Page 51 of Lords of the Campus

I hand it to her, our fingers brushing briefly. A spark runs through me and Lyric blushes, ducking her head. “Here you go,” I say, trying to ignore the way my heartbeat picks up speed.

She grins, taping down a decorative present box and shows it to me. “What do you think?”

“Looks good,” I say, unable to tear my eyes from her. She clears her throat and looks away, hunting for the next box she needs to wrap.

Over the next few days, we throw ourselves into the project. Zane and I make posters to advertise while Lyric and Levi handle the logistics of getting supplies. We spend late nights planning and brainstorming. Somewhere along the way, the lines between us blur.

Lyric starts bringing Eli around more often too, letting Zane or Levi hold him while the two of us organize the donationswe’ve already received, or letting me play with him while she and Zane put the finishing touches on the posters. Eli is a sweet, adorable boy and I feel lucky to get to know him.

The day of the event arrives and the quad is bustling with activity. The Sigma Thetas have their booth set up nearby, but we’re drawing a good crowd too. People line up for hot cocoa and coffee and the donation box steadily fills.

“Hot cocoa, coming right up!” Levi calls out, handing a cup to a student. Lyric has Eli with her, trying to utilize the “cuteness factor”, as she says, in soliciting more donations.

Someone brings up a wooden puzzle, handing it to Lyric for the donation bin.

“Thank you!” Lyric says, taking the puzzle and placing it in the box. Eli claps and giggles, earning a smile from the donor.

I glance at Zane, who’s handling the money. “How's it going?”

“Pretty good,” he replies. “We might have a chance to beat the Sigma Thetas. It’s going to be close, but we’re rocking it out.”

I nod, excitement bubbling up until I spot Cameron walking up to our stand, waving at Eli, who waves back.

“Hey, little man!” he says, far too cheerful for being on our turf.

“Don’t you have a shift at the kissing booth?” I ask, glaring at him. Lyric rolls her eyes but bounces Eli on her lap.

“How’s that going?” she asks, giving him a soft smile.

“Good, we’re doing good. We’ve raised a ton so far, over fifteen hundred,” Cameron brags.

Lyric’s face lights up. “That’s great! I know you’re our rivals, but I’m still excited at how much money we’re raising for the charity drive.”

“I’d like a cup of hot cocoa, please,” Cameron says, holding out a dollar bill. Before Lyric can take it, Zane snatches it out of his hand.

“Thanks,” he says, pushing the Styrofoam cup toward the man. “Have fun getting herpes at your booth!” he calls out.

Lyric and I both roll our eyes at that and I nudge Zane. “Dude, chill,” I tell him. As badly as I want to tell Cameron to step off, I know that the peace between us and Lyric is so tentative that I don’t want to do anything major to set it off. I’m still trying to get used to having her in our lives again.

Zane grumbles, but I make him switch places with Lyric, letting her handle the money this time while Zane takes toy donations.

Eli reaches out for Levi, squirming in Lyric’s hold, so she passes him over, letting Levi sway back and forth with him.

“Having a good time, buddy?” Levi asks.

Eli babbles and gives him a big smile, showing off the bits of cookie someone gave him that he’d been gnawing on for the last ten minutes.

The line seems to go on for ages, with tons of people willing to fork over some cash for a cup of coffee or hot cocoa.

“How much have we raised so far?” I ask Lyric during a brief lull.

She checks the totals and beams. “Holy crap. Over two thousand dollars!” I give her a high-five and then we both pull away, looking at each other awkwardly for a moment before throwing ourselves back into the task at hand.

As the day winds down, we start packing up. There's a sense of accomplishment in the air, but also something more. A bond that wasn't there before. Maybe this is what we've needed all along—a common goal to bring us together.

“Good job, everyone,” I say, looking at my brothers and Lyric. “I think we did it. I think we have a real shot of beating the Sigma Thetas.”

Lyric smiles, a light in her eyes. “Awesome! I’m glad Eli and I could help you guys out. I know that I, for one, am glad that he’smade some new friends and I’m glad that we raised as much as we did.”

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