She laughed nervously. “Very.”
“Well, thanks. It’s always fun to serve pretty girls.”
I smiled before pulling Jade’s arm. This was Diane’s chance.
I glanced over my shoulder. She was smiling and talking to him. Success.
“Wow. Can you do that for me sometime?” Jade sipped her drink.
“I bet you could do it yourself, but sure. You’ll just have to tell me who you like.” I nudged her shoulder.
“There’s no one who’s really caught my eye yet, but I’ll let you know.”
I glanced around the room, and that turned out to be a mistake. The guy from the front door noticed me again, smiled, and walked over.
“There you are. That was some brush off earlier.” He crossed his arms.
“Yeah, I saw my friend.”
He looked at her pin. “One of your pledges, huh? We have two Delta Mu’s here. That might be a record.”
I laughed. “That’s a bit of an exaggeration.”
“Is it?” he challenged me, and the sense of familiarity continued.
“Do you finally remember me?”
Something in his words sparked the memory. “Alec. We met at that perspective students event a few years ago.”
“Bingo.”
I sighed with relief. I was starting to wonder if I’d had a drunken hook up I didn’t recall or something the way he was pressing me to remember him.
“I can’t believe you still remember me from that. It was years ago.”
“We also had stats together last year.” He smiled. “But you sat on the other side of the room, and to be fair, I never said a word to you.”
“Oh. Okay.” Was he going for awkward?
“I assumed I’d get beat up by some Kappa boyfriend or something for looking at you the wrong way.”
“Just because I’m a Delta Mu doesn’t mean I have to date Kappa boys.”
“No?”
I put a hand on my hip. “No.”
Jade touched my arm. “I’m going to see if Diane’s okay.”
I followed her gaze. Diane was smiling, but she was alone. “Okay, cool. I’ll probably head out soon, but good seeing you.”
“You too.” Jade hugged me before walking away.
“Then that Kappa who looks like he’s ready to tear my head off isn’t your boyfriend?” I turned around, expecting to see Tanner, but it was Colt. What was he doing there?
I pushed aside my surprise enough to answer. “He’s a pledge, not an active.”
Alec laughed. “Okay. Sorry. I stand corrected.”
“And he isn’t my boyfriend.”
“Oh, baby, did you forget to take your meds again?” Colt’s arm wrapped around my waist.
I pushed him off. “Shut up, Colt.”
“Hey, at least she remembered your name. That’s better than what I got.” Alec laughed. “If you ever want to catch up, Mallory, you know where to find me.” He nodded before wandering off.
“What are you doing here?” I hissed.
“I heard you were here. I thought I’d come see how you were doing.”
“You can’t be here.”
“Why not?”
“You’re a Kappa pledge.”
“So? None of the brothers are threatening my life. No one else cares about those stupid unofficial rules.”
I looked around for Jade. She was with Diane, talking to Chris and some other guys.
“I’m getting out of here anyway.” I tossed my empty cup.
“Looks like I have great timing.”
“Cara told you, huh?”
“I may have asked about your whereabouts.”
“She probably assumed you wouldn’t come.”
“She wanted someone to check on you.” He put a hand on my back and led me out. “Going to a frat party alone isn’t the smartest idea.”
“Yeah, well. I wasn’t drinking much.”
“So you think. Who knows what they put in that vat.”
“It’s the Iotas. They don’t do roofies.” We walked down the front steps.
“How would you know? You don’t know these guys. You’re like a walking target. Especially dressed like that.” He gestured to my short dress.
“Yeah, well. I didn’t want to go to your house.”
“Because you didn’t want to see me or Tanner?”
“Both, but mostly Tanner.” I put a hand over my mouth. I was way too sober to have let something like that slip out.
He smiled. “What do you want to do?”
“What do you mean? I’m going home.”
“Before ten o’clock?”
“Yeah. What’s the problem?”
“The problem is the night is young. We’re young. Let’s live it up.”
I laughed. “How much have you had to drink?”
“Not much.”
“You know what sucks?”
“What?” He stopped walking.
“That despite everything, all I want to do right now is kiss you.” I clasped my hands together. Why was it impossible to keep my thoughts to myself in front of Colt?
“Why would that suck?”
“Because I shouldn’t want to do that.”
“Why not? Why does everything have to be so complicated with you?”
“You’re the one making it complicated.” I wrung my hands at my sides.
“Me? How am I doing that?”
“Please. You are too high and mighty to just have sex with me. Why does it have to be more?” I couldn’t believe I was the one pushing for casual sex. It went so counter to what I usually wanted, but I was scared of what would happen if we made it something different.
“Because you’re worth more, and I want more.” He put his hands on my arms. “But the real question is why don’t you want that?”
“I just broke it off with Tanner.”
“Fine. I already told you we don’t have to broadcast it.”
I nodded, feeling a need so strong it felt foreign and nearly overwhelmed me.
“You know what you want.” He leaned in close, his lips hovering inches from mine.
I nodded again, slightly buzzed and hyper aware of our closeness and how tempting his lips were.
“Is that nod a yes, or is it that you know what your answer is?”
“Can we get some coffee?”
“Coffee? You’re asking to get coffee?”
“Yeah. There’s a cute place off East Bay Street that I like. It’s still really early, and I’d love one of their pumpkin lattes.”