Chapter 3
ANTHONY
Tipping my head back, I gulp down the last few swallows of my water. When my cup is empty, I toss it at the bin about three feet away. It bounces off the rim a few times, then falls in.
“That was weak sauce, bro,” Connor says disapprovingly as he comes up to me.
“Remind me again where I asked for your opinion?”
“That’s the great thing about being my friend.” He shoots me an obnoxious grin. “You don’t even have to ask. I’ll just give it to you whenever I think you need it because I’m just that awesome.”
“How many of those have you had?” I nod to the nearly empty cup in his hand.
“Not as many as you think.” He gives me a shrewd look.
“What?”
“Why are you being an antisocial asshole and not having fun like a normal person?”
“You noticed, huh?”
He snort-laughs. “Kinda hard not to. You look like you’re plotting someone’s demise while everyone else in the room is having fun.”
I shrug. “Just not feeling it tonight.”
He studies me for a few seconds, but instead of saying whatever he’s thinking, he gives me a quick nod and glances around. “Have you seen my brother?”
I point to the dance area, where Hazen is currently sandwiched between two blondes.
Connor studies the trio for a few beats, then shoots back the rest of his drink and hands me the empty glass.
I put it on a nearby table. “You know you’re closer and could have done that yourself, right?”
“I could have.” He tosses me a grin. “But it’s so much more fun to get you to do it.”
“You’re an asshole.”
“Hello teapot, I’m kettle.” He tilts his chin at where Hazen is still dancing with the blondes. “It looks like he’s got his hands full. I should go be a good brother and help him out.”
“I’m sure he’ll appreciate that,” I say dryly.
“You know what they say, sharing is caring.” He gives me a little smirk. “And we both know how much my brother loves to share.”
I huff out a laugh. “Are we talking about the same brother who tried to stab you when you attempted to share his fries the other night?”
“Emphasis on tried,” he says. “Doesn’t count if there’s no contact.”
“Right, because that’s what’s important in that sentence,” I drawl.
“Have fun not having any fun.” Connor tosses me a quick wave. “Or you could have fun having fun. Think about it.”
Chuckling, I watch as Connor strides over to where Hazen and his partners are dancing, an extra swing in his hips as he turns the charm up to one thousand.
The girls are all smiles as he joins them. Hazen, however, is less than pleased, and by the look on his face, he’s already plotting how he’ll get Connor back for this.
“Haze is going to murder him,” Rath says as he comes to stand next to me.
“He’s definitely going to try,” I agree.
“Guess who I just saw?”
“Who?” I turn away from the twins to give Rath my full attention.
He points to the far wall where a full-service bar has been set up. Standing next to it are Xavier and Killian Hawthorne, their heads bent together as they talk about something.
I look around and quickly spot their twin cousins, Jace and Jax, standing together a few feet away and also talking quietly.
“Interesting,” I murmur as I look between the two pairs.
The Hawthorne cousins are infamous around campus, and they’re part of one of the most powerful and influential families at the school. They’re also founding legacy members of the Rebels, one of the other frats on campus, and a direct rival of ours.
Baxter House isn’t one of the four frats, but it’s known as the party house, and it’s not unusual to see members of all four of the frats at any given party. There’s also an unspoken rule that house and frat drama gets left at the door, and for the most part, people respect that.
Seeing the Hawthorne cousins here isn’t anything out of the ordinary, but them hanging out in pairs like that while everyone else is getting their party on is concerning.
“Do you think something’s up?” Rath asks.
“Not sure,” I tell him. “But it might be worth keeping an eye on them just in case.”
Rath nods. “Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. I’ll take the twins if you want to watch Killian and Xave.”
“Sounds good.” I slowly roll my shoulders, trying to get some of the tension out of them.
I came to the party hoping it would help with my restlessness. That enjoying a night of music and whatever favors I can get my hands on would help scratch the itch I sometimes get where I just want to fuck something, or someone, up.
So far, that hasn’t been the case, and having to keep an eye on the Hawthorne cousins on top of everything else I’ve got going on right now definitely isn’t helping.
We fall silent for a few minutes, but that’s not unusual for us. Rath is a man of few words, and he really only gets chatty when the twins are around and egging him on.
More of that restlessness settles over me, and I can feel myself tensing up as the song changes from an EDM mix to a mashup of several pop ballads.
“You good?” Rath asks, giving me a sidelong look.
I nod and crack my knuckles.
He chuckles and finishes his drink. “Yeah, sure you are.” He holds up his empty cup. “I need a refill. You want me to grab you anything?”
“Nah, I’m good.”
I’ve only had one drink since I got here, and even though my plan was to get fucked up, that’s probably not the best idea right now. Not while I’m like this.
He gives me another assessing look, then heads toward the bar without another word.
I glance back at the dance area. Hazen and Connor are now surrounded by a small crowd of girls, and by the looks of things, they’ve got their hands full and will be occupied for a while.
I really don’t want to be here, but it’s not like things will be any better if I leave. Being alone isn’t the best idea right now, and wandering off by myself is the best way to get myself in trouble.
I’m just contemplating whether I should go to the bar and get a drink when I see Xave walking toward the main doors. I quickly search out Killian and find him standing with Jace and Jax.
Keeping far enough back that I don’t have to worry about being seen, I follow him as he leaves the room and slips into the hallway.
I’m expecting him to go into one of the other two rooms that are open for the party, but he bypasses them and walks right up to one of the locked doors down the hall.
I duck into a small alcove as he glances around, then watch as he pulls a multi-tool out of his pocket and quickly pops the lock.
“What the fuck?” I mutter as the door closes behind him.
Why did he break into that room? What’s in there that would be worth the risk of getting caught?
Besides being known as the party house, Baxter has incredibly strict rules for what is and isn’t allowed during their parties, and breaking into locked rooms is definitely on their faux pas list.
Pulling my phone out of my pocket, I open the camera and angle it at the door Xave disappeared into. My hiding spot is across the hall and a bit down from this mystery room, so I have a perfect view of not just the door, but a good chunk of the hall in both directions.
I’m just adjusting the zoom when the doorknob wiggles, and I hit record about a second before the door swings open and Xave carefully slips out of the room.
Just as quickly as he popped the lock with his multi-tool, he uses it to lock it back up. Then he tucks the tool away and strides back toward the party like nothing happened.
I wait until he’s out of the shot, but just as I’m about to stop the recording, a couple stumbles into the frame, their arms wrapped around each other as they exchange loud kisses.
Normally I’d just stop recording and walk out from my hiding place without a second thought, but my instincts are telling me to wait, so I keep my camera trained on them and stay hidden.
They keep stumbling and kissing as they make their way down the hall, but are forced to break apart when the girl nearly trips on one of her jeweled heels.
She lets out a little shriek of surprise, but her kissing partner catches her around the waist and steadies her before she can do more than wobble on her feet.
When she’s stable again, he glances around, then nods toward an alcove on the other side of the hall. “In there.”
She takes his offered hand and follows him into it.
Either their alcove doesn’t have a recessed area on the side that they can hide in like mine does, or they just don’t care enough about getting caught to use it since they immediately start making out again.
They’re not being quiet, either, and I zoom my video in as she hikes her leg up around his hip and he eagerly slides his hand over her exposed thigh and up the back of her skirt.
I take a few more seconds of video, then end the recording and tuck my phone away.
It looks like tonight is turning out to be an interesting night after all. Not only did I catch Xave breaking the rules, but I also got video proof of McKenna cheating on West with some random who’s not even important enough to be on my radar.
What’s that saying about two birds and one stone?
Chuckling softly to myself, I leave my alcove and head back to the party.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
“Yeah?”
My door swings open, and Hazen steps into the room looking like he just rolled out of bed.
“Someone had a good night,” I comment as he leans against the wall next to the door.
“More like a long one.” He scrubs one hand through his hair sleepily. “But my morning got exponentially better when I overheard Rhys and Christian gossiping about the leadership elections.”
That catches my attention. Rhys and Christian are two of our house leaders.
Rhys is responsible for the physical and ground security of the frat, and Christian is in charge of discipline and keeping the brothers in line.
Hazen has been working with Rhys as his number two for the past year, and this wouldn’t be the first time he overheard something interesting.
“When was this?” I ask.