Girls Only: Sybian Sorority by Selena Kitt Page B

into.
    *
* * *
    “Where are we going?” Chloe’s
hand in mine was warm and slightly damp. I tried to squeeze it reassuringly but
I wasn’t quite sure myself. The girl in front of me had a death grip on my other
hand as we made our way blindfolded down a flight of stairs and I stumbled,
threatening to topple the whole chain of girls.
    “Careful!” the girl in front of
me hissed, her hand tightening to bone-crushing levels.
    “I told you a sorority was a
bad idea,” I whispered back to Chloe, experiencing a sudden temperature change
as we came to the bottom of the stairs and inched our way into a more wide-open
space. The basement of the sorority house, I realized. Had to be.
    Chloe whispered back, “I’m
beginning to think you were right.”
    “Keep following the girl in
front of you!” The instructions came from Megan, the blond who had been leading
us through everything that week, from the instruction about all of the sorority
history to learning the secret handshakes and passwords. They were big on
secrets, apparently, but all of it had been pretty harmless, even the whole not
being allowed to shave our legs for the whole week stunt.
    Thank god that one was over.
Just this afternoon, right after lunch, Chloe and I had splurged on a Gillette
Venus and some of that Pure Silk shaving cream for the occasion, going into
shower stalls right next to each other to take care of business. We’d gone a
little overboard though. Chloe had dared me to shave everything, and I’d
told her I would if she would—and so we had.
    I’d made an off-hand remark,
trying to keep up pretenses, “Too bad neither of us has a boyfriend—I hear boys
love it smooth like this.” Chloe had laughed breezily, teasing me to
distraction with her comment. “Who needs boys anyway?” The whole thing left me
breathless with wonder, and now I was walking around all smooth and soft, feeling
like a ten-year-old girl, the seam of my jeans constantly riding up my crotch,
sending little shivers through me at the most inconvenient times.
    “Ok, stop!” Megan commanded.
“Face front and let go of each other’s hands.”
    Doing this blindfolded was
scary to say the least, but I could hear Chloe breathing beside me—a little too
fast and hard. It wasn’t from our trek down the stairs either, I was sure. It
was from anxiety. I was a little freaked out too.
    “Each of you has a senior sorority
sister behind you for support,” Megan said, and I felt a presence behind me. I
was wondering just what this was all about. “No matter what you choose.”
    Choose? What did we have to
choose?
    “Now, strip.” Megan’s words
hung in the air and I heard several of the girls gasp out loud. “You can choose
not to. If you don’t want to strip, raise your hand, and a sister will come
remove you from the room.”
    I was about to raise my hand
when she went on. “Of course, if you choose not to, you won’t be part of Eta Nu
Pi.”
    “Stay.” Chloe grabbed for my
hand, finding my wrist first, squeezing hard. “Stay with me.”
    She was really going to take
her clothes off? “You’re going to do it?”
    I felt her answer—she let go of
my hand and I heard her stripping off her t-shirt, felt the brush of the
material against my arm as she dropped it to the floor.
    “You decide,” Megan reminded us
in a loud voice. “Stay and strip—or leave.”
    Crap.
    Chloe nudged me, whispering,
“Please?”
    There were girls leaving. I
could hear them passing through the door to my left. I wondered how many
pledges we were going to lose during this little stunt.
    Reluctantly, I grabbed the edge
of my t-shirt, pulling it off and dropping it to the floor. All of the pledges
were blindfolded anyway, I told myself. What did it matter? But as I shoved my
jeans down my hips, I was sure my mother and sister had never had to do
anything like this to join a sorority.
    “Everything, ladies!” Megan
passed close to me as she said it and I nearly jumped back in surprise.