14. Theo
14
THEO
Two days after the party, the house had finally gotten back to normal. As was our policy, we brought in a team of cleaners yesterday, and they whipped things into shape. Of course, in the fall, we’d have the pledge class to do that. Either way, I was glad it didn’t fall on Hailey. It would’ve taken her years by herself.
Now that I knew she was a student, I could see how little time she had to herself. The poor girl. I didn’t know how I’d keep up in my classes if I had to work as hard as she did.
It was Sunday, and I didn’t have all that much studying to do, so I treated myself to an extra-long workout in the basement gym. Sometimes it felt really good to push your body to the limit, to really test what it could do.
Of course, that was more fun when you had a woman in your bed and could explore what your bodies could do together.
After a long shower and lunch, I decided to go see what Ian was up to. Well, besides studying. That was a given. But sometimes my old friend could be coaxed into taking a break. I found that that was more likely to happen when I showed up with food, so I raided the kitchen and brought him some snacks.
I paused at his door, grinning at that ridiculous music he listened to. Then I pounded my fist against his door. “Police,” I shouted in a deep voice.
After a long pause, the music stopped, and Ian appeared, looking tired and grumpy.
“If you’re here to arrest me, good. I could use a break.”
“I figured you could use a snack instead.”
“That works, too.” He took the plate from me and spun his desk chair around, so he could talk to me while eating.
As he wolfed down half a sandwich in a few bites, I wondered when he had last taken a break to eat. I sat down on the bed, which was the only other place to sit, and looked around. “This room hurts my soul.”
Ian rolled his eyes. He’d heard this before.
“I like it like this,” he said. “It’s clean. Clear. Open. And sterile, like an operating room.”
I’d heard that before, too. I sighed. My friend was not personality free, but this room sure as hell made him look like he was. “One of these days I’m going to tie you to your bed and force you to watch while I hang paintings, drape some blankets over the bed, and find a matching rug.”
“Keep your perverted sex games to yourself.”
I laughed, but I was only half kidding. “You don’t have a single thing on top of your dresser. Who lives like that? I mean, besides serial killers.”
“Everyone needs a fallback career.”
It was good that his sense of humor was still intact. Sometimes I worried that he would study so hard that he would become as vacant and lifeless as this room. But he seemed a little different since the party, and I wasn’t sure why.
“Speaking of career changes, you and Hailey made quite the team behind the bar. Maybe you can try bartending before you go straight to serial killing.”
He shrugged, not dignifying that with an answer. I suspected he knew what I was here to talk about, and was going to make me work for it. After I asked, I really wanted to know. “So how did it go for Hailey at the party?”
“How do you think?”
“Not well,” I said. “If I was a woman who looked like her, I wouldn’t set foot in this place.”
Ian finished his chips and set the empty plate on his desk. I took it as a good sign that he didn’t instantly take it out of his room. “I get the feeling she doesn’t have much choice.” He drank from the water I had brought him. A health nut like him didn’t drink soda, and it was a little early for beer. Those were pretty much the only options in our house.
Finally, he spoke again. “She’s different than I thought.”
“Which you would have known earlier, if you would occasionally take your nose out of a book and actually talk to women.”
“I talk to women when I want to,” Ian snapped. “Or they talk to me.” His smirk looked a little like Grant’s.
“Yeah, yeah. You’re a god among men, and we could all learn from your womanizing ways.” But then I stopped joking around. “She’s different than I thought, too.”
You could say my opinion of her had changed after I found out she was a student, but it was more like I started noticing more details about her. Like how she spent so much time taking care of us and the house we lived in that she likely couldn’t start studying until nearly midnight. And how important it seemed to her to keep this job.
“She’s playing it smart with Bennett,” Ian said. “That waiter get-up she had on when she served dinner the other day was exactly the right thing to massage his ego.”
I snorted. “He probably got a hard-on the second she walked out of the kitchen.”
“She looked hot like that.”
“She always looks hot. But Bennett gets off on her following his orders and bending to his will. You know that. If she keeps that kind of thing up, she should make it through this summer here.” I hated that she had to do that for someone like him.
“That’s a fine line to walk, though. Like that sexy little dress she had on at the party. She appeased Bennett, but she also opened herself up to a lot of unwelcome attention.”
“Are you sure it was unwelcome?” It was something I’d been wondering about since our kiss.
“I think so. She seems very inexperienced.”
“A virgin, you mean.”
He nodded. “Possibly the most virginal woman on campus.”
I chuckled at that. “Thanks for keeping an eye on her at the party.”
Ian leaned back in his chair. “Thanks for telling me to get my head out of my ass and actually pay attention to what’s going on around here.”
“You’re busy. We all know that.” Ian studied more than anyone I’d ever met. “In fact, I’m surprised you haven’t kicked me out yet.”
He turned to survey the papers and laptop on his desk. “Yeah, I guess I should get back to it.”
I frowned as I looked at his desk. It wasn’t covered in the usual mix of huge medical tax and general articles. “What are you working on?”
“This application for a housing stipend next year. It’s generous–it would cover the fees here for the entire year–but man, the application process is a bitch. There are endless forms, essay questions, and they want to know everything about you starting from the day you were born.”
“You don’t have to do that.”
“Yes, I do.”
And then it hit me. “Is the application process open to anyone?”
“Yeah, I think so. As long as you’ve been here for a year.”
I leaned forward, suddenly excited. “Do you mind if I tell a friend about that?”
His forehead wrinkled as he looked at me. “Is there some reason you want to add people for me to compete against?”
I sighed. “Yes. And it’s a good one.”
Though he looked curious, he didn’t question me further. He trusted me. “Then do what you’ve got to do, man.”
“Thanks.”
“You’re really not going to tell me who it is?”
“It’s not my secret to tell.” But I hoped that now that Hailey had seen how I’d reacted to her revelation, she’d maybe decide to tell the others. It seemed like she was beginning to trust Ian.
Ian smirked. “Your friend is a chump, then, because you suck at keeping secrets.”
What? “I do not.“
“Then how did Grant find out about my disastrous first date with Patti Thurman senior year of high school?”
I laughed. “Because that was a fuckup of epic proportions.”
Ian ignored that. “And because you told him”
That was true, but I was having too much fun debating my buddy. “No, I didn’t. He’s telekinetic.”
Ian blinked. “He can move things with his mind?”
“No, what’s the one that means you have ESP?”
Ian rolled his eyes. “The point is that you’re terrible at keeping secrets. Don’t you always spill the beans about what you’re getting your mother for her birthday weeks before?”
“But she likes hearing about what she’s going to be getting.”
“You know what else people like? Actual surprises.”
“Fine,” I growled, although I wasn’t really mad. “Can we talk about something else?”
“Sure.” He leaned back in his chair, staring at the ceiling absently. But what the hell else was there to stare at in this room? “We need to do something about Hailey.”
For a moment, it seemed like he’d been able to hear my thoughts. “Agreed.”
“And she shouldn’t be working any more parties.”
“Doubly agree.” But I didn’t know how we were going to convince Bennett of that. Why did she have to look so fucking sexy in that little dress? Now he was going to spend all his time chasing her around in that sexist French maid costume.
“I’m serious. We need to do more than just mitigate the damage our fearless leaders are doing. We need to actually help her.”
I grinned.
“What?”
“You don’t always pay attention, but once you do finally do, you’re on the case, doctor.”
“That’s my job. Or at least it will be one day.” He turned back to his desk, and I knew I’d taken up enough of his time.
I stood up. “Good luck with all of that.” I gestured toward his desk.
He nodded in acknowledgement. “I’ll send you a link to the application, but you’d better tell your friend there’s a shit ton to prepare, and there’s not a lot of time left before the deadline.”
“I’ll do that. Thanks.”
He was a good guy. Hailey was lucky to have him on her side, even if she didn’t yet know he was.