Page 37 of Frat House Fling

It was Grant. I should’ve known. He was so tall that his head was visible above the dancers. But when there was a break in the crowd, I could see the two women who were grinding against him. One was smashing her breasts against his chest, and the other was attempting to twerk, rubbing her ass against him, but she kept turning to hang on his arm and say things into his ear that made him grin.

Hailey watched, mesmerized, as if she had never seen anything like that before. Probably she hadn’t. Those girls were hungry, and they wanted Grant. They were practically climbing their way up his tall body. And he was in his element. Here he was free to be the carefree frat boy persona he often projected. Only a few of us, Theo included, knew there was more to him than that.

But not tonight. He was in party mode.

A guy in a cowboy hat came up, touched the rim of his hat, and ordered a drink from Hailey. She finally pulled her gaze away from Grant and his admirers on the dance floor.

But I kept watching them. Those girls were hot. There was no getting around it. They were all legs and boobs in their short little dresses.

Hailey looked hot too, but there was a big difference. She looked sexy and beautiful. Those young women just looked sexy. It was an entirely different thing.

Two of my frat brothers I hadn’t seen since the spring semester came over, and I went around the bar to give them a one-armed hug. That was the norm for frat brothers who genuinely liked each other but were secretly too insecure in their manhood to actually embrace. I didn’t count myself among that number, but I went with the flow.

Scott asked who my friend was, and I introduced him to Hailey. He nudged his buddy, Steve. “Looks like we picked the wrong summer to intern at that law firm in New York.” I was pretty sure that last part had been brought up to impress my junior bartender.

Steve couldn’t take his eyes off of Hailey, but he still managed to ask for a Frat H2O.

“What’s that?” Hailey asked. I told the guys to come back in five minutes. School was in session.

“Our signature drink. I’ll teach you to make it, but you can only give it to members of our fraternity.”

She looked worried. “How will I know who they are?”

“They’ll be the drunkest ones,” I said, glancing at Grant who was still grinding his hips against random women on the dance floor. Then I motioned Hailey closer. “I’ll teach you to make it, but you can’t tell anyone else how.” Technically, I wasn’t supposed to even tell her, but hey, it was the powers that be that decided she’d be working this party in the first place.

I showed her where the ingredients were. She watched with wide, heavily made-up eyes as I poured a generous amount of vodka in a cup. “Then the white grape juice.”

She laughed. “Can I have some of that by itself?”

“Maybe later. Next, you pour out a capful from one of these white bottles down here. That’s the secret ingredient.”

“What is it?”

“Sorry, I can’t tell you.” She pouted, her adorable lower lip jutting out. But what I’d said was true—Icouldn’ttell her. Mainly because I didn’t know what it was myself. Those unlabeled bottles were just always down there, and whenever someone new learned to make the drink, we showed them where they were.

Next, I stirred in the tonic water. “This provides the fizz and a little bitterness to cut the sugar from the juice. When we makeit for ourselves, using real glasses, we add a slice of lime on the rim. But not with plastic cups.”

She peered at the drink. “It looks like water. It doesn’t smell like it, but it looks like it.”

“That’s why it’s called Frat H2O. Legend has it that the brothers who invented it made sure it was clear so that if they wanted to, they could bring it into class in water bottles.”

“Sneaky,” she said. “Can I try it?”

“Sorry,” I said. “It’s for members only.” I didn’t adhere to all the rules and traditions of the fraternity, but I agreed with that one. Especially since it meant that Hailey wouldn’t be drinking at this party. Hopefully.

Theo danced his way over to us. As an officer, he was on duty during this party, but it was clear he was enjoying himself as well. That was good. Sometimes my friend had his head in the clouds and looked at the world through an artistic lens. This scene was anything but artistic, but he seemed to be enjoying it.

To Hailey’s delight, he asked for the signature drink, and she skillfully made it for him, handing it over with a smile. He took a gulp and declared it to be perfect. Hailey beamed with pride. Or maybe she was just happy to see Theo.

Things got busy, and I had my hands full preparing drinks and scaring off the guys who tried to hit on Hailey. Thank God there was a rather substantial bar between them. If Bennett or Grant had demanded that she circulate among the crowd with a tray of drinks, she would’ve been toast.

The party went on for hours, and we were both exhausted. “My ears are ringing,” Hailey complained at one point.

“Mine too.” I decided against telling her what research showed about the effect this level of noise had on people’s hearing. I believed in trying to be as healthy as possible, but you couldn’t guard against all future problems, or you'd never live your life.

Hailey looked up at me. “My feet hurt too. Don’t tell me yours do too unless you’re wearing three-inch heels.”

I couldn’t help glancing at her bare legs. The heels made her legs look longer and her ass look round and pert. While I’d been spending all that time in my room studying, I’d neglected to fully appreciate what a gorgeous woman we had living with us.

---