The Jimmy Soul Memorial Party

"I'm sorry to hear that." Derek had learned his lesson about calling Kent on his bullshit right away.

"Now you see why I told you to stay away from her? I'd say this proves I was right, huh?"

"I guess so, Kent. See you at three?"

"Yeah, I'll bring your CD then."

Derek supposed he ought to at least ask Carol if there was anything at all to this story of a boyfriend at Harvard. But then, that would probably be giving Kent just what he wanted -- there was nothing Kent loved half so much as knowing he'd fooled a friend who trusted him. Better to just let Kent think he'd won and let the whole thing die quietly.

Speaking of 'quietly', Derek wasn't surprised that the missing Bim Bam Boom Records CD had escaped his notice. He'd bought it for one song and one song only, "Stormy Weather" by the infamous Five Sharps. Doo wop's holy grail, or at least its rarest record, had attracted Derek like generations of early rock and R&B fans before him. And like all those other aficionados, he'd only needed one listen to discover the record was rare for a reason. But the sloppy harmony and cheesy thunder sound effects were good for a laugh, and Derek figured Carol would surely get a kick of out of. As he trudged through the snow to the student union that afternoon at three, he had that to look forward to.

The student union grill was hopping as usual on a weekday afternoon, with clusters of students doing homework, avoiding homework, playing cards, having extracurricular meetings, and at least a few looking like they were waiting for friends like Derek was. But Derek didn't see Kent anywhere.

It figured, Derek thought when Kent still hadn't appeared at ten past three. That jerk never could be counted on unless he needed something, after all. He stood up to leave, and saw Nancy waving at him from a table in the corner.

No point in avoiding her forever, Derek decided, and he went over to say hello. "How's it going?"

"Fine, Derek. Have a seat? Please?"

"We've got nothing left to talk about, Nancy."

"Derek, why are you pushing me away? Look, I just want to talk!"

Though it made him feel like a fool again, Derek did sit down across from her. "Okay," he said. "Talk."

"Are we still friends, or what?"

"Nancy, I made it clear to you back when you and Neil broke up, I still cared about you, and I still wanted to be friends. And only friends." He gave her a meaningful look. "We both know you didn't trust me on that, though."

"When did I say I didn't trust you?"

"You didn't need to say it!" Derek snapped. "You always found some excuse to cancel our plans, you never offered to reschedule even when I actively encouraged you to, and any time I tried to communicate about it with you, you got all suspicious about me having a crush on you!"

"Derek, you've got to admit, you acted like you did have a crush on me!"

"I did. But I got over that before you and Neil broke up, and I told you then I was fine with being just friends. But being just friends still means being friends!"

"What did I do to make you think I didn't want to be friends?"

"I just said, always canceling our plans, never taking the initiative yourself..."

"You could have asked to reschedule, too!"

"Why should I have to do all the work? Especially when I knew you'd probably just cancel again?"

"I don't even remember canceling anything," Nancy said.

"That figures."

"What do you mean by that?"

Derek sighed and gave serious consideration to getting up to leave without another word. "Back before I went to London," he finally said, "Every time we did manage to get together, it...you...you gave every indication -- whether you meant to or not -- that you just didn't give a damn about me. If I had to name one example, it'd be that night in the library just after you and Neil broke up --"

"Derek, I was absolutely destroyed that week! You can't judge me for that!"

"I don't judge you for that. What I do judge you for is, twice during that conversation, I brought up a memory of the two of us that meant the world to me, and both times, you didn't remember it at all. I could see then just how I rated with you! That's why I'm not surprised that you don't remember those other times you hurt me."

"You could have told me."

"I tried, last summer. You ignored my email."

"Geez, Derek, just because I don't answer every message you send..."

"It's more like you never answered any of them. But it doesn't matter now. I told you, yes, I had a crush on you, but I'm over it."

"Now that I get that, can we be friends?"

"If you want to do your share for a change." Derek didn't even know why he bothered saying it, but say it he did.

"You know, I haven't even got a date for the Valentine's Dance yet," Nancy said. "I'm not opposed to going with a friend."

"Well, you've got lots of friends you could ask." Derek was utterly proud of himself; he even tried tilting his head and grinning like her as he said it.

"I was hoping maybe you'd just forgotten to ask me," Nancy said, returning the gesture with no sign of having recognized it.

"I didn't forget," Derek said. "I remembered."

"God, Derek!" Nancy crossed her arms defensively and pushed away from the table. "Whatever I did to hurt you, we were friends! Doesn't that count for anything?"

"It doesn't mean you can lead me around like a dog on a leash, hoping you'll throw me a bone!" Derek retorted.

"All right, fine, I was a selfish bitch," Nancy admitted.

"I wish I could disagree."

"But look..." Her voice broke, and they both knew she was about to cry. "I cared about you! I still care about you! Can't we do something together? Just once to try again?"

"We just don't have that much in common," Derek said. "You ought to know that by now."

"I never gave you a chance to prove we did, I see that now." Nancy's voice was stable again. "I just want a chance to do that now. Haven't you got a track team party coming up?"

"Oh, that's what you want!" Derek felt like he'd seen the spell pop before his eyes. "You want to use me to get back at Neil!"

"Well, not just that!" Nancy said. "I mean, wouldn't it be nice to show him we're still friends, and he wasn't able to destroy that?"

Derek tried to work up enough respect for Nancy to say no. But the memory of how she'd hurt him, used him, taken him utterly for granted wouldn't go away, and this would mean he could stay on the track team, and it would serve her right. "Okay, fine," he said. "On one condition."

"Sure, Derek!"

"Don't tell anyone we're going, okay?"

"Oh, you want to surprise Neil too!" she said.

Kent nearly said no, but on a moment's reflection he realized that was a better excuse than any he could offer her. "Right," he smiled.

It was only some time later, when Derek was back in his room with the memory of Nancy's promise to wear a knockout outfit still ringing in his ears, that he remembered the missing CD. Just what had happened to Kent? That brought on more questions. Had he ever meant to show up at all? Had the meeting with Nancy really been accidental? They wouldn't!

They totally would.

Derek got up and went to his bookcase, where he still had a box of rarely-played CDs unpacked on the bottom shelf. He opened the box and shuffled through the CDs. The Bim Bam Boom CD was near the bottom of the stack, easily overlooked and forgotten -- but it was there.

Late that night, after they'd both done as much homework as they could stand to, they made love in Carol's room. This time they remembered to turn the radio on, but that didn't disguise the noise enough for Neil to be unaware of it next door.

I guess I was wrong about Derek, he typed on his online chat with Karen while slogging through his Spanish homework.

Wrong how? she replied.

I was sure he was gay. He and Carol are...well, let's just say I can hear he's not gay.

I could've told you he wasn't, Neil.

The way he looks at Carol?

The way he looks at me. I mean, he's never made a pass at me or anything like that, but a girl can tell.

You've got to teach me that trick!

I don't think a straight guy would get it.

At least tell me this. Have I looked at you like that lately?

All the time, Neil. All the time.

Well, hey, if you want to spend the night sometime...

How about after the party on Saturday? Might as well wait until our first official date.

Oh. Sure. Good idea. As he typed it, Neil wondered, did she know?

As Karen read it, she wondered again, just what was it Derek had been trying to warn her about? Once again she hoped the way he treated her at the party would offer a clue.

Karen's uncertainty didn't stop her from coming over to study with Neil on Tuesday night. But she hadn't arrived yet when Neil and Derek arrived home from their late dinner with the track team. "Got a minute?" Derek asked as they arrived on their floor.

"Until Karen gets here, I do," Neil said.

"Perfect," Derek said. "I couldn't say this with her around anyway."

"You got a --" Neil's voice broke off as he realized Carol might be in her room.

Derek knew she wasn't -- it was lab night -- but he preferred to wait until they were in Neil's room anyway. So he said nothing until Neil had the door shut behind them. "Yes," he said then. "Believe it or not, Nancy wanted to go with me. So I figured why not?"

"Ugh," Neil said. "Can't say I'll be happy to see her there."

"That's why she wanted to go. Not because she cares about me, you know that."

Neil laughed. "No offense, but yeah, I do. I take it she doesn't know any more than Karen does about the point?"

"If she did, would she want to go?"

Neil only laughed.

Derek was trying to think of how to suggest a cover story for Karen, when there came a knock at the door. Too late.

"Come in!" Neil called.

Sure enough, it was Karen. "Derek!" she said. "Congratulations."

"Thanks. Listen, just so you know, Carol can't make it to the party on Saturday, so I'm going with Neil's ex, as a friend."

"That's some friend," Karen said. "You mean Nancy? Isn't she kind of..." she looked at Neil and then back at Derek. "...weird? No offense, Neil."

"None taken, and she is," Neil said. "But she's doing Derek a favor, I guess. That's cool of her."

"I'll say!" Karen said. "You guys must be really good friends, for a thing like that to be cool between you. I wish I had more friends like that."

Derek felt like crying as he smiled good night to Karen. It'd serve him right as much as Neil if she never spoke to either of them again after Saturday. And heaven only knew what word might get back to Carol, but at least she'd appreciate that he hadn't asked her to the party.

It still wasn't right, Derek knew that all too well as he hunkered down to study in his room until Carol got home. Chances were good that Carol would find out, and that she'd be angry at him for participating in such a crummy event. Was it really worth it just to stay on the track team? Well, Carol had said she was looking forward to cheering for all the guys in their shorts at the meets, so there was that.

But no. No it wasn't. Derek looked at his phone and thought it would be so easy -- and such poetic justice -- to simply call Nancy and cancel. But the one upside to the whole thing was Nancy finding out the truth about the party.

They only made love once that night, as Carol was late getting home from the lab and quite tired. But on Wednesday night they went at it more energetically than ever. It was on Wednesday when the right moment came for Derek to spill the beans. They were spooning, Carol in front and Derek stroking her pussy and kissing her neck, when she said it. "I love how you like to play in my bush," she said.

"Thanks, but why wouldn't I? It's so lush and welcoming."

"Oooh! Thank you. You're going to give me a mental orgasm here, Derek!"

"Why, thank you."

"But I mean..." She placed her hand over his, to still it, but left it clutched delightfully against her vulva. "I always thought before, my boobs, my thighs, my rear end and most of all my bush, they were all too big! I love how accepting you are of them."

"Accepting? Carol, they're all beautiful! You're beautiful! Honest."

"Oh, thank you!" She turned back and kissed him passionately. "It's just...growing up, you know, I was the ugly girl. Even the other girls said so. So it's hard to get used to someone thinking I'm beautiful, you know?"

The moment hung there in the air, and Derek knew he should seize it, if he wasn't willing to cancel on Nancy. But he just couldn't quite get the words out. "Yeah, kids are awfully cruel," he said instead. "I remember that all too well. But I love everything about your body, and you, okay?"

He gave her four more orgasms before she fell asleep, leaving no doubt in her mind that he meant every word. But he lay awake in her arms for an hour or more afterward, telling himself she might not even find out about the party and she'd understand if she did, and that Karen would appreciate his efforts to warn her about Neil and hold her tongue. But he knew it just wouldn't be that clean.

He knew it wouldn't be clean, but he certainly had no way of knowing just how dirty it would all be.

Nate Rawson was back in town, and Kent arrived home from the lab on Thursday night to find him and Nancy sharing a bottle of peppermint schnapps. "Nate!" Kent said. "You're back! Did they let you enroll after all?"

"Nah, man," Nate said. "I'm still suspended. You'd think no freshman ever got two F's before, huh? But they let me back on campus to clean out my room."

"And he's been generous enough to let me help him finish off his stash," Nancy said, holding up the bottle. "Want some?"

"Oh, I can't," Kent said. "Got a lot of homework to catch up on. I just got stuck in the lab a lot longer than I'd planned on. Politics of friendship, you know?"

"Someone had to cry on your shoulder again, did they?" Nancy said, before taking another swig of schnapps.

"Afraid so," Kent said. "You'd think people'd know you can't have two girlfriends on this campus!"

"Kent, is this someone I know?" Nancy called just as Kent was shutting his door.

"It's not your business, Nancy." Kent shut the door and locked it, and stood just inside long enough to hear the two of them laugh uproariously at his expense. He didn't mind. He'd won, and Nancy had done her duty quite nicely. Poor Carol had taken it awfully hard when he'd let it slip that Derek was taking Nancy to the track team party, but Kent supposed he'd expected that. What he hadn't expected was that Derek wouldn't have even told her there was a party -- did he really think he could get that past Carol?

Kent put on Beethoven's ninth and turned it up as loud as he dared, but it didn't drown out Nancy and Nate's patter completely. Didn't Nancy have any homework? Their chatter and joking and laughter only got louder as the next hour wore on, and he could only hope they would at least run out of booze.

They hadn't, yet, when a thundering knock came at Kent's door.

Kent guessed who it was, but he got confirmation of that even before he got up to answer the door. Nancy was clearly on her way to being wasted, and her voice rang out even over Ode to Joy - "Derek, you don't have to bang that hard! It's a small room!"

Kent hoped Derek at least hadn't been crying, but on opening the door, he saw that he had. "You bastard," he said, pushing his way into the room and slamming the door behind him. "Kent, how could you?"

"How could I what?"

"You know what!" he screamed, and the tears returned. "How could you tell Carol about the track party?"

"Oh, was I not supposed to do that?" Kent did his best not to smirk, but the thrill of victory was just too much.

"Don't give me that!" Derek yelled. "You know all about the party, you know what it is, and why I didn't invite her! I don't know how, but you know!"

"Oh, about how you're supposed to bring the ugliest girl you can find? Yeah. That's disgusting, Derek. You ought to be ashamed of yourself."

"But you see why I didn't ask Carol, don't you?"

"I don't see why you'd ask anyone. Don't worry, though, I didn't tell Carol that."

"Are you trying to destroy me?!" Derek banged both his fists against the wall, hard enough to send Kent's Student-of-the-Year award from last year crashing onto his desk, where fortunately nothing was broken. "You told her about the party but you didn't tell her what you knew would make her understand why I didn't invite her?!"

"It didn't come up," Kent said. "Besides, it's not my responsibility to explain these things to her."

"But why?!" Derek demanded. "Why did you have to tell her about it at all, knowing what it would do to us?!"

"Well, you see, Derek, I have a great respect for the truth."

Derek lunged at Kent, who had just enough time to get one thumb under his chokehold before they both crashed to the floor. "You piece of shit!" he roared. "You don't give a fuck about the truth unless it suits your needs! Every single time!" Kent punched Derek in the side with his free fist, but Derek didn't even notice as he kneed Kent in the balls and banged his head as hard as he could against the carpet, which was just thick enough to avoid any real damage.

The door opened, and Nate stumbled in. "Whoa, guy!" He pulled Derek off Kent, who struggled to his feet but didn't quite get his balance before Derek got in one last kick that sent him sprawling on the floor again. "Violence is not the answer!" Neil said, struggling to get Derek under control.

"You don't know anything about it!" Derek seethed.

"Derek? Honey?" Nancy was slouching in the doorway as Nate carried him out. "He's right, beating each other up won't fix anything."

"Calm down and have a drink with us," Nate said, depositing Derek as gently as he could on the hallway floor while Kent slammed and locked his door.

"That's the last thing I want," Derek seethed. He stumbled to his feet and banged out the stairway door without another word.

"I didn't want to share with him anyway, did you?" Nancy asked, and they both dissolved into laughter as she reopened the bottle.

Carol saved her tears for the shower.

She'd remained calm on Thursday night when she'd confronted Derek about his hot date for the weekend, and she'd kept her cool through the endless evening and the mostly sleepless night. It was only on Friday morning in the shower that she let the tears flow.

And flow they did, as she washed her body and remembered Derek's pretended reverence for it. All his flattering words, the way he'd looked at her, touched her, of course he hadn't meant it! Of course no one ever would, not with Carol the fat, hairy, ugly girl she'd always been and always would be! The ugly duckling from all those years ago who'd found her one and only strength in studying -- that was all she'd be doing for the rest of the semester, thank you very much. As she rinsed the soap off her face, she resolved not to cry again. Derek may have won another notch in his bedpost, but he wasn't worth crying over.

How, she asked herself, could she have been dumb enough to trust a friend of that jerk Kent anyway? Not to mention Neil? But she'd looked the other way on Neil all last semester; she could do the same to Derek now.

If she could forget how utterly delightful those few nights in his arms really had been. That would be a challenge, but Carol knew she could do it.

The first such challenge came that very afternoon, when she got home from her last class. Derek and Neil were just leaving for track practice when she walked in. Derek gave her a pleading look. "Carol! Please, I really can explain!"