Palm South University: Season 2, Episode 2 (Palm South University #2)

by Kandi Steiner

  “Oh my God.”

  “That was insane.”

  Skyler nods, fingering the curls in her hair as she looks out the tinted windows of Ralph’s where the bouncers are refusing to let any of the photographers in.

  “You really are blowing up on the poker scene, aren’t you?”

  She just shakes her head. “This is unreal.”

  “Are you okay?”

  Skyler nods, hard, for longer than necessary, her eyes still trained on the commotion outside. “Yeah. I just, I need a minute.”

  “Sky?” Clinton walks briskly toward us, engulfing Skyler in a crushing hug as soon as he reaches her. Her tiny hands grip his massive, dark arms and it’s then that I see her shaking slightly. “Come on, follow me.” He pulls her in closer. “Adam, can you go check on Cassie? She was freaking out waiting for Skyler to get here but I don’t think she’s going to calm anyone down like this.”

  I give him a curt nod, leaning in to kiss Skyler on the forehead. “Do you want me to come with you?”

  She shakes her head slightly. “I’ll be fine. Go help my Little. Please. I just need…” she trails off, trembling more. Clinton curses.

  “Go, Brooks. I got her.”

  And I know he does, no one loves Skyler the way Clinton does. Still, I feel uneasy not being the one taking care of her right now. “Okay. I’ll find you two in a minute.”

  Clinton tugs Skyler through the already packed bar and once they’ve disappeared, I make my way toward the stage where the KKB girls are setting up. Luckily, I run into Erin first, and she ushers me backstage to where Cassie is waiting after I tell her what happened with Skyler.

  “Just don’t be back here long. My Big doesn’t like anyone seeing the girls before they go on stage.”

  “Sounds like a strip club.”

  Erin smacks my arm with a smile, though her face is pale, eyes watery. She doesn’t look like the normal Erin Xander I’m used to seeing.

  Cassie is pacing in a small space back near the bathroom, chewing her thumbnail with a contemplative look on her face. I can’t help but take her in as I make my way toward her. She’s not in a dress, but rather a tight, white pencil skirt and hot pink tank top with heels to match. Her bright red hair is pinned up, a few stray tendrils falling to frame her face, and her usually soft green eyes are glowing fierce against the dramatic makeup she’s applied. Stuffing my hands in my pockets, I clear my throat when I reach her.

  “I feel like I should save that freshly manicured nail from the wrath of your teeth.”

  Cassie chews for a second longer before stopping, her wide eyes finding me. She looks absolutely petrified.

  And it’s fucking adorable.

  When she realizes it’s me, I notice her face fall a bit, and I can’t deny that it stings.

  “Is Skyler here?”

  “Yeah, but she needs a minute. We kind of got attacked by paparazzi on our way inside.”

  Cassie’s mouth drops. “Oh my gosh. Is she okay?”

  “A little shaken, but she’ll be okay. Bear took her to get water and calm down.”

  She nods, but her eyes gloss over a bit and she goes back to chewing her thumb.

  “Talk to me,” I say softly, nudging her with my shoulder as I lean casually against the wall. She drops her hand from her mouth, her green irises roaming over me. I can’t tell how I feel about it. She’s either checking me out or questioning whether she can trust me.

  Maybe both.

  Sighing like I’m her last option, she leans back against the wall next to me, blowing air through her lips.

  “I don’t know why I let them talk me into this. I am literally the worst person for the job. I hate being the center of attention, I blush pretty much anytime someone looks at me, and on a scale of one to sexy I’m at a solid awkward turtle ninety percent of the time.”

  I chuckle, crossing one arm over my lower chest and bringing my opposite hand to cover my smile. Cassie glares at me, and I know she aims to intimidate me but it only breaks my resolve and makes me laugh. So, naturally, she smacks me across the chest.

  “I’m serious, Adam.”

  “I know, I know,” I say through my laughter. “It’s just that all of those things are exactly why any guy out there would be lucky to win a date with you tonight.”

  Cassie’s arms are crossed, a frown firmly in place, but she softens a bit at my words. “I beg to differ.”

  “Beg all you want, but I’d still never take those words back.”

  She chews her cheek, finally turning to face me. When I see the insecurity behind her eyes, I want to find every guy who ever put them there and kick them all straight in the teeth.

  “I’m not desirable. At all. I’m going to get up there and make like twenty bucks and feel completely embarrassed.”

  “Listen to me.” I grab her hands in mine, our shoulders still leaned against the wall, both of us hidden in our little corner of the room — of the world. “I have never, in my entire life, met another girl like you. And as much as you may think that’s a bad thing, it is the exact opposite. You’re intriguing, Cassie. You’re light, innocent, sweet, kind, smart. I could go on and on.”

  “I don’t think guys will buy me for my biology test scores.”

  Pulling her in a little closer, maybe a little too close, I bring my voice to a whisper. “It will be how fucking amazing you look in that tight little skirt that will make them want to buy you. It’ll be everything else I just listed that will make them go crazy trying to keep you.”

  She swallows, and I watch with more curiosity than I should as her eyes flick to my mouth quickly before finding my gaze. “I should go touch up my makeup.”

  It’s then that I realize how hard we’re both breathing, how close we’re standing. Dropping her hands, I shove my own back in my pockets and nod. “Okay. I’ll see you out there.”

  Before I can think more about what the hell just happened, I turn on my heel and make my way toward the side stage exit.

  “Adam?”

  I pause, turning slowly, afraid she’ll tell me I was over the line. Afraid I’ll lose her, even though she’s not really mine to keep.

  “Thanks. Really.” She smiles with just one side of her mouth, just for a moment, before backing into the bathroom and slowly closing the door.

  “Anytime,” I reply to no one. And I know even though she didn’t hear it, she knows it’s true as much as I do. I’d be there for her no matter what.

  I just can’t decide if that’s a good thing.

  THERE IS NOTHING WORSE than throwing up.

  I usually don’t even let my thighs touch the toilet seats at Ralph’s, yet here I am, backstage bathroom, face resting against the dirty, cool porcelain. My head is spinning, I have to go on stage in less than ten minutes, and I can’t stop vomiting.

  “Goddamn it, Erin.” Jess closes the bathroom door behind her and locks it. The first wave of nausea hit me so hard I didn’t even have time to close the door when I rushed in. “Get your shit together, dude. You have to go on stage and you look like hell. Come here.”

  She helps me stand, instantly going into caregiver sister mode, which is a rare form for Jess. She’s the party girl, we all know it, but when she needs to be there for someone — she pulls out all the stops. She’s one of the best friends anyone could ever have.

  I watch her carefully as she uses a wet paper towel on the back of my neck, whipping out her makeup bag at the same time. “Thank you.”

  She smiles, but her usually playful brown eyes are sad. “You have to take a test. You can’t keep avoiding it.” Jess shakes her head, patting my face dry with a new paper towel before applying a little cover up under my eyes. “I know it’s scary, but we can handle it together. You should have already taken a test by now. Hiding from the problem isn’t going to make it go away.”

  She keeps talking, but my ears go fuzzy, along with my vision. I feel myself slipping into a sort of numbness, a dark hole, a place where I just need to be alone.
>
  “It’s fine.” I cut her off mid-sentence, forcing a smile. “I took the test, Jess. I’m not pregnant. Must just be a stomach flu.”

  Jess’ eyes are hard on mine, like she’s searching for something, but then a sigh of relief leaves her lips. “Oh, thank fuck.” She shakes her head, still working on my makeup. “A stomach flu we can handle. When did you take the test?”

  “Sunday.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me? I could have been there with you.”

  “I tried calling, you weren’t answering.” Jess swallows, her eyes flitting from mine to focus on her hand where she’s reapplying my lipstick. Something tells me I’m not the only one who has something to hide.

  “Sorry. I think I was with my study group, now that I think of it.”

  “Yeah.”

  “Erin?” My Big knocks on the bathroom door. “You’re up. Are you okay?”

  “Fine! Be right out.”

  Kelsey is absolutely slaying it in her new position as president, and I know I can’t let her down. I’m next in line. Every KKB in our family line for the past several years has held the position of president. This is my year to prove myself, and I’m not letting anything get in my way.

  Pulling my shoulders back, I turn from Jess to the mirror, giving myself a once over before pulling her in for a hug. “Thank you for your help.”

  “Anytime, Ex. Now go raise some money for charity, you fine piece of ass.” She smacks my butt as I open the bathroom door and I laugh, throwing her a wink.

  I don’t have time to get nervous, because Kelsey immediately leads me to the stage, helping me walk up the back stairs before Siomara, My Grand Big and last semester’s president, starts speaking into the mic to begin my auction. Even though her term ended last semester, she stuck around for one more so she could graduate in the spring. Then, she’ll be headed to Antigua for medical school.

  Everything is changing.

  “Oh boys, you’re in for a real treat with this one,” Siomara begins and a few whistles ring out. I shake my head, but pull on my mask, the one that lets everyone in the room know that I can handle anything — everything. “Our new Recruitment Chair is classy, beautiful, and smart. There’s a reason her nickname is Ex, boys, so beware.” Laughter rings out and I flash a smile at the crowd, playing into it. “And, of course, she’s the one in charge of choosing the hot group of freshmen ladies that will make up the next pledge class of Kappa Kappa Beta in the fall!” The crowd cheers, and I take a mini bow before laughing softly.

  “We’ll start the bidding at one-hundred dollars.”

  A paddle flies up in the back, but I can’t see the hand attached to it. Siomara keeps raising the price, and paddle after paddle goes up in response. I should be happy, flattered, but I just feel so numb. I think I’m smiling, but I can’t be sure. When the amount gets up to five-hundred, I focus enough to see who’s still in the race.

  The paddle that goes up for five-hundred is Clinton.

  He smiles at me, that heart-stopping, white-teeth-blazing-against-dark-skin smile that had me more weak in the knees than I care to admit the night he took me to semi-formal. He winks, and a sharp pang shoots through my chest. I know he’s just doing it as a friend, he’s just being sweet, because that’s the kind of man he is.

  He would have made a great father.

  He will make a great father. Someday.

  But when Siomara raises the price to six hundred, a new paddle goes up. I recognize the face below it, perfectly symmetrical like a Ken doll, defined jaw, baby face, sandy blonde hair combed over and perfectly styled. Landon Turner is practically the definition of a frat daddy. Vice President of Mu Beta Chi, pre-med with a focus in plastic surgery, dressed in coral shorts cut just above his knee, a white polo, and Sperry’s — when it comes to who my parents think I should marry, he’s my mother’s wet dream.

  Landon is standing with some of his friends, elbowing them with a wide smile as he wins the auction. He makes his way through the crowd, helping me down from the stage as a few of my sisters take his cash donation. He has light, almost crystal-blue eyes, and he’s not too shy to let me know he wants me with them.

  “Looks like I get the privilege of taking you out on a date,” he says with a slight southern drawl. Yep, my mom would have officially lost her mind.

  “Looks that way.” I smile, but it’s still a mask. “What do you have in mind?”

  “I want it to be perfect, so I need some time to think. Can I have your phone number, Erin Xander?”

  This time I smile and it’s somewhat genuine. Landon is cute, sweet — he could be fun. I just need to clear my head. Hopefully I can do that before he calls for our date.

  I jot my number down in his phone and he gives me a soft kiss on the cheek before returning to his friends so I can join my sisters backstage. Kelsey hands me a clipboard immediately and puts me to work, organizing the rest of the sisters going up for auction and keeping a running tab on the funds raised. For the first time tonight, I feel in my element. Slipping into organizational mode, I push everything else out of my mind and focus on the tasks at hand.

  It’s the best kind of escape.

  IN THE TIME I WAS BACKSTAGE with Cassie and Skyler was behind the bar with Clinton, something changed. I’m not entirely sure what just yet, but something is different. Skyler has stopped trembling; she’s smiling, talking to everyone in our group as we wait for the next sister to come up on stage. She’s here, tucked under my arm, but she’s not really here. Her mind is somewhere far away. She’s thinking, and it’s the kind of thinking that makes me uneasy.

  I think we both feel it. We both feel something coming.

  Excusing myself from the group, I slide up to the bar and get a refill on my Captain and Coke just as Cassie takes the stage.

  I can tell she’s still nervous, but she’s much better than she was backstage. Her cheeks rosy, she’s twisting her fingers together and smiling out at the crowd as Siomara talks into the mic about how great of a catch Cassie is. Paying for my drink and lifting it to my lips as I make my way back to the group, I catch just the tail end of the spiel.

  “Plus, she’s probably the cutest redhead Palm South University has ever seen, am I right?”

  The room erupts into a mixture of cheers from her sisters and hoots from the guys crowding the bar. Cassie flushes a deep, crimson red, and I can’t help but smile.

  “We’ll start the bidding at one-hundred dollars.”

  There’s a lull in the noise, everyone waiting for that first paddle to go up. Only a few seconds pass, but I watch as Cassie’s smile falls, worry appearing in the form of a small crease between her brows. Snatching the paddle out of my brother, Jeremy’s, hand, I shoot it up into the air.

  “One-hundred! Do I hear one-fifty?”

  Cassie’s green eyes sparkle when she sees it was me with the paddle. She mouths a thank you, and I just smile, handing the paddle back to Jeremy. Jeremy is one of my closest friends in the fraternity, the one brother who helped me with all the events last semester and believed in me when I said I could put our fraternity on the map. This semester, he’s my right-hand man, and if we have anything to do with it, we’ll be President and Vice President next year.

  Skyler’s arms wrap around my middle and she leans her head on my chest, looking up at me through her long lashes.

  “You may officially be the best boyfriend ever. Thank you for doing that.”

  I shrug. “I just got the bets started.”

  And I did. A few more paddles go up before the bid levels out around three-hundred. Siomara is just about to call it when a last-minute paddle flies up.

  “Five-hundred!”

  Everyone cheers, and Cassie searches the crowd for the new bidder. When she finds him, recognition hits her eyes. She smiles, a bigger smile than I’ve seen on her face in some time. She knows the guy, and as he makes his way to the stage, panting slightly, like he rushed to get here and just barely made it, Cassie turns to Siomara.

&nbs
p; “Sold!” she yells before Siomara has the chance to ask for a higher bid.

  Siomara laughs, banging her make-shift gavel on the podium. “You heard the girl!”

  A few laughs ring out and then everyone goes back to their conversations or to the bar, waiting for the next auction to start. My eyes, however, stay firmly on Cassie as she makes her way down the stairs. The mystery guy is waiting for her, but when she leaves the last stair, I lose sight of them just as he wraps her in a hug.

  Who the hell is that?

  “So, I hear you’re joining us on Spring Break, Brooks. You think you can hang with a bunch of KKBs and O Chis?” Clinton clinks his class with mine and takes a drink. I sip mine and smile.

  “I guess we’ll find out. I am excited, though. I’ve never been to Key West.”

  “Me either,” he says. “I heard Duval Street is crazy.”

  “I’m just ready for some sunshine and a break from classes. Homework is already killing me,” Skyler adds.

  “Yeah, I can’t wait to see you in a bathing suit, either. Oh! I mean sunshine. Can’t wait to be in the sunshine. Totally meant sunshine.” I wink at Skyler and she elbows my side, but leans up to plant a swift kiss on my cheek.

  “You two are so cute it’s kind of disgusting,” Jeremy says.

  “Don’t be jealous. I’m sure your hand looks very nice in a yellow bikini, too.”

  This time Jeremy slugs my arm and we all laugh just as Cassie joins our group. And she’s not alone. There’s a hand wrapped around her small waist, a hand attached to a long, tattooed arm.

  “Hey guys, this is Grayson,” Cassie introduces, looking up at the guy with a smile. He’s tall, lanky but not too skinny. His hair and beard are dark, but his eyes are bright blue. He’s not even remotely unfortunate looking, and for some reason, that irks me.

  “Oh yeah, from the coffee shop, right?” Skyler asks, moving forward first. She gives him a hug before wrapping her arms around me again. “Thanks for donating to our cause tonight.”