Listen, I don' t know what game you ' re playing, and I don ' t give a
shit. "
I reveled in the shocked expression messing up her pretty face. "Elle is
important to me, so lay off." I could tell she wasn ' t used to being
shot down–most girls like her weren't.
" You mind? " I ignored her huff when I changed the radio station. I
rested my head against the seat cushion and closed my eyes to clear my head.
My steel hard plan to keep Elle at a distance didn't seem to
be working out as I'd planned, especially after seeing her in the too damned
short, sexy purple dress. I needed a fucking strong drink in order to get
through the night.
Without warning, the car came to a screeching halt. My head
bounced hard against the leather headrest.
" Oops, " the bitch said. I moved in, close enough to smell the
over-priced vanilla perfume she doused herself in. Her lips parted with
anticipation.
"Not everyone can handle a stick." Her eyes widened
and I backed away. Yep, way too easy. I opened the door and didn ' t bother to hide
my laugh. Elle and Alyssa waited by the door. I walked over as soon as I got
out.
"About time," Elle said. I smiled and she arched
her brows in return.
"After you," I said, following close behind. When
we walked in, I sent a silent prayer that I wouldn ' t have to watch
Elle meet up with some dickhead tonight.
Elle
The frat house was in full swing, and everyone dressed in
true sixties form. Music pulsed against the wood floors, and a rotating silver
disco ball replaced the usual light fixture in the main room.
Alyssa quickly mingled her way into the crowd, smiling and
laughing while I stayed back. I wanted to spend as much time with Tristan as I
could.
Not long after we got there, Ginger took her manicured claws
out of Tristan. He'd made it perfectly clear he wasn ' t interested,
and when he brought back a drink for me and not her, she finally took the hint.
“God, she ' s a vulture, you know. How do you live with," he nodded
to Ginger, "that piece of work? I mean she ' s hot, but damn."
"That kind of surprises me. She ' s usually the
type of girl you go after. What gives?" I then remembered the important
news he had for me. I kept bugging him all week, but he refused to budge. He
said he wanted us to be alone when he told me. I hadn ' t realized my
big goofy grin until Tristan nudged my shoulder.
"What ' s with the smile, Spud? Is it some guy?" He eyed the
room. His lean shoulders straightened and his chest bowed out. "Because
you know, I ' m obligated to kick his ass if I don ' t like him."
"Oh shut up, and no, there isn ' t a guy...not really
anyway. I ' m just happy you finally came to see me. Not talking to you
all summer sucked. So," I lingered on the word, "are you going to
tell me what the big news is or do I have to guess?" I bit my bottom lip.
A nervous habit I picked up after my parents divorced, when mine and my
sister's world went to shit.
"I figured we could go to dinner first. Maybe tomorrow?
Your weekend ' s free, right?"
" Yep, no plans. "
A loud bell from in the kitchen stole our attention away.
Tristan and I followed the excess of people crowded in the doorway. In the
kitchen were two kegs. A row of guys in front of one and in front of the other
were girls.
"If you ' re a light weight, then get the hell out of line," Bret,
Ginger ' s ex, announced holding up a spout. "You know the rules,
an equal amount of guys to girls, and the line that finishes without spewing
wins. Everyone, place your bets now," he finished.
I looked over the crowd and found Alyssa at the front of the
girls’ line. I should have known. Opposite her stood Jarred, the football
team’s captain. She had her work cut out for her. I ' d heard he ' d won every keg
stand he ' d been to.
“All right, all bets are closed. Let the game begin." A
fellow Kappa dinged the bell again, and the race took off. The deafening tune
of chug, chug, chug, bellowed throughout the crowd while Jarred and Alyssa
gulped