The Hazards of a One Night Stand (6 page)

“Thanks.” I took a sip.

“I’m glad you came tonight.”

I smiled, not wanting to seem too interested. You had to play those kind of things cool.

“Ow! Ow!” Cara called. I followed her gaze to where ten guys, all dressed in black t-shirts, walked down the stairs.

“Don’t drool, baby,” Aaron teased Cara.

“None of them could compare to you.”

“What about you, Mallory? Are you drooling?” Tanner’s words barely registered with me. I felt my head spinning.

“Are you okay?” Juliet grabbed my arm. “You look really pale.”

“I’ve got to go.” I absently handed Tanner my cup as I tried to maneuver to the front door.

“Mallory, wait!”

I wanted to ignore the voice, but I couldn’t.

“What are you doing here?” My chest tightened. I had to be dreaming.

“I’m a pledge. I kind of have to be here.” Colt stepped toward me warily.

“I mean here. At Harrison.”

“You really didn’t read my letter.” He put his hands in the pockets of his khaki colored cargo shorts.

“You’re supposed to be at USC.”

“I got off the wait list.”

“Oh.” That’s all I could muster.

“Do you two know each other?” Tanner caught up with me. He put an arm around my shoulder again. It normally would have bothered me that he was getting so touchy feely, but at that moment, it was keeping me vertical.

“Yes.” Colt looked Tanner in the eye. “You’ve got your arm around my girl.”

Without dropping his arm, Tanner looked me straight in the eye. “Is that true?”

I couldn’t speak. I could only shake my head.

Tanner laughed. “Ouch. Sorry, pledge.”

“Come on, Mal. Don’t be like this.”

“Like what?” I knew I sounded bitchy, but I had no choice.

Colt gritted his teeth, but then his face relaxed. By that point, we had an audience. “That’s not what you said in the hayloft the other night.”

My chest tightened, my face heated, and I wanted to be sick. I shrugged off Tanner’s arm and ran outside.

“Mallory, wait up!” Juliet called, and I already knew Cara was with her. I didn’t turn around. Instead, I kept running as fast as my three inch heels would let me back to the house.

“Mal, talk to us.” Cara touched my shoulder just as I messed up the code to the house.

“I need to transfer.”

“What?” Juliet took my hand and led me over to the porch swing. “Why? Because Colt’s here? That was Colt, wasn’t it?”

I nodded. “Yes.”

“If it makes you feel any better, he’s hot.” Cara sat down on my other side.

We rocked the swing a little. “Why would that make me feel better?”

“Because it’s completely understandable that you want him.”

“I don’t want him.” I pulled my knees up to my chin.

“You do. If you didn’t, you wouldn’t be upset.” Juliet spoke softly, a significant change from her usual louder voice.

“That has nothing to do with it. I’m humiliated.”

“Why?” Cara asked like she had no clue.

“A Kappa pledge just told his whole house we hooked up in a hayloft.”

“So?” Juliet asked with a little smile.

“So? That’s humiliating.”

Juliet leaned back against the wooden swing. “Hooking up with a hot guy from back home is embarrassing? Or where it happened?”

“He’s a pledge, a freshman.”

“Yeah?” Cara used her feet to get the swing moving more. I hoped it would hold all of us.

“You know what? Forget it. You’re both practically married to seniors. You don’t get it.” I stood up and headed to the door. Thankfully, I got the combo to the door right and made it inside on the first try.

I ran right upstairs, ignoring the questioning looks I got from two of my sisters sitting on the couch.

I flopped down on my bed without bothering to unstrap my sandals. Closing my eyes, I tried to comprehend what Colton’s presence and his jerk move meant for me.

My phone rang from where I’d left it in my purse. I ignored it. A minute later, I heard the door open.

“We love you, Mallory.” Juliet sat down at the foot of my bed.

I opened my eyes. “Love you too. It’s not your fault. I shouldn’t have flipped out on you.”

“What we don’t get is why you’re so upset.” Cara crossed her arms.

“Oh and why you never told us about your propensity for sex in barns,” Juliet smiled. I knew she was trying to lighten the mood.

“That wasn’t me. You guys know me. I don’t do farms, and certainly not barns. I don’t do farm boys.”

“I’m not going to correct you on that one…” Juliet smiled again.

I groaned. “Do you think this ruins my chance with Tanner?” Suddenly, the date with Tanner sounded even better. If I was dating an active, no one would listen or care what a pledge said about me. It was perfect.

“So you finally admit you’re into him?” Cara asked.

“Yeah.” I did find him attractive, and a date with him was appealing. “Do you think he’s going to cancel?”

“No, but I can find out for you tonight…” Cara smiled.

“Without making a big deal out of it?”

“We’ll be very discreet.”

I sat up, the dark cloud partially fading. “Maybe Colt got it out of his system and he won’t bother me again.”

“He’s going to be so busy with pledging, Mal. I wouldn’t worry.” Juliet’s words rang true. And if all else failed, I could have Aaron tell him to lay off. He was the pledge master, after all.

I let out a sigh of relief. “You guys can go back.”

Juliet clasped her hands together. “No, we’ll stay.”

“I’d rather be alone.”

Cara shook her head. “No you don’t.”

“I do. I’m going to take a shower.”

“You should come back.” Juliet had to be kidding.

“Not a chance.”

“Yes. Staying away says you have something to be embarrassed of. You don’t. We go back and act like we needed to change out of our heels.” She got up and walked over to her closet, pulling out a pair of red flip flops.

“Everyone saw me run out.”

“No they didn’t. And even if they did, they’d be too drunk to remember.” Cara tried too hard.

“All right.” They were right, and I knew it. I had to show Colt I wasn’t going to let him mess with me and show Tanner I was interested.

I unstrapped my heels and put on some black flip flops. I could do it.

With a friend on both arms, I walked back into the Kappa house. My stomach churned as I caught sight of Tanner and Colt talking. I really hoped the conversation wasn’t about me, but I knew it was. The trick was acting like I didn’t care.

I let go of my friends’ arms and headed straight for the bar. I smiled at the active standing behind it. “Fuzz, please.”

“Sure thing, Mallory.” He ladled some of the vat into a plastic cup.

I took the cup and walked straight over to a crowd. No one seemed to think anything weird of me being back, so I decided to let it go.

A hand slid around my waist, and I knew whose it was. “Hey, Tanner.”

“Hey. I’m glad you came back.”

“Yeah.” I shrugged. “Can’t keep me away.”

He leaned in. “He’s not going to bother you.”

“Oh, good.”

“You think I’m going to let a pledge stop me from getting what I’ve wanted from the moment I laid eyes on you?”

A shiver ran through me. “And what was it that you wanted?”

“You.”

“You’re not getting anything from me tonight.” I’d made the mistake of having a random hook-up once already.

He settled his hand on my hip. “I get that, but we’re still on for dinner, right?”

“Yeah. We’re still on.”

“Great.” His lips brushed against my ear. “I’m getting another drink. Be right back.”

My phone signaled a text, so I pulled it out.
Sorry
. Colt only wrote one word, but it made me feel guilty. I searched the room for him and found him quickly. He was watching me with sad eyes.

He pointed to his phone, and I glanced down to see another text.
Forgive me
?

I nodded, and he smiled.

See you soon, pumpkin
.

I gulped down the rest of my drink. It was going to be okay. I glanced up once again, just in time to watch Colt blow me a kiss before turning around to talk to some of the other pledges.

“You doing okay?” Juliet asked, saving me from standing around alone.

“Yeah. I’m okay.”

She leaned in. “I told you it would be better if you came back.”

“You’re always right.”

She laughed. “Unless it’s about my own life. I was pretty dumb about that last year.”

“Yeah, you were.” I smiled.

“I’m going to sleep at the house tonight.”

“You sure?” I tried to keep the excitement out of my voice when I asked. I was definitely looking forward to some company.

“Yeah. I want to.”

“That would be nice.”

“Want to head back now and put on
Keeping the Faith
?”

“Yes!” Juliet and I had a shared love for chick flicks from the 90s. Cara didn’t mind watching, but it wasn’t her thing.

“Okay. l already said good night to Reed, but do you need to find anyone?” She raised her eyebrow, and I definitely noticed that she didn’t use a name.

“Tanner was supposed to come right back, but he disappeared. Let’s go.” Sometimes you had to leave a guy hanging. It kept him coming back for more.

“Sounds good.” Juliet linked her arm with mine, and we left. I didn’t look back.

All thoughts of Colton and the disaster of my social life were pushed aside as I got ready for bid day the next morning. Thankfully, Jana, the new pledge mom, had decided to have bid day at the house, a much better idea than the joint laser tag event with the Kappas the year before. The day was supposed to be about welcoming the new girls into the house, not about flirting with boys. Of course, I had a very biased opinion on the subject. Spending time around Kappas would be a surefire way to ruin a good day.

“Thank goodness Jana isn’t dragging all of us to laser tag again.” Cara said exactly what was on my mind.

“I don’t know why you guys hated the laser tag thing so much.” Juliet brushed out her hair.

“I didn’t hate it. I just like that we’re having it at the house.” I put on some lip gloss, satisfied that I didn’t look like a girl who’d been up half the night. Despite a few much needed hours of movie time with Juliet, I was restless all night and sleep evaded me. I still couldn’t quite believe Colt was at Harrison or that he was pledging Kappa.

She cocked her head to the side. “You hated it, but that’s okay.”

“Not all of us met the love of our life there.” Cara laughed. She looked down at her blue Timeless Collection t-shirt. This year’s bid day theme was Tiffany’s (as in the jewelry store). The pledges were getting t-shirts with the year printed on them. It was a cute idea.

Juliet held up her palms. “Yeah, well, I’m also the only one of us who knows how to handle a gun.”

I chortled. “Yeah, please remember that comment when you try to recruit me for paint ball next time.”

“I can teach you.”

“No, thanks. I’ll leave that to you professionals.” I slipped my ID in my pocket and headed downstairs. Juliet and Cara followed close behind.

Ten minutes later, I was out on the front lawn with the rest of the girls and ready to meet the new pledges. I held onto the side of a huge banner. It was such a different experience on this side. Instead of the nerves you have as a pledge, it’s all excitement. I’d gotten a look at the official list and was dying to see one pledge in particular—Jade. I’d made sure to talk to her at every party, and I couldn’t wait to welcome her to the house.

We started cheering as soon as the girls appeared on the sidewalk. A bunch of guys from a few of the nearby frat houses came by to check out our “new meat.”

I rolled my eyes. “Do guys have to be that obvious?”

“Hey, we did the same thing last night, didn’t we?” Cara smiled.

I fought back the wave of nausea that hit me remembering the embarrassment. “Yeah, but it was at a party. This is out in public in broad daylight.”

“That somehow makes it different?” Juliet asked.

“Yes. It does.” I held back a smile. It’s amazing how quickly Juliet could pull me out of a funk.

“All right, either way, it’s time to meet everyone.” Cara whistled. “Welcome home, girls!”

After several hours of chatting, taking more pictures than I could count, and playing lots of getting to know you games, it was time for lunch. We’d had it catered from a local café and sat at elegantly dressed tables to fit the Tiffany theme.

I took a seat at a table with Juliet, Cara, Jana, and a couple of pledges.

“Is there an unofficial rule that Delta Mu’s have to date Kappas?” Ashley, a pledge with long blonde hair, asked.

“No. You can date whoever you want,” Jana answered immediately.

“But most of you do date Kappas…” Ashley continued.

Cara shrugged. “Can you really blame us?”

“There’s a Kappa pledge on the floor above mine that I’m into.” Leslie, one of the girls I met during the open house, smiled.

“Oh yeah?” I tried for nonchalant, but I really hoped it wasn’t Colt. I realized he’d probably date, but it didn’t need to be one of my sisters.

“What’s his name?” Juliet asked, keeping her eyes anywhere but on me.

“Colton Waters. He’s ridiculously sexy.” Leslie bit her lip.

Don’t let it bother you
. I repeated the words over and over. Why did it matter? I mean what she said was true. He was ridiculously sexy… especially when he was naked.

“Oh, don’t waste your time.” Juliet leaned back in her chair.

“Why not?” Leslie furrowed her brows.

“He’s got a girl back home. I hear she’s pretty special and he isn’t interested in anyone else.”

“Oh. Whatever, there are plenty of other hot guys.” Leslie crossed her arms.

I waited until we were alone to corner Juliet. “He’s got a girl back home, huh?”

“Hey, you’re from his hometown.”

“I’m not his girl.”

“I’m just looking out for your best interests.” She stuffed her hands in the back pockets of her jean skirt.

“Thanks.” I smiled. She was an awesome friend. She knew me well enough to know how I’d feel about him dating one of the pledges.