Page 21 of This Blood That Binds Us
I relaxed as he led me through the front door and into what appeared to be a foyer. I didn’t know what I had expected a frat house to look like, but this blew all my expectations out of the water. High vaulted ceilings, white crown molding, and dark lacquered hardwood floors adorned each room. It was hard to notice anything other than the sea of people shuffling into the various rooms like schools of fish, but it was hard to ignore how expensive a place like that could be.
Presley led me toward the kitchen, walking in fluid steps, and had no trouble parting the crowd. He did so with a friendly smile, tapping people on the shoulder or striking small talk with them as we passed.
The kitchen had a huge stainless steel fridge—bigger than any I’d ever seen—white marble countertops, and a center island occupied by a group of people doing body shots.
We stopped in front of a plethora of coolers littering the floor. “What do you drink? We have every alcohol known to man.”
“Oh, I’m good. I don’t drink, actually . . .”
“No problem. We also have bottled water, sparkling water, and soda. Whatever you want, I’ll go get it! Even if I have to drive to the gas station. Don’t worry, my brothers and I aren’t drinking tonight, you know, to keep an eye on things...well, all except for—”
“Your brothers?”
I let my curiosity win.
Presley seemed nice and more than willing to talk to me. I wasn’t sure what I was going to do once he left. The longer I could carry on a conversation with him, the better.
“Yeah! Do you know them? There’s Aaron over there. Zach and Luke are playing poker, I think.” Presley motioned over to the entry to a dining room.
And there he was, Aaron chugging something in a red SOLO cup. The room erupted in cheers as he threw his empty cup onto the floor.
All the cards fell into place. I had managed to find the one place on campus that Aaron happened to be, and it wasn’t just him. His brothers were there, too. How was it that, the one time I tried to do something normal, vampires had to be there?
“No,” I blurted. “I mean...kinda. I know Aaron. Barely. We met, like, once. It wasn’t a big deal.”
Presley’s mouth stayed poised in a smile, his head cocked to the side. “Oh, yeah? What about Zach and Luke? I could introduce you.” He wiggled his eyebrows playfully.
“Wait, you all live in the house...you’re part of the frat?”
“Yep! It’s a blast.”
“KIMBERLY!” Aaron yelled, crashing into the kitchen like a tornado. SOLO cups on the ground scattered in his drunken wake, and he stumbled into one of the coolers. “What are you doing here!?” His smile beamed, red warmth peeking through his beige skin.
“It’s kinda a long story. Boring one, though.” The words came out slowly as he moved a little too close.
“All right, you kids, have fun. I’m gonna leave you here. Kimberly, nice to meet ya. Let me know if you need anything.” Presley snickered as he disappeared into the foyer.
Aaron was still beaming. “I was secretly hoping you’d show up here, and here you are!”
Aaron wasreallydrunk. That answered question one thousand and one. Vampires could drink.
“You didn’t tell me you were part of a frat!” I shouted over the loud frat boys entering the kitchen for their next round of drinks.
“You didn’t ask!” Aaron bounced on each foot to a beat entirely of his own.
“Aaronnn!”
Behind him, a large group of girls called to him, motioning for him to come over.
His lips curled up as he giggled and steadied himself against a wall. “I’m—I might have had a little too much. I usually don’t drink this much, but it’s just—the ladies keep giving me drinks. Like, what am I gonna do?! Say no?”
I bit my lip, trying to hold back laughter. I could see why he would be popular with the ladies. No doubt Aaron had a natural, boyish charm about him. Against my better judgment, I had to admit he was attractive.
“I had no idea vampires could drink things other than blood.”
He quickly placed his fingers to his lips with a playful grin. “Remember, that’s our secret! Just you and me know, okay? Don’t tell anyone!” His eyes lit up. “Oh, I gotta give you a tour! Don’t worry, I won’t show you the whole thing. Just the highlights.” He turned to lead without letting me answer.
My options were standing alone in the kitchen or following the drunk vampire. Surprisingly, I chose the latter. We stumbled through a wall of half-naked girls and boisterous frat boys. Thebass from the stereo moved my entire body. My sweaty hands slid along the wall as I tried to steady myself. Too many bodies were packed together in the dim light, and I tripped on an empty beer can and fell backward. My shoulder slammed into the wall, inducing a sharp pain to shoot into my fingertips.
