Sorority Girl

You got your sundress on for game day
Just to drink beer on an old tailgate
You were born and raised to be a southern belle
But in a place like this you like to raise a little hell

-Luke Bryan, "Sorority Girl"



She was a standout in a sea of blondes.

Not that there was anything wrong with the blondetourage but Chris Higgins was looking for something different that summer, something with substance. Something that maybe meant something, that could be more than just a summer fling.

And there she was, her brown hair pulled in a ponytail, her legs swinging as she sat on the tailgate of someones truck in a lilac colored sundress. Cute little librarian glasses. And a pair of ridiculously high wedges. At a Yankees game. In the middle of July.

Her head was thrown back mid laugh and her smile spread from ear to ear as she sat surrounded by a group of five guys. She said something to them and they laughed in return. Chris stepped closer and she caught his eye, smiling at him.

“Hi,” she said cheerfully. “Need a beer?” she offered.

“Uh, sure,” Chris answered. She hopped down from her perch and moved towards a cooler two trucks away. Chris followed her and she flipped the lid, passing him a beer and grabbing one for herself.

“I’m Chris.”

“Nice to meet you, Chris. My name is Shelby Shea.”

“That’s your last name?”

“No, that’s my middle name. Everyone in my family has two names. Damn southerners,” she laughed lightly and her bright, brown eyes crinkled in the corners.

“Where are you from?”

“Georgia.”

“What brings you to New York then?”

“Alumni weekend with my girls.”

Chris glanced around the group of men and women. “Are you in a sorority?”

“You think I’d come to a baseball game in a dress of my own volition?”

“They’re all so blonde...”

“Yes they are. I’m pretty sure I’m one of five brunettes in this whole chapter.”

“How’d you get in a sorority?”

“Legacy. My mom was a Theta, my grandmother was a Theta, my great grandmother was a Theta....the list goes back for generations.”

“Wait...alumni weekend? How old are you?”

“Don’t you know never to ask a lady her age, and certainly not a Southern lady?”

“Sorry.”

She laughed. “How old do you think I am?”

“Twenty five?”

“Twenty nine and 360 days.”

It took a moment for her words to process. “Your birthday is in five days?”

“It is.”

“Mine was in June; welcome to the dirty thirty.”

“Thank you,” Shelby laughed. “So tell me what brings you out to the ballpark today.”

“Just tailgating with some friends, hanging out,” he answered. “It’s a big game and we’re all die hard Yankee fans.”

“Oh, that’s too bad.”

“What?”

“That you’re a Yankees fan.”

“Please God tell me you’re not a Red Sox fan.”

Shelby grinned widely. “I am a diehard Red Sox fan.”

“How did you come to be a Red Sox’s fan if you’re from Georgia?”

“That was my dad’s team.”

“Your dad has terrible taste in baseball teams.”

“Great taste in hockey teams though,” she teased him.

Chris groaned. “You’re a Bruins fan too?”

“Yep. Sorry about that Stanley Cup loss by the way.”

“Rub it in why don’t you.”

“I will pretend to be a Canucks fan for a free show.”

Chris blushed. “Seen those pictures, have you?”

“What woman hasn’t? You don’t even have to be a hockey fan to enjoy those.”

“So is this a game of I’ll show you mine if you show me yours then?”

“Oooh, are you hitting on me?” Shelby teased, leaning in close to Chris and clutching his solid upper arm. His skin lit up at her touch.

He swallowed hard, trying to regain his senses but with her so close to him, her lips inches from his ear, that teasing smile on her face, those soft pink lips, he was ready to lose control.

“What do you do? It’s only fair to tell me since you already know what I do,” he finally managed to get out.

“I’m a nurse.”

“Then yes, I am definitely hitting on you. I could always use someone to bandage my wounds.” Shelby laughed and it made Chris smile. “How long are you here for?”

“I live here.” She took a step back from him in an effort to regain control of her libido. She wasn’t sure if it was smell of his cologne or the sexy five o’clock shadow on his face or those clear blue eyes or the way his whole face lit up when he smiled, but Shelby was ready to throw him into the bed of the nearest pickup truck and kiss that handsome face for days.

Chris missed the sweet, floral scent of the perfume she wore as she moved from him so he followed her movements, stepping back into her space so their arms touched as they spoke. “You live in the city?” he asked.

“I fell in love with New York City when I came here for college so I took a job after college and stayed in the area. Too expensive and busy living in the city but where I moved to reminds me a bit of home.”

“Where is home then?”

“Port Jefferson.”

“I grew up in Smithtown; that’s where I go during the summers.”

“Small world, huh?”

Chris smiled. “Can I take you to dinner tomorrow?

“Why not tonight? I’ll let you buy me a hotdog.”

“Where are you sitting?”

“No idea.”

“Hook my brother up with one of your sorority sisters and I’ll give you his ticket and you can give him yours.”

“What does your brother do?”

“He’s NYPD.”

Shelby looked over the sea of faces before her eyes landed on one. “Bring your brother over,” she told him before calling for the girl and motioning her over.

Chris walked away for a minute and grabbed his brother, dragging him back with him where Shelby stood with a tall blonde. “This is my brother, Kevin,” Chris introduced. ‘Kevin, this is Shelby, and..”

“Brooke,” Shelby answered.

“It’s nice to meet you both,” Kevin said.

“Chris was telling me that you’re a police officer,” Shelby said politely.

Kevin nodded. “I am, for NYPD.”

Brooke took a step towards Kevin and led him away. “Tell me about that,” they heard her say as they walked off.

“Brooke has a thing for a man in uniform,” Shelby explained.

“Very devious,” Chris complimented her.

“Thank you. So, about that hot dog...”

“I might even throw in a pretzel.”

“Big spender,” she laughed.

“Anything to impress you. Is it working?”

“Maybe. But what are you going to do when I cheer for the Sox?”

“Pretend I don’t know you,” he shrugged.



Before they headed into the ballpark a couple of hours later, Shelby Shea pulled a Red Sox fan over her head, pulling her ponytail through the back of the hat. Chris groaned as she linked her arm through his. Shelby only smiled as they made their way inside. They found their seats, about halfway down on the first baseline. His friend’s ribbed her good naturedly for her support of the rival team and she gave it back to them.

When they game got underway, Chris and Shelby snarked back and forth with each other jokingly whenever their team did good or when the other team made a bad play. In the fourth inning, with the Red Sox up by two runs, Chris looked over at Shelby and asked her if she was hungry. She nodded and they headed up to the concourse for food. Shelby steered him straight into the line at Nathan’s Hot Dogs.

“I’m going to get fried pickles from Brother Jimmy’s,” Shelby pointed. “I want a foot long hotdog with chili.”

“Fried pickles?”

“You’ve never had fried pickles?” He shook his head. “Lord, you’re missing out. Get our hot dogs, I’ll get the fried pickles and I will meet you back at the seats.”

“This line isn’t that long; I can go with you,” Chris suggested.

“If we divide and conquer, we’ll miss less of the game. I am so enjoying my Sox kicking the Yankee’s butt right now.” She grinned and slipped off in the direction of the other concession stand. Chris watched her go until he lost sight of her. He moved through the line, getting the hot dogs. He grabbed napkins and headed back to the seats, flagging down a beer vendor as he passed for two beers. Ten minutes later, Shelby appeared the row and he stood to let her pass, her backside just barely brushing against him as she passed.

Chris handed her a hot dog after she settled back into her seat and she passed the fried pickles in his direction. He eyed them warily but picked one up and popped it into his mouth as Shelby took a bite of her hot dog.

“Hot dogs always taste better at the ballpark,” she murmured. “How is that friend pickle?”

“Surprisingly good,” Chris offered.

“Everythings better when you deep fry it. Snickers, twinkies, oreos...”

“People do that?”

“You need to get to a state fair in the south ASAP,” Shelby laughed.

“You should probably take me then.”

Shelby smiled at him. “I’ll take that under consideration.”

Between the top and bottom of the sixth innings, Chris and Shelby were joking with each other, Shelby teasing Chris with Boston up by three runs. His friend nudged him and he noticed the laughter around them. Shelby looked up and saw the kiss cam focused on them on the video board. The crowd around them was a mix of cheers and jeers.

“We don’t have to,” Chris said quietly to her.

“I’m pretty sure there is a law that says you’re obligated to kiss if you’re on the kiss cam,” she replied.

“You just want to kiss me.”

“Maybe,” she shrugged before leaning in and pecking his lips. Before she could pull away, Chris captured her face between his hands and kept her in place for a real kiss, slow and leisurely, taking the time to taste her and commit the curve of her lips against his to memory.

“You can stop now,” Chris’ friend Jake said loudly, breaking the two apart. “You’ve been off camera for like thirty seconds.”

Shelby blushed and sat back in her seat, staring straight ahead. Chris reached over and grabbed her hand in his, locking their fingers together. She glanced down at their hands and then up at him. He leaned towards her.

“That was the best first kiss of my life,” Chris whispered in her ear. “I hope there’s a lot more of those in our future.” She shivered at his words, as his breath tickled her ear and the scruff of his cheek rubbed against her own.

“For as long as you want them,” Shelby whispered back, leaning into him and kissing his cheek.

“I plan on making that a really long time, my sorority girl.”

FIN