chapter Sixteen
“Why aren’t you ready to go?” Cara walked back from the bathroom wrapped in a plush purple towel.
I set aside the sociology text I was skimming through. “To the Kappa party? I’m not going.”
“Why not?” She slipped into the pink dress she had lying out on the bed.
“Because I already have plans.” I didn’t have plans, but there was no way I was going to the Kappa house that night. Seeing Colt and Tanner outside the house was bad enough, seeing them on their turf, so to speak, sounded even less appealing. The passing days did little to make me more comfortable with the situation.
“Plans? The only other party I’ve heard about is at the Iota house. Don’t even pretend you’re going there.”
“Why wouldn’t I be?” Cara had just given me the perfect excuse. No one I knew would be at that party, but at least there wouldn’t be any Kappas. “Those guys are nice.”
Cara looked at me like I had two heads. “Yeah, they’re nice guys, but there’s no way you’d get caught dead at their house.” Her face scrunched up.
“Says who?” Admittedly, I didn’t usually hang out with those guys, but maybe I should change that. They weren’t complete geeks or anything. Just not our usual crowd.
“Says you.”
“I’ve expressed my distaste for the Iota’s verbally?” I bit back a smile.
“Maybe not in so many words, but there isn’t a chance you are showing up there.”
“You want to bet?”
“Yes. I do want to bet.” Cara grinned. “There’s no way.”
“Isn’t this their angels and devils party?” I vaguely remembered seeing the signs posted around.
“Yes.” Cara smiled. “What? Are you going to wear your devil costume from last Halloween?”
“I was actually hoping to borrow your angel one. Do you still have it?”
“Yes, and you can definitely borrow it.” She dug the costume out from the back of her closet.
I held up the pile of white. As Cara mentioned, I already had a devil costume, but I was feeling angelic that night. “Thanks.”
“No problem, but now you’re making me want to go.”
“Then come.”
“Yeah, because Aaron would just love that.”
“He’s your boyfriend, not your dad. He can’t tell you what to do.”
“But if the shoe was on the other foot, I’d kill him for going to another sorority’s party.”
I nodded. “All right, fair enough.”
“So you’re really going to do this?” She looked at me skeptically.
“Yes.” I didn’t want to, but once I committed myself to it, there was no way I was backing down. I couldn’t just sit home. Kappa wasn’t the only frat, and it wasn’t the only social option I had.
I decided not to go with the whole angel costume. I wore the white mini dress, and stuffed the halo in my bag. I didn’t bother with the feather accessories. Those were way too much unless it was Halloween. I wasn’t sure how seriously people would take the party theme. This way I could play it off as a hot dress if no one else dressed up.
After saying goodbye to Cara and dodging some questions from a few girls at the house, I headed over to the Iota party. I’d only been in the house once, freshman year, so I had no real idea of what to expect.
The front door was pulled open, and I walked in with a few other girls. “Welcome to the Iota house.”
“Hi.” I smiled at the greeter. I was supposed to want to be at this party, I might as well act it.
“An angel. We haven’t seen too many of those tonight.” He ignored the other girls, all dressed as devils, who slipped past me into the room.
The guy had longish black hair and looked vaguely familiar. Maybe I knew him from class or something.
“Yeah. I have my halo packed.” I tapped my bag.
“Nice. Glad to see you at the Iota house, Mallory.”
So he did know me. “Thanks.”
“You don’t remember my name, do you?” His brown eyes stared into mine.
Pretending wouldn’t help. I smiled. “I’m sorry. I’m really bad with names.”
He laughed. “By the way you’re looking at me, you’re really bad with faces too.”
“Oh.” Could the awkwardness get any worse? I had no clue who the guy was. I was close to turning around and jetting out the door when I spotted a beacon of hope across the room. Jade, who was still my favorite pledge, was standing with a girl I didn’t recognize.
“Could you excuse me?” I said as politely as possible.
“Wait I—”
I didn’t give him a chance to finish. I walked right over to Jade. “Hey.”
“Hey, Mallory!” Jade sounded excited yet surprised. I couldn’t really blame her. This wasn’t the usual scene for girls in our house. “Diane, this is Mallory. She’s a sophomore in my sorority.”
“Hey, Diane. Nice to meet you.” I held out my hand.
She smiled shyly and accepted the handshake. “Nice to meet you too.”
“So, uh, what brings you to the Iota house?” Jade had a twinkle in her eyes. She was searching for the story.
“Looking to change things up I guess.”
“Yeah. I bet.” Jade grinned.
I shrugged. “What are you guys doing here?”
Jade looked at Diane, and Diane nodded. “Diane has a thing for one of the pledges here.”
“Oh.” I smiled. “Is he around?”
“He’s over there.” Diane pointed to a guy back behind the bar.
“Have you talked to him yet?” My love life may have been a mess, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t help someone else out.
She shook her head. “No. He doesn’t even know who I am.”
“Let’s get drinks.” I nodded toward the bar.
Diane looked down. “I can’t.”
“Listen, you’ve already done the hardest part. You’re here. Now let’s get drinks.” I started toward the bar, hoping they’d follow.
I checked behind me, and they were right on my heels. When Diane didn’t say anything to the pledge manning the bar, I took over. “Three cups of the vat.”
“Coming right up.” The guy filled the cups and set them down. If I didn’t do something, the opportunity would be ruined for Diane.
“Hey, what’s your name?”
A small smile spread across his face. He thought I was flirting. “Chris. What’s yours?”
“It’s not important. I just wanted to know so I could tell your brothers how good of a job you’re doing.” I turned to Diane. “Isn’t he doing a great job, Diane.”
She laughed nervously. “Very.”
“Well, thanks. It’s always fun to serve pretty girls.”
I smiled before pulling Jade’s arm. This was Diane’s chance.
I glanced over my shoulder. She was smiling and talking to him. Success.
“Wow. Can you do that for me sometime?” Jade sipped her drink.
“I bet you could do it yourself, but sure. You’ll just have to tell me who you like.” I nudged her shoulder.
“There’s no one who’s really caught my eye yet, but I’ll let you know.”
I glanced around the room, and that turned out to be a mistake. The guy from the front door noticed me again, smiled, and walked over.
“There you are. That was some brush off earlier.” He crossed his arms.
“Yeah, I saw my friend.”
He looked at her pin. “One of your pledges, huh? We have two Delta Mu’s here. That might be a record.”
I laughed. “That’s a bit of an exaggeration.”
“Is it?” he challenged me, and the sense of familiarity continued.
“Do you finally remember me?”
Something in his words sparked the memory. “Alec. We met at that perspective students event a few years ago.”
“Bingo.”
I sighed with relief. I was starting to wonder if I’d had a drunken hook up I didn’t recall or something the way he was pressing me to remember him.
“I can’t believe you still remember me from that. It was years ago.”
“We also had stats together last year.” He smiled. “But you sat on the other side of the room, and to be fair, I never said a word to you.”
“Oh. Okay.” Was he going for awkward?
“I assumed I’d get beat up by some Kappa boyfriend or something for looking at you the wrong way.”
“Just because I’m a Delta Mu doesn’t mean I have to date Kappa boys.”
“No?”
I put a hand on my hip. “No.”
Jade touched my arm. “I’m going to see if Diane’s okay.”
I followed her gaze. Diane was smiling, but she was alone. “Okay, cool. I’ll probably head out soon, but good seeing you.”
“You too.” Jade hugged me before walking away.
“Then that Kappa who looks like he’s ready to tear my head off isn’t your boyfriend?” I turned around, expecting to see Tanner, but it was Colt. What was he doing there?
I pushed aside my surprise enough to answer. “He’s a pledge, not an active.”
Alec laughed. “Okay. Sorry. I stand corrected.”
“And he isn’t my boyfriend.”
“Oh, baby, did you forget to take your meds again?” Colt’s arm wrapped around my waist.
I pushed him off. “Shut up, Colt.”
“Hey, at least she remembered your name. That’s better than what I got.” Alec laughed. “If you ever want to catch up, Mallory, you know where to find me.” He nodded before wandering off.
“What are you doing here?” I hissed.
“I heard you were here. I thought I’d come see how you were doing.”
“You can’t be here.”
“Why not?”
“You’re a Kappa pledge.”
“So? None of the brothers are threatening my life. No one else cares about those stupid unofficial rules.”
I looked around for Jade. She was with Diane, talking to Chris and some other guys.
“I’m getting out of here anyway.” I tossed my empty cup.
“Looks like I have great timing.”
“Cara told you, huh?”
“I may have asked about your whereabouts.”
“She probably assumed you wouldn’t come.”
“She wanted someone to check on you.” He put a hand on my back and led me out. “Going to a frat party alone isn’t the smartest idea.”
“Yeah, well. I wasn’t drinking much.”
“So you think. Who knows what they put in that vat.”
“It’s the Iotas. They don’t do roofies.” We walked down the front steps.
“How would you know? You don’t know these guys. You’re like a walking target. Especially dressed like that.” He gestured to my short dress.
“Yeah, well. I didn’t want to go to your house.”
“Because you didn’t want to see me or Tanner?”
“Both, but mostly Tanner.” I put a hand over my mouth. I was way too sober to have let something like that slip out.
He smiled. “What do you want to do?”
“What do you mean? I’m going home.”
“Before ten o’clock?”
“Yeah. What’s the problem?”
“The problem is the night is young. We’re young. Let’s live it up.”
I laughed. “How much have you had to drink?”
“Not much.”
“You know what sucks?”
“What?” He stopped walking.
“That despite everything, all I want to do right now is kiss you.” I clasped my hands together. Why was it impossible to keep my thoughts to myself in front of Colt?
“Why would that suck?”
“Because I shouldn’t want to do that.”
“Why not? Why does everything have to be so complicated with you?”
“You’re the one making it complicated.” I wrung my hands at my sides.
“Me? How am I doing that?”
“Please. You are too high and mighty to just have sex with me. Why does it have to be more?” I couldn’t believe I was the one pushing for casual sex. It went so counter to what I usually wanted, but I was scared of what would happen if we made it something different.
“Because you’re worth more, and I want more.” He put his hands on my arms. “But the real question is why don’t you want that?”
“I just broke it off with Tanner.”
“Fine. I already told you we don’t have to broadcast it.”
I nodded, feeling a need so strong it felt foreign and nearly overwhelmed me.
“You know what you want.” He leaned in close, his lips hovering inches from mine.
I nodded again, slightly buzzed and hyper aware of our closeness and how tempting his lips were.
“Is that nod a yes, or is it that you know what your answer is?”
“Can we get some coffee?”
“Coffee? You’re asking to get coffee?”
“Yeah. There’s a cute place off East Bay Street that I like. It’s still really early, and I’d love one of their pumpkin lattes.”
A slow smile spread across his face. “Just to see my pumpkin drink a pumpkin latte, I’m in.”
“You wouldn’t have taken me if I’d told you I wanted a different type?”
“I would have, especially since you just described it as me taking you for it. That means you view this as a date, and I win.”
I groaned. “Can’t you give it a rest?”
He took my hand. “Let’s get you caffeinated.”
Settled at a small table with Colton, I finally relaxed. I was still a mix of emotions, but at least I had a good coffee drink and a comfortable place to sit.
“How’s the drink?”
“It’s good. How’s yours?” I loved pumpkin flavoring. Coffee, muffins, cupcakes, you name it, I loved it all. It’s like tasting fall.
“It’s coffee.” He took a sip. “I still can’t believe I’m drinking it at night.”
“It’s not like we have to go to sleep early.”
“Are you in charge of my bed time now?” He scooted his chair closer.
“No. But after your ‘the night is young’ speech, I assumed you’d want to stay up later than ten.”
“I would if I got to go to bed with you. I’d be all about seven o’clock at night if that were the case.”
“Seven? Not six?”
“We’d still be at dinner at six. I can’t exactly expect you to stay up with me all night if you don’t eat.”
I laughed. “Now I’m staying up with you all night?”
“I wouldn’t mind.” His eyes locked on mine and my whole body got warm—and not from the coffee.
“I wish you had your own place.”
He didn’t miss a beat. “I can kick my roommate out.”
“In your dorm? I don’t know about that.”
“You still have a question to answer before we go there. Are we going to do this?”
“I can’t believe I’m into the one guy who won’t do casual sex.”
“Tough luck, pumpkin. I want more than your body.”
That was it. His words got me, and before I knew it, my reply tumbled out. “Yes.”
He grinned. “Say it in a complete sentence.”
“What?” I stared at him open mouthed. “Are you kidding me?”
He leaned over to whisper, letting his lips brush against my ear in the process. “Tell me what you’re saying yes to.”
“I want to be with you, Colt. Is that what you needed to hear?” This was ridiculous. Did I really want him badly enough that I was willing to put up with his antics? Yes. The answer was yes. When I was with him, all worries about my future, Dad, Gasden and everything else disappeared. I just needed him close.
“Yup. Are you done with that?” He tapped the cup I held in my hand.
“Yes.” I set down my empty cup.
“Good.” He stood up, holding out his hand so he could help me up.
“We’re not going back to your dorm.” I walked next to him, shrugging off the arm he tried to put around me.
“Then where are we going?” He turned to look at me. “Your eyes are telling me I should be working really hard to get you alone.”
“The library.” I knew of the perfect spot.
“The library? First coffee and then the library?” His hand brushed against mine. “Maybe I should be reconsidering my choice in girls.”
“Do you or don’t you want to have sex with me tonight?” I kept my voice low but above a whisper.
“Do I really have to answer that?” He got a wicked grin. “Better yet, I’ll show you the answer.” His lips crashed into mine as his arms wound around me. I forgot about being on the street as his lips moved against mine faster and faster.
I broke the kiss. “Library. Now.”
“Yes, Ma’am.” He took my hand, and I didn’t stop him.
The bright lights of the library spilled out onto the sidewalk as he held open the door. I led the way up three flights of stairs and down into the humanities stacks. No one would come back this far on a Thursday night.
I dragged him past bookshelf after bookshelf, and into a little alcove tucked under stairs that led to a storage area. I’d discovered this spot when I was working on a Lit paper the year before.
“Here? This is your perfect spot?” He looked around at the piles of books everywhere. This seemed to be the place where people dumped the books they weren’t checking out.
I backed him up against a table, using every ounce of courage to be the one making the first move. “Yes.” I reached up and pulled his head down to mine. His lips met mine and he quickly deepened the kiss, pushing his tongue into my mouth.
I slipped my hand under his t-shirt, and he cupped my breast through my dress. “Should I feel some guilt that I’m thinking about doing some really bad things to a girl dressed like an angel?”
I’d forgotten I was still wearing the angel dress. “No. Just do them.”
He laughed. “All right.”
I unbuttoned and unzipped his pants. He groaned when I slipped my hand in.
A loud throat clearing from behind me had me burying my head in Colton’s chest.
“Maybe you two should find another spot,” a male voice said with a laugh. I didn’t even turn around, but by the voice, it had to be a librarian or a professor or something. I hoped it wasn’t any one who knew me, or if they did, they didn’t recognize the back of my head.
“Does my dorm room still sound that bad?” Colt whispered once the sound of the footsteps disappeared.
My heartbeat slowly returned to normal. “Fine. I guess that’s our only choice.”
If Colton was embarrassed, he didn’t show it. He repositioned himself and took my hand.
“Before you even ask, no we are not going in separately. Refraining from broadcasting that I’m dating my dream girl is different from feeling like I’m sneaking around.”
“Dream girl? I’m your dream girl?”
He got that goofy grin again. “Yeah, and I probably shouldn’t tell you what you do in all those dreams…or maybe I should.” He raised an eyebrow.
I playfully hit his arm. “Let’s get this over with.”
“You better be talking about the act of checking in to the dorm and not the sex.”
“Of course, that’s what I mean. The sex better take longer than that.”
He laughed. “Have no fear, pumpkin. You know I’ll take good care of you.”