Rushed (The Rushed Series) Read online

Chapter Fifteen

  Zach

  I waited for Alexis in front of the SUB. When she saw me, she flew into my arms and kissed me like she'd missed me as much as I had her.

  "Hey, whoa!" I said, pulling away when I finally got the willpower to. "Someone like an avenging Double Deltsie might see us." I tried to sound light and teasing. But I was seething inside, railing at everything.

  "I don't care!" Her eyes flashed. "Zach, I am so sorry about my mom." She rolled her eyes. "I didn't think she was such a snob. You heard?"

  I nodded. Her mom could diss me all she wanted. I'd learned to let crap like that roll off my back.

  "Yeah?" She sighed. "Don't tell me you told me so. You were so right. I was just stupid." She paused. "You heard the part about Dakota and the date dash, too?"

  "Afraid so." It was hard to sound casual when I was burning with jealousy. I took her backpack from her and flung it over my shoulder as we started walking toward the door.

  "I'm not going. I refuse." Her face was set and stubborn. She looked fucking gorgeous to me.

  I grinned at her. "That's the spirit. How are you going to get out of it now?"

  "Easy."

  "Easy?" I repeated, and raised an eyebrow.

  "Yeah, now that I've made up my mind."

  She was damned cute when she was fired up.

  "I know how to solve our problem." Her tone put me on guard.

  "Yeah? How's that?" I held the door for her as we walked into the SUB. We were supposedly "studying" together.

  She passed through in front of me and dropped the bomb. "I'm going to quit the sorority."

  I caught her arm. "Whoa!" I studied her to see if she was serious. "We need to talk this out."

  She smiled at me. "A guy who wants to talk. That's cute."

  "I'm serious, Alexis. This is serious shit."

  She shrugged. "There's nothing to talk about."

  "Really?" I said. "That's bullshit."

  The cafeteria was packed with students studying. I bought us each a pop and found a table in the corner out of earshot.

  We didn't say another word until we were seated opposite each other across the table. I brought it up. "You can't quit the Double Deltsies. Once a Double Deltsie, always a Double Deltsi. They don't let you out. Quitters ruin their rep."

  "I can. I'm not a member yet. Not for another week." She leaned forward as she grabbed her cup of soda. "Think about it. If I quit, I don't have to go out with Dakota. You won't lose your job if we get caught. And we can date and not care who knows."

  I nodded. "Good plan. Screw everyone." I paused and tried to sound completely reasonable. "What happens when your parents go ballistic on you?"

  She shrugged like "no big deal." But she squirmed, giving herself away. She had no idea the trouble she was about to step in. I loved her too much. Even though it ran counter to everything I wanted, I couldn't let her throw away her relationship with them.

  "You can handle their disappointment?" I studied her. "Are you sure? That necklace your mom gave you. Her hopes are pretty high."

  She shrugged again.

  I wrapped my hands around hers, which were wrapped around her paper cup so tightly she was about to crush it. "Damn, you don't know how much it means to me that you're willing to make that sacrifice for us." I paused to emphasize my point and stroked her hands with my thumbs. "But I can't let you do it. We'll find another way."

  She looked me square in the eye. "I don't need your permission."

  "I get that. But we're a team, right? If this is for us, we have to agree and prepare." I smiled at her, trying to make her understand. "Have you ever defied your parents on something this important before?"

  She hesitated and grinned like she was trying to win me over and divert my attention. "You mean like over a guy?"

  "Over anything that would piss them off so badly they cut you off," I said. "The truth."

  "No. But maybe the time has come."

  Her answer didn't surprise me. I saw the pleaser in her, like in my little brothers. Being the most-loved child had its own set of pressures.

  "You're an only. You don't have any siblings who have tested the waters. You have no idea how badly they'll react."

  "I have an idea—"

  "Yeah. We both have an idea. But we don't know how hacked off they'll be. Or how long they'll hold a grudge." I held her gaze, trying to make her see what she was risking. "They'll cut your money off. Best case, they'll only threaten to. Money gives them power. Money and the guilt trip they'll throw at you."

  "Why are you fighting me? I thought you would be happy!" Her eyes pleaded with me, but were rapidly filling with hurt. "We can be together openly. Screw everyone else and all these stupid rules!"

  I clasped her hands tighter. "No argument here. The rules are crap," I said. "If you drop out of the house, you'll never get back in. Not to the Double Deltsies. Not to any house. Your mom will be supremely pissed about that. Forever." I tried to keep the emotion out of my voice. "It's not easy to fall from grace. Take it from me."

  "Zach…" Alexis' eyes filled with pity.

  Shit. I hated being pitied.

  "Don't give your parents another grudge against me. I don't want it to be me, the guy you threw your life away for, against them." I tipped her chin up. "It's like you said. I won't be a houseboy forever. Chill for now. Agreed?" I gave her my best pleading look. "For me?"

  She sighed. "For now. But what about my date dash with Dakota?"

  I fought not to blow all the progress I'd made. "Shit. That sucks. I'm wild with jealousy. Not that I would ever take you to a crappy frat party. You deserve better."

  She grinned. "Where would you take me?"

  I just grinned and raised an eyebrow.

  She laughed. "If only! What do I do about Dakota?"

  "Text me throughout the night. Definitely don't drink. Refuse all house tours. And bail early." I grinned. "It wouldn't hurt to wear his ex's favorite perfume. Just saying."

  Her eyes sparkled. "You're awful! What else?"

  "Cinnamon breath mints. He hates those."

  She laughed. "That's it? He isn't, like, deathly allergic to something I could wear?"

  "Vicious! You want to kill a guy just because he wants to get it on with you?"

  "Not kill. Just disable."

  Shit, I loved it when her face lit up like that and she threw my crap back at me.

  "A date dash is just an excuse to get a girl to have sex with you. Dak was known as 'hands' for more than the way he handled a football. If he lays one finger on you, call me and I'll come and beat the shit out of QB2."

  "My hero!" She faked a swoon.

  I leaned across the table and brushed her lips with a kiss that made me wish weren't separated by a table and so much more. I lowered my voice. "I've heard of a few things you can dump in a guy's beer that take him out of the mood as soon as he starts vomiting his guts out."

  She made a disgusted face. "What! That's awful."

  "Yeah," I said. "The things you learn living in a sorority house." I smiled and shook my head. "I love you, pledge. I can't believe I'm encouraging you to go on a date with my ex-best friend. Sometimes reality bites."

  "Doesn't it?" Her smile made me weak in the knees. "I love you, too." Her words were even better.

  Alexis

  Sometimes love was a crazy, wild thing that made you do stupid stuff. Like going on a date with someone else when I only wanted to be with Zach. Yeah, going out with Dakota was good for hiding my relationship with Zach, but I still hated it. And part of me wanted insane jealousy from Zach. Not reasonableness. Not logic. But that was only the fantasy part of me that thought passionate jealousy was romantic in the abstract. Like kissing the steps where I'd walked. Or tossing rose petals in my path.

  Em was glowing when I got back to the house. "I'm going to Wasted Wednesday!" She bounced off the bed in our shared room and took my hands so I could bounce with her.

  I didn't feel bouncy. "What?"

  "W
asted Wednesday. You know, the Tau Psi date dash? Carter asked me!"

  "That's fab!" I got it now and bounced with her. "We can get ready together."

  Dakota texted me to wear jeans and be prepared to lose my shirt—for the one he was giving me. Very funny.

  Em spent hours on her hair and makeup getting ready. I made a valiant attempt at pretending to be excited. Carter and Dakota asked us to meet them at the frat house.

  Em was full of details. "Until eleven, it's a closed party. Then anyone can show up." She made a face to show her disgust at the shortness of the exclusivity.

  I was planning to ditch way before eleven.

  When I returned from the bathroom to grab my stuff and head out, there was a water bottle filled with juice on my desk.

  Zach texted me. Carry this water bottle around. Pretend it's spiked. The guys will think you're drinking and leave you alone.

  I smiled to myself. He really was my hero.

  I grabbed the bottle. When Em came back to the room, we headed downstairs together.

  Kayla caught us as we were about to head out for the date dash. She eyed my water bottle. "Bringing your own booze. Smart plan. That's what I always do." She winked.

  I had renewed respect for her and Zach.

  Em was filled with nervous excitement and gushing about Carter as we walked to the Tau Psi house through the crisp autumn evening and the parties pounding from frat houses. Half a block from Tau Psi, I texted Dakota that I would be there in minutes and popped a cinnamon breath mint in my mouth.

  When we showed up, he was waiting on the front porch of the house, holding a beer and leaning against a pillar beneath a light. Impervious to the cold, he was dressed in jeans and an official dark blue date dash T-shirt that showed off his toned arms and trim, athletic form. The light lit a halo around his hair. His face was set in the easy smile of a popular guy who was used to making girls' hearts pound. The power and prestige of his status and position on campus alone should have been enough to light me up. I thought, like I had a zillion times before, He should make my heart dance. But he doesn't.

  Compared to Zach, Dakota was a distant number two.

  Carter stood next to him. When Carter spotted us, he ran to Em like an eager pledge puppy. Dakota, too cool to be bothered, waited for me to come up the steps and get a full-frontal view of his T-shirt with its glowing white letters and stenciled pair of praying hands.

  "Pull Out and Pray Date Dash," I read, and looked him in the eye. "I thought this was Wasted Wednesday."

  He nodded toward the water bottle filled with juice in my hand. "You couldn't wait to get started?"

  I grinned. "I was getting a jump on what I thought was the theme."

  "'Jump' fits the theme." He winked, took my hand, and pulled me toward the frat house that pulsed with music and smelled like beer and hot bodies.

  Carter and Emily fell in behind us, oblivious to us now.

  A pledge at the door ran his gaze up and down me. "Small?" He held up a folded pink T-shirt.

  "Good eye," I said as I took it from him. I shook it out as we walked in. On the back was a silhouette of a cowgirl riding bareback on a bucking horse. And the slogan, "It's better bareback."

  I turned to Dakota. "The eternal optimists."

  He laughed and pointed. "The bathroom's over there if you want to change." He was issuing a challenge, daring me to be a chicken and change in the bathroom.

  I called his bluff, slid out of my jacket, pulled the shirt I was wearing off, and slipped the new T-shirt on with a shimmy. Then I flashed him a look that said, "Who needs a bathroom?" I hoped he got the message that I was in control.

  He took my jacket and shirt and tossed them on a pile on a sofa near the door. "Dance? Beer pong? Ladies' choice."

  "What a gentleman! Dance, definitely." I set my water bottle down and let him lead me into the middle of the dance floor.

  The room was lit with black lights that made the lettering on our T-shirts glow. Dakota was an easy dancer, too cool to go crazy with nerdy moves. He knew how to hold a girl just right, too. What he wasn't was the octopus most frat guys were, hands everywhere. And when you lopped one off, two more grew back.

  Sure, he felt me up. Held me close as often as he could. Made a show of being all over me for his buddies. Call it intuition, but something felt off to me. And his phone kept buzzing in his pocket. I felt it when he held me close. He ignored it.

  We danced until we worked up a sweat and got thirsty. When Dakota went to get us a beer, I texted Zach an update, typing as fast as I possibly could. Hoping not to get caught. Zach texted back so fast, it was like he'd been holding his phone, Text me when you're ready to leave. I'll meet you and walk you back.

  I smiled and slid my phone into my pocket. I'd lost my water bottle during the dance. It wasn't where I'd set it. I went looking for it. As I passed the large picture window in the front room, I spotted Dakota on the front sidewalk by himself, with his back to me.

  I frowned and headed out to check on him. It didn't look like he was out for a smoke. He definitely wasn't getting a beer. He didn't hear me approach. I stopped in my tracks as I overheard his end of a conversation.

  "Baby, no! Be fair." He looked up at the sky like he was pleading with someone for understanding and let out a breath that curled upward in the cold. "It's nothing. We're just dancing. For show. No, I haven't made a move. No, she doesn't suspect. No one does. Babe, I told you this is important. It's part of my image. I have to go to these functions.

  "I'll ditch soon. I'll think of some excuse. I'm being completely faithful." He ran his hand through his hair.

  I thought, for just a second, about sneaking back inside and letting him off the hook. Then again, this could play to my advantage. "Everything okay?"

  Dakota jumped—like, physically jumped. "Gotta go. We'll talk later," he said to the person on the phone. "Alexis!" He forced a smile and slid his phone into his pocket.

  A forced smile is so easy to spot. It doesn't reach the eyes. His looked worried and sad.

  "What are you doing out here?" he asked.

  "Looking for you." I came up even with him, shivering in the cool of the evening. "So I'm a decoy date."

  I don't know why, but I found that funny. And it was fun to confront him. Fun to have power for once. All this time I was using him as a decoy and thinking he had the hots for me and he was using me the same way. I fought to hold my laughter in.

  "How much did you hear?" Even in the dim light, his guilty expression and tone gave him away.

  "Everything I need to. More than enough to realize I've been used!" I tried to sound indignant, which wasn't easy while fighting laughter.

  "Alexis!" He turned to face me and grabbed my arm. "I'm sorry. I'm—"

  A giggle slipped out. Maybe it was relief. Maybe I should have pretended to be indignant longer and strung out his suffering. "So I'm your beard now?"

  "Beard?"

  And then the implication hit him and he dropped my arm. "No! Shit." He ran his hand through his hair again. "I'm not gay."

  His phone buzzed in his pocket. He pulled it out and glanced at it. "Shit," he said again. "Just a sec." He typed out a text and put his phone away again. "That was a girl. My girl."

  I crossed my arms like I was mad. "Your secret girl?"

  He took my arm again. "Are you pissed?"

  He couldn't see that I was relieved? Maybe I was a better actress than I thought. "Probably."

  He stopped short. "Probably?"

  I shrugged. "Depends on what I can get out of this situation."

  "I need to talk to you. In private." He looked around. "Like, really in private. Now. My room."

  I put my arm around his waist. "Are you offering me a house tour? The girls warned me about those. Never go to a frat guy's room alone unless you mean business."

  He shook his head. "Very funny."

  I grinned. "Ready to put on a show? If I'm going to be your decoy girl, we might as well make it look good." I batt
ed my lashes at him.

  "Stop that." But he smiled and wrapped his arm around me, sticking his hand in my back butt pocket.

  "No pinching," I said.

  He laughed.

  I'd been to his room, the presidential suite, as it was, once before. It had gotten messier since. It was a typical guy's room. Laundry piled on a chair. Wastebasket overflowing with beer bottles. Smelled vaguely of gym socks and unwashed bodies. As Dakota shut the door, I looked around for the puppy. "Where's the Pomsky?"

  "Mom insisted I send him home to her to train. She didn't think we were taking good enough care of him. Damn, he had so much attention here, he was spoiled. She claimed you shouldn't spoil a dog. That it ruins them.

  "She's probably doing the same thing right now that she accused us of. She fell in love with him and bought him all kinds of pampering crap, like this special bed that's nicer than mine. I wouldn't bet on her giving him back anytime soon. I think he's become my brother the dog. She likes him better than me now."

  "Poor baby," I said to Dakota.

  "Him or me?" He flashed that charmer's smile.

  I plopped onto his bed so hard I made the springs groan. I was thinking that he and Zach had been quite the killer pair of hotties. I patted the spot next to me on the bed. "People are going to expect to hear some headboard pounding in here."

  He raised an eyebrow. "That's going to be tricky without a headboard." He sat on the bed next to me.

  I started bouncing. And moaning. "Oh, oh, oh, oh! Harder, Dak! Dak, Dak, Dak!"

  "Shut up." But he grinned.

  "I'm doing all the work here," I whispered to him. "Help me out. This is for your rep we're maintaining."

  "Maybe I want to lie back and let the girl do all the work for once." His eyes danced.

  "Sexist. Bounce!" I bounced until the bedsprings groaned.

  "Damn, you're a bossy woman." He grinned and joined in.

  With our combined bounce power, the bed rhythmically hit the wall.

  "Turn on some music." I pointed to the speakers on his desk next to the bed. "People always think they can cover sex with music." I rolled my eyes. Since when did that ever work?

  "What do you like?" He reached for the speakers.