Page 8 of The Friend Zone

Maybe I should resign and cut my losses while I still can. My legacy as president is already ruined. It’s bad enough to go down in history as the president under whose tenure the sorority house burned down. I don’t think my heart can take being remembered as the president who caused the Star Cove Zeta Theta Beta chapter to be closed down.

I know I didn’t personally set the house on fire, but anything that happened in the Zeta house was my responsibility.

Rebuilding is my responsibility.

I don’t even know how I make it back to the Gamma house. One second I’m shaking Dean Williams’s hand, and next thing I know, I’m walking back into the fraternity house.

For once I’m relieved that the house is quiet and empty. Most of the Gamma brothers are on the hockey team, so at this time in the afternoon, they must be at practice.

Normally I would confide in Cole, but I’m pretty sure he’s been avoiding me.

Come to think of it, both Cole and Jagger have been giving me a wide berth since the night of the after game party last week.

Could that have something to do with my very public argument with Ryker?

I shake my head, trying to clear the fog that makes it hard to think clearly.

It doesn’t make sense. That night, after my walk of shame back into the house, Cole slept in my bed.

Love fills my heart at the memory of his strong arms around me. His warmth was a safe haven. His solid body and his clean scent reminded me that with him by my side, nothing bad could ever really touch me. If Cole had disapproved of what I did with Jagger, he wouldn’t have been there to comfort me.

Jagger.

Just the thought of the Cove Knights flirty defenseman, causes my body to heat up and my pulse to quicken, settling between my legs in a needy thrum of liquid heat.

Could Jagger already be bored with me? Or maybe all his talk about equality between men and women when it comes to hookups is total bullshit and he thinks I’m nothing more than a puck bunny?

No.

That’s ridiculous. If that was the case, he wouldn’t have come to my room with Ryker to make him apologize.

Right?

Dammit. The memory of how Ryker apologized and how he and Jagger worked together to make me feel better, doesn’t help my heartbeat slow down to its normal rate.

If Jagger isn’t bored with me though, why has he been avoiding me too?

BAY

Since Cole is nowhere to be seen, there’s only one person who can help me make sense of the mess my life has become since I came back to campus.

I FaceTime my sister the second I close my bedroom door behind me.

“Hey Bay,” Lakyn’s smiling face greets me. “How are you, sweetie?”

Her smile warms me from the inside out. Looking at Lake is like looking in a mirror.

“Hey Lakey-Lake,” I force a smile on my own face. “Am I catching you at the wrong time?”

She’s in a huge bathroom, wrapped in a pink, fluffy robe and she’s doing her makeup.

“No, the guys are taking me out to dinner and I’m getting ready. But I always have time for you.”

“Are they taking you somewhere fancy?” I ask, noticing her perfect makeup.

I taught Lakyn how to do a cat eye eyeliner last year and I’m proud of how well she’s executing it.

“There’s this hotel at a resort called Pleasure Beach. It burned down a couple of years ago and it’s finally reopening with a huge gala. Of course the Warriors have been invited.”

---