Smash into You

by Sherry Soule

  Jade wrinkled her forehead. “Ewww, Claire. You’re not going there, are you?”

  Kellan frowned. “Why? What’s wrong with Prescott?”

  “I think the more appropriate question is what’s not wrong with him,” Jade said. “He’s an ATO for starters—”

  “I was just asking a question,” Claire said, rolling her eyes. “Is he coming or not?”

  “How should I know? Just because we hang out on occasion doesn’t mean we’re having a bromance.” Kellan shoveled down a forkful of eggs, then glanced at me. “Prescott is not a morning person. Ask his best buddy, Bram.”

  Taking a gulp of my cold latte, I had no idea why he had directed this comment at me. Had Kellan somehow read my mind and realized whom I was looking for?

  “I was his roommate freshmen year. I can attest.” Bram nodded. “Man likes his sleep.”

  Jade picked up an orange wedge, holding it delicately between the tips of her fingers, and took a nibble. She dropped it on her plate and made a face. Then Jade’s eyes narrowed on me. “You know, this orange is a little sour. I’d like a new one,” she said, staring directly into my eyes. “Now.”

  A moment of silence descended while Jade stared at me.

  I hunched my shoulders. “What?”

  “Jade said she’d like a new orange,” Claire explained. “And while you’re up, can you get me a coffee, too?”

  “Grab me a yogurt,” Brooklyn said. “But low-fat, please

  “And one of those chocolate donuts,” Kellan added.

  Excusez-moi?

  They were not ordering me to get them food. A bloom of heat stained my neck and ears. Kellan popped a piece of toast into his mouth and snickered.

  “Did you get all that or do you need to jot it down, pledge?” Jade asked.

  My jaw went slack. “Wait. Are you serious?”

  Jade rolled her eyes. “Yes. Now go get our order.”

  More hazing—yay. If I wanted to pledge Zeta Beta, I guess I’d better get my butt moving.

  “I’ll be right back,” I said.

  “Smart choice,” Jade said.

  My face felt like I could fry eggs on it. I rose on shaky legs.

  “Aren’t you going to ask Bram if he wants anything?” Claire asked innocently.

  Staring at my feet, I worked to steady my breathing. “Bram? Did you want anything?” I asked, trying my best to sound as agreeable as possible.

  “No thanks, Serena,” Bram said.

  Claire was in on it. She didn’t actually ask me to sit here today so the Zeta Betas could get to know me better. Jade and her minions just wanted a pledge they could order around.

  Well, fine. If that’s what it took to join their sorority, that’s what I would do.

  I walked toward the lunch line and kept my chin up. I could feel their stares boring into my back like heat-seeking missiles. I had to snag an official bid. I’d get them breakfast every damn morning and endure this swell of utter humiliation, if it meant I had to pledge Zeta Beta to change my life.

  SEX SCANDAL

  Later that week, Ms. Greene summoned me into her office. This time the room reeked of onions and burnt popcorn.

  “I wanted to see how your classes were going and if there was anything you found too challenging,” she said.

  Ms. Greene wanted challenging? Try figuring out how to win-over the Zeta Betas and get a bid from their sorority. But as important as my social life was to the New and Improved Serena, Ms. Greene wouldn’t care less. All I could think about was the fact that after breakfast with the ZB sisters, I hadn’t been invited to sit with them again. Which sucked because I still needed to get an official bid. Or no Paris.

  Once that stupid STD rumor went away everything would be fine. I just needed to chill. But how could I chill when the hottest guy on campus wanted something more serious with me? He was off-limits, and I couldn’t forget that.

  “Miss DuPont?”

  I blinked. “I’m doing okay. Thanks for asking.”

  “How are you adjusting?” Ms. Greene asked, thumbing through a Sandals resort brochure.

  She must be planning a winter vacay in the Bahamas. Or scouting out rich husband number three based on the reading material regarding life after divorce on her desk.

  I gave her a tight-lipped smile. “I’m good. My roommate and I are getting along, and I plan to hit the library after our chat to start on some required reading.”

  Ms. Greene set aside the brochure. “I’m glad to hear that, Serena. But I’ve been informed that you’re failing your European History class.”

  Shifting in my seat, I tried not to stare at her good eye while the lazy one wandered off. What was lazy eye etiquette? I didn’t want to be rude.

  “It’s a hard class with a ton of coursework, but I plan to join a study group and catchup,” I said, which was only a partial lie.

  I still hadn’t found a group to join. Who had time? Being a pledge was a huge time suck. But if I didn’t pass Professor Evil’s class, my grade-point average would go down. Not good. Maybe I could get brainiac Claire to tutor me.

  Ms. Greene pursed her thin lips. “Often people tell you that your college years are supposed to be the happiest of your life. What they probably aren’t telling you is that these will also be some of the worst. Most students feel on top of the world one day and utterly defeated the next. Try to remember that you’re not doing anything wrong if you’re having a hard time. Okay?”

  She gazed at me expectantly, and I had a bad feeling that Professor-Evil-Grossman had told her about my horrible first day and that I was struggling in his class. I imagined them chatting in the faculty lounge, making bets on how long I would last at Beaumont.

  But I wasn’t going down without a fight. In my studies or my goal of pledging a sorority at Beaumont. I’d come here to change my life, and I’d be damned if I was going to let anything get in my way.

  “Yup. Got it.”

  “Good. Now, that brings up the topic that I actually wanted to discuss with you.” She steepled her fingers under her chin. “Regarding the email you sent your European History professor.”

  “What email?” I frowned and pulled my backpack onto my lap, startled by the seemingly random change of topic.

  “Professor Grossman forwarded an email that you sent him last night, and well, it was rather disturbing. Before I take this matter to the dean, I wanted to talk with you first.”

  I frowned. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

  “So you’re saying that you didn’t send him email stating that you’d trade sexual favors for a higher grade in his class?”

  My eyes widened and my mouth practically hit the floor. “What? I-I didn’t do that. This is insane. I would never do that. Honest!”

  “Miss DuPont, obviously we pay no mind to juvenile rumors that can spread around all college campuses, but emails like this—offering sex for grades—are not taken lightly. The dean might consider this grounds for expulsion.”

  Every cell in my body went cold. I couldn’t breathe. I gripped the edge of my seat to keep myself from fainting—just to feel something solid and real. Because that…that email...couldn’t be true. This couldn’t be happening. My life just kept getting more and more tragique. Yes, I took French in high school.

  Breathe in, breathe out.

  “Someone is setting me up. I’ll prove it. Please just give me some time and don’t tell my dad or the dean yet.”

  Ms. Greene sat back in her chair. “I can give you a couple of weeks. But since your father told me about your…stay in a psychiatric hospital over the summer, he asked me to personally keep an eye on you, and to be frank, this email does raise some red flags.”

  All the color drained out of my face. A muscle in my jaw twitched. “I’ll figure out who did this. But it wasn’t me. I swear it.” I scooted my chair back and focused on her left eye. “I wanna get to the library before it closes, so thanks for giving me some time to sort this mess out.”

  Be
fore Ms. Greene could say anything else, I hurried from the stuffy room and into the bright morning glare. Jade, Claire, and snooty Raven were lounging on the grass and soaking up the sunshine, with their textbooks. A sharp piercing pain entered my chest.

  Why hadn’t they asked me join their little study group?

  Claire had a book lifted in front of her face. These girls probably plotted out their next hazing assault or world domination while sunning themselves in the quad. I heaved a sigh as I walked by them.

  “Problem, Stalky?” Jade asked, looking up from her notes.

  I paused, clasping the strap on my bookbag with both hands. “Nope. I’m fine.”

  “You’re a horrible liar. You just came from Ms. Greene’s office,” Claire said, peering at me over the rim of her book with a strange expression.

  How did she know that?

  Jade slid her designer sunglasses down. “Oh, yeah. You’ve got that look.”

  My brows crinkled. “What look?”

  “That ‘I just peed on a stick and it turned blue’ look,” Jade said, crossing her legs at the ankles.

  Raven snickered and hid her evil grin behind a textbook

  Claire sucked air through her teeth. “That bad, huh? What happened?”

  “Nothing I can’t handle,” I said.

  “Bullshit,” Jade replied. “What’s up?”

  “Nothing. I’m late for class,” I lied and rushed off.

  I needed to get away from Beaumont and the Zeta Betas and go for a walk to clear my head. I couldn’t endure this madness for much longer. The rushing thoughts. The shallow breathing. The pounding in my brain. The fear of the Zeta Beta finding out about my friendship with Cole and now this sex for grades email. Or my screwed up past at my old college.

  I’d moved to start over and live a freer life, not to create a whole new craptastic mess.

  I passed one of the frat houses where tan boys from Gamma Alpha Delta basked in the sun in lounge chairs, eyes shaded by hundred-dollar sunglasses or name brand visors stitched by hand. They also savored the views of the sorority girls passing by on their way to the campus.

  When I walked past the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity that had a threadbare leather couch left on the lawn, I paused. Cole’s fraternity. Was he inside studying or hooking up with some random girl? I didn’t knock on the door to find out.

  Four guys in damp T-shirts and shorts chased each other with giant squirt guns. I walked past them with my head down, the sun’s warm rays hitting the skin on my neck and arms.

  As I rounded the corner of the house, a door opened. Soft giggles drifted on the breeze. I glanced up and halted in my tracks. Walking backward out of the doorway with a tall guy was Brooklyn. She laughed and shoved away the hand cupping her ass and straightened her skirt.

  The ATO guy tackled her into a passionate kiss, pressing her body up against the rough brick. Brooklyn pushed at his shoulders at first, then kissed him back. She was making out with an ATO brother in broad daylight. His hands slid up her standard boob-baring blouse and cupped her breasts.

  I didn’t need to see that. What was supermodel Brooklyn doing with an off-limits Alpha Tau Omega guy? I turned to go, but the flash of movement must have caught Brooklyn’s eye.

  “Wait! Don’t move,” she demanded.

  Oops! Sounded like somebody wasn’t happy that I’d caught her slumming it. Brooklyn’s hair was tangled and her lipstick smeared. Her clothes were wrinkled, but even disheveled she still managed to look ultra beautiful.

  Grimacing, I slowly turned back toward her. “Oh! Hey, Brooklyn.”

  The guy grabbed his book bag and fled around the side of the house.

  “This isn’t what it looks like,” she said, smoothing out her rumpled clothes.

  I raised an eyebrow. “Not a walk-of-shame?”

  “No. You really are a stalker, aren’t you?” she spat.

  I rolled my eyes. “Simmer down. I was just taking a walk. I didn’t see anything.”

  “Yeah, right.” Brooklyn took a step toward me. “You’re not going to tell anyone about this.”

  “My lips are sealed,” I said, pretending to lock my mouth and toss away the key. “I got your back.”

  “Good. Because I can squash your chances of being one of us like this!” She snapped her fingers.

  Wow. This girl really knew how to cast a threat. She went full throttle crazy. Her eyes, so stunning on a normal day, were completely bugged out like a psycho bitch from sorority row hell. And I used to think she was the nice one.

  The cranky supermodel loomed closer. “You could be one of us if you can keep your trap shut.”

  “Is this the part where you turn me into a vampire?”

  “Ha ha. You’re funny.”

  I shrugged. “I try.”

  The whole having-a-secret-boyfriend hit too close to home for me. An odd shiver hit my skin. If Brooklyn wanted to date an ATO, who was I to judge?

  But I could use this intel to my advantage.

  “Your secret’s safe with me for a price,” I said.

  “Blackmail? I didn’t think you had it in you, Serena.”

  I shrugged. “You’re not in a position to make demands, so if you put in a good word for me at Zeta Beta, I’ll keep my mouth shut. Think of it as a potential sister looking out for another.”

  She blew out a breath and her shoulders relaxed. Brooklyn had been freaked that her sorority sisters would find out about this. Why? Maybe the guy wasn’t up to her usual platinum visa card standards, but Brooklyn was the sort of girl who could get away with dating whomever she wanted and still rise above the snickers and rumors. Why was she so concerned about keeping this casual hookup so hush-hush, even if the guy is an ATO?

  “Fine,” Brooklyn said. “Now go away.”

  I turned and hurried to the library with my head down. My thoughts returned to who might’ve sent that email to Professor Grossman. Someone at Beaumont had it in for me. But why go to such lengths to get me kicked out of school, or force me to be dropped from recruitment? The email was horrifying. And baffling. Who had sent it? And why were they doing this to me?

  Groaning, I shoved my hand into my hair, holding it back from my sweaty face. This was beyond a hazing prank.

  Turning the corner, I smacked right into someone, knocking the heavy backpack from my shoulder and onto the ground.

  LAIR, LIAR

  “We have to stop meeting like this,” he said in a deep, resonant voice.

  I lifted my head and stared into the gorgeous eyes of Cole Prescott. His long stare wandered over me in a lustful stroll. No doubt now that Cole wanted to do the horizontal mambo with me. For a moment, I forgot all about Ms. Greene accusing me of sending that scandalous email to Professor Grossman. My lady parts ached in a way that sent ripples of desire throughout my body. Hot damn. If his eyes alone could do that, what could the rest of him do?

  But this type of red-hot attraction was usually explosive, passionate, and bound to burn itself out eventually. Sooner rather than later, I hoped.

  “You’re such a skittish girl,” Cole said. “Running from the law? Or a loan shark?”

  I shook my head. “It’s the ZB thugs. They’re trying to run me out of town.”

  “Well, I won’t let them,” he said. “How have you been?”

  Cole bent to retrieve my bag and handed it to me. My fingers touched his as he passed me the backpack and a spark of delicious warmth glided over my skin. Those sinful lips lifted into that cocky smile, his adorable dimple peeking out. My heart skipped a beat, kicking up my pulse.

  I forced my gaze away from his mouth. “Okay. And you?”

  “Not too good. You see, there’s this lovely blonde who’s intent on breaking my heart.”

  A group of students hurried past, clutching textbooks and loudly talking.

  I smiled. “That’s only because you like to push her buttons.”

  “More like undo them—”

  “Are you incapable of just being friends with a wom
an?”

  “Perhaps. Where were you going in such a hurry?” he asked.

  I sighed. “To the library. But I think I’m lost. Again. Unless they keep moving the building to prank new kids.”

  He laughed. “Come on. I’ll make sure that you don’t get turned around. On weekends I double as a bodyguard-slash-superhero.” Cole slid his shades on, then touched his ear pretending to speak into a mic. “We’re good to go.”

  My stomach dipped and twisted into complicated little knots. Cole was too friggin’ cute. I bit my lip when he placed his hand along my lower back, guiding me forward. Cole was wearing a black T-shirt that clung to broad shoulders and an amazingly defined chest, with faded jeans. He was truly a hunky masterpiece of masculinity and his intoxicating scent of spice and soap hit my senses. We fell into step beside each other, and a light breeze blew through the red and gold leaves of the campus trees.

  “My problem is,” he said, “I can find the library, but I always get lost inside it. That place is like a black hole that sucks you in. Someone could die between the stacks and it would take weeks until the body was discovered. Or until the stench of rotting flesh—”

  “Ewww.” I made a face. “Are you always this morbid? Or is this how you make girls swoon?”

  He shrugged. “I’m taking an Intro to Criminology class. Guess I’ve got murder and mayhem on the brain.”

  “Oh? What do you want to do career wise? Other than being a part-time superhero.”

  “A cop or maybe join the FBI—and no—I don’t mean being a female body inspector. Although I did notice your cute ass. But that’s just part of my superb detective skills.”

  Smiling, I patted my butt. “Guess those hours spent on the StairMaster are finally paying off.”

  He bumped my shoulder with his. “What about you? Any plans to change the world once you graduate?”

  “Nope. I’m only a lowly art major,” I said.

  “Future Van Gogh?”

  “Nah. I don’t plan on slicing off my ear. But I’ve been taking art classes since I was seven, and played around with watercolors and acrylics. My mom worked in a gallery, and by the time I hit high school, I was hooked. While all my friends went boy crazy, I fell in love with painting. And, well, my dad made me this deal…if I get more involved in college life, he’ll pay for art classes in Paris.”