Page 105 of Fast

We walk through Greek Row, and the deserted roads of campus in the dead of night, passing dorms and buildings and heading toward the most remote part of campus.

“I hope they don’t make us do anything at the arena,” I mutter to Lev, who’s walking by my side. “Coach Harrison looks like the kind of motherfucker you don’t want to piss off.”

But we walk past the arena, the athletic center, and the football fields.

“Maybe we’re going hunting,” Lev says, when we walk through a wooded area at the very edge of campus. “Whether we’re the hunters or the prey, that’s the real question.”

I’m starting to think that they’re gonna make us fight. A fraternity running an illegal fight club would be a fucking classic.

My hunch gets stronger when we come out of the woods. We stop in front of a derelict building that looks like some kind of old hangar.

We’re in the middle of fucking nowhere. The hangar is surrounded by the woods on three sides. One of the doors leads out on a long, one lane road that looks in such disrepair that I’m betting it hasn’t been used in years.

“It’s definitely some kind of fucked up Fight Club.”

“Shh.” Lev hisses. “If it is, you’re breaking the first rule of Fight Club.”

Dave removed a heavy, rusty chain from one of the hangar’s doors.

I expect to see some kind of circle drawn in chalk on the floor, or even an old boxing ring, or fighting cage. But when a bright light illuminates the inside of the dilapidated building, I can’t believe my fucking eyes.

ZARA

I can’t sleep.

Candace won’t be pleased with how many hopeful Zetas are snoring.

I lay in my pink sleeping bag—I have to give it to Heather. This thing might be so brightly colored that it hurts my eyes, but it’s hella comfortable—willing my mind to stop racing, but it’s pointless.

The more I try to empty my mind of all thoughts, the more thoughts enter my mind.

The types of thoughts I’m having don’t help either. I keep thinking about last night. How it was to be with Lev and Chance. Their naked bodies, sexy and perfect. Their kisses, their hands and mouths all over me. The feeling of them inside me. It hurt like a motherfucker at first, but then it felt so good. And it wasn’t just because of the orgasms they gave me. I liked how close to them the whole experience made me feel.

I flip from my stomach onto my back.

Great. Now I’m not just awake, I’m horny as fuck.

The second my eyes close, I see Ares’s chiseled chest. I remember the way his skin felt under my fingertips, the way his lips felt on mine. God, what the fuck is wrong with me?

Come on, I can do this. Close my eyes, imagine a blue, cloudless sky, a calm body of water…

Great. Now I have to pee.

I slip out of my sleeping bag and shiver. That thing is warmer than I would have given it credit for. I slip into Ares’s hoodie and hop out of the room. Luckily, I don’t step on any of the women asleep in their own sleeping bags.

Even in the dark, I manage to find the downstairs bathroom we changed into on the second try, and I take care of business.

I really should go back to the den and try to sleep, but now I’m a little hungry.

The spacious kitchen of the Zeta house is clean and deserted. They have one of those smart fridges that knows everything that’s inside it, including the expiration dates.

I’m tempted to go looking for leftovers from tonight’s finger food, but the fridge lights up the second I touch the handle.

The door is like a giant tablet, and it shows me a selection of food categories. I touch “cooked foods and leftovers,” but I abort the mission when I realize that someone didn’t just go through the trouble of listing the leftovers, but also entered the quantities of each item.

Maybe Candace and the other Zetas wouldn’t mind if I had a late-night snack, but I’d rather not risk it.

Just in case they take offense, I don’t want to do anything that could hurt Heather’s chances of being a Zeta. I know it’s really important to her.

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