He must have noticed my reaction. “Don’t worry, I can carry you home.”
“Not to your place.” I closed the car door.
“Oh? You sure about that?” He wrapped his hand around mine as we walked.
“Absolutely.”
“We’ll see about that.”
Chapter Ten
The mixer was in full swing when we arrived. I glanced around the crowded bar, looking for my friends. I’d learned it was easier to find their boyfriends. Both guys, especially Reed, were huge. The first face I noticed wasn’t any of them. Colt smiled when he caught my eye. Unable to resist, I smiled back.
“What’s your drink?” Tanner asked.
“You don’t already know?” I said sarcastically.
“You want me to guess?”
“Sure. Surprise me.”
“All right. Be right back.” He walked over to the bar. I wandered into the crowd, determined to find someone I knew.
Colt found me first. “Hey, pumpkin.” He stopped inches in front of me.
“Hey.” I didn’t bother pretending I was unhappy to see him. He wouldn’t have bought it for a second. I didn’t want to lead him on, but I really wanted us to go back to being friends.
“How was dinner?”
“Oh.” I felt a wave of guilt but tried to shrug it off. I’d never pretended to have an interest in dating Colt. In fact, I’d been doing the opposite. Well, besides sleeping with him once.
“Oh?” He took a sip of his beer. “Is that all you have to say?”
“It was great.” I tried to smile to add believability.
“Great, huh?” He raised an eyebrow. “Does that mean you’re going out with him again?” The unmistakable look of jealousy crossed his face.
“Maybe. I haven’t decided yet.”
“Decided what?” Tanner returned, slipping an arm around my waist as he handed me a glass with a clear liquid and mint leaves.
“Nothing.”
“Whether you’re getting another date.” Colt spoke at the same time as me.
I glared at him.
“Oh? And what did you decide?” Tanner’s arm tightened around me.
“Jury’s still out,” Colt filled in before I could.
“I wasn’t asking you, pledge.” Tanner turned to me. “What do you say?”
“I didn’t hear you ask me out again, so there’s no reason to think about it yet.” Our first date definitely hadn’t been amazing, but a second wasn’t ruled out completely.
“Oh yeah? Okay.” He grinned. “Want to go out again?”
“That depends.” I’d walked into the trap myself.
“On?”
I made my decision. I’d give him another chance, but I wasn’t going to outright admit it yet. “Whether you picked out a good drink.”
“Then take a sip. Don’t leave me hanging.”
I sipped the cool, refreshing liquid. “A mojito. Nice. I think I’ll see you again.”
“Glad I passed the test.” His lips tickled my earlobe as he leaned in.
Tanner looked up, like he’d just remembered Colt. “This is a mixer, pledge. Why don’t you go mix?”
“Yeah. Sure. See you later, Mal.” Colt didn’t appear interested in mixing.
“I wouldn’t wait up for her.” Tanner used his hand to lead me away.
“Getting cocky, huh?” I teased. “Anyway, what happened to you wanting meaningful sex?”
“Sex with you would be very meaningful.” His fingers gently stroked my hip.
“For who?”
“Both of us. I mean I already know your favorite color and middle name. What else do I need to know?”
I laughed. “Yeah, if you’re looking to get lucky, you should probably do some mixing of your own.”
“Trying to ditch me already? We just got here.”
“I need to find my friends.”
“And we can’t find them together?”
Man, he was clingy. I always complained about going to parties alone, but at least I didn’t have to worry about a guy following me around. I caught sight of Juliet talking to another one of my sorority sisters, Claire. “I’ll catch up with you later.” I tried to slip away.
His hand tightened slightly. “Is that a promise?”
“Maybe.” I pulled away and rushed off. Either he was hard up or we had very different definitions of how casual couples acted at these things.
“Mallory, hey!” Juliet waved.
“Hey, girls.”
“How was dinner?” Claire asked. Pretty much my entire house knew about the date. I guess Tanner’s return had been noticed by a lot of people.
“It was all right.”
Juliet made a strange face, and I was prepared to explain when I heard Colt’s voice from behind me. “All right? What happened to great?”
I groaned. “Eavesdropping on other people’s conversations isn’t cool.”
“Yeah? Well, neither is listening to you flirt with a jack ass.”
All three of us looked at him with surprise. Claire spoke first. “Are you really saying that about an active?”
“Like you girls never complained about actives when you were pledging?”
“Not in public.” In private, we did it tons. Especially when it came to our pledge mom, Amanda. That was one senior I was glad to see graduate.
“This isn’t public.”
“A bar isn’t public?” I gave him a disbelieving look.
“No. It’s a fascinating conversation with three beautiful women.”
Claire giggled. A wave of jealousy hit me, and I didn’t like it.
“Aside from the jack asses, how’s the pledging life going?” Juliet asked.
“Your boyfriend isn’t a jack ass, by the way.”
“No, only the ones who hit on Mallory are, right?”
Colt smiled. “Exactly. But it’s been okay. Keeping me busy.”
“I bet. It’s only for a few months though.” There went Juliet with all the glass half-full stuff again.
“Yeah, and it’s nice that I still have time to see my favorite girl.” He winked at me.
“See me? If you mean bother then sure.”
“I’m not bothering you.” He took a half step toward me. “I notice the way your eyes light up when you see me.”
“Are you sure they’re not lighting up with anger?”
Juliet and Claire both laughed.