university | lrh

20 - years ago pt. 2

Luke Hemmings
5 years ago
University of Washington
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I wasn't scared to go back to College.

Freshman year was easy, and if the past summer was any validation, then Sophomore year was about to be a breeze. I turned 19 over the summer, a bit young for my year, but I was well on my way up the ranks of my class.

I hadn't planned on being in a fraternity when I committed to the school, much less be on my way to lead one, but circumstances changed, and I found myself completely submerged into Alpha Delta Phi by the middle of my freshman year.

And by circumstances, I mean a certain pretty girl changed my mind.

I met her when I turned 18, when a mate of mine brought her to my parent's house where I was hosting a birthday party that was slowly getting out of hand. She didn't know me, or anyone else there, for that matter, but I didn't care.

I didn't care because I was drunk out of my mind, and she was pretty.

Once the alcohol wore off and the hangover settled in, I woke up the next morning to a handful of sleeping bodies next to mounds of trash, cups, and empty bottles. It wasn't exactly ideal considering Liz and Andrew Hemmings would be home later that same night, and they weren't at all aware of the antics their youngest son decided to pull the second they left for a weekend.

But there was someone else up in the early morning, only she wasn't nursing a hangover, because I clearly recalled her staying sober the night before. Something about wanting to watch everyone else in their drunken states, although it seemed like most of her attention had been on me.

She studied me, and I won't lie, I noticed, and I enjoyed it. When she told me she liked the piercing hooked through my lower lip, I made a mental note to never take it out.

She was a sweet girl, and I couldn't help but become infatuated with her as I watched her sift through the mess, placing trash in bags and dumping leftover liquids down the sink.

I don't know why she did it. The cleaning, the watching, the subtle flirting behind the shyness. Maybe she wanted me to take interest in her, maybe she wanted something from me, maybe it was all just unintentional.

But I was kidding myself, because everything Sidney does is intentional.

When she convinced me to join the fraternity that mixed will with her sorority, Kappa Kappa Gamma, it was intentional, but I did it without hesitation. She persuaded me so sweetly, so innocently, and I was just about putty in her hands.

Freshman year was so good with her. She paraded me around Greek row like a trophy, but I didn't mind, because I was falling for her. I was falling for the sweet girl I'd come to know so well, and the innocence she radiated.

Or, at least, I thought I knew her well.

I don't know if I loved her. That's what I was trying to figure out as I wrapped an arm around Sidney's waist. Around my girlfriend's waist.

"I don't know, Sid, I think this year might be even better." I pulled her into me and she smiled up at me.

She always had such a sweet smile.