“Do you have any specific ideas of what would be fun?” I didn’t partake in the beer pong, and was sitting comfortably on the couch with a cup full of vodka cranberry. One nice thing about hanging out at a frat house—no worries about being carded.
“Let’s play washers.” He headed toward the back door before anyone even said anything.
“How wasted are you, man?” Reed asked.
“You can’t drink and throw washers?” Max pushed opened the door.
“It’s a dangerous game. They’ve outlawed it in some states.” Aaron laughed before hopping off the couch. I followed him out.
“Are you up for the challenge, Mallory?” Tanner asked, stopping on his way out.
“I don’t know. I might just have to watch.” I suppressed a smile.
I took a seat in a rickety old chair on the lawn. “Is this really what our life has come to?”
Juliet pulled a chair next to mine. “It’s pathetic, huh?” She sipped her drink.
I watched the boys toss washers. They sucked at it. For such athletic guys, it was kind of pathetic. Granted they were drunk, but that still didn’t excuse it.
“Enjoying the show?” Tanner asked, stopping next to my chair.
“Oh yeah.”
“Why don’t you take a turn?”
“No, thanks.”
“Why not? I can teach you how.”
I laughed. “Uh, not necessary.”
“You’ve played before?”
When you grow up in a town the size of Gasden, playing washers is something you learn in preschool. “Yeah, I’ve played before.”
“Come on, let’s play.” Juliet set down her drink. She had that twinkle in her eye that meant she was itching for competition.
“Fine.” Turning down a direct challenge like that wasn’t my thing.
I took the washers and waited for Juliet to toss first. Her washer landed a few feet short of the box.
Max laughed. “Nice one, Juliet. Maybe next time you’ll actually hit the box.”
She put a hand on her hip. “It’s not any worse than how you’re doing.”
I loved how Juliet never took anyone’s BS. She always threw it back.
I reluctantly took my turn. When I tossed the washer, it landed directly in the pipe on the first try.
“Damn, you have played this before.” Tanner put a hand on my shoulder. “Remind me to get you on my team next time.”
I laughed. “Yeah, sure thing.”
“You always act like you have no aim or ability to play sports. Can you throw a ball too? Why didn’t you sign up for the softball game during Greek week?” Juliet asked.
I shrugged. “I didn’t feel like it.”
“Well, you’re doing it this year.”
“Maybe.” I smiled, relieved no one had asked more questions about why I was a champion washers player. I didn’t need to emphasize just how small town I was.
Reed and Juliet walked me home after I assured her a million times I didn’t mind sleeping in the house alone. I knew the place would start filling up the next day, and a night of quiet wasn’t a bad thing.
Juliet hugged me. “I’m so glad you’re back. I missed you.”
“I missed you too.”
“Want to do breakfast at Queen Street Grocery?” Juliet suggested a cheap local favorite of ours.
“Sounds great. Call me when you’re up.” I was a morning person. Juliet not so much. I planned to hit up the gym before meeting her.
I walked into the empty house just as my phone rang. I braced myself before answering Colton’s call. He’d called twice while I was at the Kappa house, but each time I’d let it go to voicemail.
“Mallory?” His voice was tentative.
“Hey.” I kept my voice even.
“Hey. I’m sorry for sending you so many texts, but I just wanted to make sure you were okay.”
“I’m fine, Colt. Don’t worry.”
“I’m going to worry. We had sex and now you won’t talk to me?” There was a slight waver in his voice.
“It’s not like we talk a lot.”
“Come on. We’ve been friends forever.”
“We’re not kids anymore.” I wanted to keep as much distance from Gasden as possible. I was going to have to find a summer job in Charleston next year. There was no way I was going back for more than a few weeks ever again. Clearly, I managed to find trouble no matter what I did there.
“Obviously not. Kids don’t have unbelievable sex in haylofts.”
I cringed. I couldn’t believe I’d sunk so low. “Let’s just forget it ever happened.”
“You think I’m going to forget that?” he asked incredulously, like I’d just suggested the most ridiculous thing ever.
“At least try. I’m sure you’ll meet a girl at school. Good luck, by the way. Are you rushing or anything?”
“I wasn’t going to, but I changed my mind.” His voice was hard, and as much as I didn’t like to hear him that way, it meant he’d gotten my point.
“Well, good luck with it.”
“That’s it? You’re really going to pretend nothing changed last night?”
“We got drunk and had sex.”
“Don’t pretend you do that a lot…”
“So? That doesn’t mean anything.”
“Yes it does.” He let out a deep breath. “It means last night meant something.”
“I have to go, Colt.”
“All right. Have a good night, pumpkin. Good to hear your voice.”
If he was calling me pumpkin, things might actually get back to normal again eventually. “Good night.”
I hung up and got ready for bed. The quiet wasn’t quite as good as I thought, and I lay awake for hours. My head swirled with thoughts of Colton, Gasden, and more than a little guilt and regret. How was I supposed to know he’d want more? Maybe this was still just his chivalrous side. I was positive he’d forget all about what happened when he got to USC.
I watched the clock until it finally hit 5:30. I couldn’t wait any longer. I changed into my gym clothes and went for a run. I wasn’t going to let a sleepless night hold me back.
Chapter Five
“All right, girls, are you ready for this?” Danielle, our rush chair, stood next to the front door. Dressed in dark jeans and a bright pink shirt with white lettering that said Keep Calm and Pledge Delta Mu, she was wearing exactly the same thing as the other forty-five girls in the room. As much as I’m against conformity, I kind of liked the whole ‘dress alike for rush’ thing. It’s just part of the bonding experience.
“Go Delta Mu!” Clare started cheering and the rest of us joined in.
“All right. Let’s do this!” With the same pomp and circumstance a mayor of a small town would use when cutting the ribbon for a new building (trust me, I’ve been there for that too), Danielle threw open the door. In one long line, we all streamed out onto the porch and started in on our first rush song, complete with synchronized clapping and some pretty giant smiles.
Right on cue, the freshman walked up the porch steps. A bunch of us took the arms of the girls and led them into the house. This was all perfectly planned, but of course we tried to make it seem spur of the moment. After several days of practice, it was finally time for rush to begin.
“Hi, Jamie,” I introduced myself to my first rushee. Her white name tag was prominently displayed on her chest. “I’m Mallory.”
“Hi!” She popped up on her toes. “It’s so great to be here.”
“I know this is your first house, but how’s rush going for you so far?”
“Oh, it’s been awesome. I love the group I’m with.”
“Fantastic. What dorm are you in?” I went through the list of ice breaker questions I was supposed to ask.
“Maude.”
“Oh. Cool. If you talk to Juliet and Cara, they were in that dorm last year. I was in Dells.”
“Do you love being a Delta Mu?” She took charge of the conversation. I had to give her
props for that. That was hard to do at the end of the day, let alone as soon as she walked into the first house.
“Absolutely. My best friends are all in the house.”
“Cool!”
“Where are you from?”
“I’m from North Carolina.”
“Oh, great. Let me introduce you to Natalie. She’s from North Carolina too.” I handed off Jamie to Natalie and got a new girl of my own.
I glanced at her name tag. “Hi, Jade.” She was one of the girls I was supposed to talk to because she was from a town near mine.
“Hi.” She didn’t meet my eyes when she spoke. Some might have interpreted that as a lack of interest, but I recognized it for what it was—nervousness.
“Where are you from?” I couldn’t let on that I’d studied her card and knew every little detail she’d provided on her rush application.
“Melborne. It’s a small town outside—”
“I’m from Gasden.”
“Really?” She lifted her chin, all signs of nerves gone. That’s what the match-ups were designed to do. Find connections between sisters and rushees so we could see what the girls were really like.
“Yeah. Was this a huge transition for you? I remember how crazy it was.”
“Definitely.” Her eyes lit up a little.
“Well, that’s why it’s awesome you’re rushing. It’s a great way to build a community. It really helped me adjust.”
“That’s why I’m here.”
“Terrific. Well, it’s so awesome meeting you. Could I introduce you to another one of my sisters?”
“Sure.” She grinned. Nice. I liked Jade and hoped she ended up in the house. I caught Juliet’s eye. She walked over with her rushee.
“Hey, Mallory.” Juliet stopped in front of us. “This is Manda. She’s interested in the business school too.”
“Hey, Manda. Juliet, you’ve got to meet Jade. She’s from a town right near mine.”
I’d only gotten a few words in with Manda when the lights flickered. It was time to show them out. I walked Manda to the door and got in place for another song.
As soon as the door closed, we regrouped and got ready to do exactly the same thing again and again.
“Nice job, girls, but remember the smiles!” Danielle grinned. She really was the perfect rush chair. She got more into it than I ever could. Still, I was having a decently good time, and I definitely had a favorite.
By the end of the first day, the open house, I was exhausted but also hyped up. I was all about going out afterward, and I jumped at the opportunity to hang out with some of the Kappas.
I wasn’t surprised when we met up at Al’s Pizza. The place served awful food, but the beer was pretty cheap. Not to mention, Reed practically ran the place for his uncle, the owner. Juliet worked a few nights a week there too. In other words, I didn’t need to worry about getting carded. The guys were already waiting for us when we arrived.
“Hey.” Tanner got out of his seat when he saw us. Juliet and Cara were already pulling chairs over next to their boyfriends.
“Hey.” I couldn’t deny it was nice to have someone excited to see me. I was used to squeezing in anywhere, realizing none of the guys really cared whether I was there or not.
“Here, let me get you a seat.” He pulled up a chair next to the one he vacated. He gestured for me to sit.
I took it, slightly surprised when he pushed me in. I was less surprised when he grabbed the pitcher of beer and filled a glass for me.
“How was the first day of rush?” He gave me his full attention, his brown eyes setting on mine.
“It was pretty good. How’s it going for you?”
“You know how it is for guys. Much less BS.”
“Yeah. Definitely.” Instead of the carefully orchestrated events the girls had, the guys just threw parties. It was a much nicer system for all involved, but the sorority system wasn’t going to change.
I decided to give Juliet a hard time. “Reed, you wouldn’t have recognized Juliet today. She was all about the Delta Mu spirit.”
“Oh yeah, babe? I’d have loved to see it.” He bumped his shoulder against hers.
Juliet stuck her tongue out at me. “I might start clapping in my sleep.”
“Just wait until the end of the week. It’s not over yet.”
“I know.” Juliet leaned back into Reed’s arm.
I sipped my beer and enjoyed being back with my friends. Sophomore year was starting off well.
Chapter Six
“Was rush this exhausting when we did it?” I collapsed on my bed after the final night of rush. It was pref night, or preference night if you wanted to be formal. That was the night when the freshman ordered their top houses and the actives made a bid list of the girls we wanted. I hated it. I absolutely hated knowing we’d probably be hurting a lot of girls the next morning. Juliet and Cara hated it too, and that’s why we were meant to be friends. People say sorority girls are callous and mean, but they don’t know us. Stereotypes are dangerous.
“This was worse.” Cara lay down next to me. Her bed was a few feet further into the room.
“Agreed.” Juliet kicked off her black heels and squeezed in on my other side.
“It was hard not knowing, but at least it wasn’t in our hands.”
“You didn’t mark anyone negatively did you?” Juliet asked.
“I did.” I put my arms behind my head to prop myself up, careful to avoid elbowing either of the girls.
“Really?” Cara and Juliet both turned their heads to look at me.
“I didn’t want to poison anyone’s chance, but I had too.”
“Why?” Juliet narrowed her eyes.
“I saw her making fun of another girl. That shows bad character. She doesn’t belong in our house.”
“And that’s why we love you.” Cara patted my arm.
“Yeah, what can I say? I’m awesome.”
Juliet laughed. “And modest too.”
I yawned. “What do you say we go to sleep?”
“We can’t.” Cara yawned next.
“You guys go without me. I don’t need to meet the Kappa pledges tonight.”
“Yes, you do.” Juliet sat up and tugged on my arm.
“I kind of miss bitchy, moody Juliet.”
She rolled her eyes. “Come on. When else do you get to hoot and holler at a bunch of hot guys?”
“Wow, you’re right. My life dream is about to come true.”
“Did you two switch bodies?” Cara looked between us. I’d been a half-full kind of girl freshman year, and Juliet was the sarcastic moody one. Things really had changed. I needed to snap out of my funk.
I laughed. “Seems that way, huh? Sorry. I’m just out of it.”
Juliet slipped her shoes back on. “It’s because you’re thinking about your Colt, admit it.”
“The guy from back home?” Cara reapplied her lipstick in front of the mirror. Juliet made me recount the story once more when Cara showed up.
“I’m not thinking about Colt.” I hadn’t been at that exact moment. Guilt over hurting him still gnawed at me though, and I was surprised he’d stopped calling so quickly. It had been over a week since we last spoke. I guess that’s just part of being a girl. Even when you wanted a guy to leave you alone, in some small place inside, you kind of wanted him to keep trying.
“Then is it Tanner?” they asked in unison. Of course this made us all laugh.
“It’s not a guy.”
Juliet pulled me up off the bed. “Sure, sure.”
I straightened out my long hair with my fingers and followed the girls out of the room.
The fresh air woke me up. I felt reinvigorated as we walked down the block toward the Kappa house. We’d been so busy with rush that I hadn’t been back over there much. I knew my friends were still scheming of ways to make sure that changed now that rush had ended.
The crowd outside would have deterred some people, but Juliet pushed through them, and I followed beh
ind. I guess it’s easy to be that confident about it when you’re dating the president of the frat.
We walked right inside, and Juliet and Cara immediately began their perusal for their other halves. I’d like to say I wasn’t jealous, but I was. I wasn’t into either of their guys, but the idea of having a hot older guy fawning over me sounded pretty nice.
“Hey, Mallory.” Tanner held up his hand in greeting.
“Hey.” We’d talked a few times that week, but we’d been too busy to really do anything.
“Reed!” Juliet giggled as Reed surprised her from behind.
“They’re sickening, aren’t they?” Tanner whispered in my ear.
Although I hadn’t seen Tanner much during rush, he always managed to send messages to me through my friends. I wasn’t sure what to make of his interest, but I decided to see where it went. “Yes, but it’s better than when they were broken up.”
“They were broken up?” He put an arm around my shoulder. I wasn’t certain if it was so he could hear me better or because he wanted an excuse to touch me.
“Yeah… for months. It’s a long story.”
“Gotcha. Hopefully they had good make up sex.” His hand moved down my back slightly.
“Yeah…”
“I like this on you.” He gestured to my spaghetti strap black dress. It fell just below the knee but had a small slit up the side.
“Thanks.”
“But I wouldn’t mind seeing you in something sexier. You’ve got a great body. You might as well show it off.”
“It’s better to leave some things to the imagination.” I was all about looking sexy, but Mom had left that message with me loud and clear. The best rule of thumb is to just go sexy in one spot. If you’re showing cleavage, no short skirt and vice versa.
“Classy. I like it.”
“So how’s the new pledge class?” I wanted to move the spotlight off my dress.
“They’re pretty cool. Young though. You know? I feel old.”
“Well, you are a senior.” I laughed. “I felt that way too during rush though, and our girls are only a year younger than me.”
“Are you going to the mixer next week?” He took a swig from his beer.
“Yeah. I’ll be there.”
“Nice. Maybe we can go to dinner first?”
The Hazards of a One Night Stand Page 4
