Page 40 of Beneath the Surface

Maybe this whole situation wasn’t fucking with me as much as it should have. At the end of the day, I was a dead man walking.

25

AVA

Sometimes, we all needed a break, even from our own friends. Not that I had considered Grayson and Cruz to be in that category—at least not yet.

The Barracudas had lost Friday’s game, so the mood on campus Monday morning was still pretty somber. Other than my practice, I didn’t do much, nor did I hear from any of the guys. All my sorority sisters could talk about this morning was the fact that Grayson had not graced them with his presence at the party after the game.

I mean, who could blame him? If I had just lost a game, there was no way I would have wanted to attend a pity party, especially not at my own house.

“Did you go to the party?” It took me a second to realize the words were directed at me.

Hailey was a sophomore—a transfer from another school. And it was going to make me sound like a fucking bitch when I said that was the only reason she was in our house now. Had she rushed here, she would have never made the cut.

Don’t get me wrong, I liked Hailey as much as I could like someone without actually knowing them. Grayson had made mean outcast, and Hailey had done all that on her own. She didn’t party, didn’t drink, and dressed modestly. There was absolutely nothing wrong with that, but she had nothing in common with her sorority sisters.

“No, I needed to work on my routine. Did you?” I asked back, knowing the answer would be no.

Hailey shook her head vehemently, as if the mere suggestion had offended her.

“What are you wearing for the Halloween bash?” she asked.

This struck me as odd, but I shrugged it off.

“I’m not sure I’ll go.”

“But we all have to,” she replied right away, and I scrunched my brows in confusion.

“Livy made it mandatory, or we must pay a fine.”

That fucking bitch.

I got up from the table I had sat at after our meeting ended. Making formals and other Greek events mandatory was one thing, but the party for the hockey team was pushing it. I didn’t bother saying bye to Hailey; instead, I made my way to the upstairs porch since that was where Olivia and her posse liked to hang out. They had a prime view of the Greek row. It made them feel like they ruled the school.

“God, did you see his muscles?”

Livy was going on about some guy.Good, was all I thought, since maybe that way she would finally leave me alone with the whole Grayson thing. Why did that thought cause a thrill to go through me?

Girls like Livy never let a guy go. She was the kind of girl that would remind a man’s wife she had him first, as if that would make someone jealous or insecure.

“I didn’t realize how hot he had gotten.”

“Are you going to ask him to the Halloween party?” someone asked.

“I think I will. He’s hot, and on the plus side, he’s always with the hockey team taking their pictures. It will get me closer to Grayson… Even if it doesn’t work out, I wouldn’t mind fucking him.”

Anger coursed through my veins once I realized they were talking about Micah.

My Micah.

Okay, not like that, but like hell if I would sit back and allow him to become another pawn for Olivia to use. He deserved to be someone’s first choice, and the thought of him fucking Livy made my stomach churn with dread.

The mental image was enough to pull my phone out and text him.

Me:

Hey, I’m done for the day. Where are you?

---