Author's note: Just an FYI, this was the original "template" that I used, so this was actually the chapter I wrote first. And by the title (and one line in the text) in no way do I mean any offense whatsoever to people of the Jewish faith.

Jews and Brews

The door opened, and Barry stood on the other side, grinning from ear to ear.

"Damn, Lindsay, you just keep getting hotter," he said, appraising her with his big brown eyes. "You look great. It's so good to see you. Come on in," he opened the door wider and gestured for her to come inside.

"Thanks," she replied, feeling shy. She liked the way that Barry looked at her, but it also made her feel a tad self-conscious, especially since she was wearing jeans and a sweater. And her dad's army jacket, of course. It was way too long of a drive to dress up- though she did have something a little nicer to wear in her bag.

As she entered his dorm room, the first thing that struck Lindsay was how small it was- seriously, how could two people spend time in such a tiny enclosed space without killing one another?

"We're not in here together much," Barry said, as if reading her mind. "Jake- my roommate- is in a fraternity. He spends most of his time over at the frat house."

"Oh. Okay. Is- is he staying there tonight?"

Barry looked at her, slightly embarrassed. "Yeah," he said, cheeks flushing a little pink. "I hope that's okay. That way, if you decide to stay here, um, I can take his bed, and you can crash in mine, if you'd like." He indicated that the bed currently closer to them was his.

"Yeah, okay," Lindsay replied. She shrugged, hoping she sounded casual, and plopped her duffel bag on the floor next to Barry's bed. She hadn't bothered to try to find Julie's number this week, and she didn't ask Barry if he had it- the proposed sleeping arrangement sounded fine. She looked at Barry's side a little more closely, trying to gather information about him from the stuff in his dorm room, but he just had the bare essentials- toiletries, books, clothes, a few records- nothing that told her much. Once again, he sensed her curiosity and spoke up.

"I don't see much point in decorating until I get into an apartment," he said, shrugging. "Jake will be moving into the fraternity house next year, and most upperclassmen live off-campus."

Lindsay nodded. "Do you know who you're going to live with yet?"

Barry shrugged. "No, there's a bunch of us that hang out, but we haven't figured it all out yet." He met her eyes and gave her a friendly smile. "So- what do you want to do?"

Lindsay fought herself from running her tongue over her teeth- she knew what she wanted to do, and that was to kiss him. Barry looked good- he wore jeans and a sweater like she did but he wore a collared shirt underneath and his hair was styled really nicely so he actually looked significantly more dressed up than she did. But there was no way she was going to start out the evening with kissing as things would only go south from there.

"Well-," she hesitated a moment, hating to have to bring this up, but "I told my parents that I was going to look at colleges, and I don't want to totally lie to them-"

"You want to see the campus?" Barry interjected gently.

Lindsay nodded, relieved. "Sorry if that's really lame."

Barry shook his head. "Are you crazy? Not at all. The campus here is beautiful, and there's a lot to see. I told you, I love this college. I'd be happy to show you around. Need to use the bathroom or anything before we go?"

"Nah, I'm all right," Lindsay responded, grabbing her purse and walking out of the room with Barry. She watched him as he locked the door to his room, suddenly envious of his independence, his ability to come and go whenever he pleased.

They set off on a walk, with Barry playing the role of tour guide, talking nonstop with a mix of the history of the school, his own experiences, and things he'd heard from his friends. He gestured excitedly as they passed each building- the Museum of Art, the Library, the Student Union.

The lake the campus sits on was quickly coming into view, though it took them several more minutes to approach the path near the edge. When they finally did, Lindsay sighed deeply, all of the tension from home and her drive there rolling off of her shoulders. Being near the water seemed to have that effect on her. When she glanced over at Barry, he was looking at her and smiling.

"Lake Mendota is pretty amazing, huh? I like to come out here when I need to think. A little quieter than usual today. The football game is still on, so I'm sure everyone's inside watching. The team is away this week."

She nodded, completely at peace, not needing to say anything. They began to walk.

Just as she was getting in stride, she suddenly felt the warmth of Barry's hand grasp hers. She let out an initial gasp of surprise, but it was a nice feeling, so she didn't let go.

They continued to walk at a leisurely pace, talking about school and politics and music. The sun shone warm on their faces. Birds chirped and they passed a few students, though it seemed eerily quiet for a college campus in autumn. Some trees eventually appeared on their left. When Lindsay asked what was in there, Barry told her they were the Muir woods and started pulling her towards them, telling her how incredible they were and how this was one of his favorite places to study on a nice day. After just a couple of minutes of walking, they found themselves in a wonderfully isolated little patch of forest.

As soon as Lindsay turned to face him, Barry leaned forward and kissed her, with the urgency of someone who hadn't kissed her in over five months and really wanted to would have. His lips felt hot on her mouth. Wow. She kissed him back.

He pulled away after a minute, grabbing her hand again, immediately starting to tug her out of the woods, back the way they came. "Sorry," he grinned at her, "I've been thinking about that ever since my dad's party. I had to try to get it out of my system, I suppose."

"Did it work?" Lindsay asked, a little breathlessly. Barry could kiss.

"Not even remotely," he joked, smiling again. They continued their walk. "But that's okay. Did you want to see the stadium? It's kind of out of the way."

Lindsay shrugged. She'd never been a huge football fan. "Nah, that's okay."

"All right. You must be getting hungry though."

He had her there. Aside from some gas station snacks, she hadn't eaten since breakfast. "Actually, yeah, I'm starving."

He brightened. "Great. So how about we walk back to the dorm? You can change if you'd like and we can get ready for this evening. There's a place I had in mind to take you for dinner, and after that, if you're up to it, we can meet up with my friends."

"So, wait," Lindsay interjected, "You're taking me out to eat? We're not just going to the dining hall or something?"

"Well, we can if you want," Barry replied with a grin, "but as good as dining hall Sloppy Joes are, I had something a little nicer in mind- I made reservations. Do you like Italian? If not, we could always go somewhere else- though since it's a Saturday we might be waiting a while."

Italian sounded fine to her. After a quick stop in his dorm, Barry took her to a place overlooking the lake (apparently, a different lake). It was somehow casual and fancy at the same time and dinner was fabulous- they'd split a pizza and salad. It felt like an actual date, which was something Lindsay wasn't used to at all. Since Barry had even broken out a bottle of wine in the car and they'd each had a cup as they were getting ready to go into the restaurant, Lindsay was already starting to feel warmth spread across her cheeks from the alcohol. The conversation was flowing freely; both of them were growing more and more animated as they recounted stories of their youth.

"And remember that time when my mom made us go trick-or-treating together as The Brady Bunch?" Lindsay exclaimed, a little louder than she normally would have perhaps. She'd never really drunk wine before and was a little startled by the effect that it had on her. Nothing like when she drank beer with the gang. "She bought Sam and me the most awful blonde wigs. And I thought I was going to die when I saw Sam dressed up as Cindy."

"My parents never had to make me do anything when it came to seeing you," Barry replied, causing Lindsay to blush, "Though the Peter Brady bowl cut my mom gave me for the occasion was pretty horrible."

"But you looked cute!" Lindsay said. "I thought you did, anyway." Without thinking she muttered under her breath, still do. She was certain that Barry read her lips because he broke out into another grin.

Their flirtatious banter continued all throughout dinner. She had always liked Barry, just never realized that he would ever want anything to do with her, being three years older and all. The familiarity, the comfort of hanging out with someone that she'd known for so long- combined with the excitement and anticipation of being out with someone she liked as more than a friend- this was reading like a perfect first date.

When the check came, she made an offer to pay her share, but Barry wouldn't hear of it. He'd been working part-time over the summer, he'd said, in what started out as a brief internship but ended up as a part-time job at a law firm. It was grunt work, he'd explained, saying that he did little more than run errands, fetch coffee, and organize files- but he was finding out more about law, meeting people, and making money at the same time, which had been motivating, both for his career and for his wallet.

As they were getting ready to leave Barry came over to her side of the table and reached his hand out to help her up. She obliged and after she got to her feet he didn't let go of her hand, just held it as they walked out of the restaurant.

Lindsay was wondering if Barry was going to kiss her again when they got to the car, what he was going to suggest they do next.

She didn't have long to wait. Barry spoke up as they were walking.

"So- Jake's frat is having a party tonight, and some of my other friends are going to be there," he explained. "Would- would you like to go? It's up to you. If not, we could just go back to the dorm and watch TV, or catch a movie or something."

Lindsay was torn. On one hand, she liked the idea of going back to the dorm and spending time alone with Barry. On the other, it scared her a little. But ultimately, what won out was her sheer curiosity to meet Barry's friends. She was interested to see what his life was like up here.

"Sure, we can go," she replied casually.

"Great," Barry replied. "We can just head straight there if you're ready?"

Lindsay nodded, and Barry opened the car door for her. As she eased inside, she briefly wondered if he was okay to drive. She ended up voicing her concerns out loud.

"Oh, I'm fine, but thanks for asking," he said. "I only had a glass and I had a lot to eat, as you could tell," he rubbed his stomach as he said it. It was true- Barry had eaten far more than she did. And he did have a higher tolerance, she supposed. "Besides, thankfully we don't have to drive far around here."

Barry was right- they reached the fraternity after just a couple of minutes.

They ended up parking a few blocks away since there wasn't anything closer. As they walked toward the fraternity, Barry briefly slipped his hand around her waist. "I can't wait to show you off to my friends," he whispered in her ear. It left Lindsay's spine tingling.

When they arrived, there was actually a pretty big line. "Ah, September. The parties are pretty huge this time of year," he lamented. However, Barry knew the two guys at the door, so they were able to walk straight up to them.

"Hey Brad, Patrick. This is Lindsay," Barry said by way of introduction. One of them whistled.

"This the jailbait you've been talking about nonstop, Schweiber?" he asked.

Barry tried to glare at him, but he was blushing, so it wasn't particularly effective. "Jake around?" was all he said instead.

The other one, Brad or Patrick, smiled. "Yeah, he's upstairs hanging out with Drew and Kyle. Go on up; I know he's expecting you guys."

Barry nodded. "All right, man, thanks. Hey- did we end up winning today? We were tied in the second quarter."

Brad or Patrick responded enthusiastically. "Hell, yeah, man! We crushed them; didn't you hear? What were you doing?" As Brad or Patrick glanced at Lindsay again, a devilish grin appeared on their face. "Never mind."

Barry apologized as soon as they were in the house and out of earshot. "These guys will say anything to give me a hard time," he said, "It doesn't have anything to do with you. But I'm sorry anyway."

"Oh, it's okay," Lindsay replied. She wasn't easily offended. And she had to admit, she was flattered if Barry talked about her as much as Brad or Patrick indicated he did.

They headed up the stairs and down the hallway into a large room where several guys and a few girls were sitting, pouring shots from colored bottles of liquor into an array of shot glasses. As soon as they entered, a friendly-looking guy hopped up to say hello.

"Lindsay, right?" he smiled at her. He definitely lacked the cockiness, the ego that the older guys at the front door had perfected. "Barry's told me so much about you. I'm Jake." He extended his hand to her.

Lindsay reached out and shook it, smiling. "Nice to meet you." She fought a blush herself as she spoke next. "Um- thanks for lending Barry your bed tonight so I can crash there," she muttered. She was staring at the floor by the time she was done, embarrassed.

"Not a problem- I'm here most nights anyways." She looked back up. Jake was smiling again. "Besides, I'd do anything for this guy," he said, throwing his arm around Barry's shoulders. But Lindsay definitely didn't miss the wink that Jake gave him as he said it.

They all sat down then, and Lindsay was introduced to the rest of the guys- Drew and Kyle, who seemed like they were Barry's closest friends, and a bunch of other people whose names she was certain she would forget. A couple of the girls were girlfriends of brothers, but two were there for the first time, so Lindsay felt as though she was in good company. They all laughed and chatted as music played in the background and they continued to occasionally pour and take shots.

Barry leaned over and whispered in her ear. "Have fun. I've left the car here before; we're close enough to walk home. It'll take a while, but that's okay."

Lindsay nodded and whispered back. "Okay, sounds perfect." She didn't have to leave early in the morning. And this was a college party. She wanted to have a good time, and she didn't know anyone but Barry. Alcohol was definitely in order.

So they sat and drank- well, Lindsay did anyway. She noticed that Barry was only drinking a little. After three shots, Barry wouldn't let her take another- "They haven't fully hit you yet, and you'll regret it if you do any more," he warned- plus they were told the party downstairs was picking up and that the frat brothers were starting a house-wide beer pong competition.

"Beer pong?" Lindsay asked.

Barry nodded. "It's a fun game. Don't worry, we'll be on a team together, I'll show you what to do."

They headed down to the basement, which was the polar opposite from where they had just come. Instead of the mellow Floyd softly playing in the background the basement was blasting with hard rock and even some disco. Rather than good-tasting liquor, like the Goldschlager she had tried, there was nothing but the cheapest possible beer from a can- just like her friends back in Chippewa drank. Suddenly, she felt just a bit nostalgic for her old crowd. She smiled wistfully.

But she quickly got over it. Beer pong tables were being set up, and Lindsay had never seen anything like this game before. As they watched the first few rounds, Barry started explaining the rules.

"And if you make both shots, then you can 'bring them back' and take another turn," he was saying, and though it sounded fun, Lindsay was only half paying attention. The shots that she had taken, on top of the wine, were really starting to affect her. Everything seemed to be slowing down. And as Barry was talking to her he had to lean close so that she could hear him over the loud music- so his lips and tongue were dangerously close to her ear.

Before long, a table had freed up, and after Barry made sure that Lindsay still wanted to play (to which Lindsay replied with a resounding YES!), they took their places at the end.

Barry knew their opponents so he introduced Lindsay to them, though Lindsay forgot their names the moment they were spoken. Barry let Lindsay toss first. The ping-pong ball hit a good foot away from the red plastic cup, practically off of the table.

"Good try, Lindsay," Barry said, though it was a white lie. "You'll get it next time." That lie was even more blatant. Her reflexes were starting to deteriorate a bit, and she certainly didn't foresee her coordination improving.

Barry made his shot, but since Lindsay missed hers the ping pong balls went to the team of frat brothers. This was a mistake.

Having had gobs of practice, the two guys won, sinking both cups three rounds in a row. Lindsay tried to drink her half but was starting to feel really buzzed, and thankfully Barry stopped her. He drank a couple himself but left the rest on the table.

"C'mon Lindsay, maybe we should go," he told her gently. "Let's walk; it'll be good for you."

Lindsay was embarrassed; they couldn't have been at the party for more than an hour or two. But on the other hand she really was feeling drunk, and figured the walk outside would do her some good. She nodded, defeated. "Okay."

Barry put his hand on her shoulder. "Hey, no need to feel embarrassed. You're not used to all this stuff yet. Don't worry, if you go away to college you definitely will get plenty of practice, if you choose." He led her out the door of the frat and they started to walk home.

The walk truly did do her some good- the air was already crisp, and she felt like she woke up a bit on the trek to Barry's dorm (it felt like forever but apparently was about two miles). But the alcohol was still hitting her hard; she felt really different and strange and tired and wonderful.

She really had to pee, so when they got back to Barry's she asked where she could go to the bathroom; since it was a coed dorm he directed her right down the hall. She brought her bag in with her so that she could change and brush her teeth. She had brought sleep shorts and two different tops from home- one frumpy-ish t-shirt that was super comfortable, and one tight low-cut camisole that wasn't as comfortable but in which she knew she looked damn good. Holding both in front of the mirror of the girls' bathroom, Lindsay opted for the latter.

As she entered Barry's dorm room, he had already changed into boxer shorts and a t-shirt, and was lying on Jake's bed. When Lindsay reemerged in the room, Barry's eyes widened and his jaw dropped a little as he looked at her. But he recovered quickly.

"So, Lindsay, can I give you one of my shirts to sleep in?" he suggested, trying to sound casual but not succeeding. "It might be more comfortable for you." He gulped, getting up to move towards his dresser.

It was then Lindsay realized that Barry was nervous. And thanks to her good friend alcohol, she wasn't nervous at all. She walked right up to him while he was at his dresser, turned him around, and kissed him on the lips. They seemed to melt into each other (and into the dresser) for the few seconds while their lips were locked. But all too soon, Barry pulled away.

"I've been thinking about that ever since the last one," she told him. Lindsay had enough wits about her to remember what Barry had told her after he kissed her a few hours ago.

Barry was taking measured deep breaths, in and out. "Damn. You need to stop kissing me and put some more clothes on," Barry was making it a point not to look directly at her.

She looked good and she knew it. She gently ran her fingertips over his bottom lip. Her inhibitions had flown out the window with her sobriety. "Why? I thought you'd like the way I look in this. That's why I brought it. Just like when I wore that dress to your dad's party." She realized that she had no mental filter at this point but didn't care enough to shut up.

He met her gaze, his eyes dilated and intense. "I love the way you look in it. Too much, in fact."

"Why, too much? Is that a bad thing?"

He nodded slowly. "Yeah, it is, Lindsay. You're sixteen. And drunk."

"I'm almost seventeen," Lindsay broke in. But since the words were slurred, she only reinforced his second point.

He took in a breath. "Right. Which is still below eighteen. And drunk."

"So?"

"So….I'm not going to take advantage of you. You're far too amazing and you don't deserve that."

"Bar-ry," Lindsay slurred before planting another kiss on his lips. Pulling away, she added, "Does it really look like you're taking advantage of me?"

For just a minute, Barry responded to her advances. He started kissing Lindsay back fervently, wrapping his arms around her, hands exploring her back. Lindsay leaned into him and he slowly walked her across the room, guiding her backwards. Lindsay kept kissing him as he gently laid her down on his bed, lifting her slightly to brace her landing. Smiling, she pulled him by his shirt so that he was closer to her as they kissed, moving his body flush against hers.

But just as quickly, Barry stopped and rolled off of her and onto his elbow. "Lindsay- I can't do this with you- not tonight. I want to, believe me, it's just- if we ever do go out, I'd want stuff like this to be really….special. Or at least, I'd want you to remember it." He smiled at her wistfully.

Lindsay was disappointed, but she couldn't really argue. Lying on the bed swiftly made her realize that the room was spinning. All of a sudden she didn't feel so hot. "Okay," she said reluctantly. "But- can you do me a favor? Can you get the other T-shirt out of my bag? The Grateful Dead one? I'm feeling a little nauseous, and I'm not sure I want to get up…."

"Sure, are you okay?" he responded, unzipping her bag and rummaging around it for a few seconds until he found her slightly frumpy but soft and super comfy tie-dyed t-shirt. He tossed it to her.

Lindsay nodded, but only slightly so as not to disrupt her equilibrium even more. She decided that she needed get as comfortable as possible, while moving as little as possible. The tight camisole had to go before she put on her other shirt, and she was too clumsy to try to coordinate the simultaneous shirt application and removal. To hell with it, she thought, and while still lying down she peeled off the camisole before putting her t-shirt back on. She wasn't wearing a bra. Barry still had a dumbstruck look on his face when she passed out a few minutes later.

Lindsay woke up to a throbbing headache. She was curled on her side. Next to Barry's bed was a garbage can, a roll of paper towels, and a huge plastic cup full of some bright liquid. For a split second, she was reminded of the liquor from last night and a wave of nausea washed over her. But after a tentative sip she let out a sigh of pleasure. Gatorade. She took a long glug. And then another.

Across the room, Barry was still asleep on Jake's bed, snoring softly.

Lindsay wondered if it would be possible to get up, get ready, and get out of there without waking Barry. Not that she didn't want to spend time with him, but after last night's shenanigans, she was absolutely mortified. She remembered everything since she didn't black out (at least she didn't think that she did), but that was almost worse. Lindsay cringed as she thought of practically accosting Barry at his dresser. And she let him see her breasts! Ugh, how embarrassing.

No such luck. As Lindsay got up to go to the bathroom, another bout of nausea hit and she tripped over the strap on her open duffel bag, causing a few of her toiletries to loudly spill out. Barry stirred.

"Morning, sunshine," he mumbled, opening a sleepy eye to take in Lindsay's hungover form. "Are you feeling okay?" His voice was laced with concern.

"Physically? I'm all right. Typical hangover stuff, I guess. Emotionally? Scarred for life," Lindsay joked. She glanced downward, avoiding his gaze. "I'm so sorry."

"What are you apologizing for?" Barry asked, waking up a bit. "There's absolutely no need. You didn't do anything wrong. We went out and you had fun. End of story."

"Well, not exactly," Lindsay said shyly, recalling that the night didn't end when they got back to Barry's room. "But thanks."

"You know what you need?"

"What?" Lindsay was afraid to ask.

"Well, believe it or not, a little hair of the dog, a Bloody Mary maybe," Barry began, sitting up in bed. "And water. And coffee. And a scrambler from Marigold Kitchen. Trust me, it's the best hangover food around. What do you say?"

"You want to take me out to eat again?" Lindsay couldn't believe that Barry wasn't shooing her out the door after the way that she behaved last night. But then again, she should have known better.

"Sure," Barry replied. "I'm not ready for you to go just yet."

So they spent the next two hours chatting as Lindsay got ready, and as she packed up her duffel and loaded the car, and as Barry drove them to the restaurant, and as they split a Bloody Mary and ordered scramblers of the day with extra home fries and large coffees, and as they ate and drank until it seemed that every last droplet of alcohol had been soaked up by the food, and as once again Barry picked up the check, and then as he drove Lindsay back to the parking lot near her car.

"Thanks for everything, Barry, I mean it," Lindsay said as she began to open the passenger's side door. "Despite everything I- um, had a great time," other than her sheer embarrassment, she really did.

"You need to come and visit me again sometime," he said, jokingly adding, "We'll work on that tolerance of yours."

Lindsay laughed.

Barry was all of a sudden serious. "I mean it, though. This was awesome. It doesn't matter that I'm in college and you're in high school- I just- it doesn't change how much I love spending time with you."

Lindsay met his eyes. "Yeah, it was- I do, too. It's- I just-" she tried to put into words how cool he was being when she acted like such a drunk idiot. "Thanks for being such a gentleman," she finally got out.

"I don't know if I'm that much of a gentleman," he replied with a little glint in his eye, "All I can think about right now is kissing you."

He leaned in and kissed her, a sweet kiss that didn't last quite long enough. He tasted like bacon. Some Jew. She could also still taste alcohol, though she thought it was more likely from her breath than his.

As he pulled away, Barry was red-cheeked.

"Well- um- and also- how fantastic your breasts are," he added quietly, as though he were expecting Lindsay to hit him.

Sure enough, their last touch was a playful slap from Lindsay before she got in her car. She drove away blushing.