The Friend Zone (Not Your Pucking Bunny #4)

1. Legacy

CHAPTER 1

LEGACY

BAY

T he wrecking ball hits the front of the Zeta house and I wince.

My eyes close of their own accord as my heart can’t handle it to see the place I’ve been calling home for the past two years destroyed like this.

Blow after blow hits the white walls of what’s left of the condemned sorority house and my heart breaks a little more with every hit.

“Just remember,” Tami wraps a comforting arm around my shoulders. “This is necessary, so we can rebuild. It’s going to be bigger and better than the old one.”

I nod, but there’s no conviction in it as all my energy is needed to keep the tears from spilling.

This isn’t just the end of an era. No, this is my legacy. This is what my presidency will be remembered for in the annals of time.

I’m Bay Woods, the Zeta Theta Beta president who let her sorority house burn down.

Judging by how many people are standing behind me and my sisters, right on the curb outside what used to be our front lawn, the entire school came to witness this moment.

Greek Row has never been so crowded, not even during the Rush Week Fair.

I don’t even need to turn around to know that people are filming as our house is being demolished, brick by brick.

Social media is going to be buzzing with this and I can’t stay away. My influencer empire is what pays for my studies, what will eventually fund my makeup company once I graduate.

I turn away from the ruins of the house, there’s only so much my heart can take.

A tall figure in red athletic shorts and a tight black wife beater is running toward us.

It’s Cole. I would recognize that blond hair anywhere.

Relief floods me as I wait for him to come to a stop. My best friend is the only one who can make me feel better right now, with Lakyn three hours away in Bridgeport.

Cole gives the best hugs and I don’t even care if he’s sweaty from his run.

I would never admit this out loud, because it sounds pretty pathetic, but Cole’s sweat doesn’t turn me off; it smells like cinnamon, a little sweet and a little spicy.

He doesn’t stop.

Cole runs past me without even turning my way. “Huh,” I bite on my bottom lip so hard that I taste blood. “That’s weird.”

Tami looks embarrassed as she shrugs. “Maybe he didn’t see you.”

Right.

Half the student population is gathered to watch, there’s no way he wouldn’t notice. Cole knows me better than anyone, even if he didn’t see me, he must have known that I’d be here.

“Let’s go,” I sigh, fighting to keep my voice from trembling. “I never thought we’d have our first official meeting in the library, but here we are.”

Twenty minutes later, my Zeta sisters crowd in one of the biggest study rooms in the library.

A pang of nostalgia hits me at the thought that I had to book this room a couple of weeks ago, right after the fire at the Zeta house. A year ago, I would have had an in when Lakyn worked here as a librarian technician.

Yeah. A year can make a huge difference in life.

“Sisters,” I raise my voice to be heard over the chatter that fills the room. “We have a few important things to discuss. But first of all, let me tell you how nice it is to see you all gathered here. How is everyone? Are you all settled down in your temporary housing?”

A few girls murmur that they’re alright, the mood is somber after what we just witnessed.

“Funny how you call it temporary housing ,” Bianca snorts. “It’s not like we’re going to move into a new sorority house any time this year. And no, we aren’t happily settled down. The disaster you caused meant I had to move back in with my parents. Do you know how annoying it is living with my dad again? This isn’t the college experience I signed up for and it’s all your fault, Bay.”

I can hate Bianca as much as I want, but the Dean’s daughter is right. At least about the fact that our housing situation at this point is going to be permanent.

She’s also right that technically, as president, I’m responsible for what happened to our sorority house.

“I understand your frustration,” I drawl, fighting to keep my tone as calm as possible. “And I agree that technically rehousing you was my responsibility. However, I feel that it’s a little unfair to blame me for what happened.”

Bianca arches a thin eyebrow, crossing her arms over her chest. “Is it though? It was one of your cheap hairstyling tools that caused the fire.”

Liv comes to my defense. “It might be so,” she points out. “But the curling iron was left plugged on in a shared bathroom. We all know that the president’s room has an en-suite. So don’t make it sound like Bay personally set the fire.”

Viv backs her up. “That’s right. Actually, I’ve been thinking about this and whoever left that curling iron plugged in should come forward.”

People react with varying degrees of defensiveness and I realize this meeting is getting out of control before we even have the chance to discuss the most important issues.

“Sisters,” I yell, to be heard over the overlapping voices. “Yes, it would be honorable for whoever left that plugged in to admit it. But this isn’t why I called this meeting. Zeta Theta Beta doesn’t have a blaming culture and we aren’t going to start pointing fingers at each other. Can I remind you that the most important qualities of a Zeta woman are her grace and her compassion? If we can’t treat each other that way, then maybe we don’t deserve to be Zetas.”

Bianca’s lips curl into a cruel smile. “There’s only one person here who doesn’t deserve to be a Zeta. You’re going to go down in history as the president who lost the Zeta house. Did you know,” she looks at the other sisters around the room. “That without a sorority house, we aren’t allowed to accept any pledges? Thanks to Bay, next year our ranks will be weakened. With no pledges and a number of sisters graduating at the end of this year, there’s going to be barely a dozen Zetas left. I guess with no house that’s a blessing in disguise, but we were the most prestigious sorority on campus. I hope you’re all going to remember under whose tenure we lost everything.”

I close my eyes, fighting to compose myself. Bianca isn’t totally wrong. “I know and I’m sorry. The best thing we can do for our future sisters is to make sure that we begin rebuilding the house as soon as possible. I?—”

Kylie, Bianca’s sidekick, interrupts me. “I know and I’m sorry? Am I the only one who thinks Bay’s apology isn’t good enough? I personally don’t feel like Bay represents me as a president. Am I the only one?”

Tami narrows her eyes, immediately suspicious. “If I didn’t think this is crazy and totally uncalled for, I’d think you’re staging some kind of coup.”

The look that passes between Bianca and Kylie confirms that Tami is right. “A coup? Don’t be dramatic, Tami. But yeah, I don’t want Bay as a president anymore. Now, she could show us some of that poise she keeps talking about and resign. Or we could vote on that.”

Bianca stands up. “I call a vote of no confidence. I agree with Kylie that I don’t feel represented by Bay Woods.”

“Wait a minute,” Viv intervenes. “You can’t just call a vote to replace the president at this point in the academic year without just cause or unless the president resigns.”

The Dean’s daughter snorts. “If burning the house down isn’t just cause, I don’t know what is.”

Liv doesn’t let the new ‘master of ceremonies’ intimidate her. “Unless a president is impeached, suspended from the university, or put on academic probation, you don’t have recourse. There are very specific rules about impeachment and they don’t apply here. The only way you could move to replace Bay against her will, is if you had proof that she willingly set the fire.”

Bianca doesn’t relent. “She might as well have. That curling iron had her fucking name on it.”

Several voices echo their agreement.

This isn’t Bianca’s first attempt to have me deposed. She already tried by calling a sneaky meeting in my absence when she had the bare minimum number to make the vote legal.

“Let me guess,” I say, standing up to face her. “If you get the vote of no confidence, who would run to replace me aside from you? Anyone?” I look around the room and no one else comes forward.

“Then it’s settled,” Liv says. “Unless you have proof, you aren’t entitled to a vote without the president’s resignation.”

The situation is untenable. We have enough challenges ahead of us with having to live apart and a house to rebuild.

“Sisters,” I look around the room. “I don’t want to be in charge if I don’t have your support. I would love to be the one who helps transition the Zetas into their future and give our next generation a bigger and better house. But not if you don’t think I’m the right person to guide us through these difficult times. Fine, Bianca. You get your vote. It’s obvious you want the presidency for yourself. Sisters, let’s vote by show of hands. Who wants Bianca to replace me as president, raise their hands now.”

“Hey hold on,” Bianca objects. “We can’t vote this way. Votes should be secret ballots.”

I smile. “If you know our bylaws so well, you should know that a show of hands vote is perfectly legal in this situation. You can’t impeach me and I’m not resigning. The only way you get your no confidence vote is if I agree to it. That, according to our charter law, gives the president the right to ask for an open vote. If the sisters don’t want me to stay as president, I want them to say it to my face.”

I know it’s a risk, but at this point I have nothing to lose. Even if I didn’t leave that curling iron plugged in, I feel responsible. Not because it has my brand on it, but Bianca isn’t wrong that my personal problems have gotten in the way of my responsibilities. She’s right that I disappeared for the entire summer without warning and that my focus has been elsewhere.

“Sisters,” I say, looking around the table. “I owe you an apology. It’s no secret that finding my boyfriend cheating in my own bed was more than I could take,” I look at Bianca. It’s not a glare, it’s a direct look at her.

She has the decency to look away and I continue.

“I’m sorry for leaving so abruptly and I’m sorry for what happened on the night of the Rush Fair. I have no idea who left that iron plugged in, but at this point it doesn’t matter. I know that regardless of what happened, I let you down. If that means that you don’t trust me anymore as your president, I will accept that as a consequence of my actions. But if you can find it in your hearts to give me a second chance, I promise I’ll do whatever it takes to have a great year even if we have no house. I can’t promise you a new house before the end of the year, but I’m going to do everything in my power to have the new house built in time for graduation. Grace and compassion aren’t the only qualities of a Zeta woman. Resilience is one of our core values and if you let me continue to be your president, I promise we’ll show the entire school what the Star Cove Zeta Theta Beta women are made of.”

There’s a beat of silence. A couple of girls have unshed tears in their eyes.

I’m not the only one who’s gone through a breakup and we, as sisters, have always taken care of one another in those circumstances.

“Bianca,” I say, looking at the woman who was in my bed with my ex-boyfriend. “Would you like to address the sisters before they vote? Since I assume you’re going to run for president if I’m voted out?”

Liv intervenes before Bianca can stand up. “This isn’t an election. You don’t have to let her speak. She already said enough about why she feels you should be voted out. If you ask me, she’s lucky I didn’t call for a vote to expel her from our sorority. Just in case anyone has forgotten who was in Bay’s bed with Topher, I would like to remind every woman at this table, that we don’t sleep with a sister’s boyfriend. No matter what.”

This time Bianca stands up.

She shoots up from her chair so violently that it capsizes. “Hey, wait a second. He said he and Bay were broken up. I didn’t know?—”

I don’t know what to believe. I don’t put it past Topher to lie to get laid.

It doesn’t matter though. It takes two to tango and Bianca should have at least been suspicious when Topher took her to my bed.

There are uncomfortable murmurs around the table and several sisters are looking at Bianca, shaking their heads.

“Bianca?” I ask. “Did you want to say anything?”

The Dean’s daughter doesn’t look at me. “No. The facts speak for themselves. I don’t think Bay is up to the task of being our president. We deserve more. We deserve someone who will make Zetas her priority.”

“Thank you, Bianca.” It costs me everything to be civil. But I know Bianca thrives on confrontation and all a screaming match between us would do right now is get us kicked out of the library. “Every sister who wants the current Zeta president removed from office, raise her hand.”

I win by two votes. It’s a narrow victory, but I’ll take it.

The seniors among us are loyal to me, despite being the ones who are losing out by not being able to live in the Zeta house.

Bianca has obviously been campaigning against me and had some success with the sophomores and a few of the juniors.

I thank everyone for the vote. “I’m going to speak to the Greek Council to see if we can get a better space for our meetings from now on. I’ll let everyone know if our next meeting in two weeks is going to be here or elsewhere. I have this room booked for the entire year just as a precaution. By our next meeting, I should have some news about the planning for the rebuild. If in the meantime anyone needs anything from me, you have my contact information. Don’t hesitate to reach out at any time. Meeting adjourned.”

Usually I would stay and hang out with everyone. But usually we’d be in our house and Tami would have a pitcher of margaritas waiting for us in the kitchen.

Right now I just need to be out of here. I might have won today, but this was a close call and I’m sure that Bianca won’t take the loss lying down.

JAGGER

“No, sir.” I sigh, glad that the Hartford Heroes scout on the other end of the line can’t see my clenched fists. “Yeah, I’m sure. Thank you for thinking about me, sir.”

The man ends the call asking me to get in touch if I change my mind at any time between now and graduation.

“Fuck.” I close my eyes, leaning forward and banging my head against the kitchen table.

“Hey,” Cole’s voice makes me jump. “You alright?”

I shake my head, looking at my best friend. “No, I’m as far from alright as humanly possible.”

Cole pulls two beers out of the fridge, offering one to me. “I need a shower, but it can wait a few minutes. Lay it on me, what’s up?”

“Nothing,” I snort. “I thought not entering the draft would make it clear that I’m not interested in going pro. But it looks like it didn’t.”

He tilts his head to the side. “Huh? Who was on the phone?”

“A scout from the Hartford Heroes. Apparently they want to sign me.”

I jump again when Cole’s fist hits the table. “That’s fucking awesome. Dude, why not? You know I’m headed to Hartford after graduation. The only thing that would make the NHL better, is having you there too.”

I take a long drink from my beer, letting the cold, crisp liquid soothe the lump of disappointment lodged in my throat. “You know I can’t. My family expects me to work alongside my dad and my grandpa, ready to take over the entire company one day.”

Cole looks at me for a long moment, reading right through me. “But is that what you want?”

My laugh has no mirth in it. “What I want doesn’t matter. It’s the way things have been for generations. Way before we went from railway to tech. The first son of the first son of the fucking first son is groomed to be the next company president.”

He doesn’t look convinced. “I understand tradition, but traditions are meant to be broken sometimes. Have you tried talking to your parents about your dreams? Your dad isn’t an asshole.”

I tear a piece off the bottle’s label, making confetti out of it. “That’s the problem. I can’t disappoint him. Besides, I tried talking to him and grandpa about going pro before college and it didn’t go well.”

Cole’s tone is sympathetic. “Were they upset?”

I shake my head, as another bitter chuckle escapes my lips. “Worse. They laughed. They thought I was joking. Dad called it a fun little hobby.”

Cole doesn’t give up, it’s one of the things that make him such a great D-man on the ice. “That might have been true when you were in high school, but at the collegiate level things are different. Professional hockey players are paid millions. And you were approached by a NHL scout wanting to offer you an actual contract. It isn’t a joke or a hobby.”

I’m not surprised that he doesn’t understand.

For as long as I’ve known him, Cole’s goal was to go pro. “At the risk of sounding like an asshole, that’s pocket change to my family. Connelly Tech is a Fortune 500 company. We’re talking hundreds of billions. My family would never understand me throwing away my legacy to go play a game.”

If he feels insulted, he doesn’t show it. But he keeps arguing his point, like the stubborn motherfucker that he is. “A game that plays millions. Besides, a hockey career isn’t forever. It’s a tough game with so much potential for injuries. Some players play longer but a lot of times people retire by thirty. Why don’t you talk to your parents and see if they’d give you a few years to get it out of your system?”

I sigh. “Yeah, they would never go for that, trust me. I’ve made peace with my destiny years ago. It just sucks even more that it’s the Heroes who want to sign me. It would have been awesome to keep playing with you and Ryker.”

Cole nods. “It would have. I better go shower,” he says, rising from his chair.

“You haven’t even broken a sweat,” I tease him. “You’ve been doing a lot of extra running lately.”

He doesn’t look me in the eye. “I gotta stay in shape. I have a signed contract but I still need to impress the Heroes to make sure I get the starting spot they promised me next season.”

Yeah, I don’t buy that. “Is that the only reason though? All these extra running sessions started last week.”

I don’t need to say what we both know.

Cole started running at every hour of the day and night since Topher called that emergency meeting and invoked that stupid bro-code.