National Championship Mardi Gras

Bourbon Street was a zoo, filled with Yellow and Red.
The yellow was LSU's color and the red was USC's
color. It was easy to tell who was cheering for whom.
Unfortunately for me the red was a ripple in the sea
of yellow. I was proudly wearing my SC shirt. Mostly
it was good natured ribbing going back and forth. I
guess that Southern hospitality came through even
before a big game. And this was the biggest - the
national championship game. USC versus LSU in the
Sugar Bowl for all of the marbles.

It had been a long dry spell for us USC Trojan rooters
- 1978 was our last championship. But it had been even
longer for the LSU Tigers - 1936 to be exact when they
split the championship with Minnesota. Fans of both
teams were happy to be here. And they were celebrating
with women, song and drink. Tomorrow was the game and
people were partying like crazy. I'd never been to
Mardi Gras but it seemed the denizens of New Orleans
were hell bent on creating Mardi Gras in January. The
balconies were lined with men and women holding
strands of cheap beads. They'd yell at the beautiful
girls passing by to show them her tits. Up would go
the shirt for a flash of tits and they'd throw down a
strand of beads. In some cases, the girls throwing
down the beads were showing their valuables as well. I
saw one girl go by, generously endowed, with so many
strands of beads I doubt she could lift her shirt
anymore.

I stumbled into one of those Bourbon Street bars with
the jazz combo playing and the smoke thick. I was out
numbered by folks in yellow but saw in one corner some
red. I headed that way to find a table with some Troy
folks. I asked if they minded me joining and they
nodded sure. There were two guys and three women
crowded around the table. One of the girls was really
looped and kept rubbing her tits all over her date,
boyfriend, whatever he was. Somebody was going to get
laid tonight. We swapped war stories about when we
were in school and talked about how we were going to
kick LSU off the field the next day. I knew it wasn't
going to be easy but I figured, give Pete and Norm
four weeks to game plan and prepare for an opponent
and we would win. The only thing that could kill us
was turnovers. 

I ordered a Flaming Hurricane, a sweet drink with
enough alcohol to buzz half the city. The waitress lit
the 151 rum which floated on top, an eerie blue flame
danced in the half light. I took my first sip through
the flame glad that nothing important caught on fire.

One of the girls, who had been quiet till now, leaned
forward and asked, "What is that?"

"A Flaming Hurricane," I said. "Want one?"

She smiled, "Yes."

I got the waitress' attention and indicated one more.
She nodded.

I looked back and introduced myself while checking her
out. "Mike," I said extending my hand.

"Leann," she said. "Pleased to meet you."

"My pleasure, I assure you. I assume you're here for
the game?" I asked.

She nodded. "My Dad dragged me here because Mom
refused to come along. I got elected because she
wasn't about to let him come by himself." She noticed
my look and continued, "I went to SC but I'm not much
of a sports fan. Dad played football. He was always
second or maybe third string but he was on the team.
He used to say his position was tackling dummy." I
laughed and so did she. "You?"

"No football. Co-ed intramural softball for a couple
years. That was my total athletic achievement," I
said.

About then the other four people stood up and said
they were going out to scope out Bourbon Street. I
looked at Leann and she responded, "I'm not with them.
I was just looking for someplace a little quiet. Dad's
got a bunch of his football buddies up in our room
playing cards. Ugh, cigar smoke, swearing and poker."
She wrinkled her nose at the thought.

The Hurricane came and she gamely took her first sip
through the flame, quickly putting it down as the
alcohol of the 151 rum scalded her throat. "What's in
that?" she choked.

"151 rum. That's 151 proof," I told her.

"The whole thing?"

"No," I said laughing. "Just the top layer, to get it
to burn. The rest is just regular rum and other stuff.
But it's still strong so be careful."

She let it burn out before trying her next sip
stirring the drink first. "That's not too bad," she
said taking a deeper pull. I'd warned her.

We talked some more, hitting it off, laughing and some
occasional bantering with the LSU folks. She was
working on her third Hurricane and I was noticing that
she was feeling it. Not as much as the chippie was
earlier but she was feeling it. Well, I was too and my
inhibitions are never the strongest anyway. I blurted
out, "I see you don't have any beads. Chicken?"

She gave me one of those looks. "You don't have any to
hand out for your peek. Too cheap?"

The bar was selling them four for two dollars.
Expensive for the cheap plastic beads but I wasn't
about to bargain. I motioned the waitress and told
her, "I need some beads. Bring me four please,"
handing her a five. 

"Four? You must be real confident," Leann said. 

"Nope. You have to buy four," I said pointing at the
sign above the bar.

She glanced up at the sign barely legible through the
smoke, "Oh."

The waitress showed up with a handful and said, "Here
sweetie," in that cute Loosiana drawl. Who was I to
argue?

"Well, you made a conquest," she said.

"Nah, I just tip well." I held her eye and laid the
beads on the table between us. The challenge was
unspoken.

"If you think I'm going to take my shirt off in
public..." she said heating up as she went along.

"I don't think a thing. I was called cheap and I am
proving I'm not cheap," I said.

She put her hands on her hips, "And I was called
chicken." 

I smiled and shrugged.

She crossed her arms across her chest. "I am not
lifting up my shirt in public I don't care what you
call me."

"Well, I'm at Le Richelieu," I said, "Just over on
Chartes Street." We could be there in five minutes." 

She stared at me, the challenge bothering her. She
reached for her drink, finished it one swallow and
stood up. Being no dummy I followed, leaving my half
finished drink behind. I wanted a clear head. Well, as
clear as it could be after a Hurricane and a half.

"Come on," she said.

I followed her out and grabbed her arm once we hit the
street. It was a madhouse. Jazz bands set up in the
clubs blaring their versions of the blues or Dixieland
into the street. Lots of people in costumes roamed the
streets and everyone was wild and loud. On the way we
saw several women flashing their tits and having beads
thrown down to them. Leann watched and harrumphed. She
wasn't quite to the staggering stage but I could tell
she had more than she was used to. I not only was
leading but supporting once in while as we negotiated
the crowds. 

At my hotel I lead her to my room on the second floor.
I had an inside room. Most people want an outside room
so they throw beads to the girls. Me, I'd rather have
the quiet courtyard outside my window. Once in my
room, Leann walked over to the window and threw it
open. She turned around and said, "Let me see those
beads." I held them up. "How many do I get?"

"One strand for every time you flash your boobs," I
said.

"That's cheap," she said.

"That's Mardi Gras," I countered. "I didn't make the
rules."

"What about all of them at once?" she asked.

I was about to say show it all. Despite the alcohol I
managed to rein in my mouth. I took a chance that she
was feeling it as much as I thought she was. "Whatever
you think is fair. Boobs are one strand." I laid the
strands on the table near her. "Whatever you think for
all of them."

She turned and looked out the window. The courtyard
was empty but she moved away from the window. She bit
her lower lip, played with the hem of her shirt, some
kind of red pullover thing. Ok, I don't know women's
clothes. Then in one move grabbed it and pulled it
over her head. She had a nice figure but I already
knew that. I looked at her bra and nodded. She reached
behind and undid the clasp letting it fall forward,
catching it and tossing it onto the chair where she
had tossed her shirt. 

I stared. She started to twist a little and I was
worried she was about to change her mind. I grabbed
one of the bead strands and held it out. She put it
over her head, the strand resting on the upper part of
her bare breasts. It was quite a picture. It must have
been since I couldn't tear my eyes away.

She looked at the rest of the beads, then at me. I
smiled. She reached to her side and slid down the
zipper on her skirt. Then in a quick jerk she pushed
skirt and panties all the way down and stepped out of
them. Oh my God, I thought. I reached for the rest of
the beads holding them out to her. She took them but
didn't put them on.

She held them out to me and said, "What's good for the
goose..."

"You sure?" I asked.

"Only fair," she said.

I had on a USC polo shirt. Off it came. I unzipped my
Dockers watching her. She licked her lips as though
they were dry. I kicked off my sandals. Her eyes
locked on me half way down as I pushed the Dockers
off. My cock stood up proudly. She reached out with
the beads. I walked over as she took one strand and
dropped it over my cock. I looked down and laughed at
how ridiculous that looked. 

"I think we should share," I said. She nodded. I took
one of the strands and put it over her head and then
my head. We were held together by the beads. She let
the beads drop from her hand as she melted into my
arms. We kissed.

Leann's arms went around my neck pulling me to her. My
cock was grinding into her belly as she pulled me
tight. She pushed her hips into mine mashing her pussy
against my cock, now rising straight up between us. As
her hips moved up and down along my cock I could feel
her wetness. She was already turned on. 

I broke the kiss and pulled her to the bed my strand
falling off as we fell onto the bed and the other
strand snapped spilling brightly colored beads across
the bed. I fell between her legs my mouth finding her
pussy. I pushed her thighs apart as my tongue lapped
at her labia. I teased her a little and then drove my
tongue between her lips and into the heat of her
pussy. I tasted an aroused woman, very aroused. 

Her hands grabbed me by the hair pulling me up, "I
want it. Now."

Smiling, I moved up over her, settling my hips between
hers. She reached between us and guided my cock to her
pussy. She rubbed my cock around until I was slippery
then pushed the tip into her and hunched up driving me
in. I pushed and plunged the rest of the way into her.


Her hands found my ass and she started urging me on,
her fingernails like spurs driving me faster and
harder, deeper and faster. She was moaning as we hit a
fast rhythm, our bellies slapping together. This was a
fast and furious fuck. 

It didn't take long, for either of us. Leann's
breathing became ragged as a red flush spread across
her chest and shoulders. She cried out as her fingers
dug into my arms and her hips bucked under me. I let
myself go and my cum boiled up and spent itself into
her. 

Our bodies continued slowly grinding - still seeking
the last bits of pleasure as we returned to this
world. I rolled to the side and pulled her with me.
Her eyes opened and I could see the look of a satiated
woman. We kissed lightly and she stroked my hair. 

Wiped out from the intensity of our coupling we both
fell asleep entwined together.

*****

I woke in the morning, the light coming through the
open window. Leann was nestled into my side. I
remembered the night before and smiled. Damn, this was
some Mardi Gras even if it was January. I started to
disentangle myself as the bathroom was calling. The
movement awakened her.

Her eyes opened slowly. She saw me and her eyes flew
open. She looked down and saw us both naked and looked
around the room, saw her clothes and bounded out of
bed headed for her clothes.

"Leann! Stop!" She did. "Excuse me," I said. "But I'm
not a one nighter kind of guy. Are you?"

"NO," she said.

"Good. Then come back to bed and we can talk." She
looked at me and her with no clothes on. I said,
"After last night I don't think we have anything to
hide." She blushed but came back to bed. She pulled
the covers up over her and lay on the far side of the
bed.

"Leann, this whole thing was kind of crazy but I'm not
a one night stand guy," I started out. 

"I'm not either," she protested.

"Ok. I think there is something between us or we
wouldn't have wound up in bed." She looked a little
puzzled. I said, "What I mean is, there was a
connection between us. I felt it anyway." She nodded
and seemed to relax a little. So I continued, "I've
never hopped into bed with a woman I just met and I
bet you haven't hopped into bed with a man. But we
sure did wind up in bed. I think there's a reason we
did. And I want to find out why."

"How do we do that?" she asked. 

"First we take a shower, together I hope. Then we go
have breakfast at the Café du Monde. And we let it go
from there. What do you think?"

"I think I like the idea," she said. I leaned over and
kissed her. As I pulled back she sat up in the bed.
"Oh shit. What is my dad going to say?"

Trying not to be distracted by the view, I thought for
a second. "When do you thing he went to bed?"

"Knowing him and his buddies not before 3 or so."

"When do you think he'll get up?" I asked.

"I bet he had enough scotch with his cronies that it
won't be before 10 or 11," she said. "That's why Mom
hates to come on these trips."

"Well, we have plenty of time for you to sneak into
the room and leave him a note. You can say you went to
get breakfast. He doesn't even need to know you never
came home," I said.

"Let's hurry," she said. 

We hopped up and showered together. Is there anything
as nice as showering with a beautiful woman after
you've made sweaty love the night before? After we
dressed we stopped by her hotel and she left the note
and rumpled the bed and we went down to the Café.
Beignets and dark rich coffee and watching the world
go by and talking brought us together. By the time we
walked out, we were hand in hand and she was smiling
and laughing.

We spent the day wandering the quarter. Lunch was a
Poor Boy from a stand. And despite their reputation I
can't see why people like them. Things started picking
up in the quarter again in the afternoon as more of
the partiers made there appearance. 

I dropped her at her hotel before dinner since her dad
had made reservations. As I walked her to the front
door I handed her my card with my home number and
e-mail on the back. "I hope you'll call."

She looked at it and then at me. "I think I will." She
threw her arms around my neck and gave me a kiss full
of promise and feeling. I think my knees got a little
weak from the intensity.

"Wow," was all I could muster.

Her face lit up like one of the neon signs in the
quarter. "I hope you enjoy the game."

I held up my hand giving the Trojan V for Victory
sign, "Go Trojans."

She returned it, gave me a last smile and went into
her hotel. Before the door closed she looked back and
blew me a kiss. I felt it all through my body.


To cap a perfect weekend, USC kicked those Cajun's
butts all the way back to the bayous. LSU had a great
line but no answer for the speed of USC. Mike Williams
and Steve Smith both took passes in for touchdowns and
LenDale White and Reggie Bush both broke long runs for
scores. Final score - USC 35 - LSU 17 and USC won the
national championship. We're Number 1!