Chapter 4
Chapter Four
Brandon
I’m woken rudely by a large body hitting my mattress and almost launching me into the ceiling.
“Motherfucker.” I grunt and swing my pillow blindly, clocking someone in the face, and the familiar laugh that answers lets me know exactly who it is.
I steal my pillow back and bury my head under it.
“Is that any way to greet your brother?” Robbie mocks.
“I’d push you out of bed if I had the energy, so think yourself lucky.”
My pillow disappears, and I hiss as sunlight assaults my eyelids.
“What time is it?” I ask.
“Past eight.”
I crack an eye open. Robbie’s lying beside me, propped up on one elbow, shit-green knit sweater stretched across his massive chest.
“Geez.” My voice comes out sleep drenched and husky. “Where did you even get a sweater that ugly?”
“I made it.”
In that case, it isn’t as bad as I originally thought. “Huh. Sorry.”
“I don’t care.” To his credit, he doesn’t sound like he’s mortally offended. “I’ve been waiting for you downstairs.”
“Why were you waiting for me?” He’s been all set on avoiding me since our kiss, and I haven’t called him on it because I was okay with how things were.
In a way.
I needed the distance, but also, not having him around constantly has been weird. Our verbal sparring and shooting the shit with video games is the way I wind down. Sure, I have other friends, but Robbie is … I don’t know, really, but I do know he’s someone I want to be around, even when I don’t.
Now, if that isn’t confusing as hell, what is?
“I want your opinion,” he says.
That wakes me up. “What did you do?”
“Wow. My heart is breaking that you immediately think the worst of me.”
“Can you blame me?”
“Not at all, but ouch, man. We’re brothers. Where’s the trust?”
I give him a flat look, willing him to get the fuck on with it.
“K. We’re having a party.”
I half groan and half sob. “Again? We only had one last weekend.”
“I know, but this is a pre-break one. The night before the last day of classes, I want to have a big one where people can go all out and get loose before heading home.”
There is so, so much about that plan that doesn’t excite me. “Two parties three weeks apart is insane.”
“I’ll easily be able to pull it off, and we all need that fun memory to get us through Christmas with family.”
“Except me, apparently.”
“Why not you?”
“Because I’m the only one who doesn’t get to have fun at these things.”
To my surprise, Robbie’s grin widens. “That’s the thing. I figured since it’s the last party of the year and I’ll be the one here cleaning up the next day, I’ll stay sober so you can drink.”
What? I stare at him, not fully understanding his words. Robbie plus party equals drunk off his ass. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him get through one sober, and I have no idea what’s bringing this on now, but … “I don’t believe you.”
“I swear on the house.” He even goes so far as resting his hand over his heart.
I roll onto my side to mirror him, kicking the blankets down to stop them tangling around my legs. “Why?”
“You should have some fun before you head home too.”
“And you shouldn’t?”
He lifts the shoulder he’s not leaning on. “Can’t afford the flight, so I’m staying here again. I’m sure there’ll be plenty of fun I can get up to while everyone is away.”
Yeah, I’ve heard the stories of how Robbie fucked a girl in every room of the house while we were all gone last year, but I also know those rumors are completely untrue. He was bored out of his brains, and he spread that around so people wouldn’t feel sorry for him.
Him being prepared to stay sober right before two weeks of nothing has me doubly suspicious.
“Here.” He flips the tablet and shows me the list he’s put together. “I figured the theme could be date night. Usually when people show up together, there’s less drama.”
“Or more if someone wants to leave with someone else.”
He chuckles. “Truth, but you’ll have me and the pledges all there to contain the trouble. I’ll play risk manager for the night.”
I scoff. “You wouldn’t know the first thing about being risk manager.”
“Sure I do. I’ve just gotta put on my big-boy panties, shove a stick up my ass, and ruin everyone’s fun. Piece of cake.”
“Technically, you should shove the stick up there before you put on panties. Geez, you wanna be with a guy and know nothing about butt stuff.”
“Since you’re so knowledgeable, are you offering?”
Fucking Robbie. I flop onto my back again. “Why are you such a pain in the ass?”
“I can be a pain in the ass.”
I spare him a small smile. “You wish.”
His tablet is resting between us so I pick it up and scroll through his plans. There’re lists for what we need, how and what to set up, possible risks involved, and job allocations for the brothers he knows will be there. “When did you work on all this?”
“Last night?”
“Lucky you. I was going over the pledges’ prank ideas.”
“Any good ones?”
I screw up my face. “One that held promise, but most of them are a mess of college movies and hazing. It’s like they didn’t even listen at the presentation.”
Something dark crosses Robbie’s face. “Pass them on to me, and I’ll go over your notes with them.”
“Yeah, thanks, but I can do it. This isn’t going to be like the meeting on Wednesday.”
“What was wrong with the meeting?”
“You stepping in like I needed saving. I’m a big boy. I can speak for myself.”
He scowls. “That’s so not what I was doing, and you know it.”
“Do I though? Because it kinda sounded like you were standing up for your side piece, and hello, that’s not me.”
His mouth drops, and I can’t blame him. That last part wasn’t supposed to slip out—especially because I hadn’t given it conscious thought in my brain—but apparently avoiding a topic makes me blurt it out, and there I go referencing something I never wanted to talk about.
Ever.
“Is this about the kiss?” Robbie asks.
I throw a look at my closed bedroom door, almost as though I expect to see people crowded around outside it. “No?”
He lifts his eyebrows.
“Fine. I’m not sure. But it was … weird. Or something.”
“That’s the aftereffects of the Rob-dog. I’m like an aphrodisiac.”
“I don’t know what’s worse, you talking about yourself in third person, the terrible nickname, or you thinking you somehow turned me on.”
“I don’t think, I know.” He looks pointedly at my crotch, and I hurry to tuck a hand under the blankets to rearrange myself.
“To be clear, this is morning wood.”
“Right. Nothing to do with Rob-dog.”
“Talk about yourself in the third person again. I don’t think you’ve met your douche quota for today.”
“Don’t worry, it’s still early. It’s sweet you’re concerned though. I think kissing me gave you feelings. It’s only natural.”
“Fuck off. Don’t act like you’re all cool about having your tongue down my throat. This is basically the first conversation we’ve had since.”
“Fine. It was awkward as shit.”
“Exactly.”
“Because it was so goddamn hot.”
My gaze flies to his. “What?”
“Are you surprised? I mauled you.”
“I …” A small laugh slips out to hide the way something flutters through me. “Yeah, I noticed. But I didn’t expect you to admit it.”
“Want me to be a dick about it? Pretend it was the shittiest kiss I’ve ever had? Act like you were the only one who got hard over it?”
And suddenly, my morning wood is becoming something else. “Got … hard?”
“You going to deny it?” His words hold a challenge, like he knows that’s exactly what I was going to do and he’s daring me to even try. “You going to pretend you didn’t like how it felt? Weren’t clinging to my shirt and kissing me back?”
I swallow.
“Weren’t picturing what my stubble would feel like scraping against your thighs?”
I shove him. “Fuck off.” Because I can truthfully say I wasn’t thinking about that … until now.
He drops the teasing and flops onto his back. “Don’t worry, I don’t want anywhere near your dick anyway.”
I hesitate, the question on the tip of my tongue. I can’t look at him as I ask, “You think you want that though? Dick?”
He hums, deep and gravelly. “Maybe. I think I want to try kissing again first though.”
“Does that mean I get to claim turning you gay?”
“Not gay. And I’m pretty sure you don’t want people to know about us, which is lucky, because neither do I.”
“Yeah, true.”
“Tell me though. After kissing me, was the sex wild?”
Sex … I’m about to remind him we definitely didn’t fucking do that when he continues.
“With Jenny. You know, because I got you all worked up? Tell her I’ll accept beer and chocolate as a thank-you.”
Right. My girlfriend. And because I have no clue how to explain—even to myself—why I pretended to be asleep, I nod and commit to a half-truth. “You have no idea.”
“What are your plans this weekend?” he asks.
“Some Gamma thing Jenny and her sisters are going to that I’ll probably be dragged along for.”
“A Gamma party?” Robbie looks horrified. “No, ditch that and come out. We’ll go to a club or something.”
“A club? Wow, you know me so well.”
“I added or something. You choose. Anything. You can’t be caught dead with a bunch of Gammas. They’ll probably try to recruit you into a cult.”
“What the fuck do you think they do in their house?”
Robbie snorts. “Why do you hang out with those losers?”
“I don’t. Jenny does.” And until I end things with her, I have to play nice with the white and rich crowd. Kappas have a bad rap for having money, but they’re legitimately decent. They don’t bubble wrap themselves in privilege and act like anyone without money is beneath them.
Not like those Gammas.
They fuck around because there are zero consequences.
People—and houses—like that are still low-key hazing people and risking all of Greek life purely because they’re Teflon.
Someone overdoses on a dare? Their money reminds people it was an accident.
Third-degree burns? Oops, stupid pledge set his own pants on fire.
Assholes.
They’re on the other Greek street, and since we prefer to hang out on our side, we rarely have much to do with them.
Until the last few weeks … months … while I’ve been dating Jenny.
Even though I don’t have the money they do, I’m still reasonably cashed up, and that, plus being a Sigma, buys me status with them that none of my other brothers have.
“Why do you look like you need to take a dump?” Robbie asks.
“It just hit me how much I’m dreading this party.”
“So don’t go.”
“Jenny would kill me.”
He scoffs. “So, end things with her already.”
“Sure, and then Jenny gets the shits and convinces all the sisters at her house to blow off our next parties, then when we need to raise the dues, who will be the one our brothers blame?”
Robbie’s pulling a face. “You can’t risk manage your own relationship.”
“Feels like I need to sometimes.”
“I have a rule that fun should always outweigh obligation in a relationship. As soon as the scales tip too far the other way, it’s over.”
I smirk at him, wishing it was that easy. “And that, my friend, is why you’ve never had a relationship.”
“Judging by this conversation, I never will either.”
He rolls out of bed, cracks his neck to the side, then grabs me and hauls my ass out too. My cock gives this weird twitch at how easily he manhandles me, and I remind it to settle the hell down.
Things are confusing right now, and I don’t need my dick thinking it has a say in any of this.
“I’ll come to the party with you,” he says.
“What?”
He nods. “And I’ll intercept douchebag Gammas and keep them away.”
“Okay, but … why?”
“Quid pro quo, brother. You helped me with my problem, I’ll help you with yours. Then we’re even, and shit can go back to normal.”
I doubt that will ever be possible, but might as well give it a try. “Sure. You’re on.”
“What are brothers for?”