“I’ll go first.” Juliet tossed her wrapper and walked into the living room. I followed her.
“Truth or dare?” Cara didn’t miss a beat.
“Truth.”
“Do you think you and Reed are going to get married?” Cara went in with a punch.
Juliet leaned back into an armchair. “Maybe.”
“Do you want to marry him?” If the topic was already breached, I figured it couldn’t hurt.
She nodded. “I can’t imagine being with anyone else.”
I smiled. “You two are kind of perfect for each other.”
Juliet stretched out. “All right, Mallory. Your turn.”
“My turn?” I snuggled into a blanket I found on the couch. “Shouldn’t Cara go next? She’s the one who suggested the game.” I bit back a smile when I watched a wave of frustration cross her face. She was dying to grill me for details.
“Come on. Truth or dare?” Juliet pressed.
“Truth.”
Cara jumped right in. “What’s really going on with you and Colt?”
“I haven’t slept with him again.”
“I don’t believe you.” Juliet gave me a serious look.
“It’s not that I haven’t tried…”
“What? The guy’s crazy about you. There’s no chance he’d—”
“No. He wants it too. We just can’t find time alone.”
“And you haven’t told us this because…?”
“Because I was afraid to.” If I was being honest, I might as well let it all out.
“Why would you be afraid? It’s just us.” Juliet moved to sit next to me.
“A lot of reasons.”
“Start naming them.”
“Because you wanted me to date Tanner.” I took a deep breath. I wasn’t ready to have this discussion. “And Colt’s a freshman.”
“So? Those are pretty weak reasons.”
I wrapped my arms around myself. “They’re good ones.” I didn’t want to talk about the real ones. It hurt too much to even think about Jack.
“We want you to be happy, Mallory. We don’t care who you date.” Juliet took a sip from her cup.
“Juliet’s right. I can’t believe you’d think we wouldn’t support you on dating anyone you wanted. Plus, Colt will be a Kappa in another few months. It serves the same purpose.” Cara smiled. Her face was a little flushed from all the alcohol.
“A pledge is the same thing as one of your boyfriends’ friends?” I gave Cara a disbelieving look.
Cara ran her nails over the fabric of the cushion. “We just wanted you to feel part of it. We hate leaving you out.”
“I appreciate that, but it’s not a big deal.”
“Why are you so embarrassed about Colt?” Cara scooted closer. “He’s hot and funny. I’d date him if I were single.”
How could I tell them everything? How could I tell them about what Dad said? About Jack? How could I admit that every guy in my life had left me in the dust because I wasn’t good enough for them?
“Come on. Just tell us, Mallory,” Juliet pleaded.
“I just can’t be that girl again.” I looked down at the quilt.
“What do you mean?”
“I need to be someone, and that isn’t going to happen if I date Colt.”
“Uh, am I more drunk than I thought, or is she making absolutely no sense?” Cara asked Juliet.
“I never told you the truth about my dad.” I continued to look down.
“About his heart attack?”
I mustered some courage. “No, about how he left.”
“You said your parents are divorced,” Cara said softly.
“He left us because we weren’t good enough.”
“That’s not true.” Juliet put a hand on my back. “A dad doesn’t leave his kids for that reason.”
“You don’t know him.”
“That’s true, but what does this have to do with Colt?” Cara asked.
I pulled my knees up to my chest. “I only had one boyfriend in high school. We dated my sophomore and junior year and tried to do things long distance the first few months after he graduated. Then he suddenly broke up with me because I wasn’t what he needed in his life. In other words, I wasn’t good enough for him either.”
“And you don’t want to feel like that again. That’s why you were embarrassed to have hooked up with Colt on a farm. Right?” Juliet had hit the nail on the head. “But that’s ridiculous. Only you can decide your worth. Trust me, you can’t let what a guy, even your dad, thinks of you change your self-image.”
“I’m confused.” Cara sat up straighter. “Why would dating Colt matter? He’s not going to treat you that way.”
“She’s afraid. She’s terrified.” Juliet didn’t say it condescendingly, but it still stung.
“Maybe. I honestly don’t know anymore.” The alcohol was only making things more confusing. Why’d I have to sleep with Colt in the first place? Maybe if I hadn’t, I wouldn’t have starting crushing on him again. But wouldn’t he still be at Harrison and pledging Kappa? He said he’d been on the waitlist, so he didn’t come just for me. I never did find that letter he wrote me. I had a feeling he’d explained a lot more on those pages.
“Okay. Back to the original question. What’s up with you and Colt? Do you like being with him?”
“Yes.” I could admit that much.
“Then forget the rest of it. Just let him make you happy.”
“We’re kind of together.” I remembered our conversation. The words he’d made me say in his goofy game.
“What’s that mean?” Juliet asked.
“I don’t know. I’m just not ready to go public.”
“Why would you hide it?”
“I have my reasons. You won’t tell, will you?” I leaned back into the cushions.
“If you really think it’s best…” Juliet watched me warily. “But give us something. I can tell you’re hiding something.”
“Remember that boyfriend I told you about?”
Cara nodded. “The one who left you behind.”
“He’s Colt’s brother.”
“What? Are you serious?” Juliet asked.
I sighed, needing the conversation to end and hoping my friends knew me enough to realize that. “Okay, my turn is over. Cara, it’s your turn.”
“No, thanks.”
“What? This was all your idea.”
“Yeah.” She smiled. “But I only suggested it to get you talking about Colt.”
“It doesn’t work that way, hon.”
She laughed. “Fine. Dare.”
“I dare you to call Aaron.”
“What?” She grunted.
“Call him. Tell him how you feel. Just be honest.”
“Seriously? That’s my dare?”
Juliet looked at me and she nodded. “Yes.”
I leaned back and crossed my arms. “Pick up your phone and call.”
“Can’t I just run around outside in my underwear or something?”
I wondered if she’d had even more to drink than I originally thought. “Yeah, not happening.”
She nodded. “Fine.” She swallowed hard and picked up her phone. “Aaron? Yeah. Me too.” She walked out of the room.
Juliet and I just sat there flipping through the TV stations. Twenty minutes later, Cara came out grinning. “He’s on his way.”
“Good.” I gave her a hug.
Less than an hour later, Aaron was knocking on the door. The rain had stopped for the time being, so Juliet and I decided to give them some privacy. We grabbed flashlights and took the short walk down to the beach. Instead of cutting straight through the back gate, we opted for the longer route that took us around a small lagoon. There was something so peaceful about being out late at night in such a quiet and picturesque place.
The moon was barely visible, leaving the small flashlights to do all the work of lighting our way. We laid down some towels and watched the stars while listening to the pounding wa
ves.
“Whatever you decide to do with Colt, you’re going to be fine.” Juliet leaned up on one elbow. “Just don’t overthink it.”
“I just don’t need this right now.”
“Why not? It’s not like we can choose when we fall in love.”
“I’m not in love.” I stared up at the sky.
“Yes, you are.” She sat up. “If you weren’t, you wouldn’t be so conflicted. There are plenty of hot guys to hook up with, but you want Colt.”
“That doesn’t mean I love him.”
“Does your chest tighten when you’re around him?”
“Yes.”
“Do you feel safe yet full of butterflies at the same time?”
I nodded even though she probably couldn’t see me in the dark.
“He makes you happy. I already know that.”
“None of those things mean I’m in love with him.”
“They do together and coupled with the look you get when his name comes up, and the fact that your feelings for him have nearly changed your personality. I think it’s safe to call it love.”
I sat up too. “I know I’ve been bitchy this year.”
“Not bitchy, but not you.”
“I don’t know what’s going on with me. I’m just in a funk.”
“Because you’re fighting who you are.” She stood up and let the sand blow off the towel.
I covered my eyes to avoid getting any of the sand in them. “How do you do it?”
“Do what?” She folded up the towel.
“Always stay so strong and confident.”
She laughed. “Is that a joke?”
“No.”
“Even after everything that happened with Dylan last year, you still think I’m always strong and confident?”
I shrugged. “99.9 percent of the time.”
“From the outside, you seem that way too. You’re just having a tough time right now. My cousin Amy warned me that the first semester of sophomore year is hard. After a summer away, you have to get used to school again, this time without the safety net of orientation or the ‘I’m a freshman excuse.’”
“But you’re fine.”
“Yeah. Probably because I got all the drama out of my system last year.”
I laughed. “Hopefully, it works that way, and I’ll get a pass next year.”
“Cut yourself a break and follow your heart.” She started walking back to the house. “That’s the only advice I have.”
“Thanks.” If only following the advice were as easy as she made it sound.
Chapter Nineteen
I thought about Juliet’s words a lot over the next few weeks. Time moved at a snail’s pace. My classes were all fine, but nothing really kept my interest. The only thing I enjoyed doing was spending time with my friends and Colt. And the latter was hard to do. Cara and Juliet kept their word. They didn’t tell anyone about us, but they also didn’t go out of their way to help me sneak around to see him. I understood, they thought I was making a mistake by keeping it a secret. I just wasn’t ready to deal with more humiliation, at school or back home.
Anthro turned out to be one of my favorite classes. First, Colt was in it, and second Professor Cains was so out there that he never ceased to be entertaining. I was actually looking forward to class when I left my house in the morning.
By mid semester, I was so used to the routine that I never considered picking up my own coffee on those mornings. Once again, I happily accepted my usual cup from Colt and took my seat at the table.
Cains walked in a few minutes earlier than usual. “Hey class, I have an extra credit opportunity available this week if anyone’s interested.”
“This week?” a girl asked.
“Yes. Participation will excuse you from one of your papers or give you an alternative assignment to the final exam.”
Colt winked at me before picking up my hand and raising both of ours together. “We’re in.”
“We are?” I tugged my hand out of his.
Half the class laughed at my reaction.
“Fantastic.” Cains grinned. “Colton, isn’t it?”
“Yes, and this is Mallory.”
Cains took out a pad and started writing down our names.
“What are you doing?” I hissed. Was he really signing us up for more work?
“Making sure we have time together.”
“There are better ways to do that.”
He shook his head and leaned in to whisper. “Aaron said the only excuse from pledge stuff this week is for class. This is for class.”
“Again, you could have come up with a better idea.”
Cains cleared his throat, and I knew the rest of the conversation would have to wait until after class. Luckily, Cains dismissed us a few minutes early.
“So you think there’s a better way to get me out of pledge stuff this week?” Colton bumped his shoulder into mine.
“Yes.” I packed up my stuff.
“Fine. I found this one. You find another excuse to get me out.”
“Why?” I stood up.
He jumped up and held open the door for me “Because you can’t turn down a challenge.”
“Yes, I can.”
He gave me a skeptical look. It just made him look cuter. “Fine, then don’t. It just means I won.”
“I can get you out. I’ll get you out tonight.”
“Tonight? Isn’t that pushing it? Very last minute.”
“You doubt my abilities?”
“No. Not for a second.” He grinned before we headed to our next classes.
***
I knocked on the door of the Kappa house completely secure in my plan. Juliet and Cara stood on either side of me. We were all dressed in cover ups over bikinis. Once Jana told us about the surprise outing we were taking our pledges on, I knew I had the perfect way to win the challenge. It took little planning, and my friends were more than happy to go along with it.
“Uh, what are you girls doing here?” Ryan asked when he opened the door. We’d still barely talked since the no-sex incident freshman year.
“We need to see the guys.” Juliet slipped past Ryan into the house, Cara and I followed.
“Aaron’s up with the pledges. Reed’s in his room.” Ryan still only looked at me. “And I haven’t seen Tanner.” Ryan didn’t seem happy to admit it. Didn’t he know that Tanner and I had stopped seeing each other weeks ago?
“I’m going up to get Reed. Meet you guys back here in a few.” Juliet took off up the stairs. My guess is she’d be at least twenty minutes.
“Want to come with me?” Cara asked. “I feel kind of weird interrupting a pledge meeting.”
I’d hoped she would ask. I wanted to see the look on Colt’s face when Aaron shared the news. “Sure. Let’s go.”
Cara knocked on the white door, and Aaron threw it open. By his expression, he’d been ready to snap at whoever was interrupting him. Instead, his face fell into something else entirely when he took in Cara’s beach wear. “Hey… what are you doing here?”
“We’re taking our pledges to Morgan’s house for a pool party. They have no idea what we’re doing and think it’s going to be the night from hell. I can’t wait to see their faces when they realize it was all a joke. Thought your guys might want to come?” She turned her head slightly, letting him know she really wanted him to say yes.
“Uh, sure. I guess we could cut this short.”
Colton shot me a grin from where he sat on the ground. I nodded in his direction.
“Good.” She leaned up and kissed him on the cheek. “I think you’ll like this bikini I picked up earlier.”
He nodded without taking his eyes off her. “Hey guys, change of plans tonight.”
“Yeah?” one of the pledges asked.
“Looks like we’re hanging out with the Delta Mu’s.”
Colton laughed as the rest of the group sighed with relief. Aaron looked at him. “Is there a problem with that, pledge?”
“No, not at all.”
I winked at Colton before walking out of the room. My friends and I laughed as soon as we got outside.
“That was too easy.” I smiled, very proud of myself.
Cara practically skipped home. Things were completely back to normal with Aaron now. “I still don’t really understand the challenge, but I’m glad we’re hanging out with the guys.”
The girls were a mess of nerves when we got back to the house. The actives had pulled the same trick on us last year, and it was only because we were forbidden from revealing the pledge experience to anyone that the new class had no idea. They’d just been told to wear bikinis and to plan to be out late.
“I hate doing this,” Jana leaned in to whisper.
“They’ll be fine with it when we get there.”
“Yeah, but that’s going to be awhile.”
“They’ll survive.”
Jana was almost too sweet with the pledges. I wish she’d been in charge for our class.
Morgan’s house could have been called a mansion. One of the beautiful old southern houses a few miles outside the city, I couldn’t even fathom how much the place would have cost. The large rectangular pool was lit up by colored lights, and the deck had enough space to hold all of us.
Morgan made it implicitly clear that the house itself was off limits. However, she didn’t mention the large garage just off the pool house. After an hour of exchanging heated glances with Colt, I slipped off hoping he’d follow. I’d noticed Morgan run into the garage earlier and hoped she hadn’t locked the side door. The knob turned easily under my hand. I walked inside, surprised that Morgan had also left on an overhead light. The room was unlike any garage I’d ever been in. Insulated and huge, a family of four could have feasibly lived there. There were three cars. One of them looked like it belonged in a James Bond movie.
“Nice work.” Colton’s breath was warm on my neck, and I didn’t need to turn around to know he was right behind me.
“I told you I’d get you out tonight.” I leaned back against the trunk of the least crazy looking of the cars. I bet it was still worth more than my mom’s house though.
“I can’t give you credit for that, but you did get us time together, and that’s the important part.” He kissed my neck. I looked over my shoulder, turning in Colton’s arms once I was confident that we were all alone in the garage.
The Hazards of a One Night Stand Page 15
