They Got More Than A Lesson In Sport

Rick was a 22-years-old university Senior. He stood six foot one inch tall, and he had a well tanned muscular body. He had blond hair, and blue eyes. He looked like the typical well tanned southern California surfer, except he wasn’t in southern California. He was the captain and star player of an Upstate South Carolina university’s men’s volleyball team.

Rick had indeed grown up playing volleyball on the beaches of southern California. When not in class during high school, he was playing or working out on the sandy beaches near his home. That lifestyle had helped Rick produce a rock solid body and a vertical leaping ability that rivaled basketball players several inches taller.

All through high school, Rick had planned on attending UCLA. Fate had other plans. His father, an automotive engineer, had been offered, and accepted, a high paying position with an international automotive manufacturer located in South Carolina. Rick wanted to follow in his father’s footsteps and be an automotive engineer. Thus, he had worked hard to maintain top grades in high school. The university he attended was near his family’s new home in Greenville, South Carolina. The university offered engineering degrees, but they also had a partnership with the company that had hired his father.

The South Carolina university he ended up attending had jumped at the chance to enroll such a talented scholar and athlete in their Engineering Department. By staying in the athletic dorm, Rick was relieved of the need and costs of housing.

As Rick entered his dorm room for the first time as a freshman, there was another young man unpacking. Jay would be Rick’s roommate for the next four years. They soon became best friends as well.

Jay too had grown up on the beach. Myrtle Beach, South Carolina had been his home. Except for the span of a continent, Rick and Jay’s childhood had been mirror images. Jay too had spent nearly every spare minute on the beach working out and playing volleyball. He was strongly built and well tanned. He kept his dark hair cut short. Jay was several inches shorter than Rick, but could move like lightning. Jay’s speed was a real asset to their varsity volleyball team.

It was a warm late spring Saturday. The guys had slept in due to being up late watching a west coast baseball game on TV. At about 10:00 AM, they finally rolled out of their beds.

Jay sleepily asked, “Hey buddy! What’s to do today?”

Rick booted up his computer and replied, “I don’t know. Let me look.” He quickly pulled up the on-line edition of the university’s news paper. He scanned it for something to keep them entertained on such a warm spring day.

After a few minutes, Rick commented. “Hey, here’s something. There’s a girls volleyball team from Mumbai, India in town. They’re going to play an exhibition game against our lady’s team. You want to go?”

Jay agreed, “Sure. Sounds like it might be fun to watch the girls play for a change.”

Rick urged his friend to get moving, “Well, you better get with it. It’s 10:00 AM, and the game starts at 11:00. That gives us just an hour to shower, get dressed, find a bite to eat, and walk to the field house.”

The guys walked into the arena where the girls were to play with about five minutes to spare. They snagged a program on the way in and took court-side seats. There wasn’t much of a crowd so good seats were easy to be had.

As young American men, or any men for that matter, are apt to do, Rick and Jay checked out the visiting girls as they warmed up for their game. No harm in looking. Right?

It wasn't long before Rick spotted a pretty young lady practicing her serve on the far side of the court. She was pretty good at serving the ball, but more to his delight, she was as pretty a girl as Rick had seen in a long time. Her volleyball uniform consisted of a silky pair shorts and a matching sports t-shirt. Her uniform accentuated her obviously well endowed slender body. Her long silky black hair was tied into a pony-tail behind her head and gave a full view of her rounded face and beautifully dark almond shaped eyes.

Checking the roster sheet in the program the guys had picked up on the way in, Rick gleaned a few stats on this exotic creature. Her first name was Naina, which the roster said translated to "eyes." He couldn’t pronounce her last name. She was 21-years-old, stood five foot five inches tall, and weighted one hundred twenty five pounds.

‘A very nicely put together 125 pounds.’ Rick thought to himself.

About that time, Jay began jabbing his elbow into Rick’s ribs. "Hey, man! Check that one out! She’s the most gorgeous chick I’ve ever seen. She could be a model or something. I think I’ve fallen in lust."

"Down boy! We don’t want to start an international incident do we?" Rick admonished his friend.

Jay looked at Rick then back to Ritu. With a laugh he said. “For her, I just might be willing to start World War III.”

Rick replied. "She is a very pretty girl. The roster says her name is Ritu. She’s 21, five foot four inches and weighs one hundred fifteen pounds. If you can tear your eyes away from Ritu for just a moment, take a look at that one over there." Rick pointed Naina out to Jay. "Isn’t she a living doll? I have suddenly developed an appreciation for Indian girls. Those two look delicious."

"She sure is.” Jay asked, “I wonder if there’s a chance they’d go out with us this afternoon?"

Rick replied with a laugh, "Are you kidding me? Those girls are probably guarded like chicks in a hen house by some guy that looks and acts like a rottweiler.”

"Yeah, Rick. You’re probably right, but it sure is fun to dream. Besides, girls that look that good are sure to have husbands or boyfriends hanging around somewhere."

About that time, a whistle blew and both teams took their assigned positions on the court. Naina, the girl Rick had been watching, seemed a bit small compared to the local girls. Most of the Indian team were a bit shorter than the Americans. However, what they lacked in stature, they more than made up for in talent and zeal.

The small crowd offered polite applause when the Indians scored points. Rick and Jay were much more enthusiastic in their appreciation of the visiting girls.

Compared to Rick’s six foot one inch frame, Naina was just a little thing, but she had a wickedly fast serve. She blasted two unanswered points past the startled Americans before the local girls could get a volley going. Jay’s model, Ritu, was an excellent mid-court player. She, and all the visiting girls, played their hearts out.

The local girls seemed to struggle for a little while, and the Indian girls won the first game of the three game match. Then the championship winning attitude and skills of the local team kicked in. They were just too tall and too strong for the Indian girls. The local girls eventually took the lead and held on to win the second game by three points. They also won the third and tie breaking game by the slim score of 21 to 19.

Both teams left the court together hugging, laughing, and yakking a mile a minute. Just as they turned down the hallway that led from the main floor to the showers, Naina and Ritu paused to look back at the court. They looked for the two boys that had been cheering so loudly for them. Unfortunately, they had already left their seats.

Rick and Jay sighed and shrugged as the girls of their dreams disappeared in a sea of women athletes. They left the arena and headed back to the dorm.

As they walked back to their dorm, Jay commented, "I sure wish we could have met those two."

"Yeah, so do I, but there’s probably not much chance of that happening.” Rick then suggested, “Why don’t we go down town and see what’s happening."

"That’s cool!" Jay agreed.

When they arrived at their dorm, Rick put the top down on his Ford Mustang convertible. Rick had owned the car since high school. It had been a graduation gift from his parents. Over the last four years, he had made several modification to the car’s power train. The V-8 engine now produced approximately 500 horsepower and could smoke the tires in any of the four gears. Though Rick never raced the car, he enjoyed the feeling of knowing he could out run almost anything that pulled up next to him at a traffic light.

The guys then jumped into the car and headed to the downtown area of the small college town. Stopping along the way to get a soda. They had no particular plans and were in no hurry.

Rick was pulling into a parking spot when Jay seemed to go nuts in the passenger seat. He was practically beating on Rick’s arm and excitedly chattering like a schoolgirl. “There they are! Over there by that shop. Hurry up, man. Park this thing. Let’s go!”

“Damn, Jay! Have you gone craze or what?” Rick wasn’t really mad at his friend. He just couldn’t figure out what had gotten him all fired up.

“No Rick, I’m not crazy. They were over there. Really! They just went in that shop. Come on, let’s get over there.”

Rick was still trying to figure out what his friend was talking about. “Who are you talking about? Where is over there? Try to make some sense.”

“Okay, okay. The two girls from the volleyball game are still here. I swear I saw them over by that souvenir shop. Come on Rick, let’s go see if we can find them.” Jay’s last words were shouted as he crossed the street and headed for the shop.

Rick quickly caught up to Jay, and they approached the front of the souvenir shop. Rather than walk in, they scanned the shop through the front windows. They saw no one that could have been the Indian girls they were looking for. They were about to leave when two girls appeared from behind a rack of swimsuits near the back of the shop. It’s was Naina and Ritu.

Jay teased his friend, “I told you I saw them go in there.”

“I guess your right this time buddy. Come on.” Rick led the way into the shop.

Naina and Ritu were headed to the cashier. Each girl was carrying a new two piece swim suit. They stopped dead in their tracks when they saw Rick and Jay. They had a quickly whispered discussion and both girls smiled broadly at the guys.

Rick boldly walked up to Naina who was ahead of Ritu. “Hi! My name is Rick and my friend here is Jay. We saw you playing volleyball against our girls a while ago. You play very well.”

“Thank you, Sir. I am Naina. My friend is Ritu.

We did not play as well as we could have. My friend and I noticed you cheering for us. That was nice of you.”

With a bright grin, Rick said, “You deserved it. You really did play well. With a few tips, you ladies could beat nearly any American women’s team.”

“Do you really think we could beat your ladies?” Ritu asked.

“Yes! And we would consider it a great honor if you ladies would consent to having lunch with us. If that is permitted, of course. We wouldn’t want to get you in trouble with your group. We could offer a few ideas on how you could improve your game over lunch.”

Another quick whispered conversation, and Naina replied. “We are not restricted to stay with our team all the time. We would be happy to have a meal with you and your friend, Sir. Let us pay for our swimsuits and we will be ready to go.”

As they left the shop, the guys offered their arms to their new friends. Ritu quickly took Jay’s offered arm. Naina hesitated just a bit before she took Rick’s arm. The girls were then led across the street to Rick’s Mustang.

As they walked, Rick asked, “What would you ladies like to eat for lunch? This area has a wide variety of very nice restaurants to choose from. What kind of food would you like to eat?”

At the same time, Naina and Ritu both eagerly replied, “McDonald’s! May we go to McDonald’s, please?”

Jay asked, “McDonald’s? Are you sure you want to go to McDonald’s? There are a lot of nice places near here.”

“Yes! We would like to go to McDonald’s.”

Naina explained, “We have McDonald’s at home, but we seldom get off the college grounds to go to them. At every place we have gone in America so far, someone brings our meals to us in some dining hall. So, lunch at McDonald’s would be a treat.”

“Alright! If you ladies want to go to McDonald’s, McDonald’s it is. Hope in.” Rick opened the front passenger side for Naina to get in.

Jay hustled around to the car's driver’s side, opened the door, and pulled the front seat back forward. He then offered Ritu his hand which she took. She smiled at Jay as she stepped into the Mustang’s small rear seat.

“Buckle up!” Rick instructed. He then fired up the V-8 under the Mustang’s hood. The modified engine rumbled as Rick pulled away from the curb and slowly headed to the nearest McDonald’s.

A few minutes later they were pulling into a parking space at the local McDonald’s. Almost before she could wiggle, Rick had bounded around the front of his car and opened Naina’s door. As Rick offered his hand to Naina, Jay was assisting Ritu from the rear seat.

The girls were jabbering away in their native language as the boys guided them into the restaurant and to a booth. The girls sat on opposite sides of the booth and the boys slid in next to them, Jay next to Ritu and Rick next to Naina.

Rick interrupted the girls and asked. “What would you ladies like to eat?”

“Please forgive us. We should apologize. It was rude of us to not speak English while in America. We are sorry for being so rude.” Naina seemed to be practically begging for forgiveness.

“Nonsense! There is nothing to apologize for.” Rick asked, “ Now, what would you ladies like to eat?”

“Any thing will be good,” Naina replied. Ritu nodded her agreement.

Rick said to his friend, “Jay, if you don’t mind entertaining our guests for a few minutes, I’ll go get us something to eat.”

Jay grinned from ear to ear, and said, “Are you kidding? It will be an honor to stay here with these lovely ladies.”

The girls giggled.

Rick left to order lunch. He returned a few minutes later with Big Macs, fries, and Cokes for everyone. As they ate lunch, the girls related how this was the first free time their schedule had allowed since leaving Mumbai. They had been to several east coast universities and would be leaving for Northwestern University in Chicago Sunday afternoon.

The boys told their guests of their younger years spent playing on the beach, and their school careers. Jay commented, “We envy you girls for getting to travel the world like you are.”

Ritu replied, “It has been fun, and we have seen a lot of your beautiful country.”

Naina then added, “Yes, but we get so little time to see the countryside. We have heard so much about beach volleyball. Do you think there is somewhere we could play some volleyball on a sand court while we are here?”

Jay answered, “There are two sand courts here on campus. Unfortunately, they are usually booked solid. I doubt we could get on one of them. There is usually a two week waiting list for a game time.”

Rick then hit on a great idea. “Ladies, my parents have a second home on Lake Hartwell. That’s a large lake not far from here. I know of an island on the lake that has a wide sand beach. That beach would be perfect for beach volleyball. If you girls are allowed and would like to go, we can run out to the lake, take some snacks, and use my parents' boat to go to the island for some beach volleyball.”

“That sounds like a lot of fun. What do you think, Ritu?” Naina asked.

Ritu looked at Jay, smiled broadly. Without taking her eyes off Jay, dreamily answered her friend. “I think that would be wonderful.”

When they finished eating, they all piled back into Rick’s Mustang and headed for Lake Hartwell.

Over the rumble of the engine, Naina instantly found a way into Rick’s heart. She asked about his car. “I have never been in a car that has no top. What do you do when it rains?”

Rick pointed out the top that was folded behind Ritu and Jay and told her how it works.

Getting a thrill in her chest from the Ford’s vibrations, Naina continued, “Your car sounds different than the cars at home. Is it powerful and fast? We can only go about sixty to eighty miles per hour at home. Can we go fast on the way to the lake?”

By then, Rick had pulled onto South Carolina Highway 28 and headed toward Lake Hartwell. He answered Naina’s questions as he drove the speed limit, “The Highway Patrol has a tendency to hang out on 28, and I don’t need any more speeding tickets.”

Rick soon turned off SC 28 onto a two lane secondary road that led to Lake Hartwell. Rick was very familiar with this road. “Tighten your seat belts guys!” He ordered. As he rounded a curve, a long, flat, straight stretch of road lay ahead. He pressed the Mustang accelerator down a bit more. Almost instantly, they were all pushed back into their seats as the Mustang’s 500 horses came to life and propelled the car up past eighty miles per hour. A few seconds later they were still pressed back in to their seats as the Mustang easily passed one hundred ten miles per hour.

Rick was unable to see the broad grin on Naina and Ritu’s faces, nor their hair flying in the wind. Whenever he drove fast, he concentrated on the road ahead. As the speedometer bumped one hundred twenty, Rick eased out of the gas and applied the brakes. The Mustang”s oversized disc brakes on all four wheels decelerated the car almost as quickly as it had accelerated. Rick slowed the car to about forty-five miles per hour as he rounded the next curve. The driveway to his parents’ lake home was just a few hundred feet beyond the curve.

Rick pulled off the road and eased down a long driveway. The drive led into a large heavily wooded lot with a two-story home built among the trees. The trees provide effective seclusion for the home.

Once inside, Rick pointed out the large shower room where the girls could change into their swimsuits. He and Jay used Rick’s room to quickly change into swim trunks.

While they waited for the girls, the guys loaded the volleyball gear into the boat. Rick threw together a picnic basket with cheese, crackers, a couple bottles of wine, and glasses. Rick and Jay were stowing the towels and a couple of blankets, when the girls appeared on the back deck of the house.

As they came down the path to the boat dock, Jay spotted them first. Jay exclaimed, “Wow! Look at that, Rick!”

Rick agreed with his friend, “Wow is right! That’s one of the most beautiful sights I’ve ever seen.”

The swim suits the girls had bought were somewhat modest by modern American standards. But, they were quite daring for the Indian girls. Rick and Jay could only stare as the beauty that was Naina and Ritu was displayed before them. Naina had a set of D-cup breasts that were trying to spill out of her suit’s top.

Ritu's slightly slimmer body was nearly perfectly shaped, and she seemed to enjoy showing it off for the boys. Her suit was skimpier than Naina’s, and her firm C-cup breasts were barely covered.

Rick, with his west coast surfer boy looks, had never had any trouble getting dates. Even so, he felt extremely honored that such exotic beauties as these two young Indian ladies had consented to join Jay and him for the afternoon.

Finally, Rick found his voice as Jay assisted the girls into the boat. "Wow! You girls look fantastic. Naina, you must be a princess at home. And you, Ritu, must certainly be a world class model.”

Naina and Ritu giggled and together said, "Thank you! Naina added, "We are just college students like you who play volleyball in school.”

Rick smile and asked, “Shall we go ladies?”

They all climbed aboard the boat, except Jay. Ritu sat in a bow (front) seat. Rick, of course was at the controls at the center of the starboard (right) side. Naina took the port (left) seat near Rick and faced him. Rick started the boat’s engine and let it idle to warm up. Jay first untied the stern line from the dock and tossed the rope into the boat. He then untied the bow line before hopping aboard. He took a seat in the bow next to Ritu.

Rick passed out the life vests and idled away from the dock and into the channel that led to the main body of Lake Hartwell. He idled up a little as he entered the channel. Once in the main body of the lake, Rick pushed the boat's throttle forward. The Mercury inboard/outboard came to life and the boat surged forward. In a matter of seconds, the boat had come up on plane. It rapidly and smoothly glided over the water. Rick set course for a small island in the middle of the lake. He knew that particular island had a nice sandy beach.

The girls enjoyed the warm air blowing through their hair.

After about twenty minutes, Rick throttled the boat's engine back and slowly cruised around a small tree covered island. There were no other boats there. The lack of other boats meant they would have the island to themselves. He slowly idled the boat onto the sandy beach. Jay jumped off the bow and secured the anchor rope to a nearby tree. Jay and Rick then helped the girls to shore and unloaded the gear.

Continued in part II