Extra Innings - 4. Chapter 4

Walking with Bryce and the other two frat boys was a nice way of getting to the party. Everyone already seemed to know Bryce and his friends, even the ones who were from different fraternities, so they were all friendly towards the group and were smiling a bit at me as well.

I didn’t really realize it until now, but the guys at this campus were really fit. Everyone seems to be on a sports team of some kind, or otherwise they spend all their free time in the gym working out. The fraternity guys were no different, and they seemed to be even more devoted to physical training than the campus as a whole. I’m not nearly as developed as they are, but once I start working out with these guys I should be able to catch up pretty quickly. Not that I want to be crazy muscular or anything like that, but it’d be nice to put on some bulk and gain a bit of weight for myself.

Something about all these muscles and these fit guys was turning me on, and I had to keep reminding myself that I still had Alex waiting for me back home, and that none of these guys were going to be into guys anyway so I wouldn’t have a chance to do anything with them, even if I was available to do so. Still, it didn’t hurt to have a look, and they were everywhere so it wasn’t like I could avoid looking at all the hot people here. Hell, even the chicks had a lot of toning going on, and that wasn’t something I got to see much of at home. It was a nice change, to be honest.

Bryce led all of us to the Phi Delta Theta house, which was in a small compound with the other three fraternities on campus. Each of the buildings was already crawling with people who had come for the parties, but it was pretty easy to figure out who was already in a frat and who wasn’t. The ladies were obviously here to help sell the houses and were part of the sororities, and the guys who were already in the frats were wearing different t-shirts or muscle shirts identifying whom they were associated with. Besides, all the other kids who came here to rush looked like me; they were shyer than the rest of the crowd and weren’t entirely sure what to do now that they were at a college frat party.

A few of the guys said hi to Bryce as he walked by, and he grabbed the four of us a cup of beer each. I didn’t drink too often since I was underage, but it wasn’t like I hadn’t had any before, and no one else seemed to be too worried about it today. I earned a beer today anyway, after kicking ass at tryouts. I raised my glass to Bryce, but he wasn’t there beside me; probably off going to do something for the frat to help with the party. Taking my first chance to really look at the place, I couldn’t believe that it was so spacious on the inside. Walking by the different buildings they looked smaller than they were on the inside. I could see why the guys who did get into the fraternity would want to live here if they could. They had all sorts of cool stuff that weren’t in my residence like pool tables and other games like that.

I decided to kill a bit of time just wandering around the house and meeting some of the people. Most of the people I talked to were busy drinking, but they said a few polite words and then went back to whatever they were doing. That was fine, I wasn’t too interested in learning about these people anyway, and I was more interested in finding someone I did know that I could hang out with until the party started winding down. I thought I spied Tanner and Enrique over at one of the other houses, so I finished my beer and went to see if I could find them.

Tanner and Enrique were both at the Sigma Chi house, and this time I had to sign in with my name and everything before they’d let me in. They gave me a name tag and told me to go find someone to give me a tour and explain what it was like to be in a fraternity.

Inside the Sigma Chi house it was the same sort of environment. Some of the guys were playing pool or foosball while the frat brothers tried to mingle and schmooze folks into joining the fraternity. I saw one of the Sigma Chi guys walking up to me and I could tell that he was going to try and talk to me, but I couldn’t really go anywhere without making it obvious that I wanted to avoid the whole sales pitch. I smiled at him as he walked up to me and shook my hand in a really firm grip.

“Hey Devin, how’s it going? Is this your first time at a fraternity event? If you want, I can show you around the house and tell you a bit about Sigma Chi.”

I quickly read the guy’s nametag and sized him up. Michael was around my height, around five feet ten inches or so; blond with his hair gelled back. I think he forgot that it was everyone’s first time at a fraternity event since this was the first time any of us had been in a college before. Still, he was kind enough to offer and probably wasn’t going to take no for an answer, so I took him up on the offer and went on my way with him through the building.

“It’s going pretty well Michael. First time at a frat event, never even considered joining one until I met Bryce on the baseball team, he suggested I should come out here tonight and see what the frats were all about. I wouldn’t mind taking a look around, maybe you can tell me things about what’s going on here that might catch my interest.”

“In that case, let me show you around. The house is pretty big, since most of the guys in the fraternity live here once they’re in their second year here at Whitman. You’d be eligible for that as well, but not until second year, that’s just a rule that the school puts on all of us, probably so that you can get adjusted and make some friends from your classes and year first.”

As we were talking, Michael was leading me around to the different parts of the building and showing me where everything was kept. While we were walking, Michael was explaining how the fraternities did more than just party all the time, they were also involved in a lot of giving back to the community, and of course they all worked together to make sure everyone kept their grades up. That was something Michael said was really popular, especially since the athletes needed to keep their grade point average up in order to stay on their teams. Most of the ground floor was for things that everyone was going to use, like some of the bathrooms, all the games stuff and the massive kitchen.

“So, we don’t normally cook our own food here. The fraternity has a contract with some people to do most of our cooking for us, just because it’s always so hard to have food ready with everyone’s differing schedules. Most of us play sports or do something in the community, so we’re not normally all here at the same time to have meals together. Still, we try to ensure there’s at least one night a week where everyone can get together and that’s when we do most of our fraternity things. For you as a pledge, that’ll include learning about the fraternity and everything that we believe in.”

I nodded, not really understanding all of it but was too busy trying to take everything in to ask any questions about it.

“Hey Devin, you okay? Looks like this has been a lot for you take in, if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to come find me. I’m going to go rejoin the rest of the party.” Michael said, after realizing I hadn’t said anything for about 10 minutes.

“Oh, ummm… Sorry, this is all so new and overwhelming. We don’t have anything like this in Colfax. Thanks, I’m sure I’ll find you a little later on.” I smiled back at him to let him know I was okay and that I did appreciate him showing me around and letting me see all of the fraternity from the inside.

I decided to walk back to the Phi Delta Theta house to see if I could find Bryce again. I wasn’t able to find Enrique or Tanner, so there wasn’t much point in sticking around any longer at the Sigma Chi house. Things were a lot busier at Sigma Chi, and it was getting hard to move around in the building without bumping into someone or having to step around groups of people just having casual conversations. It was getting to be claustrophobic inside, but I did want to find Bryce.

Like before, guys would walk by me and smile or nod at me as they passed, but no one was all that interested in conversation when I looked like I was already busy doing something. When I got past the first little hallway in the house, I saw Bryce behind the counter helping some of the frat guys with some food trays and more drinks for their food table. When Bryce looked up, he saw me and waved at me to join him, and passed the trays of food he was carrying to the guy next to him.

“Hey, there you are buddy. Where’d you go? I was looking for you and wanted to show you around, did anyone already take you on the tour of our house?” Bryce asked.

I was expecting the question at this point, so I replied nonchalantly. “Oh! Yeah, I thought I saw Tanner and Enrique from tryouts over across the road, so I wanted to see if I could talk to them and see what they were thinking about the fraternities. You know, this is the first time I’d even seen or thought about anything like joining a frat, so I wanted to hear what other guys were thinking who were in the same boat as me.”

Bryce looked a little disappointed for some reason, but I guess he was just getting tired from everything going on and wanted to relax. I was surprised when he pulled me aside to speak to me alone.

“Is that so? I hope that you’re considering it, I think it’d be really good for you to be in a fraternity. Actually, I was hoping that you would rush here Devin. How about it? Let me show you around and see if there’s any way I can convince you to join us here at Phi Delta Theta.”

Without giving me any time to respond, he pulled me by the arm and started showing me around the house. Unlike the tour Michael gave me where we saw a lot of the public spaces in the house, Bryce seemed to be making an effort to stay away from the places that were more popular, and seemed to be heading upstairs to where all the guys slept. I was a bit curious, since I hadn’t actually had a chance to see what everyone’s sleeping arrangements were like and that would be something I’d want to know before I signed up, but this was really quick and Bryce wasn’t telling me too much about what we were doing, so I guess he assumed someone else already told me the story about what the fraternities do in their spare time.

“Bryce, where are we going? Shouldn’t you be telling me about all the great things the fraternity does in its spare time, this is a bit of a weird way to sell someone on being in a frat you know.” I said to him, concerned that he seemed quite driven to bring me to wherever we were going.

Bryce looked back at me, all smiles and being coy with me. “You worry too much Devin, I just wanted to go somewhere where we could hear each other and not have to yell over the music and everyone else’s conversations. I don’t normally go to all the trouble you know, but you’re different than the other guys, and I want to make sure you’d be a good match for the house if you did stay here.”

Wow, he thought I was different and was making a special effort for me. That was pretty cool. I have to admit he had been pretty nice to me since we first met, and while he was pretty cool to be around with everyone, he did seem to try a little harder with me. Or maybe that was just my imagination and I was hoping to get on the team badly enough to see things that weren’t really there.

Bryce continued on, “Besides, I’m sure that whatever tour you went on at the other fraternity didn’t include a tour of what we actually live in, no one’s had a chance to clean up their rooms yet so they’re a little untidy. No one wants to show that off and scare you people away by showing off a mess, so we just pretend that part of the house doesn’t exist for these sorts of tours, but I’ll bring you up to my room so you can see what they’re like. Hope you don’t mind the mess too much.”

He was right, this was something I did want to see, but I wasn’t going to admit that going to Bryce’s room with him was something that would interest me. I’m sure it was just so I could see the room anyway, it’s not like anyone here knew I was bi or anything like that, and even if he had I wasn’t going to do anything with Alex back at home.

When we got to the staircase leading to where all the guys lived, Bryce decided to get a bit more talkative again, which was a bit of a relief for me since I couldn’t figure out why he wasn’t saying anything.

“You did really well today at tryouts. You shouldn’t have any problem getting on the team. I was watching you when you were running with the other freshmen and doing your stretches. You looked really good, like you deserved to be here.”

I was surprised at how openly he admitted he was watching me and blushed at the compliment. I always figured I was too small and too skinny to play competitively, but Bryce seemed to think I was okay and that was pretty cool.

“Uhhh, thanks Bryce. You looked like a natural catcher back there, like you’ve been playing a long time and really know what you’re doing.”

Bryce laughed pretty hard at that. “Yeah, I definitely know what I’m doing as a catcher, and you seem like you have a pretty good idea of how to be a good pitcher. Hopefully I’ll get to see more of your stuff later, and I might have a few things to show you as well.”

When we climbed the stairs, I could instantly see why no one took their tours of freshmen up here. There were clothes everywhere and while most of the doors were closed and locked, there were occasionally some doors that were open where there was a frat guy trying to clean up as best he could, with clothes and other pieces of debris from their recent moves still being strewn around the floor.

Bryce was explaining how the living system worked in their house. “Second years usually bunk up together, so it’ll be a bit cramped for you. Having said that, sometimes second year students are able to find a room on their own here. Totally depends on how many guys want to live in the house and how the numbers work out, but as a rule its always the guys who have been in the fraternity for the least amount of time that are going to have to bunk up together. I don’t think we have any open that we could show you right now, but those double rooms would be bigger than mine.”

I saw a few rooms at the end of the hallway where the doors were spread out quite far from each other, making it look like they were a lot larger than the rooms we just walked by.

“Hey Bryce, why are the rooms at the end of the hall so much bigger than the rest of the rooms here?”

“Oh, right! You’re new to this. Those rooms are for the officers of the fraternity, they’re the ones who are kind of like our leaders and the ones who deal with all the stuff that the school needs us to do. It’s usually just the President who gets a large room, but we had enough space so that a couple other of the important officers get room, and those people change from year to year as well, usually to let a senior have them and those posts.”

It was all so much to take in, so I was glad when Bryce opened up his room and took me inside. It wasn’t too bad, definitely bigger than the room I shared with Vincente, and that did have the two of us here. Bryce’s bed was in the corner, with a work desk set against one of the side walls and a TV held up to the wall. A few posters of different athletes were on the walls, and there was a speaker system installed along the walls where there was room to set them up. Pretty good setup for a college dorm room.

Now that we were inside, I sat down on the chair at his desk while he took a seat on the bed. I was waiting for him to say something, and since he was just sitting there watching me, I decided to break the silence on my own.

“Nice place, bit bigger than what I was expecting. How much bigger are the shared rooms compared to this?”

Bryce looked around the room and replied slowly, like he wasn’t too sure. “I’m not too sure. I was supposed to be in a shared room this year but something came up, so I got this one before I had a chance to really see what the shared rooms look like. I’d guess they were a bit bigger, but not too much bigger since we don’t have that much room. Maybe the same size as the president’s room, but split between two people.”

Bryce went to go shut the door, and then grabbed me and pulled me over to the bed so we were sitting closer together. We were sitting next to each other now, and I could feel his leg bumping up against mine.

“Like I said Devin, you’re different from the other guys. I could tell right away when you first got here, and I’m hoping that you’re going to want to stay here. I’ve told you most of what we do here, but there are always a few extra benefits to being in a fraternity.”

Bryce pulled me in close and kissed me. I could feel his lips against mine and his tongue pushing through, trying to get inside my mouth. I was completely shocked that he was doing this, but as I opened my mouth in surprise, Bryce pushed his tongue in and started to seriously make out with me. Bryce pulled me in closer and started to run his hands up and down my back. I pushed him away and glared at him.

“Why did you do that Bryce? Seriously, what possessed you to try and make out with me? You barely even know me!”

“I know you liked what just happened, and that you’re at least a little into guys.” Bryce smugly smiled back at me. “I know that you like me, even if you’re surprised about what just happened. And more to the point, I know you haven’t left the room yet.”

I was angry. This was just like how things started with Sean, and I also had Alex to think about back home. He and I were still together even though he was in high school back in Colfax and I’m here in Walla Walla for college.

“Fine, you want it out there Bryce, then let’s have it out there. Yes, I like guys. I’m bi. I even find you attractive, though much less so now that you jumped me like a piece of meat. But it’s not going to happen. I have a guy back home who I’ve got to explain all this to. This is going to make things really tough if we’re going to be teammates.”

I stood up and stormed out of the room, not wanting to hear anything that Bryce had to say. Once I got downstairs I grabbed the rest of my stuff and left the house, and started walking back to my dorm. I turned around and saw Bryce was following after me to the edge of the fraternity properties, but he wasn’t leaving the area. I didn’t look back again and just kept walking back to the residence hall, trying to keep my breathing normal and not break down over what just happened.

When I got in I didn’t see Vincente. No idea where he was, could even have been at the party and I just didn’t see him there. I laid down on my bed for the longest time and just stared at the walls of the building. When I checked the clock I saw it was already 11:30. That was late enough for me, and it’s not like anything was being accomplished anyway. I changed out of my clothes and into something a little looser for bed, and went to sleep thinking about Bryce and Alex, and what I was going to do about both of them the next time I saw them.