Page 59 of Frat House Fling

But there wasn’t much. He began staying out of the house more and I didn’t know what he was doing. Studying in the library? Drowning his sorrows in a bar? Forgetting his troubles in the arms of some lucky woman?

I had no claim to him, but I hoped it wasn’t that last one.

A week passed, and Theo wasn’t getting any better. He hadn’t even asked about my application for that housing stipend, which I’d managed to turn in an hour before the midnight deadline.

A couple times, I ran into Ian when I got back to the house, and if we had time, we’d have a quick lunch together. It was pleasant, but our conversation mostly consisted of concern for Theo

Grant even talked with me a few times, without his usual swagger. The only time he said anything even remotely suggestive, it was like an afterthought. Like he was going through the motions because it was expected of him.

The third time I passed him in the hallway without those vivid blue eyes even attempting to scan up and down my body, I stopped him. “Are you okay?”

He gave a faint smile, nodding. But he didn’t look okay. I maintained eye contact until he finally shrugged.

“My family fucks everything up even when they think they’re helping.”

That was all he said, but it was enough.

Somewhat to my surprise, my late-night chats with Night Owl continued. But they weren’t as frequent or as flirty as before, and we never talked about what had happened the night he made me come.

Did that mean that Night Owl was one of Theo’s friends who was subdued because he was concerned about the architecture students? Or maybe it meant Night OwlwasTheo, and that our midnight chats were the only time he could get his mind off the contest.

I wished so badly that I knew.

Still, this wasn’t my problem to fix. Those three were the ones who’d been friends for years. And it was Grant’s family, and Bennett’s, that had caused the problem. This whole thing had nothing to do with me.

And yet… I couldn’t help wondering what I could do to help. There probably wasn’t anything, but I couldn’t stand to see Theo looking so down. I thought about it so hard that I kept zoning out in class, and once I opened a can of chili instead of dog food for Sunny.

A plan was forming in my mind. It was foolish, and probably wouldn’t help, but I couldn’t shake the idea once it had taken root in my brain.

It would require a lot of courage on my part. And some risk. And there was no guarantee it would even work.

But as the days wore on, the look of pain in his eyes—when he was actually home—got to me. So I decided to take the plunge.

I chose my moment as carefully as I could. With a casual inquiry to Ian, I found out which nights this week they’d be dining at home. He revealed that he, Grant, and Bennet would be eating out with some officers from another frat on Thursday.

“With Theo?” I asked.

Ian shrugged. “If he’ll come.” We both knew he wouldn’t.

Thursday night, after they’d left, I made my preparations. Theo was in his room—I’d heard a newscast playing from some device in there earlier. I’d never heard him listen to the news alone in his room before, but I was glad he was there.

In the upstairs bathroom, I looked in the mirror one more time. Adjusted my hair. Fixed a smudge near my eye.

It was time.

I wrapped my oversized dark blue robe around me as I cautiously climbed down the stairs and made my way slowly down the hall. Then I took a deep breath and knocked on Theo’s door. “Room service,” I called out.

The silence from his room made me apprehensive. Had he stepped out when I was upstairs? I knocked again.

Finally, his muffled voice reached me. “I’m not hungry.”

I frowned, but I’d mentally prepared for this possibility. I knocked again. “Please open up.”

The wait was longer this time, but then I heard footsteps. He flung the door open, irritation on his face. “Dammit, Hailey, I’m not in the mood—” He stopped abruptly, looking me up and down.

Slowly, I untied the belt of the robe, letting it fall. Then I opened the robe. It slid from my shoulders and dropped to the floor.

Theo’s eyes widened. “What the hell?”

---