Page 108 of Freshmeet
“They scared the shit out of us, Con. For a second, I really thought we were about to have our brains eaten,” Tom said with a laugh.
“You had a good chance of getting away. We’re clearly slow zombies. Now, our friend Rae would give you a run for your money.” Olivia inched closer to Tom.
He eyed her with appreciation before tossing an arm around her shoulders. “Better keep you close since you’re an expert.”
“Do you want a drink?” Connor drew my attention away from Olivia and her inappropriate—because she kind of had a boyfriend—flirting. Michael was an asshole, but he existed nonetheless.
“Yes, please!”
“And you can get me a replacement for the one you dropped,” Laura interjected from across the circle.
Connor rolled his eyes, but smiled the whole time. Super drunk Connor was a ray of sunshine. “You got it. Anything else, princess?”
He was obviously talking to her and not me, which made me feel a little weird, but I was new to the group, so that was to be expected. I was just glad my friends were there.
“Make it quick.” She winked at him, and Kimmy laughed while the guys looked uneasy.
Connor kissed my cheek, then whispered, “I’ll be right back” in my ear and toddled off in his spiked heels toward the other side of the fire. The way his ass swayed walking in those heels made me sad that all men didn’t wear them.
Laura’s cheery voice pulled me out of my contemplation of Connor’s exquisite assets. “So how did you meet Connor?”
“We met at the Epsilon Chi Barn.”
“Connor was at a frat party?” Her eyes widened in disbelief.
“Yeah, it was a disaster. When I went inside to tell my roommates I was leaving with him, he disappeared.”
“He didn’t bail, did he?” Tom asked with a laugh.
“I thought he had. Man, I was so pissed!” Everyone chuckled. “Imagine my surprise when I show up for my first shift at the Wel, and there he is. God, I was such a bitch.”
“How do you go from thinking he bailed on you?” Linc glanced at Laura, his smile dimming a bit. “To showing up here?”
I pursed my lips, wondering what Laura’s deal was. “Well, I started tutoring Jamie, and after a few run-ins, I finally let Connor explain what happened.” Looking around the circle, I was relieved that everyone was still listening since I was a terrible storyteller.
“Apparently, Jamie had too much to drink, so the Epsilon Chi brothers asked Connor to take him home, but before Connor could explain he was waiting for me, Jamie ran away, and Connor had to chase him all the way to his apartment.”
Everyone burst out laughing—except for Laura. “That’s the McCormick boys for you. Jamie screws up, and Connor runs to the rescue. Literally.”
Kimmy giggled with her friend, while everyone else took nervous drinks.
“Jamie’s a good friend of mine,” I said, feeling the urge to stick up for the goof.
“Me too.” Kat was glaring at the beautiful duo, but they didn’t notice, or they didn’t care.
“Jamie’s a blast, but, seriously, he got asked to leave a frat party?”
Tom, clearly having heard enough from Laura, turned to me and asked, “So, then what happened?”
Shaking off my annoyance at Laura, I focused on Tom. “We started hanging out and now here I am, channeling my fiercest undead president.”
“I’m glad you guys made it. The more, the merrier for sure. And this party could always use a few more fun people. Who doesn’t wear a costume to a theme party?” he sneered at his friends.
“Adults, Tom. Adults.” Kimmy said, eyeing the five of us in costume with disdain.
“More like you’re boring, Kimmy.” A mocking smile replaced Tom’s genuine expression.
“Fuck you. Some of us had to grow up.”
