Chapter 14
THE GIRL CODE & A PLEDGE SHIRT
Lexi
Fuck. There was no way I’d ever be able to afford this trip.
I stared at the tectonic plates scattered across the world map in my textbook, then flipped my gaze up to the discount airline website.
I’d tested out a dozen different combinations over the past few days, but I couldn’t find a single option below five hundred bucks, and that was just the flight.
I’d still have to pay for the hotel and food while I was there.
I let out an exasperated groan.
No, Lexi. You’ll figure this out, just like you have every other obstacle in your way.
“What up, bitch?” Cordi blasted into the room with airpods hanging from her ears, humming a tune and playing an invisible air guitar. She leaned over my desk, streaks of purple and black hair invading my space. “Oooh, did you and Killian finally pick a destination?”
“No!” I snapped before softening my tone. It wasn’t my roommate’s fault I was poor as shit. “No… Because I can’t afford any of them.”
“I can talk to my dad and–”
“No.” My head whipped back and forth. “That’s really sweet of you, but absolutely not.
” I refused to take advantage of my roommate, and I would never want her parents to think I was a freeloader.
She was my only girlfriend here, and the last thing I needed was to fuck up our friendship because of money.
“Why don’t you just ask Killian to float you a loan then? The Davenports have so much money they use hundred-dollar bills to wipe their asses.”
My scowl unwillingly turned into a laugh at her colorful imagery. “I’d rather flunk out of Stonewall than ask Killian Davenport for anything. Ever. I’d rather jab a knife in my eye, I’d rather jump off a five-story building, break every bone in my body and survive, I’d rather–”
Cordelia raised her hand and fully pulled her airpods out.
“I got it, no need to continue, damn girl.” She flopped down onto her bed and seared me with those dark, inquisitive eyes.
“What I don’t get is this thing between you two.
Most of the female body at the university would give their left tit to spend a weekend away with Killian. ”
“You included?” I arched a brow. I’d avoided getting into it with Cordi because I hated dragging up the excruciating memories, but she was my person. Maybe I didn’t have to get into the dirty details, but I could at least admit to having known the bastard in another life.
“Are you asking me if I’d fuck him?” Her eyes sparkled with mischief, and a wave of nausea crept up my throat. Oh gawd, please don’t tell me she already has.
“Have you seen his body? He’s ripped, and those tattoos... mmm. That is one fine piece of ass.” She licked her lips and squeezed at invisible ass cheeks. I almost cracked a smile. Almost. “And, his hands are huge, so you know what that means.”
She shot me a smirk, and I was about a second away from spewing the contents of my stomach onto the plush carpeting.
Her brows puckered at my reddening cheeks and snapped her mouth closed, then slid to the end of the mattress. “Oh my god, what happened between you two? Spill the tea already.”
I shook my head. Talking about Killian’s betrayal was like ripping my own heart out with a plastic spoon. I’d already been through it once, and I just couldn’t bear the thought of reliving it, even in past tense. Still, I owed her something… she deserved it.
“We grew up together,” I finally muttered.
“What? Killian Davenport grew up in Podunk, Arizona?”
I nodded, my teeth clenched so tightly I was scared I’d crack a molar. “His mom remarried and moved to the east coast when we were in high school.”
“And you guys were close before that?”
He was my best friend, my protector, my heart… my everything. I wrapped my arms across my chest, trying to hold myself together. “We just knew each other for a long time.”
“And what happened? You look like your favorite puppy just got run over.”
I shrugged as heat burned the corners of my eyes. I blinked back the tears, refusing to cry about Killian fucking Davenport. Never again. And definitely not in front of my roommate, who would think I was some fragile, insecure girl. “We just grew apart. He left, end of story.”
“You’re a little liar!” She waggled her manicured fingernail at me, a deep ebony with silver sparkles. “But it’s clear there are major feelings there. Clearly unresolved ones. I’m not going to pry, because it’s no one’s business but your own, but if you ever want to talk about it, I got you, girl.”
The tight set of my jaw melted into a half-smile, and tears threatened, but this time, out of appreciation for my new friend. “Thanks, Cordi.”
“And, because I live by the girl code, I swear never to allow that man’s huge cock anywhere near me.”
I choked on a laugh as she thrust her hips suggestively.
“Even though I’ve heard many tales of not only its incredible size but also its unbeatable skills.”
“Gross,” I mumbled.
“It’s probably for the best anyway. Word around Sorority Row is he’s kind of a control freak. He’ll fuck you from here to December, but it’s under his terms. No strings, no commitments. And in case you didn’t know, I like to be the boss in the bedroom.”
I squeezed my eyes shut to chase away images of my Killian fucking stuck up sorority girls. Shaking the nauseating thoughts aside, I focused on the screen in front of me. My Killian didn’t exist anymore. He died the day he chose his stepfather over me.
“Shit!” I stumbled a step before my hand shot out, and by some miracle, I remained on my feet.
A table full of mean girls cackled as I staggered by.
Whipping my head over my shoulder, I shot them the middle finger.
When I turned back, Micah was waving me down from across the dining hall, and the blossoming anxiety of finding a table within the mass of rowdy students instantly melted away.
Usually when we met up for dinner, we’d meet outside, which avoided the awkward meandering.
Nothing but evil glares were typically shot in my direction. Mostly from the girls.
The guys, on the other hand, either ignored me, or eye-fucked me so badly it made my skin crawl. And it only made the girls hate me more.
“There you are, pre-med.” Micah shot me a sweet smile and pushed his glasses further up the bridge of his nose. “I thought you got lost in there.”
“Almost did, under all the snide glares.” I ticked my head at a particularly hateful blonde. “Like that one. I swear she just purposely stretched her leg out as I walked by, and I almost face-planted in the middle of the cafe.”
Micah dragged a French fry through ketchup and popped it into his mouth, casually glancing toward the still-glaring mean girl.
“Oh, that’s just Lorelei. Ignore her. She’s become a total bitch the last year.
I don’t know what’s going on with her. She never used to be this bad.
” He let out a low whistle. “She’s probably jealous because you’re paired up with her boy toy for that Geology class you were telling me about. ”
“Her and Killian are hooking up?” God, I hated how my voice hitched up a few notches.
“On again, off again.” He shrugged. “Who can keep track?” Taking a big bite of his cheeseburger, he chewed thoughtfully. “I almost forgot to tell you. There’s a big event coming up at Sigma Delta, a fancy ball or some shit. If I survive all the hazing crap before then, will you come as my date?”
Heat flared across my cheeks, and I had no idea why. Micah was my friend. I often found myself thinking about how safe and sweet he was, and even though I’d totally mentally friend-zoned him, I had a feeling the zoning wasn’t mutual.
I munched on a fry to buy myself some time. “Um, I thought you joined the frat to dig up dirt on your missing friend and all the other shady shit that goes on in there.” The guilt of keeping my mouth shut the night of the masquerade party still ate away at me.
“I did. And I figured what better time to snoop around than when all the brothers are wasted.”
“Good point.” I shoved a few more fries in my mouth. “Yeah, I’m in,” I finally answered around the mouthful, because really, what could it hurt to have a night of fun with my friend. “Have you found out anything else?”
“Not yet, but I have a feeling I’m going to get the nod soon.”
“What nod?”
He hunched over the table and leaned in close. “It’s rumored around the pledges that each year, the brothers pick a few special candidates to join some secret society within the frat.”
“No shit...”
“True story.” Micah’s glasses tipped forward, and he pushed them back with a greasy finger. “I’ve been the perfect pledge, doing absolutely everything I’m asked. I even had to handwash the entire football team’s jock straps, and I did it with a fucking smile.”
A laugh burst from my lips and I nearly spewed my drink everywhere. “That sounds horrible.”
“It is, but it’s nothing illegal.”
The hair on the back of my neck tingled. That scent hit me again.
Expensive. Dark. Killian.
I kept eating my fries like he wasn’t even there. Like I hadn’t sensed him the minute he’d entered the room.
Killian cleared his throat with a growl once he reached us, and Micah blanched.
Finally, I swung my gaze to the right and met a pair of blistering green eyes. My stomach tightened.
Of course, he’d come to ruin my dinner with one of my only friends at Stonewall.
The anger that ignited at the sight of him burned into unexpected heat at his proximity, swimming across my cheeks, then diving low in my belly. And just like the day Killian cornered me after class, I felt something.
Something besides his hard-ass cock between my legs.
And Cordi wasn’t exaggerating, he felt huge.
And I’d felt... turned on. I’d been so wet when he finally let me go I raced to the bathroom certain I’d gotten my period.
I hadn’t. There was no logical explanation.
Why would my body react to him like that after what he’d put me through?
After they way he’d acted in class, and then in that damn alcove.
Damn it, I was so fucked up. My stupid body couldn’t tell the difference between steamy, rough foreplay and genuine hatred.
Killian stomped closer until he loomed behind me, each inch of my body desperately aware of his proximity. “Pledge, what the fuck are you doing?”
Micah swallowed hard, his Adam’s apple jogging down the column of his throat. “Excuse me?”
“You mean, ‘excuse me, Master Davenport,’” he snarled and slammed his palms over my head and onto the table. His massive body draped over me, and a tremor of fear for Micah raced up my spine.
A few heads turned in our direction, curious gazes watching the exchange.
Micah cleared his throat and fidgeted with his glasses. “Excuse me, Master Davenport,” he repeated.
“That’s better, you low-life, cum-sucking pledge.” He remained hunched over me, his gaze drilling into my friend’s across the table. “Now, who said you could eat with this girl?”
“I–I didn’t think it would be a problem.”
“It’s not your job to think. Your job is to listen and obey. Got it, pledge?”
Micah’s head bounced up and down.
“Dick,” I hissed.
Kill’s murderous gaze dropped to the top of my head. I didn’t have to see it, I could feel it burning a hole in my scalp.
“Now, get your ass up, pledge, and sit over there with the others.” He pointed across the room at a table of two guys wearing the same pale gray frat t-shirt. Killian’s eyes focused on the matching males. “That’s another thing. Why the hell aren’t you wearing your pledge shirt?”
Micah’s eyes dipped to his half-eaten meal. “I’m sorry, Master Davenport, I forgot it in my locker at the gym.”
The entire dining hall was watching now. Curious gazes moved from Killian and Micah and back to me, searing into the side of my face from all directions.
“You were given rules regarding your uniform on day one. What were they?” he barked over my head, his body still against mine.
“We must wear our pledge shirts at all times,” Micah began to recite. “We wear them in every class, for intramurals, in bed at night, and for fucking, especially for fucking. The person riding our cock has to know they’re getting railed by a future Sigma Delt–”
Killian held his hand up, cutting him off. “And what should you do if you are somehow without one?”
“Walk around naked,” he whispered, and a crimson hue blanketed his cheeks.
“Take off your clothes, shithead.”
“You can’t be serious,” Micah muttered, eyes pleading.
“I’m so fucking serious that if you don’t strip down right now, you can kiss the Sigma Delts goodbye this very second. Is that what you want, pledge?”
“No.”
“Killian!” I hissed. I’d had enough, sat silent for way too long. I didn’t care what kind of hell Killian rained down on me, but Micah didn’t deserve this. And I knew, knew with every bone in my body this was about me. “Leave him alone, Killian.”
“Who the fuck do you think you are, Red?” He curled closer around me, his lips an inch from my ear.
The nickname tasted bitter on my tongue, twisting something deep in my chest. When we were kids, he used to call me ‘little Red’ and chase me around the house pretending to be the big bad wolf.
That was long before we knew real bad guys existed outside of fairy tales.
Kill’s coming to get you, little Red. You better run and hide before I find you.
I’d squeal and laugh when he caught and pinned me to the floor, tickling me until I laughed so hard I almost peed. But the hatred that laced his tone at the name now shattered all those innocent memories.
I shot up from my seat, spinning to face him, and shoved him hard enough that he actually took a step back. “I’m Micah’s friend, you asshole, that’s who I am.”
Gasps echoed around the silent café.
Even standing, Killian still towered over me. He erased the step I’d just forced between us, his unyielding body pinning my hips against the table again.
“Wow,” I said loudly enough for half the room to hear. “All this over a t-shirt? Your ego really is that fragile.”
His jaw ticked, but he didn’t take the bait as another round of murmurs rippled across the room. He pressed his intimidating body into me, his rock hard torso nearly crushing my lungs. That flicker of heat roared through every inch of me at his proximity.
“Well, I’m his pledge master,” he hissed, hot breath caressing my ear, “and he’s my bitch.” With his eyes locked on mine, he called out over his shoulder, “Now strip, Preston, or you’re out.”