Chapter 17
Chapter Seventeen
CHAD
“All right, fuckers, listen up!” Zeke yells from where he’s standing on our front deck.
“We’ve got five hours before we have to meet back here.
Any items back past the time limit don’t count, and we only include what’s on the list. Other than that, the only rules are not to be dickheads or dangerous. Today is about fun. Any questions?”
There aren’t, because we’ve all filled our pledges in, and you can taste the competition on the air. Everyone wants to get started already.
All of Greek Row is gathered on the grass out the front of our house and the one next door, ready for our annual scavenger hunt. I’m pumped. I love this day. It’s cool, but the sky is a clear blue without a cloud in sight, like Mother fucking Nature herself is blessing this sacred competition.
I’m on our front deck with the rest of my house, all of us wearing high-vis construction vests and hard hats, ready to start working on a plan of attack as soon as we have our lists.
My gaze creeps across the lawn toward where Kappa House are, even though I’ve been trying my best not to look.
They’re all wearing bright pink tutus and have sweatbands around their heads.
Bailey’s black curls are a mess around it, his cheeks are flushed pink—either from the excitement of today or catching me watching him, who knows?
—and he looks so goddamn adorable, I’m itching to pull out my phone and take a photo.
I realized last night that I only have the selfie he sent me ages ago, and he doesn’t put up many on social media. I need more. Time to rectify that.
A spark of inspiration hits, and I jump up onto the handrail of the deck, holding on to the awning above for support.
Then I start taking random photos that prompt cheers and raised hands.
I take a group shot, then start snapping one of each house, getting more and more random until …
I point my phone in Bailey’s direction and get the shot.
How’s that for smart?
I’m feeling clever when I jump back down and angle away from my brothers to inspect the image.
The smart-ass is wearing a small smirk, like he knows exactly what I’m up to, and—I scowl.
Lucas is inside the frame, throwing up a peace sign and begging me to punch him in the face.
I zoom in, screenshot the picture minus Lucas, and delete the original. Much better.
It goes to show how much Bailey distracts me that I hadn’t even noticed Lucas standing with him in the first place.
I’m not jealous because that would be dumb. Bailey told me he has zero interest in Lucas, so that’s awesome, but knowing Lucas wants in on my man and not being able to tell him to back off doesn’t sit right.
And … well, my man might be a stretch. We’ve hooked up again, and we text a lot, and I’m starting to really like him, but dating in secret feels like a lot of work.
Every time we start talking about what this is or what we’re doing, we both steer the conversation away. It’s easier like that. And considering we’d first agreed that nothing else would happen, I’m happy to go along for now.
I startle as Zeke slides a piece of paper in front of my face.
“You’re up, VP.”
“Hell yeah.” I snatch it from him as the rest of the house gathers around. Zeke and the other presidents are the ones who set the tasks, so they don’t get to join in today.
I give the list a quick scan. There is the easy shit like lawn ornaments and visiting certain sites, taking a quarter from the fountain on campus. Then there are embarrassing tasks like buying adult diapers and doing something humiliating that need to be filmed.
We’ve got this. Between Robbie, Brandon, and me, we’ve got the embarrassing things covered—I’ll buy a jumbo pack of diapers and call for a price check over the PA if I have to.
Then my eyes snag on one item we’ve done before but I’ve never given much thought to.
Kiss someone from another house.
The answer is simple: kiss a sorority sister. But I haven’t got my reputation around here for playing it safe, and a fun idea is starting to form.
I could totally tell Robbie I’m going big, get him ready with a camera, and then haul Bailey into a kiss. It’ll look spontaneous and random, the guys will get a laugh, and I’ll get to kiss him in front of everyone.
My grin eats my face.
Fucking perfect.
Our house splits into five groups. Each one has someone in charge of communicating with the other teams and someone in charge of looking after the items and getting back here okay.
Then we have one group assigned specifically to sabotage the other houses.
If we get into one of their videos, the video is void.
If we can make off with their shit, it’s added to our tally.
Every person on the row takes the competition seriously, and I goddamn love it.
When I graduate, all this goes away. It’s into the world of nine-to-fives and minimum wage, so for right now, I throw myself into life at a hundred and ten percent.
If people think that makes me a troublemaker or an asshole, so be it.
I don’t ever want to leave this place with regrets.
“Everyone clear?” I ask the guys, and we all split off.
Carter and Raymond are staying behind to watch the house with Zeke, because days like today, where everyone is distracted, are golden opportunities to stealth steal. I’d be doing it if I didn’t want to miss out on the fun.
I leave with Robbie, Brandon, and two other guys. For once, Robbie’s old dude pants, with more pockets than I can count, actually make sense.
“All right, ladies, what first?” Robbie asks, rubbing his hands together.
“I say we go for the big points. Let everyone else focus on the small shit.”
“Love that plan!” He whacks Brandon’s chest with the back of his hand. “Go get your sex doll. I’ll piggyback her around until we find a place for her photo shoot.”
I glance at the list and read, Take a photo of a sex toy somewhere random. Huh. Well, okay then.
I’m expecting Brandon to argue when he ducks back inside and comes out a few minutes later with a blow-up doll.
“Wow.”
He laughs. “Don’t worry, I don’t use her. Robbie hung her in my room as a gag birthday gift. She lives there now.”
“Thought it would scare off your hookup,” Robbie mutters as they tie the arms around his neck, and he grabs the legs.
“Fuck, at least put your vest around her. She’s showing off way too much back here,” I say.
Brandon takes off his vest and puts it on the doll, and then we’re ready to go.
Most of the other houses have already disappeared, including Bailey, but we’ve got most of the day to get through the list. The problem is, we end up spread out all across campus and the surrounding neighborhoods, so there’s a very real chance I won’t see Bailey at all.
As I jog alongside Brandon and Robbie, I sneakily pull out my phone and text him to see where he is.
Bailey:
Nuh uh. You’re the enemy today
Me:
Cheeky boy. I just need to see you real quick. Promise it’ll be a few seconds and I’ll be out of your hair
Bailey:
Need another photo? Don’t think you were subtle
Me:
You looked so cute, you can’t hold that against me
Bailey:
I won’t, but my trust in you is temporarily suspended today. You’re up to something, don’t think I’m not on to you
Me:
Probably fair. You’re smarter than I gave you credit for
I pocket my phone, and we get to it. Worst case, we’ll leave the kiss until last, and when we all get back there, I’ll grab him right before the time comes to an end.
It’s risky, but I’m up for the challenge.
I just have to make sure no one else from my team does that one first. And there’s a very high chance they will—who would pass up a chance to hook up with a hottie?
Not me.
Which is why I’ve gotta track my sexy guy down.
We throw some ideas around on where to put Sally as they tell me the doll is called. The dean’s flagpole is one option—actual flagpole, not euphemism—and hanging from the middle of the quad is another, but I want something good. Something that will make our photo voted the best for bonus points.
“Oooohhh,” Robbie says, spinning to me. “Deja Brew.”
“You want coffee?”
“Nah, man. Let’s take her in there, put your apron on her, and have her serve me at the register.”
It could work. “My boss is cool, but is she that cool?”
“Make a call. Come on.”
Might as well, I guess. It will give us a chance to grab a branded glass from there too—so long as I promise to return it.
I call my boss and explain what we’re doing, and she says if we can get there in the lull before the lunch rush starts, then we can do it. The three of us have never run so fast in our lives, and that includes yesterday’s football game when the score was down to the wire.
Misty is behind the counter when we arrive, holding up my apron. We pass off the doll to her as I hunch over and try to catch my breath.
She eyes me. “I thought you were supposed to be fit.”
“We ran the length of campus to get here.”
Brandon tilts back his hard hat and wipes the sweat from his forehead. “This photo better be worth it.”
Robbie pats him on the back with a big, heavy hand. “We got this.”
I end up crouching behind the counter, holding the doll’s arms out, while Robbie pretends to pay and Brandon takes the photo.
We do a few poses, including one where she’s lounging across the counter, before people start to trickle in the doors, and Misty kicks us out.
I shove a tall glass coffee cup in one of Robbie’s pockets, and we leave.
And it’s on our way back to campus that I see a bright flash of pink.
A group of Kappas is up ahead, and I bite back a grin at the mess of black curls I spot.
“I think I’ve had an idea for one of these other ones,” I say.
“Oh yeah?”
“Brandon, what does a Kappa hate most?”
He shrugs. “Us.”
“Get your cameras ready, gentlemen. I’m about to piss a whole lot of them off.” And get Bailey’s mouth on me a whole lot earlier than I thought.
“Ready when you are,” Robbie says, holding up his phone.
I make a show of cracking my neck and rolling out my shoulders.
Here we go.
I break into a jog, thankful none of the assholes have spotted me yet, and when I reach them, I hear someone ask, “Doomsen, what are you—”
I loop an arm around Bailey’s back, bury a hand in his hair, and kiss him.
Even though it’s all for show, his lips on me feel right. It’s fucking wild how perfectly his body fits against mine. I want to kiss him properly, to sweep my tongue into his mouth and feel his own, but I keep it simple.
Well, simple and dramatic.
Our lips mold together as I bend him back over my arm. Our kiss lasts a second … two … three, then four. He doesn’t push me away, but I wish he would because it’s nearly impossible for me to end this.