Page 5 of Frat House Fling

But what choice did I have?

“Yes,” I said, biting back a small sigh. “I’m in.”

“You didn’t!” Tori said an hour later after her literature class. We were in the student union—it had the cheapest coffee.

“I did.” But it hadn’t truly sunk in yet.

“Hailey, those guys are…” She trailed off. She hadn’t been to a frat party any more than I had. But we’d both heard things. If I told her about the French maid uniform, she’d go through the roof. “There’s got to be something else you can do.”

“There’s not.” I’d been applying for work for months, with a short break to study for my final exams.

“Can’t you do food delivery again?”

“How, on a skateboard?”

“Oh, yeah. Sorry, I forgot.”

I’d had to sell my car a few months ago. It was the only way to get enough money to finish out the spring semester. My scholarship only covered tuition, not living expenses. So unless I wanted to set up a tent out in the woods, I needed to find a place to stay.

“Look, let me talk to the girls again. You really weren’t bothering anyone staying on our couch.” She was also a scholarship student, but she’d had enough funds to rent anapartment with three other students. Those kinds of places were few and far between in a town like this.

“Tori, they reported me to your landlord.” It was true that I’d worn out my welcome by staying there for a couple of months, but I’d done my best to help out. Tori and I were pretty much the only ones who ever cleaned and did the dishes there.

Tori nodded reluctantly. “They’re such hypocrites, though. Janna’s boyfriend sleeps over all the time,” she said. “I wish you and I could afford a place together.”

“Me too.” I stared aimlessly around the small cafeteria. Since it was summer, it was pretty empty.

“What about your friend? The one who lives with all those hot guys, the former baseball players?”

“Naomi. And no, I’m not going to show up on her doorstep.” As nice as Naomi was, I hadn’t known her for all that long. She’d done some massage and physical therapy at the nursing home where my grandfather spent his final weeks. I’d never met Naomi’s boyfriend, but I knew that she lived with him and his two best pals, for some reason. It sure didn’t sound like they had room for a random acquaintance, and I didn’t know her well enough to ask.

Tori broke her chocolate cookie and slid half of it over to me. “You’ve already paid for your class, right?” I nodded. It had taken the last of my money. “So you just need a place to stay. There’s got to be somewhere.”

“There is.” I didn’t look at her as I took a bite of the cookie. “The Rho Kappa Alpha house.”

“I really don’t think you should.” Concern lit her face. “It's just not a good choice.”

“Actually, it’s the best choice.” I tried to put as much determination into my voice as I could.

“How can you say that?”

“Because it’s the only choice.” I sighed. “If there’s only one choice, then it’s automatically the best one.”

Tori took a sip of her coffee, sympathy in her eyes. “That also makes it the worst choice, you know.”

I nodded, staring off into the distance. “Yeah, I know.”

3

HAILEY

The next morning,it was nearly impossible to concentrate in class. That was a shame, because normally I enjoyed Professor Whitmore’s class. She was a gifted speaker, and a nice woman. I knew that because I regularly walked her golden retriever.

As much as I usually liked the class, it was unfortunate that it was only offered during the summer this year. If it had been in the spring or fall semester, it would’ve been covered by my scholarship. But Professor Whitmore had been traveling most of the past year for her research.

After class, I gathered up my things while the other students filed out. Some smiled, but mostly they had their own lives, and their own concerns. And their own friends, who likely dressed a lot better than me.

I lingered until the other students left, not wanting them to find out that I walked the professor’s dog. They just wouldn’t understand.

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