A/N: Thank you for your comments and encouragement to update this. I had a bit of writer's block but I'm back now and I hope this chapter was worth the wait. :)
Some dyke in shining armor, Jane thought as she put the finishing touches on her makeup. She had figured time was of the essence, but as soon as Coral had seen her in a pair of denim shorts and a tank top, she grabbed a black maxi skirt and a floral cropped tank from her closet and handed them over to her. Jane wasn't Rushing, but Coral stressed the importance of looking the part if she was going to escort Maura, which meant flawless hair and makeup and stylish clothes.
"Let me take a look at you." Coral examined her best friend's appearance for what seemed like an eternity before she made Jane change into a short, black skirt. "You look hot, but you look too hot. The other girls are going to hate you."
Jane was confused. "I'm there for Maura and all I'm going to do is escort her and then I'm going to slip out."
"I forgot to tell you something," Coral said nervously. "I filled out your application this morning so you could Rush with me."
"I'm not Rushing, Coral! And I can't even if I wanted to. Softball is my priority."
Coral held both of Jane's hands in hers. "Remember the night of our first junior high dance?"
"Yes," Jane glared at her. "I've been unsuccessfully trying to repress that memory for six years. Thank you for bringing it up."
"But you said you owed me," Coral reminded her. "After tonight, consider your debt paid in full."
Until she found out Jocelyn had cheated on her, Jane considered her first junior high dance to be the worst day of her life. At thirteen, she was too young to date and, even if she were of age, there was only one other out lesbian at her school: an eighth grader who had a ninth grade girlfriend. Coral ended up being what they referred to as her non-date date that night instead of going with a guy she liked, but that wasn't the only sacrifice she had made for Jane at the dance and, the more Jane thought about how the rest of that night played out, the more she felt as if going to Rush was a small price to pay.
"Okay, I'll go," Jane agreed. "I'll go even though I think the entire sorority system is archaic and exclusionary." And I'm going so I could spend more time with Maura, but Coral doesn't need to know that. She looked at Coral in her coral-colored sundress. "Who even are you?"
"I'm Coral in a coral dress," she pointed out. "I'm a blonde in a group of a million other blondes. I have to do something to stand out at Rush. And Jane?"
"Yeah?"
"Sorry for being a dick to you yesterday."
"You're always a dick to me," Jane smirked. "You're being a dick to me right now for making me go to Rush, but if you're referring to ditching me for a guy, I guess we're even after what you saw a few hours later."
Coral let go of Jane's hands so they could head out the door. "Oh, you mean you fingering Maura?" she laughed. "Are you jealous that I remember what her vagina looks like and you don't? Bee tee dubs, I know why she was enjoying it so much."
"Why?" Jane asked, intrigued.
After shutting the door behind them, Coral grabbed Jane's left hand so she could examine her middle and index finger. "You're way more hung than Garrett is."
Jane had expected the two of them to go to Maura's dorm together, but Coral insisted that it was a private matter between her and Maura. Jane knew it was because she was expecting her to make out with Maura and, if that's what she wanted, she was going to be greatly of kissing Maura occupied her mind, but there was more than the fear of taking advantage of her that prevented Jane from doing so.
The night she spent with Maura was the first night since the breakup that Jane hadn't checked Jocelyn's Instagram account even if only for a few seconds. Jocelyn was her first love and Jane knew she wouldn't be her last, but that didn't prevent her from wondering just how she could discard her so easily. Among the daily selfies Jocelyn posted was the occasional picture of the girl who had taken Jane's place in her heart—if Jane ever had a place in her heart. She constantly asked herself what that girl had that she didn't and, although there were girls that flirted with Jane, it wasn't until she was with Maura that she realized what she had been missing during her relationship with Jocelyn. There's a girl that wants me for something other than sex...and she was going to escort that girl to Rush.
Maura's building was part of the new additions to the student housing section. Each room was made for either single or double occupancy and was complete with its own bathroom as opposed to the suite-style rooms that Jane and Coral lived in. Jane and Coral had to share a bathroom with two other girls, but their building was the closest to the main part of the campus while the building with private rooms was the furthest. There is no perfect dorm.
The walk from Maura's building to sorority row would take approximately fifteen minutes at the least, but when she thought of the way Maura smiled at her that morning she knew it was worth it. I'd even walk her to class.
On the way to Maura's dorm, Jane was approached by a beautiful twenty-something holding a clipboard. Jane had heard about student organizations handing out recruitment fliers, but this young woman looked a few years older than the average BCU undergrad.
She complimented Jane's style and appearance and made small talk about the campus. As much as Jane was enjoying having her ego stroked, she began to wonder if there was a reason why this young woman, whom she had learned was named Sarah, approached her.
"I have to meet a friend before Rush and I'm going to be late," Jane brought to her attention.
"Right," Sarah gasped. "I'm so sorry. I'm a recruiter and I think you have the perfect look for our company."
"This isn't some kind of porn thing, is it?" Jane asked, her eyebrow raised. "If it is, you're talking to the wrong girl."
"What? No!" Sarah responded, trying hard not to sound startled. "I work for a clothing company and our store here in Boston is previewing our back-to-school line and we need one beautiful girl and two gorgeous guys to be models for the event we have next week."
Two guys and one girl? Still sounds like a porn thing to me. "What would I have to do?"
"You'd wear something from our back-to-school line and you'd be greeting customers near the entrance," Sarah explained. "It's a big event and there's going to be people who want to take pics with you and the guys so you'd have to be okay with that. It's not hard. Just look great, interact with people, and have a good time. Everyone who has done it before said they had a blast and it pays well."
She didn't like the idea of modelling and making money off of her appearance, but Jane was a broke college student and, although her books and classes were paid for, she wanted some money to play around with. "How much does it pay?"
"Two hundred dollars for an eight-hour shift," Sarah smiled at her. "And you get to keep the clothes."
"Two hundred dollars?" Jane asked in disbelief. "And I get free clothes? You've got yourself a model."
Jane felt more at ease when she found out the store she'd be modelling for was the same store that she and Coral always bought their jeans from, so she knew it was a legitimate opportunity and not a scam. After taking down Jane's name and phone number and handing her an official recruitment card with information about her modelling job, Jane was on her way to Maura's dorm.
For the second time in less than fifteen minutes, Maura heard a knock at her door. She had stopped herself from crying just a couple minutes after Garrett left so she could do any necessary touch-ups on her makeup and the last thing she needed was for Garrett to show up again.
She swallowed hard to prevent herself from crying again. "I don't want to talk about this anymore, Garrett!"
"Maura, are you okay?"
Jane. She had only known her for a brief period of time, but she'd already recognize her voice anywhere.
"Jane!" She said as she flung open the door. "I'm so glad to see you!" She had tried not to sound overly-excited, but the sight of Jane in her short skirt and cropped tank made Maura's heart beat faster. I can't have a vasovagal episode so close to Rush.
"Are you okay?" Jane asked.
Maura looked down at her shoes, unsure of what to tell Jane.
"Maura?" Jane asked as she tucked a strand of hair behind Maura's ears.
Physical contact is not helping me. Maura knew lying would result in either hives or a vasovagal episode, so she had no choice but to tell the truth. "I'm not okay."
"Is it Garrett?"
"I have to walk to the quad now," Maura pointed out. "I'm sorry. I don't mean to be rude."
"I know," Jane smiled. "I didn't forget about Rush. I'm here to escort you. Actually, I'm going to be Rushing, but only because Coral forced me to attend Rush tonight." Jane stopped herself when she realized Maura might think she was forced to see her. "Coral didn't force me to see you. I meant, I wanted to escort you to begin with and I was going to walk with you and the group to sorority row, but Coral is making me Rush because she doesn't want to go alone."
"Jane?"
"Yeah?"
"I understand," Maura reassured her. "We can talk along the way."
She was grateful for Jane's concern, but now that she was walking to the quad with her, Garrett was the last thing on her mind. She could tell the clothes Jane was wearing weren't part of her everyday attire and she began to wonder what Jane looked like on a regular basis. There were details about Jane that she recollected from their time together and from what she had seen in her room and what stood out the most about Jane was her athleticism. Sports have done wonders for her body.
"Do you want to talk about Garrett?" Jane asked, interrupting Maura's thought process.
"I don't," Maura responded. "I'd rather talk about you."
"What about me?" Jane asked playfully, which in turn made Maura blush. "You're so beautiful when you blush."
"Stop," Maura said, although Jane's compliments made her smile.
"And when you smile."
"How did Coral get you to Rush?" Maura asked to get the attention off of herself.
"I owed her one," Jane smirked. "But we're not going to get into that right now."
"Why?"
"Because it's the most embarrassing moment of my life," Jane said as she pretended to accidentally brush her hand against Maura's. "And I won't tell you mine unless you tell me yours, which means if you want to know we'll have to hang out again."
"When?" Maura asked a little more eagerly than she had hoped. "What I meant to say was I'd love to hang out with you."
What Coral had neglected to mention was that all the Rushees were going to be separated into groups and assigned to a Rho Gamma, or recruitment counselor, instead of everyone visiting the houses together. There were over two hundred girls Rushing and fifteen or twenty assigned to each Rho Gamma and, as luck would have it, she was assigned to the same group as Coral and Maura. Even if she hadn't been, Jane would have left her assigned group for Coral's, but this way she was able to avoid any conflict that could reflect negatively on her best friend.
The first house was the Rho Zeta Theta house and, judging by how nervous Maura became, Jane had a feeling she was about to enter the most snob-filled house on sorority row. "Just be yourself," Jane reassured her. "Being yourself is the only way you'll find the sorority you fit in with."
"Should I be myself, too?" Coral asked.
"No," Jane smirked. "You need to be someone else and not use words like 'asshole' or 'cumslut.'"
"Okay, asshole," Coral responded much to the chagrin of a nearby Rho Zeta Theta member who glared at her before making her way to a nearby Rushee. "Jane? Yo, Jane? Did you see her just look me up and down?"
Jane was aware of how much Rush Week meant to Maura and, for Maura's sake, she wanted to tell her that she could distance herself from them, but before she could say anything, three Rho Zeta Theta members introduced themselves and split them up for some one-on-one conversations.
"Coral is such an interesting name," she overheard one of the members ask. "Is that your mom's favorite color?"
"I don't know," Coral shrugged. "She was sixteen when she had me and she didn't think about the repercussions of naming me after a color."
Fucking Coral. I told her this was a bad idea. Jane wanted to grab her friend and lead her out of the house, but the Rho Zeta Theta rep who had pulled her aside was already starting to ask her questions. It was all small talk—nothing unexpected—until she was asked what her favorite chocolate was. "My favorite chocolate?" Jane asked just to be certain. "How is this even relevant? No, wait, it all makes sense now. It doesn't matter what my answers are because you're not trying to get to know me. This is round one of recruitment and you're just judging me on appearance so you can decide whether or not I'm pretty enough or refined enough to invite back to round two."
Jane knew she had struck a nerve when the president of the sorority approached her, but it had never been her intention to try to impress any of these girls, so she decided to speak her mind.
"We can assure you that's not what we're doing. Rho Zeta Theta strives to create a welcoming environment for all potential new members," their president said while Jane wondered exactly how many times that had been rehearsed.
"Save it," Jane scoffed. "I saw you look a few girls up and down before you even talked to them. At first glance, you know who you want and who you don't want. The conversations are just a formality."
The Rho Zeta Theta house was everything Jane loathed about sororities, but she was pleasantly surprised when she visited the other nine houses on sorority row. Unlike the Rho Zeta Theta house, the girls in the other houses were welcoming and made attempts to get to know the Rushees or at least get to know them as best as they could in the fifteen or twenty minutes that were allotted. Attending the other houses didn't change Jane's mind about Rushing and she couldn't join even if she wanted to, but she was glad to see that Maura was having a good time.
"I left my card at every sorority except for Rho Zeta Theta," Maura said excitedly during their walk back to the dorms. "I can only attend up to seven houses tomorrow. I hope I receive that many invites."
Every Rushee was given ten cards reminiscent of business cards with their name and application number written on them so they could leave them with the sororities they were interested in upon leaving the house as a way of letting the sisters know they were interested in attending round two of their recruitment activities. For every time Maura left her card, Jane tried to hide how much she was smiling at the thought of Maura wearing a hoodie with that sorority's letters.
"You'll be invited," Jane reassured her. "The girls seemed to really like you."
"Jane does," Coral winked.
"Coral!" Jane glared at her.
Coral stepped away from Jane for fear of retaliation. "What? You were looking at her the whole time."
"I notice you didn't leave your card with any sororities," Maura pointed out, mainly to change the subject. "Did you not like them?"
"I thought they'd be cool, but they're fucking lame," Coral responded. "I wanted to join a sorority to meet hot guys, not to sing songs and do crafts. I'm a hot girl. I can just show up at a frat party and get let in without wearing some stupid letters."
Coral was carefully walking along the curb as if it were a tightrope and, had Maura not been around, Jane would have pushed her off for forcing her to attend Rush when she was only interested in joining a sorority to meet frat boys.
Jane tried to keep her cool for Maura's sake. "I'm just glad this is over—not the time I'm spending with you, but my obligation to attend Rush."
"It can be stressful," Maura said as she moved in closer to Jane. "Maybe we should unwind. BCU Brew is open until midnight. Would you like to get some coffee or tea with me?"
"Yeah. Coral, do you want to join us?" Jane asked her best friend before realizing Maura might have been asking her on a date. "Wait, Maura were you asking me out?"
"Smooth," Coral laughed. "No, I'll leave you two alone to enjoy your date."
"It doesn't have to be a date," Maura told her after Coral had walked ahead of them. "I know Garrett and I have only been broken up for a day and you seem hesitant about dating. We could spend time together at BCU Brew as friends."
"Yeah, as friends," Jane agreed. Just two friends that have already had sex and want to kiss each other.
