Page 102 of Fast

My heart breaks for Heather. It’s impossible to miss the way her eyes well with tears at just the thought of her late boyfriend.

“So will you see Lev again?” she asks once she composes herself.

“Yeah.” The fact that Lev asked me to be his girlfriend is on the tip of my tongue, but I decide to wait before I say anything. I should probably make sure the guys are on board with the plan,but if people—especially our parents—saw me out and about with Lev, that would take the heat off Chance and Ares. At least until we figure out things between us.

Until I choose.

The thought of choosing leaves a bad taste in my mouth, and I’m grateful for the distraction when Heather says something I hadn’t thought about until she mentioned it.

“I wouldn’t tell Angie anything for now.” She says. “Not until you and Lev are official. And make sure I’m there when you tell her, she’s not going to take it well.”

“Really?” I groan. “I thought you said that she knows that Lev isn’t into her.”

Heather sighs, parking on the lot closest to Greek Row. “Knowing that he isn’t interested and seeing him with someone else—someone who isn’t just a hookup—are two very different matters.”

We walk the short distance to the Zeta house.

“Ok, thank you for the heads up.” I sigh. “Talking about Angela, I thought she’d be riding with us?”

Heather lowers her voice, as if she were about to tell me a secret. “Her roots were showing, so I told her to get them touched up before tonight. The ideal Zeta sister is polished and pristine at all times, so if she wants a chance to get invited to pledge, she better look the part.”

“Weird,” I muse. “I hadn’t realized that Angela wasn’t a real blonde.”

The sheriff’s daughter laughs. “That’s because our hairdresser is a genius with colors. Let me know if you want to try something different, and we can go together. I think you’d look super hot as a redhead.”

I thank Heather, but I’m happy with my dark brown hair. I have my dad’s coloring and I love having something that always reminds me of him.

“Welcome potential pledges!” a girl in a pink Zeta Theta Beta sweatshirt greets us. “Come on in, and leave all phones and smart watches in this basket. You will retrieve them in the morning.”

Heather ushers me in first, following right behind me. “Babe,” she frowns. “Where did you get that hoodie?”

“Why?” I whisper, as we follow the Zeta sister, who welcomed us into a huge, modern living room.

“I mean, nothing wrong with supporting our law enforcement, but wearing aStar Cove Sheriff Departmenthoodie wouldn’t be my first choice for a rush party.”

I turn to look behind me. “Huh? Does my hoodie say that?”

Heather narrows her eyes. “Duh. It’s in big, white letters. Did you get dressed in the dark?”

“No, I spilled something on myself at lunch, and Ares let me borrow something, since there was no time to go home to change.”

We’re invited to join a group of potential pledges—Angela is one of them and waives at us excitedly—in a line up for the sorority president to evaluate.

“Not bad. Not bad at all.” A tall, skinny brunette smiles. “Girls, welcome to the Zeta Theta Beta House. Tonight is the first official Rush Week event. We’re going to hang out, have dinner and have a sleepover and a pancake breakfast tomorrow morning. During this time, my sisters and I will observe and evaluate each of you. On Friday morning, the ones among you who will have been deemed worthy, embodying the qualities of the ideal Zeta woman, will receive an invitation to pledge. Be aware that Zeta Theta Beta is the most selective sorority on campus. But now, let’s hear from you. Each of you introduce yourself, and tell us where you’re from, a hobby and a fun fact about yourself and why do you want to be a Zeta.”

I stifle a groan.

This feels like a beauty pageant, or at least how I imagine one would be, since I’ve never been in a pageant. The feeling is confirmed by the way several of the Zeta sisters circle around us with clipboards in hand, taking notes about each of us.

I’m grateful to be at the end of the lineup, so I can listen to what the others say. I don’t know if I want to be a Zeta, but I don’t want to make a fool of myself by saying something stupid.

“My name is Heather Marie Pullin. I’m nineteen-years old and I’m a freshman. I was born and bred in Star Cove. My hobbies are dancing and cheerleading and I was just selected for the A-team of our school’s cheerleading team. A fun fact about me is that my daddy is the town’s sheriff and if you’re nice to me, I can probably get you out of a speeding ticket. Just kidding, of course,” she winks. “Oh, and I’m a legacy. My mom and my aunt were both Zeta sisters respectively at Yale and Stanford. I’ve always wanted to be a Zeta to follow in their footsteps and because they’ve always told me that in their time in the Zeta house, they earned sisters for life. I want that too, since I’m an only child.”

My palms begin sweating as I panic about what to say. It kinda feels like these girls knew they would have to do this icebreaker, and they came prepared.

“Your turn.” The Zeta president smiles.

I swallow, willing my heart to calm the fuck down. It might sound ridiculous, but I’d ride a bike at two hundred and fifty miles per hour, rather than speak in public.

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