Dallas (Time for Tammy Book 1)

Chapter 1: The Not-So-Fun Olympics

  THREE YEARS EARLIER  

The "Fun Olympics '97" weren't turning out to be very fun after all. Billed as a freshmen-meet-and-greet festivity, one of many in the first few days of college, they were fundamentally failing because a) I wasn't meeting anyone and b) I barely had anyone I knew to greet.

We were supposed to be cheering on our complex, Alpha, which I learned had already been nicknamed "Alpha Lame." I stood in a group of ten or so of my dormmates, feeling the early August Florida sun on my back, while sweat fell off my forehead into my eyes like tears dripping in reverse. I was just about to suggest to my roommates Linda and LaVerne that we go back to our room when a girl with a long tie-dyed dress and cornrows approached us.

"Do any of you want to be in the 3-legged race? We need another pair of legs." She gazed at our group dismissively, probably assuming that none of us would want to participate.

Linda shook her head vehemently as LaVerne said, "No way."

Cornrows looked over at me. Half of me wanted to say no, but the other half didn't want to be labeled as a loser sideliner my first day of college.

"Sure. What do I have to do?"

"Come with me." She led me over where another dorm in our complex was gathered. "You're going to be tied to Eric," she said, gesturing to the back of a tall guy with a mop of unruly hair.

Eric turned around and held his hand out to me. He wore mirrored sunglasses that wrapped around his face in the manner of a primordial mosquito, but the part of his face that was visible under the wrap-arounds was chiseled and sprinkled with freckles.

I shook his hand limply. "Tammy."

"Are you ready for this?"

I straightened the leg of my denim shorts, grateful that I had shaved them that morning as Eric was wearing board shorts and there was likely going to be some shin-skin touching shin-skin. Going around half-naked was a necessity in Tampa, Florida, but it was going to take some getting used to. "I guess so."

"C'mon, it's no big deal. The entire incoming class will be watching us the whole time, so if we fall on our asses, there goes our reputation for the rest of our college career."

I let out what I hoped would be a sexy giggle, but it sounded more like a loud snort as Cornrows came over with a bandana. "Stand together," she commanded. I did what I was told, although it suddenly seemed like I had too much saliva inside my mouth and not enough on the outside. I licked my dry lips and tried to keep my legs still. The leg that Cornrows was currently tying to Eric's became a ramen noodle.

The whistle blew and we were off. I could barely force my legs to strut across the path as the one hundred-some students of Alpha complex cheered us on. Eric draped his arm over my shoulders to help coordinate our movement, which caused me to trip over a patch of grass and nearly fall over. Eric tightened his arm around me in response.

I didn't know which was sadder: the fact that it was my first day of college and having someone put his arm around me was the furthest I'd ever gone with a guy—did an arm-around count as a 'base'? Or the fact that these thoughts crowding my head lead to me stumble, again. Even Eric couldn't right me this time and we ended up falling in the dirt. Not on our asses, as Eric had joked, but it was just as well. The jocks from Delta complex won, of course, but even the hippies from Kappa beat us. Eric was a good sport about it, though. After Cornrows untied our bandana, he helped me off of the ground and then told me, "See you around, Tammy."

I guess that meant the Fun Olympics weren't so bad after all. Not only did I finally meet someone new, but I had found my first college crush to boot.