Page 4 of Freshmeet
How the fuck did I get in this situation?
Licking my lips, I softened my expression. “I should probably go home.” My voice was soft, pleading without having to say the words.
Please let me leave.
Duncan stepped toward me, his meaty fingers brushing a lock of blond hair from my cheek.
It took everything in me to not jerk away. The smell of cheap beer and vodka wafted off him as he pinned me to the vanity. I swallowed a few times, working up a little bile in case I needed to throw up on him.
“I can walk you home.”
Forcing a smile on my face, I said, “I’m really not feeling well. I’m going to call a sober ride and go pass out.”
He nodded. “Okay. Text me when you get home?” He squeezed my arm in what he probably thought was a reassuring gesture, but it only served to remind me of just how fucking strong he was.
“Will do,” I forced out as I slipped around him and opened the door. Racing through the house, I caught one last glimpse of Carter holding court over the beer pong table. Thankfully, Sarah was nowhere in sight.
Cool air hit my face as I stepped outside, and I could finally take a deep breath. Frat parties had never been my thing, but fuck if that party didn’t suck extra hard.
I stumbled past house party after house party on my way toward my apartment on the square, but I slowed when I reached Elson.
The entire sorority is at the mixer.
Before I could think too much about it, I was passing the VFW. The Elson Gamma house was silent since the mixer was happening blocks away, so I walked around to the back.
“Damn it,” I muttered, squinting at the dark steps leading up to the Beta Alpha Epsilon apartment known as Frattic.
They didn’t leave the lights on?
Probably for the best, considering it was pretty weird to go inside other people’s homes when they weren’t there.
Not to mention illegal.
Shaking my head, I turned to leave, but the sound of gravel crunching underfoot caught my attention. A figure stepped out from behind the dumpster at the end of the alley, and I backed up against the cracked siding. Maybe it was the fact that I was drunk and alone late at night in a dark alley, or perhaps it was because I was planning a quick B&E, but I was in no hurry to be acquainted with the stranger.
I held my breath and slid behind the rickety stairs. The closer the person got, the slower they walked.
Fuck this.
Not giving myself a chance to overthink it, I raced up the stairs. The structure swayed under my hurried steps, creaking and groaning so loud I couldn’t hear anything else. I reached the door, praying it was unlocked.
Of course it wasn’t.
I glanced down at the alley and yelped, catching the shadowy figure looking up at me. Picking up Sassy the Garden Gnome with shaky hands, I snagged the extra key. As I slipped it in the lock, there was a thud at the bottom of the stairs, and I rushed to throw open the door.
The sound of blood whooshing in my ears blocked out everything as I slammed the door shut and locked it. Holding my breath, I strained to hear any signs of movement outside.
There were none, so I cautiously inched toward the window. Pushing the curtains aside, I let out every bit of air in my lungs.
No one’s there.
“Fuck.” I laughed, my body relaxing. “I’ve clearly been under too much stress.” Smoothing back my hair, I set the extra key on the counter and went to the refrigerator for a seltzer.
Cracking open the can, I leaned against the wall and stared into the living room. Due to weird local ordinances and agreements made between the sororities, our official houses and chapter rooms were in a dorm building. But that didn’t keep sororities from starting up legacy houses and apartments where sisters passed the lease down through pledge classes.
Frattic was one of those unofficial Beta Alpha Epsilon houses, and the place where I’d made some of my most precious college memories. Pre-gaming formals, screaming BAE drinking songs, and sisterhood events that usually devolved into late-night movies and gossip. I’d thought the best was yet to come . . .
I blinked back tears.
