A Wild Night's Encounter

BOY, ARE YOU GOING to regret this,
Eric told himself. He was standing on the roof with a red cup in his left hand and a plastic container full of beer in the other.

The mass of attendees swarmed below to watch him cheat death.

And almost thirty feet up with alcohol in his system, Eric was not feeling particularly keen about what he was about to do.

Some idiot started a chant somewhere in the crowd to egg him on. He was a senior member now, and this was the Alpha Kappa Omega!

Eric emptied the yellowish liquid into his cup and drank it up.

The mass of lightheaded onlookers below erupted.

“Fuck you!” he said, screaming at the crowd, and jumped.

***

The gathering went silent.

Time stopped.

It was
almost
silent, save for the screaming bunch located further back, near the row of bushes where Laila stood, amazed at this dazzling and terribly unsafe display of machismo.

Her eyes followed the trajectory of the drop up to a quarter into it before she closed her eyes.

She saw him sway while he was still up on the roof. Laila knew that if the idiot failed to supply just a little bit of the push he needed into his jump, he would miss the pool entirely. That thought made her close her eyes.

Not long after closing her eyes, the crowd started screaming.

Laila opened her eyes and caught a glimpse of the idiot halfway down. In the same way our brains react in times of danger, Laila already knew – he would be a mass of splattered brain matter on the cement.

***

Eric didn't have time to say his prayers.

That single word must have been repeated a thousand times before he landed hard – on the pile of airbeds stacked at a very subtle angle towards the pool.

He almost missed the airbeds.

Had that happened, though he would not have landed on the ground, Eric would have very little time to tuck his hands in before his toes hit the water. Either that or he'd lose his arms forever.

His foot hit the airbeds at almost a forty-five degree angle. His downward velocity was absorbed and then thrown back at him.

Eric was thrusted upwards once more, this time executing a couple of somersaults before he hit the pool, right at the center.

The crown cheered once more. None but the ones closest to him noticed that as Eric hit the airbeds, another person sitting at the end of that arrangement also flew into the air at just a slightly different angle.

When that fellow hit the water, that's when most of the onlookers realized just how well-coordinated that stunt was.

And if they were cheering earlier, this time they went nuts.

***

“And that, ladies and gentlemen, is one example of what we engineers do. Not the best example but you get the picture,” a mocking voice over the mic announced.

The cheering lot erupted in laughter. Raised cups, bottles clinking and alcohol being sloshed around quickly followed. The party began close to two hours earlier and, with the excitement added by the stunt, was looking like it had already peaked.

From where she was, Laila could only shake her head.

Idiots,
she muttered.

"Ashley? Can we get out of here and go somewhere spacious?"

Ashley, the dorm mate who dragged her here rolled her eyes. "Come on girl, that was impressive," Ashley reasoned.

"You wouldn’t be saying that if there was a team of paramedics hoisting him to a backboard right now," Laila replied.

"Don't be a party pooper alright? I want to get laid tonight!" Ashley declared with a giggle towards the last word.

Laila caught the look in her eyes and recognized what it communicated; it was halfway between "I could get hurt" and "fuck it".

Laila let out a sigh and rolled her eyes.

"Just don't get into any trouble ok? And don't take long, I'll hang out by the front door – away from
trouble,
" Laila said, emphasizing the last phrase.

"You are such a great friend! Promise, this won't take long!" Ashley declared, disappearing into the throng of half naked males gathered beside the makeshift barbecue grill.

Laila shook her head. She only came at Ashley’s insistence. Like all frat parties, non- members needed to be invited. Today was different. The A.K.O., just like all fraternities at the opening of each school year, participated in an open house event earlier that day that highlighted their achievements for all interested individuals and would-be members.

All fraternities are given the leeway at night to host an open-house party welcoming anyone who wants to join, as long as they followed the rules set by the campus administration. If this party was an indicator, Laila thought, many of the rules had already been broken by the first hour.

The wildness of this group in particular, had a high chance of going unreported. She noticed how drunk the participants were, too drunk to cause anymore problems. Though the music was blaring, everyone who lived in the dorm rooms’ vicinity were frat members and as long as the rowdiness did not get the campus security’s attention, the party would end on its own. The life of the gathering was also hidden from view, almost all contained at the back. Looking from the front, all that could be seen were a bunch of guys talking and drinking beer, and some couples indulging in a little teasing – a regular party.

If there was any sign that this party would end soon, Laila saw it in the form of two men, arm in arm, puking their guts on the shrubbery that lined the path towards the back.

Yup, this is ending soon,
thought Laila, agreeing with herself.

ERIC HAD PLANNED TO get drunk.

He was, in fact, a little intoxicated before he jumped from the roof. He took the time to swim his adrenalin off at the pool before getting back to the frat house to change.

It took, at most, forty-five minutes; including the time it took for him to use the bathroom. He hurried outside, intent on catching up with the excited crowd. He did not expect to see what he saw.

Almost everyone was drunk, the kind of drunk bordering between
fuck-the-world-I'll-do-what-I-want
and
passed-out-after-a-very-embarrassing-deed
drunk. There were some guests that were already passed out in many places – the benches, beside the pool, next to the bushes, on top of the bushes, and even beside the blaring speakers.

This party is about to be over soon,
he thought to himself.

A straggler wearing a torn shirt bearing the frat's emblem skidded towards him. The straggler was heavily intoxicated and saying something garbled. He swayed all the way towards Eric.

"Heeeeeey, duuuude, that…washhhhhhhh coo—," he was almost asleep before he hit the ground.

Eric shook his head. He had looked forward to this night, the last true night of partying before school officially begins. He looked for his frat brothers but none were in sight.

Probably getting it on,
he thought.

He headed for the makeshift grill where a keg full of beer was just brought in. A fresh batch of meat was being placed over the smoldering coal, tended to by a tipsy frat boy whom he recognized was a junior.

Might as well get drunk,
he thought, as he accepted a cup from the person who brought the keg.

***

It was proving to be the most boring party she had ever attended, Laila thought. And she was a girl who thought formal get-togethers rocked.

It was not because she was not getting any attention. To the contrary, she was being approached by men every minute or so. Drunken men seemed to be more attracted to her, though, and she didn’t take this as a compliment. There were some non-drunks paying her attention, too, but she knew why.

They, like Ashley and everyone else in the place, just wanted to get laid tonight.

Not tonight,
she would say to herself.

Laila reluctantly went inside the frat house so she would be left alone. She intended to get a couple of beers. One she would sip slowly, the rest she would place strategically in front of her on her spot so as to minimize the number of lost souls who would try to chat her up, regardless of their intents.

Damn you Ashley,
she said to herself as she made her way across the room.

It had been an hour since Ashley disappeared. Images of Ashley getting it on with strangers made her secretly cringe. Then thoughts of Ashley being gangbanged while passed out made her shake her head, as if she could push the horrible thought away.

She was surprised why she was even thinking that way. Perhaps it was the environment; perhaps it was the mood of the place.

Laila didn’t like it either way.

She was sickened with what she saw inside. People were literally littered all over the place. Drunken ones were asleep in all corners. A quick sweep of the floor confirmed it. If they were not asleep, they were half asleep.

Some were gathering on the sofa, a pipe was being lit. She did not need to look to know what it was. Behind the sofa were three rows of couples making out. Few were jeering them on, and one increased the volume of the television which was oozing with sounds of enthusiastic women being banged two or three at a time.

The sound the TV let loose on the house was so unrealistic that it made all other efforts of coupled people look childish.

Laila bowed her head. She did not want to risk locking gazes with a hormone-laced male and be mistaken as a bitch in heat.

Just a couple of steps to where the beer is,
she kept repeating to herself.

Halfway there, she bumped into a half-naked muscular guy with only his boxers on. He wore a ridiculous hat and had a big bottle of beer duct-taped into his right hand.

“Well hello there, sexy,” he crooned.

“Ugh,” She replied and pushed at him.

“That’s no way to treat the man of your dreams, girl,” he prodded.

Laila didn’t reply but tried to give him the killer eye as best as she could.

It paid off. The man gave her a quizzical look and backed off; joining the group huddled on the sofa in front of the TV.

She finally found the cold beer and even there, people were having the times of their lives. Ignoring the invites from two liquored up college boys; she hastily took four bottles of beer and speedily went back outside.

She was a little dismayed when she got back. On the chair that she occupied not only minutes ago were more horny individuals methodically playing on each other’s libidos by teasing themselves.

The man was sitting on the chair, his back to the wall while the woman sat on his lap. She rhythmically ground her crotch against his. The man busied his hands all over her—her ass, her tits, her neck and her face. The woman responded with purrs and some well-timed arching of her back, throwing her hair forcefully backwards. She alternated between grinding and kissing while, from time to time, rubbing her full bosom made even fuller by her magical bra onto his face, an act that caused the man to happily masturbate.

Laila felt her stomach knot at the scene and reddened at the thought of spending more than a second watching the pair. She was relieved, however, when she quickly scanned her surroundings and saw that it was not only she who was watching. Other people were also fascinated, even if she seemed to be the only one who didn’t like it.

A second sweep of the wide porch gave her hope.

On the far end of the porch was an empty cushioned chair. The area was dark and suited her need to disappear. She smiled as approached the chair, her chances of being unnoticed had just increased.

Laila, as planned, strategically placed three bottles on the space just before the chair. She wondered about Ashley as she sat on the chair, slowly sipping on the beer. She had no plans of getting drunk and the beer was just a ruse.

She thought about taking out her phone to play some games while waiting for her friend, but stopped herself. She observed the immediate surroundings instead, and was happy to find out that no one was looking in her direction.

She was hiding in plain sight.

Amused with her luck, Laila decided not to take her phone out. It would be boring even though it would keep her away from the drunken and horny lot. Here she could be alone with her thoughts.

But her thoughts, she realized, would not stop being horny even if she did not like it. There was no escaping it.

Not with what’s happening around her.

THE CROWD GATHERING IN front of the two miscreants who mercilessly teased each other and the cheers egging them on showed no signs of stopping. It didn’t matter if she turned her back but she did anyway, repositioning the chair with her back turned towards the offending sight.

No sooner had she focused on her new view when she got a surprise.

Her heart quickened its pace and though she could not see it, she was sure her face had turned a deep shade of red.

Right in front of her was two, no, three groups of who knows how many, involved in varied stages of carnalities. She had heard stories of how these parties were given in to lewdness, but she was literally unprepared for it.

Seeing the mass of entwined bodies from her vantage point, though one threesome was a little farther, gave her veins some unwelcome increase in blood flow.

It seemed surreal. These were moves, acts she had only seen once in a porno CD back when she was still in high school with friends. It was back when she had not tasted the culinary delight that only skin-on-skin action can bring.

She briefly remembered that time. She, together with three other classmates, cut classes for one afternoon in order to make way for a very exciting discovery – what fucking looked like.