Page 16 of Heartbreak Kings
“To whom? You’re all rich—you’re immune to any hits to your reputations. Nor do you have to worry about anything you do affecting your employment prospects.” She stabbed her stack of pancakes with her fork and left it standing there. I got the impression she would rather have been stabbing Scissors Boy.
“Wow. That’s a lot of assumptions.” Except it wasn’t, and the hard stare she turned on me told me I had misstepped. I was the guy from the military family and less wealthy than the other Gentlemen. I did not quite have the immunity that people like Blake did. But as soon as the words left my mouth, I remembered that my “not quite” was being measured up to her “not at all.”
“It’s a lot of facts. There are fewer than a dozen full-scholarship students at this school, all of us face abuse, and there are no consequences for it. There are very few consequences for anything that non-scholarship students do, from what I have seen.” Her voice had switched to all business. I suddenly realized I was in the middle of an interview.
“Look, I’ll concede that there are a number of students here from wealthy families, that daddy having a pile of money covers for a lot, and that there is a chunk of the student body that takes advantage of all of that. But not all of us are that kind of…” I trailed off in frustration as I saw the corner of her lovely mouth turn up.
“Not the issue. If this school’s culture didn’t have problems on a wide scale, I wouldn’t be experiencing them on an almost hourly basis.” She stared right into my eyes with her deep ones.
I swallowed hard, not because she intimidated me. I appraised her. Warmth rushed through me, heading straight for my cock. Then I realized why Blake had experienced difficulty sealing the deal with Sabine. She wasn’t just smart and on the ball. Sabine was amazing and got past my defenses like they were nothing.
“Well, you shouldn’t be experiencing any of this,” I insisted. She scoffed, but I pressed on. “I mean it. This isn’t how you argue for or against reforms at the school. Your presence here isn’t some kind of personal slight against us. If it weren’t you, it would have been someone else. You were right to tell them to take this to the administration. Their fucked-up handling of this has caused far more disruption than your presence ever would by itself.”
“Are you just telling me what I want to hear?” she mused as she withdrew her fork and used the edge to cut off a bite from the pancake stack.
“No.”
For maybe half a minute, she was quiet, face thoughtful as she drained her orange juice. “It’s weird that the only guys who get that, besides my friends, lead the fraternity whose pledges seem to want me dead.”
“Not dead, just gone.” But my stomach tightened at the glance she gave me.
“Mikey Carmody doesn’t seem to think that would be enough,” she challenged.
I winced and nodded slowly. “Mikey Carmody has been a thorn in the fraternity’s side since before I joined the student body.” I sighed. “I don’t have anything good to say about him. He’s the oldest guy at the university. His grades are crap compared to the rest of us, and he’s doing nothing good for our reputation. Frankly, I think they should ban him from campus.”
“But you’re not the one dealing with his threats and attempts to disrupt your life. If you’re really worried about containing your more sexist members, probably start with him.” She sounded tired and angry—nowhere near as together as on her vlog. But then again, if what she was saying was true, she had been under siege almost constantly. That would have worn anyone down.
I saw my opening and jumped at it. “Look. I get that you don’t trust us over at Alpha Omega because of Carmody and some other shithead pledges. But with everything going on, I want to make this right, and I know Blake does too.”
A sarcastic gleam entered her eyes, and she rested her chin on the heels of her hands. “And how do you plan to do that?”
I gave her a conspiratorial grin. “Funny you should ask that. I was hoping you’d consider coming over to our fraternity house for a late dinner tonight and seeing for yourself.”
Chapter 7
Sabine
After the near-attackon my hair and my conversation with the charming but slightly evasive Marcus, I was left feeling pulled in two directions.
On the one hand, I wanted badly to see what these men who led Alpha Omega had to say for themselves, and whether they would do anything about Carmody and their wayward pledges. On the other, it felt as if I was about to walk into a trap.
What should I do?
I couldn’t ask Mama for advice—she would tell me to stay far away from that place and let no man on campus get me alone. I could ask Billy for advice, but he would probably tell me I was crazy for going, too. My common sense was on the fence. Staying away from potentially dangerous men—especially when they wanted to get me alone on their turf—was always the most practical answer. But if I didn’t go, I wouldn’t have the chance to find out what was really going on with their pledges and Carmody.
Maybe I should have a recorder running the entire time.New York had single-party consent. I could legally record them without their knowing. And I could download a security app in case I had to call for help. It was the beginning of a practical compromise, but I still didn’t know if I wanted to go through with it. It sure didn’t help that both Blake and Marcus were smoking hot, and Marcus seemed to be reasonable most of the time. I was almost thankful for the obnoxious edge to Blake’s ego. It helped me remain objective about him, given his handsome face and tight body.
I got back to my dorm room to discover a note attached to the door. Warily, I removed it and unfolded it. It was nothing more than a warning that the dorm water would be shut off the next morning. Sagging slightly with relief, I fumbled my key into the lock and let myself in.
Everything was where I had left it. I shut the door behind me, locked it, and turned on my light, setting my backpack on my bed. Apparently, they already knew that Carmody was a problem…or was he their scapegoat? They claimed to be trying to do damage control and keeping an eye out for him and the others who were causing problems. Marcus alleged that if I went to this private dinner of theirs, they’d answer all my questions. It could be an invaluable opportunity. Plus, I’d get to see Blake and Marcus again.
I didn’t take either of those attractive men’s interest in me seriously, but the attention felt nice after over two weeks of taking people’s crap. Marcus and Blake also seemed to be the only people on campus besides Billy who could keep up with me on a conversational level.
Funny how so many of New York’s best students turned into incoherent troglodytes when anything shook them up.
I just wished I knew what the Gentlemen’s Club’s agenda was. Sunny, reasonable Marcus seemed more honest and thoughtful, and he didn’t have Blake’s edge of arrogance. Blake was more toe-curlingly sexy with a voice that could captivate me, even reading from the dullest text. But there was something cold, imperious, and demanding about him.
Blake commanded.
