Chapter Two
Sadie
“Your boyfriend is so hot,” Aubrey Seeks, one of my new sorority sisters said, “I don’t see how you can even stand it.” She fanned herself, laughing.
I never knew how to respond to people saying things like that, so I just smiled.
I didn’t really like Aubrey that much. She was a couple of years older than I was, and she was also on the cheerleading squad with Carrie and me.
I had tried to like her, but there was just something about her that rubbed me the wrong way.
And it wasn’t because she was ridiculously beautiful and flaunted it.
It was something else that I couldn’t quite put my finger on.
She seemed… fake or something. I felt like under all those smiles she was actually a mean girl.
“Thanks,” I said when I realized she was expecting me to respond.
Melinda, Carrie, Blair, and I were at the sorority house for a pledge meeting.
We had to live in the dorms our freshman year; we couldn’t live in the house like other members until we were sophomores.
Aubrey was older and lived at the sorority house.
Aubrey was putting a final swipe of lipstick on in the elegant foyer mirror of the sorority house before leaving to go out with a group of girls. Her eyes met mine in the mirror. “Did you say he’s an athlete?”
“He plays football.” She was making me uncomfortable, but I didn’t want to be rude.
“Hmm. Love those football players,” she winked at me. “What position?”
“Quarterback… so, I really need to get going…”
She looked disappointed. “So, not a starter then, huh?”
I shook my head. The current quarterback was a senior and had worked for years for his chance to start for the Hawks. We all hoped Harrison would win the starting job the next year when he was a sophomore.
“That’s disappointing.”
That got my back up. “I think it’s just normal, actually. It’s rare for a freshman to come in and take the starting spot from a senior. He might’ve done that in middle and high school, but not college.”
She turned to face me. “Middle and high school? Girl.” Her dark brown eyes got wide. “How long have y’all been together?”
Carrie and I looked at each other. Why was she so interested? “Um, since eighth grade.”
She looked me up and down. “That’s a long time for a man like that to stick with the same girl.” She put on a bright smile. “Well, keep me posted. I sure would love to know when he makes starter.”
Carrie and I made a face at each other. It would be a cold day in hell before I kept her up to date on what was happening with my boyfriend. Not that I could hide it from her; she was a cheerleader. If she understood football at all, she should know who the starters were.
Harrison moved to our town when we were going into eighth grade, and we’d been inseparable ever since the guidance counselor had assigned me to show him around our school.
I had fallen head over heels for him, with his thick honey-colored hair and eyes the color of chocolate chips.
And his muscles. He hadn’t looked like the other eighth grade boys at our school.
He was gorgeous. He was easily the best-looking guy in our grade.
And he had fallen for me, too. From then on, we’d been a couple.
People had called us ‘the golden couple,’ which was cheesy.
But if pressed, I’d have to admit I liked it.
Now that we were starting to get settled in at Carruthers, things were going well. I didn’t like the amount of attention Harrison got from the females on campus, and he was equally displeased with the number of guys who wanted to date me.
Other than that, though, things were pretty perfect.
Carrie, Melinda, Blair, and I had all joined the same sorority, which was such a fun thing to do together.
I had picked up a work study assignment to pay for it.
My parents didn’t have the money for those kinds of extras.
Harrison and Drake had joined a fraternity together.
The six of us still hung out almost constantly.
It was like nothing had even changed from high school.
Except the classes were harder and there were a hell of a lot more beautiful, tempting, single people around. Harrison being the backup quarterback didn’t help things. I felt like I was constantly fending off girls trying to get with him.
But he was worth it.