Palm South University: Season 2 Box Set

by Kandi Steiner

  “No need, I had the full tour last year.”

  “We should probably head over to the tailgate, anyway,” Erin adds. Her mother nods and they link arms, leading the way.

  Family Weekend is packed with random events for students and their parents, including everything from guest lectures to fraternity parties. The biggest event, however, is the baseball game tailgate. The grassy event area right beside the baseball stadium is transformed into the ultimate tailgate experience, food and booze included, and we all pack the stands for the night’s game. Well, those of us who make it past the day drinking, anyway.

  Elizabeth talks the entire walk over, chatting with us about her latest shopping trips and Botox treatments. Anytime Erin attempts bringing up her position in the sorority or her classes, her mother loses interest immediately, tapping away on her phone or changing the subject back to something superficial. It’s clear she doesn’t approve of Erin’s major or career choice.

  “Oh my, am I seeing double?” A smooth voice drawls from behind us just as we reach the edge of the tailgate yard. Bright orange, teal, and white tents pepper the grass and our Student Government President speaks loudly over the microphone system, welcoming the parents to PSU. When we turn, Erin smiles at Landon, her latest fling and the owner of the smooth voice spitting out clichés. Still, her smile seems bleak, the same way it’s been for weeks, and I wonder how badly the stress of the Omega Chi website is getting to her.

  “Hi,” she says sweetly and Landon grasps her gently by the elbow, pulling her just close enough to kiss her cheek before turning to Elizabeth. His blonde hair is almost too perfectly styled and his freshly tanned skin from Spring Break contrasts harshly with the pastels of his polo and frat shorts.

  “You didn’t tell me you had a sister, Ex,” he flirts, reaching for her mom’s hand. She’s all smiles as he lifts it to his mouth for a kiss. Erin and I exchange glances. Is this guy serious right now?

  “Aren’t you sweet as pie. I’m Elizabeth Xander, Erin’s mother. And you are?”

  “Landon Turner, ma’am.”

  “What a strong name,” she says, giggling, eyes bright. “Are you Erin’s boyfriend?”

  “Mother,” Erin scolds, cheeks blushing a light shade of pink.

  Landon doesn’t miss a beat. He pulls Erin in under his arm and smiles a bright, charming, country smile—all toothy and genuine. “Just friends for now, ma’am. But I’m working on her.”

  Elizabeth’s brows shoot up and she grins at Erin. “Well heavens, child, give in already!”

  We all laugh, me mostly to ease the awkwardness, and Erin leads us to a shaded picnic table near the alumni tent. It’s a little too warm today, the sun shining high in the sky without a cloud to block it. I’m already sweating slightly from the walk over and gladly take the fresh bottle of water offered to us by the volunteers as we sit down.

  “So, Landon, what’s your major?” Erin’s mom asks, sipping from her own bottle. She’s leaning over the dark teal picnic table, ready to devour whatever he says. Of course, when he tells her he’s pre-med with a focus in plastic surgery, his Ken doll smile locked in place and his hand running through his blonde hair, she practically sits in his lap.

  She lets him ramble on and I lean in to whisper to Erin. “You okay?”

  “Fine. This is actually tame for her, believe it or not.”

  “I think she’s planning your wedding.”

  “Like I said, tame.”

  We both giggle but neither Landon nor Elizabeth notice us. Draining the rest of my water, I tip the empty plastic toward Erin. “I’m going to get a refill and see if I can track down the other girls. Find me later?”

  She nods and I don’t even bother interrupting the conversation between Landon and Erin’s mom to excuse myself. After tossing my empty bottle in one of the recycling bins, I snatch a turkey wrap off the alumni table and walk the tents. It’s kind of funny seeing the parents on campus. Some of them are starry-eyed, possibly setting foot on a college campus for the first time while others look comfortable as they chat about the “glory days” of PSU. I smile, realizing my parents belong to that first group. Skott, my older brother, never went to college. He just left straight for the Peace Corps after high school. I’m the first and only one in our family to ever attend a university, which makes me feel strangely like a pioneer for the Thornes.

  I wouldn’t even be here if it weren’t for poker, and now that I’m getting noticed by big poker blogs and reporters, the two worlds are crossing more than I ever thought they would. Adam was right to call it off with me before this summer, because there’s no way I’ll have time for him. Or anyone else, for that matter. I feel like I’m at the precipice of something huge, and now is my time to make a name for myself, so I’m filling my schedule with tournaments all summer long. If I have it my way, I’ll have next year’s tuition paid off by July so I can start focusing on bigger and better things.

  Like the American Poker Club Tournament.

  A light breeze rolls across the tailgate yard and blows my hair back as I round the second row of tents, mind still wandering. It’s a tempting thought, entering the APC tourney. I’m not prepared enough to enter it this year. Hell, I don’t even have a third of the entry fee. But if I play my cards right, I just might be able to enter the one next May, and if I won or even placed in the top three, I’d be set. No more having to work tournaments at night and be a sorority girl during the day. I could get my parents completely out of debt and then some, tuition for the rest of my time at PSU would be paid, and I could focus on my major and figure out what I want to do with my life.

  The thought makes me giddy.

  “Hey heartbreaker,” Adam says, bumping into me from the side and stirring me from my thoughts. His signature goofy grin is firmly in place, his dark hair a little unruly and a light sweat is breaking on his forehead.

  “Oh God, not you, too. I really hope that’s not my new nickname.”

  He shrugs, falling in line with my rhythm. “I don’t know, I think it fits pretty perfectly.”

  “Says the one who broke up with me.”

  “That’s not what the tabloids are saying.”

  I blanch. “What?”

  Adam’s shit-eating grin grows wider and when I realize he’s joking, I shove him hard into the pole of a passing tent. He laughs, dodging it easily and scooping me up into a hug from behind. “You should have seen your face!”

  “You’re an asshole.”

  He drops me back to the ground easily and we walk the yard until we find my sisters, talking the entire time about Spring Break and his upcoming chapter elections. It’s nice to know we can still be friends with no awkward feelings between us. Adam Brooks is a nice guy to have in your corner, and I’m glad I didn’t screw that up by tagging him as my boyfriend for a few months.

  I realize it may be quite a while before I let anyone hold that title again, because the truth is, my heart is already taken. Poker is my boyfriend, and we’re taking our relationship to the next level this summer. It’s getting serious between us, and Poker is one jealous son-of-a-bitch who hates the idea of sharing me. Probably smart, since the last thing I want to be known as if I make it to the tournament next May is a slut or a man-eater. If I’m going to get my name out of the headlines for my dating lifestyle and into the limelight for my skills, I’ve got some work to do.

  I feel some big changes on the horizon.

  And I’ve got my game face on.

  THEY SAY AVOIDING YOUR PROBLEMS won’t make them go away, but what happens when you have too many problems to face them all at once?

  That’s the question I’ve been battling with since Spring Break. First and foremost, I had to deal with the Omega Chi website—there was no running away from that. Once we hit campus, the website was texted to virtually everyone, and those who didn’t get the original text eventually found out from the masses. Gossip like that spreads like a wildfire at PSU, and with a threesome on the front page, there was plenty of j
uice to fuel the flames.

  So, like my mom always taught me, I focused on one thing at a time—starting with Bo and the website. As I ignore yet another text from Xavier and slip my phone back into my pocket, I try to reassure myself that mom’s philosophy will pull through. If it’s one thing at a time, I’d rather start with Bo than Xavier.

  Ralph’s is more packed than usual, but with a rather different crowd. The baseball game is over and all the students and parents have migrated north to everyone’s favorite bar. As they do every year, the owners of Ralph’s have set up karaoke on the same stage where we held the KKB auction just a couple of months ago and my dad is currently belting out Paradise by the Dashboard Light. His dark curls sway a bit as he animates the Meatloaf hit and Mom loops her arm through mine, bending over in a fit of laughter at our table. We’re the same size, twins by practically every feature, and I can’t help but mirror her laugh when my dad dramatically dips the microphone at the end.

  “Bravo!” Mom yells as the bar erupts into whistles and catcalls. Dad takes a bow and hops off the stage, strutting back over to our table with a Cheshire grin. He kisses my mom’s forehead and flops down on the bench across from her, taking a long swig from his beer mug.

  “Well now I see where Ashlei gets her performance skills from,” Skyler jokes, throwing my dad a high five. They’ve been buddied up all night, like two peas in a pod. In fact, my parents have been getting along with everyone—even Bo’s parents. Erin and her mom went out to a late dinner with Landon after the baseball game and Cassie took her parents to watch Grayson play at Cup O’ Joe’s, but Skyler, Bo, her parents, my parents and I all came out to Ralph’s to continue the night’s festivities. I have yet to see Jess or her family, but that’s been normal lately.

  It’s strange. Jess has been sticking up for me and Bo more than anyone in the chapter, yet she hasn’t said one word to me since the day the news about the website broke. I can’t say I blame her, because I know she feels betrayed. We’re best friends and Bo is her Little. For many reasons, we should have told her, but we didn’t get the chance. She’ll come around, she just needs time. Jess is the kind of person who has to go through her own process, and she can’t be swayed by anyone else.

  “You’re up next, sweetie,” Dad says, nodding at Mom. She snorts.

  “You wish. I wouldn’t get on that stage if you paid me.”

  “Oh yeah?” Dad rubs his chin, bright green eyes lifting to the dingy ceiling of the bar. “What if that Michael Kors watch you’ve been wanting was up for grabs?”

  Mom’s eyes widen. “Don’t play with my emotions.”

  “Come on, Mom!” I coax her further. “We can do a duet. Spice Girls or something equally as cliché.”

  She chews her lip, contemplating. Her eyes find Dad again and she points a freshly manicured finger in his direction. “You swear about the watch?”

  Dad holds up two fingers. “On my honor.”

  Mom jumps up and skips to the stage and I follow. She selects Turn Back Time by Cher and we sound absolutely horrible together, but it’s the first time I’ve done something with my mom, just the two of us, in longer than I can remember. I’m always hidden behind my sisters, and as shitty as it is, part of me is thankful that neither of them could make it this weekend. For once, the attention is on me, and I don’t care how petty and immature it is to want that because I do. I need it right now.

  I told my parents that I’m bisexual last night.

  I expected Dad to scream and Mom to cry, but instead they gave each other a knowing look as if I didn’t even have to say the words out loud. They both hugged me and we talked all night, each word making me feel more and more okay. I even told them about the website, though I begged them not to say anything to Bo’s parents until she felt comfortable enough to tell them herself—if that day ever even came.

  So maybe it’s the fact that I finally opened up to them that makes me feel like I’m part of the family again. Still, I didn’t tell them everything—I conveniently left out that I’m indebted to a drug lord and I lost a third of what I owe him a little over a week ago.

  Baby steps.

  I’ve been so caught up dealing with the website scandal that I really haven’t had time to figure out what I’m going to do about Xavier. If I know him as well as I think I do, his patience is wearing thin, and it’s only a matter of time before he shows up at my door demanding his money. After my parents leave, I’ll have to face the music and figure it out.

  I just have no idea where to even start.

  Dad pays up just like he said he would, ordering Mom’s watch right on his phone once we’re back at the table. Bo’s parents have the same look on their face that’s been there all night—a cross between amused and terrified. Apart from her skin tone, Bo looks nothing like them. Her eyes are wide, pinched just a bit at the corners, her smile big and bright, hair sleek. Her parents, on the other hand, rarely smile, their narrow eyes always surveying the surroundings like they’re looking for escape routes.

  “Well shit, looks like I missed the invitation to the party.”

  We’re all mid-laugh when we turn and find Jess, solo, her eyes glossy and low, a half-empty beer bottle in her hand. I don’t have to look at her longer than two seconds to know she’s shitfaced. And, judging by the sneer on her lips, she’s still pissed at me.

  “Jess!” My dad jumps up first with Mom right behind him and they each wrap her in a hug, but her eyes don’t leave mine. “It’s so nice to see you. Are your parents here? I’d love to buy your dad a beer.” Jess and I have spent a lot of time at each other’s houses on breaks, and our parents are close because of it. I wonder if Jess told her parents about me and Bo. For some reason, the thought of them disapproving upsets me more than anyone else.

  Dad looks around Jess’ shoulder like he expects them to appear, but Jess just tilts her bottle to her lips and sloshes it back. “Nah, they went back to the hotel. Maybe you’ll see them tomorrow.”

  Bo shifts in her seat, uneasy under Jess’ glare. Her parents seem to pick up her vibes, too, because they’re assessing Jess like she’s a threat rather than a sister.

  “They didn’t drop you at the house on their way?” Skyler asks, and I know she’s picking up the same cues I am. Jess is swaying, even with one hand firmly propped on the edge of our table, and she simply shakes her head no. Skyler smiles, but with caution. “Well I was just about to get a cab, so we can ride back together.”

  “We should probably get you guys back to the hotel, too,” Bo says to her mom and dad as she stands. Her parents do the same but Jess stumbles over to them quickly.

  “Oh no, I just got here!” She trips over the leg of a chair just as she reaches them and I eye Skyler, silently making a plan to get her out of here—and fast. “Are these your parents, Little? You have to introduce me!” But instead of waiting for an introduction, Jess throws her arms around Bo’s mother first before fist bumping her father. They don’t even try to hide their shock, they just let their mouths hang open before pinning Bo under a disapproving glare.

  “Māmā, Bàba, this is Jess. She’s my Big Sister in the sorority.”

  Bo’s mother bows just slightly but her father narrows his eyes further before spouting off something in Chinese to Bo.

  “Please, at least join me for one drink before you leave. We’ve just met,” Jess says, motioning for them to take a seat. Bo looks to me for help but I just shrug, feeling as helpless as she does. Painting on a forced smile as everyone sits back down, Jess turns to my mom. “How was your day? What did you do?”

  “Oh we had a wonderful time! We toured the house and sat front row at the game. Oh, and then Ron did karaoke!”

  Dad smacks her leg playfully. “So did you! Should I pull up the video on my phone, Cher?”

  Mom cackles, reaching out to touch Jess’ arm, clearly oblivious to the tension at the table. Jess just listens patiently, sipping from her beer intermittently.

  “Ashlei sang with me. She was actua
lly kind of amazing. Who knew our little princess was keeping her singing talents a secret?”

  Jess laughs with Mom, waving her empty beer bottle at a passing waitress. “Oh, she’s quite good at keeping secrets.”

  “Jess,” Skyler warns, silently signaling to the same waitress not to bring her another damn drop.

  “What?” Jess scoffs, balancing the bottle between her forefinger and the table. “The girl should get an award. Do they have one for that sort of thing? We could always make one.” Her lazy eyes find mine again. “Most Likely to be a Lying Bitch—Ashlei Daniels.”

  “We’re leaving,” Bo snaps, pushing her chair back again as her parents lift themselves from the bench.

  “I think I know what this is about, Jess, and I understand why you’re upset,” my dad says, his hands up just a bit. When I filled my parents in on the website last night, I told them my suspicions that Jess was far from okay with the whole situation. He’s talking to her like she’s about to jump off the ledge of a building. Right about now, I wish she would. “But maybe we should talk about this later.”

  “Huh,” Jess surmises, chewing on Dad’s words. “I don’t know. Now seems like the perfect fucking time to talk about it, actually. Especially since we’ve got the whole fam damily here.” She gestures to Bo and her parents and suddenly my entire body is alert. I feel it—something bad is about to happen.

  “What is she talking about, Bo?” her mom asks, brows bent inward in confusion.

  “Nothing, Māmā. Let’s go.”

  “What, you don’t know?” Jess interjects before barking out a loud laugh. “Oh, please, let me be the one to fill you in.”

  “Jess!” Skyler hisses just as I warn, “That’s enough, J-Love.” My parents and I stand together, ready to escort Jess out to a cab.

  “You see, your lovely daughter here, my precious, sweet Little, has been keeping a secret from me. From all of us, actually.”