The Pledge (12 page)

I hurried off the bed, trying to hide Amanda from Caz’s gaze, but he wasn’t looking at her. He was staring at me.

“Dude. You have a boner. That’s disturbing that you can get off while watching Jack Nicholson go fuckin’ crazy on his wife and kid.”

“What are you doing here? I thought you were visiting your family.” I zipped up my pants, grimacing at the discomfort. Amanda had turned her back to us and struggled to get her shirt back on.

“I did. Now I’m back.” He flopped down on his bed, unconcerned that he had interrupted my night. He picked up the remote and pointed it at his television. “Are you done watching this? I mean, it’s not like you were anyway.” He grinned, and I flipped him the bird.

Amanda grabbed her backpack off the floor and slung it over her shoulder. “I’ll see you later, Alec,” she said as she reached for the doorknob.

“Amanda...”

But she was already out the door and disappearing down the hallway.

“You could have warned me you were coming back tonight.” I dropped down on my bed in frustration.

“I’ll give you two very valuable pieces of advice.” Caz grabbed the popcorn bag and shoved a handful in his mouth. “One, next time put a sock on the handle. And two, if you’ve got a girl in here, lock the door, dipshit.”

Chapter Eleven

TAREN

“Can I borrow a pair of earrings?” Alexis asked as she zipped up the back of my dress. We had another rush party tonight and were getting ready together.

I bent over and slipped on my heels. “Of course. Help yourself.” I tipped my chin toward my dresser.

Alexis opened my jewelry box and rummaged around. “What’s this?” She held up a long red ribbon.

My breathing faltered as I took it in my hand. This ribbon was a symbol to me of both pain and joy. I sat on my bed, running my fingers over the smooth satin. “I can’t believe I still have this.”

“Where did you get it?” Alexis sat next to me, securing a pair of silver hoops in her ears that Claire had given me for my last birthday.

My voice was low and flat. “You know how I was picked on in school?” Alexis nodded. “Sometimes it got pretty bad. This one guy liked to torture me. He was always doing things to my backpack. Dumping it in the toilet, kicking it down the hall—or my favorite—cutting the straps off so I had to carry it like a bag of groceries.” I drew circles on the floor with my toes as I heard Alexis’ sharp inhale.

“Oh, Taren. I’m so sorry.” Alexis grabbed my hand and squeezed.

“It’s over.” I shook my head, dismissing her concern. “When I was working with Alec one day on our project, he noticed my backpack.” I ran the ribbon through my fingers, the satin smooth and bright. “He used this red ribbon to fix the strap so I could carry my backpack again. It was part of the reason I thought his kindness was more than just friendship.”

“It was a nice gesture.”

“Yeah, well I’m a hopeless romantic. I wore this ridiculous ribbon in my hair when I went to the bonfire to ask him to the dance.” I looked down at my hands, clasped tightly together. “Stupid.” I rolled my eyes.

“Not stupid. Sweet. I love that you kept this.” Alexis took the ribbon from my hands and placed it back in my jewelry box, shutting the lid. “Keeping this shows you never gave up. You were willing to take a risk, and you survived.”

I swallowed around the lump in my throat and plastered a fake smile on my face. “Let’s go. Jules will have a stroke if we’re late.” Alexis grabbed her sweater and opened the door. “And I think you just might be a hopeless romantic, yourself.”

“I so am.” She giggled as we walked down the hall together arm in arm.

***

I was in.

I was a Gamma Gamma Gamma.

They wanted me. They told me I
belonged
with them. And because sometimes, and only sometimes, things worked out the way they should, they also wanted Alexis and Julie.

“We’re sisters! Real sisters! For life!” Julie cheered as we drank beers at our initiation party. Doug’s fraternity hosted the party. They were considered our brother fraternity, which just meant we partied together all the time.

“I love your letters, Lex.”

Alexis looked down and grinned. Her big sister, Tiffany, was our rush chair. As part of Tiffany’s big sister role, she picked out Alexis’ first sweatshirt with the letters of Gamma Gamma Gamma embroidered on the front. The navy sweatshirt with lime green chevron letters was adorable and very Alexis.

“Yours are so cute, too.” Alexis pointed to my pink zebra letters. We learned that in the Greek system, letters were special. If you didn’t go through the whole six week pledge period and get fully initiated into the sorority during a candle-lit, robed, oddly witch-like ceremony, you didn’t get to wear the letters. All of the traditions still weirded me out a bit, but I wasn’t going to complain.

Just as I was admiring the sweatshirts, lost in the emotion of belonging, a pitcher of ice-cold beer was dumped over my head. “Shit!” I screamed. I wiped the moisture from my eyes and wrung out my hair.

“Welcome to initiation, little sis!” My big sister, Kate, laughed and dumped a second cold pitcher of beer over my head. “Tradition dictates that we saturate your new letters in beer. Don’t know why, but it sure is fun.”

“Holy crap!” Julie screamed as her big sister threw one pitcher directly at her chest and another over her head.

I laughed, watching Alexis run from Tiffany, and then squeal as Asher Vance, President of Delta Epsilon, picked her up and held her. Tiffany poured beer on them both, but Asher didn’t seem to mind a bit.

“Here, Denton.” Doug handed me a towel, and I mopped my face dry.

“Thanks.” I shrieked as Doug picked me up and twirled me around to face him, kissing me sloppily on the lips. I wished I could blame his clumsy kiss on his current state of drunkenness, but that was how he always kissed.

“Hey, Whistler.” Julie slugged Doug in the arm before grabbing my towel.

“Not talking to you, Jules.” Doug glared at her, and I raised my eyebrows at him.

“You just did, Whistler. Look, don’t be mad at me about your boy, Lobo.” Julie handed Doug the wet towel and looked across the yard. A pissed off Ricardo Lobo was perched against the back of the house with his arms crossed over his chest, glaring at her.

“I’ll be back.” Doug burped. “I need another beer.” He staggered off toward the keg. He needed another beer like he needed that whistle around his neck again. I was going to have to find a way to lose that thing.

“I thought Ricardo was your Latin lover?” I whispered to Julie.

She rolled her eyes. “Chest hair.”

“You’re a mess.”

“Me? What about our girl, Lex?” She nodded over toward Alexis who was lip-locked with Asher. “You never told me what happened after the boyfriend from back home showed up last week.”

The corners of my mouth turned down at the thought of that shitty night. “He showed up, pissed as hell that she pledged a sorority. They started fighting, and I came to you.” When that badass-looking guy cried, I knew it was my cue to get lost. “All she’ll tell me is that they broke up.”

Julie grinned and elbowed me hard in the ribs. Shit, she had pointy limbs.

“It appears Asher’s lips are helping to make her feel better about her new single status.” Julie cupped her hands around her mouth and hollered. “Hot damn, you two need to get a room.”

Alexis pulled away from Asher, blushing as if she hadn’t realized what she was doing.

Kate walked by and handed us more beers. One thing we did not need was any more beer.

“So, what happened with Ricardo?” I took a sip of the nasty, cheap drink.

“He’s hot. I’ll give him that, and he’s a great dancer. Totally has that hot Latin guy thing down, but like I said, chest hair. Like a chia pet. Every time he took his shirt off, all I could think was cha-cha-cha-chia!” Julie shook her head and took a huge gulp of her drink.

I looked over at Julie and then at my beer. Julie always had some excuse when it came to guys. No matter how hot they were, within a few days she was picking them apart.
Must be nice to have the luxury of being choosy.

“He’s giving you the evil eye,” I pointed out, refusing to RSVP to my world-class pity party.

“Well he can eye me all he wants as long as he leaves that shirt on.”

I laughed. “You’re such a bitch.”

“You mean honest,” Julie said as she eye-fucked her next victim.

I set my beer down and tried to wring out my sweatshirt. “I hate to be a buzzkill, but I need a hot shower and dry clothes.”

Julie looked down at her clothes and shuddered. “Yeah, me too. I feel properly initiated. Let’s go home.”

“Bye.” I hugged Kate and looked around for Pickles. He was nowhere to be seen.

“Say goodbye to lover boy.” Julie pried Asher off Alexis’ face, and we dragged her to the bus stop with us.

When the bus finally stopped at Denton, we stumbled out the door. A group of students was hanging out near the bus stop, but they didn’t get on the shuttle.

“Blondie is hot!” Even in her drunken haze, Jules was ready to get her flirt on. She pointed to a taller guy in the group and licked her lips. She took a few steps toward him and then stopped. “Wait. What is he doing?”

Alexis and I craned our necks, looking to see what Julie had noticed. The guy she was talking about was tossing around things that looked like bowling pins. Oh dear god. He was juggling, like a friggin’ circus clown. I rolled my eyes and laughed.
What a weirdo
.

“What are those guys doing?” Alexis hiccupped and pointed to the guys that were being cheered on by a crowd.

Two other guys seemed to be having a race along the sidewalk, but instead of running, they were walking on their hands. One of the guys’ shirts had bunched up around his shoulders, exposing chiseled back muscles.

“Can a spine be sexy?” I grinned in appreciation. If so, his definitely qualified.

Alexis nodded with a grin. “Absolutely. Backs are hot when they look like that. Just think what the rest of him looks like.”

The group rooting on the hand-walkers got even rowdier. Julie, Alexis, and I moved to the side, trying to pass.
Jesus.
These people were more embarrassing than the geeks that strutted around campus in their marching band outfits. If anyone knew embarrassment and geekiness, it was me.

When hot spine guy crossed the imaginary finish line, the strange group erupted into whistles and cheers. “Yeah, Alec!” a girl screamed out and hugged him.

I halted abruptly, causing Julie and Alexis to slam into me. “Alec?” I repeated.

At the sound of his name, the guy turned around and looked right at me. His mouth hung open and sweat dripped along his forehead and down his face.
Holy hell.
My stomach dropped to the floor. The sick feeling I had when he saved me from the speeding car came back like a punch to the gut. Alec Hart. I just couldn’t get away from him.

“Taren? Is that you?” His eyes scanned me and stopped at my sweatshirt, taking in the sopping wet clothes. I was sure my hair and makeup were a total disaster, too. This was not the way I wanted Alec to see me. I fought the urge to cover up and revert back to high school Taren.

I narrowed my eyes and pursed my lips. Why did he sound friendly? He had humiliated me. He had accused me of busting up his party and getting him in trouble. Whatever hope I had of finishing high school under the radar had been squashed at that point. Did he think that saving my life the other day suddenly made us best friends? If he was arrogant enough to think my heart fluttered like a butterfly on crack when his arms were around me, he’d be wrong. Nope. Not at all. I also absolutely did not melt into a puddle of hormones when he asked if I was hurt. Nope. His deep throaty voice had zero effect on me. Not one bit. I was over my crush on Alec Hart. That ship sailed. Finito. It was over. Gone with the wind and every other cliché my mind could muster.

I crossed my arms over my chest and ignored the droplet of sweat that kissed the side of his face. “Yup. It’s me, your old buddy Taren.”

Alec smiled. “You look great!”

Asshole.
Was that some kind of joke? I snorted and rolled my eyes. I kicked out my hip. “It’s initiation night. I’m a Tri-Gam now.” I pointed to my beer-soaked letters on my sweatshirt.

“That’s great, Taren.” His tone sounded unimpressed
. Arrogant asshole.

I tipped my chin up. “Yeah it is.” I cocked an eyebrow as I looked around at the motley crew. “Are these your friends?” I might have been a beer-soaked mess, but I was never going to let Alec look down on me again.

Alec’s brow furrowed, and he crossed his arms over his chest. “Yeah, these are my friends.”

Julie leaned close and whispered in my ear. “Juggler dude is back flipping on the lawn. Can we go? These people are freaking me the fuck out.”

I muffled my giggle with my hand and watched Alec’s jaw tighten.

Maybe it was the exhaustion, the cheap beer, or my own petty need to get even, but I wanted to hurt him like he had hurt me.

“I guess you were right, Alec.” I stared down my nose at him, repeating the words he said to me only a year ago. “I guess we really aren’t in the
same league
.”