Rushed (The Rushed Series) (24 page)

She passed through in front of me and dropped the bomb. "I'm going to quit the sorority."

I caught her arm. "Whoa!" I studied her to see if she was serious. "We need to talk this out."

She smiled at me. "A guy who wants to talk. That's cute."

"I'm serious, Alexis. This is serious shit."
 

She shrugged. "There's nothing to talk about."
 

"Really?" I said. "That's bullshit."
 

The cafeteria was packed with students studying. I bought us each a pop and found a table in the corner out of earshot.
 

We didn't say another word until we were seated opposite each other across the table. I brought it up. "You can't quit the Double Deltsies. Once a Double Deltsie, always a Double Deltsi. They don't let you out. Quitters ruin their rep."

"I can. I'm not a member yet. Not for another week." She leaned forward as she grabbed her cup of soda. "Think about it. If I quit, I don't have to go out with Dakota. You won't lose your job if we get caught. And we can date and not care who knows."

I nodded. "Good plan. Screw everyone." I paused and tried to sound completely reasonable. "What happens when your parents go ballistic on you?"

She shrugged like "no big deal." But she squirmed, giving herself away. She had no idea the trouble she was about to step in. I loved her too much. Even though it ran counter to everything I wanted, I couldn't let her throw away her relationship with them.

"You can handle their disappointment?" I studied her. "Are you sure? That necklace your mom gave you. Her hopes are pretty high."

She shrugged again.
 

I wrapped my hands around hers, which were wrapped around her paper cup so tightly she was about to crush it. "Damn, you don't know how much it means to me that you're willing to make that sacrifice for us." I paused to emphasize my point and stroked her hands with my thumbs. "But I can't let you do it. We'll find another way."

She looked me square in the eye. "I don't need your permission."

"I get that. But we're a team, right? If this is for us, we have to agree and prepare." I smiled at her, trying to make her understand. "Have you ever defied your parents on something this important before?"
 

She hesitated and grinned like she was trying to win me over and divert my attention. "You mean like over a guy?"

"Over anything that would piss them off so badly they cut you off," I said. "The truth."

"No. But maybe the time has come."
 

Her answer didn't surprise me. I saw the pleaser in her, like in my little brothers. Being the most-loved child had its own set of pressures.

"You're an only. You don't have any siblings who have tested the waters. You have no idea how badly they'll react."

"I have an idea—"

"Yeah. We both have an idea. But we don't know
how
hacked off they'll be. Or how long they'll hold a grudge." I held her gaze, trying to make her see what she was risking. "They'll cut your money off. Best case, they'll only threaten to. Money gives them power. Money and the guilt trip they'll throw at you."

"Why are you fighting me? I thought you would be happy!" Her eyes pleaded with me, but were rapidly filling with hurt. "We can be together openly. Screw everyone else and all these stupid rules!"

I clasped her hands tighter. "No argument here. The rules are crap," I said. "If you drop out of the house, you'll never get back in. Not to the Double Deltsies. Not to
any
house. Your mom will be supremely pissed about that.
Forever
." I tried to keep the emotion out of my voice. "It's not easy to fall from grace. Take it from me."

"Zach…" Alexis' eyes filled with pity.

Shit.
I hated being pitied.
 

"Don't give your parents another grudge against me. I don't want it to be me, the guy you threw your life away for, against them." I tipped her chin up. "It's like you said. I won't be a houseboy forever. Chill for now. Agreed?" I gave her my best pleading look. "For me?"

She sighed. "For
now
. But what about my date dash with Dakota?"

I fought not to blow all the progress I'd made. "Shit. That sucks. I'm wild with jealousy. Not that I would ever take you to a crappy frat party. You deserve better."

She grinned. "Where would you take me?"

I just grinned and raised an eyebrow.
 

She laughed. "If only! What do I do about Dakota?"

"Text me throughout the night. Definitely don't drink. Refuse all house tours. And bail early." I grinned. "It wouldn't hurt to wear his ex's favorite perfume. Just saying."

Her eyes sparkled. "You're awful! What else?"

"Cinnamon breath mints. He hates those."

She laughed. "That's it? He isn't, like, deathly allergic to something I could wear?"

"Vicious! You want to kill a guy just because he wants to get it on with you?"
 

"Not kill. Just disable."

Shit, I loved it when her face lit up like that and she threw my crap back at me.

"A date dash is just an excuse to get a girl to have sex with you. Dak was known as 'hands' for more than the way he handled a football. If he lays one finger on you, call me and I'll come and beat the shit out of QB2."

"My hero!" She faked a swoon.
 

I leaned across the table and brushed her lips with a kiss that made me wish weren't separated by a table and so much more. I lowered my voice. "I've heard of a few things you can dump in a guy's beer that take him out of the mood as soon as he starts vomiting his guts out."

She made a disgusted face. "What! That's awful."

"Yeah," I said. "The things you learn living in a sorority house." I smiled and shook my head. "I love you, pledge. I can't believe I'm encouraging you to go on a date with my ex-best friend. Sometimes reality bites."

"Doesn't it?" Her smile made me weak in the knees. "I love you, too." Her words were even better.

Alexis

Sometimes love was a crazy, wild thing that made you do stupid stuff. Like going on a date with someone else when I only wanted to be with Zach. Yeah, going out with Dakota was good for hiding my relationship with Zach, but I still hated it. And part of me wanted insane jealousy from Zach. Not reasonableness. Not logic. But that was only the fantasy part of me that thought passionate jealousy was romantic in the abstract. Like kissing the steps where I'd walked. Or tossing rose petals in my path.

Em was glowing when I got back to the house. "I'm going to Wasted Wednesday!" She bounced off the bed in our shared room and took my hands so I could bounce with her.

I didn't feel bouncy. "What?"

"Wasted Wednesday. You know, the Tau Psi date dash? Carter asked me!"

"That's fab!" I got it now and bounced with her. "We can get ready together."

Dakota texted me to wear jeans and be prepared to lose my shirt—for the one he was giving me. Very funny.

Em spent hours on her hair and makeup getting ready. I made a valiant attempt at pretending to be excited. Carter and Dakota asked us to meet them at the frat house.

Em was full of details. "Until eleven, it's a closed party. Then anyone can show up." She made a face to show her disgust at the shortness of the exclusivity.

I was planning to ditch way before eleven.

When I returned from the bathroom to grab my stuff and head out, there was a water bottle filled with juice on my desk.
 

Zach texted me.
Carry this water bottle around. Pretend it's spiked. The guys will think you're drinking and leave you alone.

I smiled to myself. He really was my hero.

I grabbed the bottle. When Em came back to the room, we headed downstairs together.
 

Kayla caught us as we were about to head out for the date dash. She eyed my water bottle. "Bringing your own booze. Smart plan. That's what I always do." She winked.

I had renewed respect for her and Zach.

Em was filled with nervous excitement and gushing about Carter as we walked to the Tau Psi house through the crisp autumn evening and the parties pounding from frat houses. Half a block from Tau Psi, I texted Dakota that I would be there in minutes and popped a cinnamon breath mint in my mouth.

When we showed up, he was waiting on the front porch of the house, holding a beer and leaning against a pillar beneath a light. Impervious to the cold, he was dressed in jeans and an official dark blue date dash T-shirt that showed off his toned arms and trim, athletic form. The light lit a halo around his hair. His face was set in the easy smile of a popular guy who was used to making girls' hearts pound. The power and prestige of his status and position on campus alone should have been enough to light me up. I thought, like I had a zillion times before,
He should make my heart dance. But he doesn't
.
 

Compared to Zach, Dakota was a distant number two.

Carter stood next to him. When Carter spotted us, he ran to Em like an eager pledge puppy. Dakota, too cool to be bothered, waited for me to come up the steps and get a full-frontal view of his T-shirt with its glowing white letters and stenciled pair of praying hands.

"Pull Out and Pray Date Dash," I read, and looked him in the eye. "I thought this was Wasted Wednesday."

He nodded toward the water bottle filled with juice in my hand. "You couldn't wait to get started?"

I grinned. "I was getting a jump on what I thought was the theme."

"'Jump' fits the theme." He winked, took my hand, and pulled me toward the frat house that pulsed with music and smelled like beer and hot bodies.
 

Carter and Emily fell in behind us, oblivious to us now.

A pledge at the door ran his gaze up and down me. "Small?" He held up a folded pink T-shirt.

"Good eye," I said as I took it from him. I shook it out as we walked in. On the back was a silhouette of a cowgirl riding bareback on a bucking horse. And the slogan, "It's better bareback."

I turned to Dakota. "The eternal optimists."

He laughed and pointed. "The bathroom's over there if you want to change." He was issuing a challenge, daring me to be a chicken and change in the bathroom.

I called his bluff, slid out of my jacket, pulled the shirt I was wearing off, and slipped the new T-shirt on with a shimmy. Then I flashed him a look that said, "Who needs a bathroom?" I hoped he got the message that I was in control.

He took my jacket and shirt and tossed them on a pile on a sofa near the door. "Dance? Beer pong? Ladies' choice."

"What a gentleman! Dance, definitely." I set my water bottle down and let him lead me into the middle of the dance floor.

The room was lit with black lights that made the lettering on our T-shirts glow. Dakota was an easy dancer, too cool to go crazy with nerdy moves. He knew how to hold a girl just right, too. What he wasn't was the octopus most frat guys were, hands everywhere. And when you lopped one off, two more grew back.

Sure, he felt me up. Held me close as often as he could. Made a show of being all over me for his buddies. Call it intuition, but something felt off to me. And his phone kept buzzing in his pocket. I felt it when he held me close. He ignored it.

We danced until we worked up a sweat and got thirsty. When Dakota went to get us a beer, I texted Zach an update, typing as fast as I possibly could. Hoping not to get caught. Zach texted back so fast, it was like he'd been holding his phone,
Text me when you're ready to leave. I'll meet you and walk you back.

I smiled and slid my phone into my pocket. I'd lost my water bottle during the dance. It wasn't where I'd set it. I went looking for it. As I passed the large picture window in the front room, I spotted Dakota on the front sidewalk by himself, with his back to me.

I frowned and headed out to check on him. It didn't look like he was out for a smoke. He definitely wasn't getting a beer. He didn't hear me approach. I stopped in my tracks as I overheard his end of a conversation.