Chapter 10
Leo
It didn’t take much convincing to keep Mia from Grimsley Hall’s Fright Night tonight; hell, I don’t want to be here.
But when I found my first trial waiting for me in my room, I knew I had to go.
I didn’t expect one so soon, and it’s the last thing I want to be doing right now.
Especially because I know what the plan for Fright Night is at my residence hall.
Can’t say the idea of a glory hole competition gets me excited, but I can see how the taboo and the forbidden would be a turn-on for some people.
The EDM is thumping so intensely, it’s hard to breathe as I lock my door and jog down the winding staircase to the main floor.
I know what this first trial is, and as reluctant as I am, I’m going to keep my word to Mia and help Parker.
Confession is all about knowledge and secrecy, knowing what to tell, how much to give, and what to do with the information you receive from the other person.
The party is a madhouse as I fight my way through the throes of people, the scent of alcohol and sweat assaulting my nose.
Everyone is dressed up, and I feel oddly out of place with my black slacks and button-down shirt, but I hadn’t planned on attending to begin with, so this is what they’re getting.
By the time I plug in the code to the basement and jog down the narrow steps, I’ve mentally prepared myself for this shit show.
Luckily, nothing has started yet. There’s a huge part of me that wants to watch and see if Parker will actually participate in this dumbass competition.
But some little niggling piece of my mind is telling me that there’s no way he’d do that to Mia.
Even if he did just ask for space from both of us so we could focus on the trials.
I tried to convince her that we didn’t need it, speaking up for both Parker and me, which was weird as fuck, but the last thing I want is space from her. I didn’t win.
I find Parker standing off to the side, talking to Noelle Whitmore-Grimsley.
My eyes practically roll to the back of my head.
She’s an initiate with us, one of only three women this year.
She’s also a royal pain in the ass, heavy on the royal part since her family has treated her like a queen since the day she was born.
I would know, our parents are best friends and have been trying to arrange our marriage since we were kids.
Not gonna happen. In this lifetime or the next.
I walk over to them, stopping next to Parker and giving him a head nod.
His eyes soften when he looks at me, his shoulders relaxing slightly.
Parker is usually a cocky asshole, but the fact that he seems relieved to see me loosens something in my chest. Maybe he’s not such a huge dick to begin with, and my hate for him is based purely on the fact that Mia loves him.
“Leopold, I’m so glad you’re here. How are you?” Jesus, her voice strikes a nerve, all whiny and over the top, her perfectly manicured nails reaching out to drag down my arm. I can feel the heat of Parker’s stare on the side of my face, but I don’t look at him.
“Hi, Noelle, gonna steal Parker, nice to see you.” Her face pinches together, but I don’t give it any attention, instead curling my fingers around the underside of Parker’s bicep.
Electricity sparks at the contact, and it takes me a second to recognize the warmth spreading through my body because of it.
I drag him to the corner of the room, out of earshot, where we’re enveloped in darkness, the light dim of candles not quite reaching us, but we’re still visible if someone were to look.
I drop my hand like he burned me, trying to brush off the feeling that rushed through me when I was touching him.
Parker looks amused, that cocky-ass smirk sitting so easily and carefree on his face.
“So, Leopold, nice of you to show up.” The urge to strangle him right now is strong, and instead, I ball my hands into fists at my sides.
“Shut up, idiot. And don’t call me that.”
Parker grins, rocking back on his heels and shoving his hands into his front pockets. “Why not? Leopold suits you.”
I run my fingers through my hair. “You make it hard to like you, you know that, right?”
“Mia would disagree,” he says, winking at me. Motherfucker.
“Fuck you.” I turn to leave, already thinking of a way to explain to Mia that Parker needs to figure this shit out on his own, when his hand curls around my wrist, pulling me back into the shadows.
His other hand comes up next, settling flat on my chest and backing me against the wall.
My breath hitches, his hand lingering on me for a moment too long before it drops back down to his side.
What the fuck was that? I should have shoved him away. Arrogant prick. I don’t understand what Mia sees in him. We’re so different, how can she be in love with both of us?
“Tell me what to expect.” His words pull me out of my head and back to the present. “The trial. What the fuck am I confessing with my cock shoved through a goddamn hole?”
“You’re not putting your dick anywhere, fuck. We’ll be paired up with another initiate and put in together. We won’t know who, obviously. From my understanding, it’s going to work like a confessional, not like a glory hole. Sorry to burst your bubble.”
“What? Didn’t want to play with my cock, Leopold?
I promise it doesn’t bite.” For the millionth time tonight, Parker catches me off guard, and I fumble with my words.
My dick also stirs. I’ve always needed a connection with someone before I feel physical attraction, so reacting to Parker this way doesn’t make any fucking sense.
Do we have a connection? Sure, a fucked-up one filled with irritation, jealousy, and rivalry.
“What? Why would you? No.” Parker just chuckles under his breath, pissing me off further. “Will you shut the fuck up and listen? Or I swear, I won’t help you.”
“Alright. Scouts honor, I’ll behave.” For some reason, I don’t think Parker Kingsford could behave if his life were on the line.
“They’re going to expect you to confess, something dark and hidden. Something deep, Parker. You won’t be able to lie. And you’ll get a secret in return. I’ll explain everything else when we’re not in such a public place.”
His eyes go wide for a minute, and then he nods in understanding. “Alright. That shit sucks. Not sure I’m down for trusting a stranger. Thanks for the tip, I appreciate it.”
“Like you told me before, we don’t have much of a choice in the matter here, do we?” I can’t help but feel like an ass for leaving out, arguably, the most important part, so I surprise myself when he starts to walk away from me.
I wrap my hand around the back of his neck, pulling him flush against me.
He doesn’t fight me, stepping into my space like he belongs there.
His body heat seeps into my skin through my clothes, and I take a split second to breathe in his woodsy scent.
Parker shocks the shit out of me by placing his hands at my hips, our pelvises flush together, scrambling my fucking brain in the process.
We stand there for a moment, our heartbeats pounding out of our chests, his thumbs moving ever so faintly against my sides.
Jesus Christ, why does this feel so good? It’s Parker. I fucking hate Parker.
To any onlooker, we look like two people hooking up, which is exactly what I want them to think if they look over at us.
My ears brush the shell of his ear, whispering as low as I can get away with.
“They’re always watching, we’ll be recorded in the booth.
” Parker squeezes my hips with each hand, and there’s a split moment where I want to bury my face in the crook of his neck and suck on the skin there, but that’s fucking insanity, and I push the desire away just as fast.
Just as I release him, Parker shakes out his hands at his sides, nodding and walking away without a word. My eyes follow after him as he joins the crowd, and it’s not until he’s out of sight that I catch Noelle off to the side, staring at me. Fuck. That might be a problem.
Pushing Parker from my mind, I get my head in the game. I know my objective, I know my story, and I know what I have to do. Get in, tell it, take theirs, and use it against them later during the trial of reputation. It’s what my dad prepared me for, and what I’ve been trained to do my entire life.
The next thing I know, someone is behind me, putting a blindfold over my eyes and directing me where to go. I stay calm, knowing this is all part of it, and the anonymity is the whole point.
“Start when the light turns green, you can leave when it turns red.”
I’m ushered to step up once, and then the door shuts behind me.
I pull off the blindfold and take in my surroundings.
I don’t recall there ever being a day when I imagined what the inside of a glory hole would look like, but if I did, this would be it.
There are four basic walls, painted a deep crimson red, and a hole on the interior wall at crotch level with padding all around it.
A hole I’m most definitely not sticking my dick through.
I hear the rustling of someone on the other side, and my heartbeat kicks up a notch.
Here we go, better to just get this shit started so it can be over.
I want to hide away in my room and get lost in my paints for the rest of the night.
The light turns green, casting a neon glow through the small space.
I take a deep breath and open my mouth to speak, but the person on the other side beats me to it.
“I’ll go first. Kinda just want to get this shit over with.
” My head falls backward as I subtly shake it in shock.
I know that voice. Fucking Corvus. “I’m adopted.
No one really knows that, not that it’s a secret.
My parents did an incredible job of raising me and gave me a good life, and the one condition of my adoption was that I attend Corvus.
Turns out my bloodline is directly related to one of the founding families.
I came here and pretended like it was because I had to, but there’s a huge part of me that wants to know more about why I’m here, more about my lineage, and I feel like fucking shit for wanting that, because it feels disloyal to these two humans that love me so unconditionally and gave up everything to raise me.
So, I pretend like I don’t give a shit, pretend like I don’t care, but really, I can’t help but feel like I belong here, like I’ve found a piece of myself that was missing.
I don’t know if that’s Corvus, or hell, Crimson Veil, or this incredible woman that I love more than anything.
All I know is that while my heart is with my family back home, my soul feels at home here, and my head is all sorts of fucked up about that. ”
Damn. I guess Parker Kingsford is fucking human, after all. I clear my throat, dropping my voice a few octaves lower, doing my best to hide my identity from him. But when I go to give my rehearsed speech, that’s not what comes out.
“My parents, my dad specifically, only care about status. I’m forced to be here, too, except I don’t want to be.
It’s required. I’m supposed to play the part, by any means necessary, to get ahead, to get in, to be at the top.
Hell, even this confession right now has been drilled into my brain ten million times.
Except that isn’t the one I’m giving, and I don’t know why.
I don’t want to be my dad or my parents.
I just want to be me, and I’m tired of hiding who I am to be this version of myself they’ve curated to best represent our family and our name.
I fucking hate it, and it’s killing me slowly.
” I run my clammy hands across my thighs, shifting from foot to foot.
I stare at the green light, willing it to turn red so I can get the fuck out of here before I puke when his voice breaks the silence.
“We’ve only got one life, there’s no point in hiding from it.”
The light turns red, and I open the door, stepping out into the dimly lit room.
There’s no one around me, so I walk down the row of makeshift booths until I come out in the front.
I can’t explain why I linger at the entryway to the stairs, but I lean my shoulder against the cool tile and cross my arms. A few short minutes later, I spot Parker’s head of blond hair, illuminated by the light.
He walks over to me, his shoulders pulled back in his typical confident posture, all semblance of the vulnerable man who just confessed to me gone.
“Wasn’t expecting to see you lingering. Thought you’d be racing to Mia. Fuck knows that’s what I’d be doing right now.”
I don’t give his quip a response, even if he’s obviously fishing to find out if she broke things off with me, too.
I so badly want to tell him that I’ll have her naked with her legs wrapped around my head in less than ten minutes, but for some reason, tonight, I don’t feel like rubbing it in his face. Or lying.
“Tomorrow, we’re studying. I promised Mia I’d get you through this, so that’s what I’m doing.” Even if it kills me.