box, only to find Sarah's hand covering the slot.
With her other hand, she quickly reached into her purse and pulled out a bill - a twenty. She held it up for Josh, the line, and the observers at the corner of the building. "On me." She stuffed it in the slot and reached for his head with both hands, and the crowd sighed again.
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