Rushed (The Rushed Series) (7 page)

She laughed. "The guys over there, the Lambda Rhos?" She nodded toward them. "Totally beneath us. Misfits. Douchebags."
 

A guy caught her attention. She waved to him with a big smile. "And there are a few, a very few, independents who are hot and worth hanging with. There's one, our student body president."

Another guy waved to her from a sea of Double Deltsie T-shirts. He was tall, blond, and built. With a chiseled jaw and snapping blue eyes. Abs to die for.
 

She waved back with enthusiasm and a sparkle in her eyes. "There we are! Seth!" She whispered to us as an aside. "One of our houseboys. Seth is simply irresistible. If he wasn't working for us, I would do him repeatedly. Stay away from him. He'll get you in trouble." She spoke like she knew from experience.
 

"Our houseboys are some of the hottest guys on campus." She sighed. "And off limits to all you pledges. If anyone asks, I warned you. I can't emphasize this enough—they're supposed to be like our brothers. Sleeping with one can get you expelled from the house on moral grounds."
 

She shook her head. "Yeah. Antiquated crap, but it's in the rules. Pay your dues. Keep your grades up. Participate in house events. Maintain the house image. And, most importantly, don't screw the houseboys. And you'll be golden." She turned her gaze back to Seth.
 

Seth stood next to two other good-looking guys. But Zach, who was standing a small distance away from them in the shade of a tree, caught my full attention. He was shirtless, with a beach towel draped over his shoulder. His tat was more obvious now, an inscription of some sort, like a date. And maybe a tiny angel and a heart? Hard to tell for sure from this distance. It seemed kind of out of character for a definitely hetero guy like him. He wore baggy swim trunks and flip-flops. Despite Leah's dire warning, it was all I could do not to stare openly at him.
 

"Paul and Dillon are standing next to Seth," Leah said. "Where's Zach?" She looked around for him. "Oh, there he is! The dark-haired one off by himself." She smiled. "Zach's our superhero guardian. He's always saving someone. Last Halloween, we made him dress as Superman for our house party. He was so adorable!"

He caught me staring at him. There was a hungry look in his eyes. The physical attraction between us rocked through the air, a mini heat wave of our own. He looked away, like he didn't want to face me, and walked off. I had just been snubbed.

Zach

I couldn't get Alexis Turner out of my mind while I waited my turn in the cliff-jumping line. I hadn't been able to shake her out since we met in the bathroom. I still had the cut on my forehead to prove she messed with my head.
 

When I saw her get out of the car with Leah, my heart soared and my head warned me I was in deep shit now. Before seeing her, part of me had held the futile, selfish hope that I'd been mistaken and they hadn't offered her a bid. Or that she would turn the Double Deltsies down if they had. Rejecting them would have been gutsy. Being a Double Deltsie guaranteed a girl instant popularity.

Selfishly, I thought about how if Alexis had declined their offer, she would have been out of the Greek system. I could have dated her. I was in that limbo—not Greek, not Geed, independent. As a guy to date, the Geeds accepted me. I was too loyal to the Double Deltsies for most of the other sorority girls' tastes.
 

My turn finally came. As I stood on the ledge overlooking the river, old, familiar feelings pushed thoughts of Alexis aside. Talking to my mom always made me want to jump off a cliff. I had spent my entire life—that I could remember, anyway—feeling that way, thinking of jumping. Ending it all. Those few seconds of flying and total freedom from earth and then…nothingness. No more pain.
 

When I was younger, I used to think she'd be sorry if I jumped off the bridge by our house and drowned. Now I knew that wasn't true. She would be relieved. Oh, she would play the part of grieving mom. But she would be reveling in the sympathy the whole time, taking in the love and attention of being the poor, tragic mother whose asshole son killed himself. Thriving on it. Selfish bastard that I was, I refused to give her that.
 

My life was worth more. I could make a difference to someone. Help as many people as I could. I wasn't sure anymore that nothingness waited at the end. Maybe there was something better. Something I still had to find.

Dad wouldn't be any better, except he doesn't love the spotlight as much as she does. I used to think no one else would miss me. Now I think the girls would. I hope they would. I wasn't going to test it and be remembered as that tragic houseboy.

As I stood on the edge of the cliff, ready to take my turn and jump, my heart soared. This was the perfect solution—a few seconds of flying, a cold splash of reality, and life. A second chance.

Alexis

I watched Zach walk away and join the line of cliff jumpers. Though I tried to turn away, my gaze kept drifting back to him, watching him as he moved forward in line. Morgan showed up and kept her eye on me, my personal hawk.
 

Em immediately adapted and was in her element as a group of frat guys approached and offered us beer. The party swung into full action. The group ignored the river and the cliffs, partying as if they were back at the frat house.
 

I wasn't the kind of girl who liked to stay on the beach looking perfect, like the rest of my new sorority sisters. Arching our backs to accentuate our shapes. Living for attention from guys. None of the frat guys interested me. There was only one guy I wanted to see, and he was about to jump off a cliff to escape me.

After a while, I'd had enough of being hit on and leered at and offered red plastic cups full of beer. I eyed the line of people jumping off the cliffs with longing, watching Zach's broad shoulders and wishing I were next to him. Em was distracted by the attention and headiness of her newfound popularity.

I grabbed her arm. "Let's go cliff jumping!"

She looked at me like I was crazy. "And leave the party? I don't like heights." She turned back to the frat guy she was flirting with, a guy from Tau Psi. A house that was up to our standards.

Paul, one of the houseboys, came up behind me as I stood swirling a head back onto the beer in my hand and dreaming of Zach. "You look like you want to jump."

When he spoke, I did jump, startled that he'd caught me so blatantly staring at Zach.

"I do!" I turned to smile at him, hoping to throw him off from my real motivation. I didn't really want to jump. I just wanted to watch Zach and sneak a chance to talk to him. "No one will go with me. Will you?" I asked on impulse.

"I would." The few words were slurred. "But I know my limits. I've had too much already. Never drink and dive. That's my motto."
 

I made a face of mock disappointment and laughed. "Very wise of you. You should put that on a bumper sticker."

"Good idea! Maybe I will." When he laughed, he smelled like cheap beer. "You look brave enough. You don't need a partner. Go!"

I hesitated. "I've never jumped off a cliff before." Not a cliff like this, chasing after a guy who'd just dissed me. I glanced at the jumpers. "We're under orders to stay here and party."

Paul got a devilish look in his eyes. "Is that right?" He grabbed my arm. "In that case, I'll cover for you while you sneak off." He tugged me toward the edge of our party.

"And how am I supposed to explain coming back with wet hair?"

He shrugged. "There are plenty of frat rats who will happily toss you into the river on your way back from the bathroom. Oops! Pranks will happen."

"You
are
good." I warmed to him.

"Zach's up there in line," Paul said. "Have you met him?"

My heart suddenly raced. I nodded and tried to play it cool. "Yeah. He served me cake."

Paul laughed nervously, like I'd said something wrong. He was still friendly, but from a distance. "Think you could recognize him?" Paul's tone led me to believe that no girl forgot Zach once they'd met him.

"Possibly." I had to agree with him—how could I miss Zach?

"What are you waiting for?" Paul gave me a gentle shove toward the cliffs. "I have your back. Go! Before the next wave of frat boys shows up."

Chapter Five

Zach

I hit the cold water and gasped as I sank into the darkness of the river toward the mud of the river bottom. As many times as I've jumped, there's still that moment when I panic. I can't breathe, and death seems like a reasonable escape. When I think,
Shit, it could end here and maybe that's better.
Then my feet touched bottom. I pushed up with a reassuring will to live. Damn it all, I was a fighter.

I broke through the surface and inhaled, exhilarated to be alive. Adrenaline stoked my strokes. I swam toward the rocky shore at the bottom of the cliffs and began the climb to get in line again.
 

If I had to be at the dunes, this was the way to spend the time, jumping again and again until I didn't have the strength for one more time. Proving to myself over and over that life was worth struggling through.

I pulled myself up over the last ledge of the cliff at the top. The line had grown and wandered down the hill that rose to the cliffs from the dunes and meandered along the river.
 

I sprinted toward the end of the line, high on life. As I neared the line's end, I spotted Alexis in the arms of a frat pledge, screaming and fighting to get away as he carried her toward the river to dunk her in. A buddy of his egged him on. I fought a surge of anger.
 

Some girls put up a fight as a way of flirting. Playfully pushing and screaming for attention. Most girls, if they're really into the guy, will wrap their arms around his neck and hang onto him as if their life and their hairstyle depend on it. Pressing tightly against him so he gets a good feel of soft, warm breasts and naked skin, and a hard-on, pleading with him not to let her go.

Alexis' screams were angry. She was pushing him away for real as she tried to squirm free. Fuck. Stupid drunk pledges. I dashed to them and stepped between the pledge and the river. "Dude, she's clearly not into this. Put her down."

Alexis' eyes lit up as she spotted me. She gave me that hero look. "Zach!"

The pledge carrying her stopped. The other one took a step toward me. "How are you going to stop us,
houseboy
?"
 

I stared them down.
Cocky, stupid freshmen
. "
Pledges
," I said with the same sneer.

They hadn't realized yet how much pull I had at the house with the girls. I could blacklist these two douchebags if I wanted to. Make sure they had no chance with our girls.
 

I didn't blink. I was energized and high on adrenaline. Pulsing with anger and jealousy at seeing Alexis in the douchebag's arms. Unafraid to take them on.

The dickhead carrying Alexis tried to step around me. I dove for the douchebag, ramming my shoulder into his back.

He dropped Alexis. I caught her fall as she stumbled and pushed her behind me.
 

I caught a movement from the corner of my eye as a fist slammed toward my back. I turned just enough to avoid a direct punch to the kidney. I grabbed the pledge's arm and swung him around, wrenching it behind his back. Shit, I was going to make him cry uncle.

The first pledge, the one I had stripped of Alexis, came at me, throwing a punch aimed at my jaw. I leaned back out of the way. The pledge I held tried to squirm free.
 

I had tunnel vision. I didn't see anything but the two douchebags I was trying to subdue. I didn't want to fight them and beat the crap out of them. Out of nowhere, two other pledges jumped on my back. I took a blow to the back of my knees and nearly went down, taking the pledge I held with me.

"Get off him!" Alexis screamed from behind me as she pulled at one of the guys on my back.

"Listen to her. Get off him!" The commanding voice was calm, firm, and amused. And that of my ex-best friend Dakota.

Alexis

I brushed my hair out of my eyes as Dakota pulled me off the douches that had attacked Zack, breathing hard and struggling to keep up the fight.

 
The Tau Psi pledges moved away from Zach. Before I could go to him, Dakota Bradley, the frat guy who'd tried to tempt me with the Pomsky puppy, let go of me and stepped between us.