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Bacardi Silver was her poison. It was probably the poison of most sorority girls on the planet. Sigma Sigma Sigma had a huge punch bowl full of Jolly Rancher candies in the foyer. Apple, strawberry, cherry, lemon, or watermelon were dropped in the bottom of the clear alcoholic beverage. It gave it a cool color as well as a special flavor. Erin seemed to like apple so she kept drinking them.
Dave had only seen her drink a few times and never to excess. Erin Strauss did nothing to excess…losing control was a sign of weakness. The Tri Sigs were having a party tonight. Dave wouldn’t say the place was packed but there was a respectable sized crowd. They weren't the most popular sorority on campus, that was Chi Omega, but they were the most exclusive.
Tri Sig denied more girls than any sorority saw per semester. Most of their sisters came from money but not all. A certain look was also required, which kept them skating on a razor thin discrimination line. Only a handful of girls wore double digit dress sizes. For years it was exclusively Caucasian but that died in the early 90s.
Now there were a handful of beautiful non-white sisters as well; five of whom were in attendance tonight. Tri Sig didn’t care if their numbers weren't high. They believed in quality over quantity. There was no point in arguing over whose idea of quality it was.
Two weeks after spring break, and DC was finally beginning to thaw. Dave Rossi knew he felt the awakening that came with the change in seasons. He and Erin had been dating for almost three months; he was the happiest he’d ever been in a relationship. Not that he had many to compare it to. It didn’t matter, he knew happy and he was happy.
Erin was smart as hell, majoring in International Studies and minoring in foreign language. She spoke Russian, Spanish, German, and Arabic fluently. She was beautiful, with her blonde hair, blue eyes, and shapely body. Erin loved to talk; she even made Dave laugh. They were different in so many aspects but had many things in common. Even the things they didn’t have in common were fine by Dave.
He was fascinated with her and found it hard to hide. Cool points were completely out the window where this woman was concerned. He could watch her all day and that’s exactly what he was doing tonight. Dave watched her dance, chat, socialize, and hold court. Erin was the queen of the sorority.
Not yet President, she was assured the position for her senior year. The personification of Sigma Sigma Sigma, her picture even made the national brochure. Dave Rossi was dating a cover model. He was also dating the only child of very prominent people. Erich Strauss was one of the preeminent political scientists in the world.
He was first generation German-American married to an Anglo-Saxon society girl who always called London and New York home. Erin Strauss was an Anglo-Saxon sorority princess. Dave was a Long Island boy who spent his youth getting into fights and dreaming of getting the hell out of Commack. He was in over his head with this girl but drowning never felt so good.
“What are you doing?”
Dave could only smile when she came and wrapped her arms around his middle. Her speech was a bit slurred but she still seemed to be in control. He’d kept an eye on her and would continue to do so.
“I'm observing.” He replied.
“What do you see?”
“I see plenty, not the least of which is almost everyone in the room demanding your attention.”
“Those people wanted to talk about my father. I hate that. I'm so proud of my father and all he’s accomplished but I'm much more than Erich Strauss’ daughter. I don’t want people trying to be my friends because of him…I had enough of that at Chapin. Honestly it’s why I didn’t go to school in New York. I just wanted to get some distance; come into my own. That really pisses me off.”
“I'm not your friend just because of your parents.” Dave turned, wrapping his arms around her. Then he kissed her nose. “I don’t even know them. I know you though. I like you.”
“Oh I know you too, David Rossi.” Her tone was teasing.
“Uh oh,” Dave laughed some but he didn’t quite know what she meant. Treading lightly might be in his best interest. “Whatever it is, I didn’t do it.”
“That’s not what I heard.” Erin laughed, kissing him on the lips. “Let’s go somewhere and chat.”
“Where?”
“I need a cigarette. Just let me grab another drink and we’ll go.”
“No, you stay here baby. I’ll get you a drink.”
“Baby?” Erin raised an eyebrow.
“That’s you. But if you don’t like it then I won't use it. Some women find such terms of endearment demeaning and I never intend to demean you.”
Erin just smirked saying she wanted a Bacardi with an apple Jolly Rancher.
“You got it.” Dave grinned and walked away.
He went to the foyer first and grabbed the candy. Then he made his way to the kitchen, where people were conversing about God knows what. He didn’t care so he just grabbed a Silver and a Samuel Adams for himself. When he turned to walk out he nearly mowed down Jill Norris. She was another Triple Sig sister and Erin Strauss’ best friend.
Dave never liked her. Jill was easy. Not that there was anything wrong with that. She was one of the few women he turned down the opportunity to go to bed with, on multiple occasions. There was something about the beautiful redhead that rubbed him the wrong way. It rubbed him even more so now that he was dating Erin.
“Hey you.” she put on her $10,000 smile.
“Hi.”
“Are you having fun yet?”
“Sure.” Dave nodded. “I just came to get a drink for Erin and myself.”
“Where are you two running off to?” Jill asked.
“Nowhere really, just getting some air.”
“You’ve been together for three months now.”
“Are you counting?” Dave asked.
“No but she is. She seems to like you despite all she's heard.”
“And what has she heard, Jill?”
“Oh my God, nothing from me.” she put her hand on her chest as if the mere question was deplorable. “But it’s not really a secret that El Jefe is a ladies man. Some women here tonight can attest to it.”
“I prefer to leave the past exactly where it is.” He said.
“From what I can see it’s in the living room, kitchen, and bathroom line.” She replied. “Erin doesn’t like to be ‘discussed’. She's my best friend; I have to look out for her.”
“Well she's in the living room. What are you doing in here?”
Dave didn’t wait for her to answer, he just kept walking. He wanted to look behind him and see if she had the scheming look on her face like women in the soap operas he used to watch with his mother when he was young enough to only have school for a half-day. It didn’t matter though; there was nothing he could do to stop Jill if she wanted to have her way with the situation. He just went back to Erin, popped the top on her Bacardi, dropped the candy in, and handed it to her.
“Thank you.”
“C'mon, lets have that smoke.” Dave said with a smile.
“You don’t smoke, unless you’ve been keeping a secret from me.” she replied.
“After three months I don’t know if I’d be able to keep a secret like that.”
They went out on the porch together and Erin put her drink on the banister as she pulled a cigarette from the slim case in her pocket and lit it. Dave watched the smoke swirl around her. She inhaled deeply and exhaled as he always imagined Barbara Stanwyck would.
“A lot of girls in there tonight know you.” she said.
“I know a few of them.”
“Intimately, from what I've heard.”
“I don’t know what you want me to say about that.” Dave replied. “I've had my fair share of female, um, companions.”
“I'm not going to sleep with you.”
Dave bit his lip so the word ‘never’ wouldn’t slip out of his mouth. He leaned against the pillar and just looked at her. He had no idea where this conversation was going but he knew he didn’t want to have it. Drunk or sober, he did not want to have it.
“OK.” He nodded.
“So that’s just OK with you?” Erin looked at him, smoking her cigarette. “You'll sleep with those girls but not with me?”
“That’s lunacy, Erin. If you told me you wanted to go upstairs right now and have fabulous sex, I couldn’t get up there fast enough. But what we have is more than that. I respect your choice not to sleep with me. It’s been three months…if all I wanted was ass I’d have left by now.”
“Hmm.”
“Hmm?”
“Yes…hmm.”
They were silent for a while. Dave took a deep breath, shivering a little. There was a chill in the air from the light rain falling. He drank some beer thinking that what he needed right now was a glass of cognac.
“I've never pretended to be something I'm not.” He said. “What you see is what you get with David Rossi. I've never been dishonest with you; I'm not a dishonest guy. Have I slept with women? Yes, I have. Some of them are in there dancing to bad modern rock. But it’s not as if it wasn’t consensual.
“Everyone got what they wanted from the deal and they moved on. I hope that doesn’t sound harsh because I don’t mean it to. I just mean it to be honest. I'm not with you because of sex. I'm with you because I like you.
“I like talking to you, being around you, seeing you smile, and smelling your skin. I'm not trying to get in your pants. Would I like to go to bed with you? Only a dishonest man would say he wouldn’t, and I'm not a dishonest man.”
“Well I'm not sleeping with you.” she repeated.
“OK.” He nodded. “Maybe I should just go, Erin. I had a really good time with you tonight but we’ve both been drinking. I think something really silly could happen if we continue this conversation.”
“The conversation is over.” Erin said.
“OK, but I still think I should go.”
“Go if you want.”
She seemed dismissive and Dave didn’t like that. He was on her playground though; if she wanted to be that way then so be it. He needed to get out of there. Three months wasn’t forever; they were still getting to know each other.
He knew he didn’t like this side of her but that sure didn’t negate all the other things he did like. There were probably sides of him that she could do without. A handful of them were partying at her house tonight. Sighing, he leaned to kiss her temple.
“I guess I’ll talk to you later.”
“Goodnight, David.” She said, not even looking at him.
It wasn’t because she didn’t want to. Erin knew she’d done something stupid but she could hit reverse, drive back, and fix it. He was right, now was a good time to end it. She could feel that she was intoxicated and planned on finishing this drink.
Since he was leaving now Erin was actually considering getting blitzed. But that was careless and she wasn’t the careless kind. There was no way she could go to sleep though; the house was crowded.
“Wait!”
“Yeah?” Dave stopped halfway down the front steps.
“You'll catch cold walking in the rain.”
“I live a block away.”
“Still…you need an umbrella or a hood or something.”
“I'm fine Erin, really.”
“David…”
“I just think its better if we say goodnight. Please.”
“Fine.” She plucked away the remainder of her cigarette and turned her back on him.
Dave didn’t watch her go into the house and slam the door behind her but he heard it loud and clear. He wanted to be upset about it; this was their first official misunderstanding. But when booze was involved, he tried not to let it get to him. They would work this out. Either she would come to her senses or he would.
Maybe they wouldn’t work it out. Those thoughts started taking over Dave’s brain as he made his way up the block. Maybe Erin picked the fight on purpose. Maybe Jill was right and Erin didn’t want to be discussed. She didn’t want to hear about her boyfriend’s many conquests, and there were plenty.
She didn’t want to feel inadequate up against all of those women. He knew she shouldn’t feel that way but this wasn’t about him it was about her. Whatever happened Dave planned to take it like a man. Erin Strauss might have his heart but he was keeping his manhood, holding onto it with both hands.
***
“Hullo.”
His cell phone woke him early on Sunday morning. There was a thunderstorm outside but Dave had been sleeping through it. It was hard to sleep through his blaring phone ringing on his nightstand. He was just glad he hadn't woken Jason. His best friend could be unbearable sometimes when that happened.
“Did I wake you?”
Her soft voice was immediately recognizable. Dave was sure he would know it even if he hadn't heard it for years. He hadn't talked to her at all on Friday or Saturday; talked himself out of calling her. Obviously something was going on that Erin needed to work out and he would give her space to do it.
Dave figured that if he didn’t hear from her by Monday then he’d just call. Cool points were totally out of the window. El Jefe didn’t call girls to make sure they weren't mad at him. But El Jefe had nothing to do with this relationship. Dave Rossi was the one who was smitten.
“A little bit.” He replied.
“That doesn’t make sense, David.”
“Since I just woke up I'm willing to concede that point.”
“I made an ass of myself the other night.” Erin practically whispered.
“What?”
“I made an ass of myself the other night.” She repeated.
“What happened after I left?” Dave asked. “Did you do a strip tease on a coffee table to any song by Prince?”
“What? No, of course not.”
“Then I doubt you made an ass of yourself.”
“I'm talking about what happened between us, David. I went too far.”
“OK.”
“I mean, if I can't handle your past then it would probably be better if I didn’t date you, right?” Erin asked.
“Yeah, probably.”
“Will you help me?”
“I wish I could say yes but I can't.” he said. “I've done what I've done Erin; I don’t have many regrets. But that was a different time and this is now. I care about you. I want to be with you.
“You might run into a lot of girls who I've been with or who wanted to be with me. Some of them may be respectful and keep walking. Some might not. I can't make you be OK with that. Only you can.”
“I just don’t know.” She said.
“I know it would suck to lose you. I don't know if you know that but it’s the truth.”
Erin wanted to tell him that she’d never really done this before but she refused to expose herself like that. She dated a few guys in high school, a few in college, but never really had a boyfriend. She was always too busy being perfect. She had perfect grades, perfect extra-curricular activities, perfect friends, and a perfect life. It wasn’t as if she was bitter about all she’d achieved and what she missed out on because of it.
Who cares if she didn’t get to party hard and smoke weed while she was winning awards for fencing and forensics? Who cares if she wasn’t getting hickeys in the back seat of a car while writing her valedictorian speech? Dave said he didn’t have many regrets and neither did she. Maybe that would have to be enough.
“Do you want to get some brunch, David?”
“Yeah. How much more sleep could I get if we do that?” he asked.
“Its nine thirty now; we can meet up at 12:30.”
“That sounds like a plan to me, baby. A plate of pancakes and your smiling face will be perfect on a stormy day.”
“I’ll see you in a few hours.” Erin said.
“Where do you wanna meet?”
“Is the Georgetown Diner alright?”
“It’s perfect. I’ll see you there.”
“Bye David.”
“Bye.”
He hung up the phone, lying back in bed. Dave smiled as he put his hands behind his head and stared at the ceiling. He was still tired; Saturday night was long and fun. But he was feeling really good right now. He didn’t know what would happen with him and Erin. He knew he was going to see her today and right now that was good enough.
“You should really turn that phone down.” Jason mumbled, rolling over in his bed.
“I'm sorry.”
“Are you two going to be OK?”
“I don't know but we’re going to eat pancakes.”
“I'm thinking that’s a good sign.” Jason replied.
“I'm thinking the same. I’m gonna get some more sleep…I don’t want Erin seeing me looking like last night. Wake me at eleven.”
“You got it.”
Jason was already getting out of bed and ready to start his day. Dave still had some time and he planned to make the most of it. He was going to make the most of everything he could today.
***