#Nerd (Hashtag #1)

by Cambria Hebert

  Judging from the reaction I got from Ivy when she saw it on my bed, I could only imagine what everyone else would say if I walked through campus with his name plastered on my back.

  I certainly didn’t want to see the same look of pity Ivy gave me one hundred times over.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Romeo

  It was almost three a.m. when I put my key in the door to my place. I was freaking dog tired. Between the grueling practice, classes, raiding the dean’s office, and everything that happened with Rimmel, I wanted to pass out for a week.

  I stepped inside and didn’t bother with the lights. I tossed my bag on the floor and launched my keys somewhere in the vicinity of the couch. I was going to skip my workout in the morning. The last thing I wanted was to be too worn out to perform in Saturday’s game.

  I bypassed the kitchen and headed straight to my room. All of a sudden, a feeling of unease crept up the back of my neck and caused me to pause.

  Just as I was about to turn, something slammed into me and I was tackled to the ground. It didn’t hurt because my training kicked in immediately and I knew how to take the fall.

  Immediately, my arms went around the waist of my attacker and I hugged him, flipping us both over so I was on top. I’d caught him off guard, and the guy beneath me looked up in surprise. I threw my fist down, putting all my weight behind it, and caught him in the jaw.

  He groaned and tried to buck me off. I raised my hand again, adrenaline and rage making me crazy. When I swung down, something stopped me from connecting. A hand caught my wrist and twisted it behind my back.

  “Easy!” someone yelled. “Think of Saturday!”

  What the fuck…?

  The hands grabbing me loosened, but I was being gripped now from all sides. I started to struggle, but I was severely outnumbered. I was shoved down onto the ground, my hands were cuffed, and a bag was tied over my head.

  “What the fuck is this!” I demanded, struggling as they brought me to my feet. I kicked out and connected with something. Sick satisfaction filled me for making someone hurt.

  I wanted to make these fuckers bleed.

  “What crawled up your ass and died?” someone said.

  Everyone laughed.

  They were fucking Omegas.

  Some of the fight left me, but not all. What kind of assholes jump someone in their own home?

  Zach probably put them up to this.

  “Search him,” someone else ordered. They kept their voice low and hushed. I couldn’t see, but I really thought it was Zach.

  Hands patted me down and checked my pockets. They were looking for the nameplate. I smirked because they weren’t going to find it.

  “It’s not here,” someone else said.

  “Check the bag,” the guy I thought was Zach ordered.

  I heard all my shit being dumped all over the place, and my hands clenched behind my back. After several minutes of my place being tossed, they determined what they wanted wasn’t here.

  “Looking for something specific?” I said through the bag over my head.

  “Bring him and let’s go,” Zach ordered.

  “Don’t fucking hurt him,” someone else said roughly. “He’s gotta play Saturday.”

  “Don’t get your panties in a wad, Trent,” someone behind me muttered.

  “Shut it,” Zach demanded.

  This was some jacked-up shit.

  I could only assume I was being taken to the same place I was the night we were introduced to rush. I didn’t bother fighting them. I wanted to know what was going on. When we finally arrived to wherever they brought me, the bag was yanked off my head and I blinked to take in my surroundings.

  All the other pledges were here too. A little of me relaxed because at least I wasn’t being brought somewhere to get jumped. We were in the same basement-looking space as before, except this time there weren’t tons of lit candles. Lamps and lights hanging above a few pool tables in the back were on instead.

  “Fellow Alphas,” Zach said, spreading his arms wide as he looked at the frat members off to the side. Then he scanned the pledges. “Wannabes. I have brought you all here tonight for a little check-in. And for some of you, a check-out.” He glanced at a couple guys and smirked. “We’re a little more than halfway through this year’s rush, and as predicted, some of you are made for this and others… well, you suck!” he yelled the last word and all the members laughed.

  This guy was such a douche. How the hell did be become president? I glanced around at the members, my eyes stopping on Trent. He looked at me and I saw the irritation in his eyes. Clearly he was wondering the same thing.

  “You have all been given challenges and most of you have complied. Branneman!” he yelled and looked toward the end of the line where a dark-haired male stood.

  “Yes?” he replied.

  “You didn’t complete the last challenge we gave you. You’re out.”

  His body jerked and his jaw hardened. “Ye—” He began, but Zach cut him off.

  “No excuses!” He motioned to a couple of the members and they stuffed a bag over Branneman’s head and escorted him out.

  Zach locked eyes with me. I held his stare and refused to look away. “Cox, too!” Zach snapped.

  Two guys down from me, another bag was stuffed on a surprised head and he was escorted out as well.

  “Max was escorted out of the pledge group last week,” Zach added and then looked at the rest of us. “And so you all remain.”

  Was he going to get to the point already? I was exhausted, and by the time I got home, it was going to be daylight.

  “I know some of you have already taken your assigned woman to bed. I hope you got pictures, losers, because if you don’t, the same fate those men just endured awaits you.”

  My shoulders stiffened at the reminder of this “assignment.” I wanted to get Rimmel into bed more than I ever had anyone, but I didn’t want to do it like this. I was never the kind of guy who was bothered by one-night stands, casual sex, or drunken hookups. As long as it was consensual, I was down. But having to sleep with a woman to get myself into an exclusive club, a woman that was chosen for me, a woman I essentially had to use, left a bad taste in my mouth.

  I don’t know why it didn’t bother me before, but it suddenly did now.

  Wait.

  Yes, I did know.

  Rimmel.

  “Show of hands,” Zach called. “Who’s finished this challenge?”

  Several hands went up. Everyone looked around. A lot of gazes landed on me. I didn’t flinch. Hell, I wasn’t even embarrassed I wasn’t the first.

  “Well, well, well…” Zach said, pacing over to stand in front of me.

  “Looks like Romeo might be losing his touch.”

  I gave him a look that said I was bored.

  “What’s the matter, Romeo?” Zach taunted. “Is the nerd too much of a challenge?”

  I felt my lip curl when he mentioned Rimmel.

  “The clock’s a ticking.” Zach got up in my face. “Less than two weeks to seal the deal.”

  I didn’t say a word. I just stared him down.

  “I gotta tell ya,” he boasted, stepping away from me and addressing everyone else. “I don’t think you can do it. She’s probably cold as ice.”

  One. More.

  All he needed to say was one more fucking word about her and I would pound him.

  A couple of the pledges laughed. Probably not because it was funny, but because they wanted to kiss Zach’s ass.

  “Tomorrow night we’re having a frat party at Omega. Be there. See what life will be like when you’re one of us.” Zach looked at me again. “Did you get what you were supposed to?”

  “Of course,” I replied.

  “Where is it?”

  “Somewhere you won’t find it,” I said smoothly.

  “You were supposed to bring it,” Zach challenged.

  “To the party tomorrow, not here. Not now.”

  “You have
it when I say you have it!” Zach snapped.

  Dude needed a beer.

  He needed to chill the fuck out.

  “C’mon, Zach. We all saw the text. You said the party.” One of the members who was not Trent spoke up.

  Zach shot him an angry look but said nothing.

  “The night before the inductions into Omega, you will be brought back one final time. Have your proof that you slept with your assigned female. If you have it. You’re in.” He glanced at me. “If you don’t? You’re out.”

  Bags were shoved on all of our heads once more. Hands grabbed me and spurred me forward.

  “Rick,” Zach said behind us.

  The hands guiding me stopped. The bag was ripped off my head again, and I found myself looking into Zach’s eyes. “Bring the girl tomorrow night,” he said.

  The last thing I wanted to do was bring Rimmel into a room full of these assholes. “What the fuck for?”

  He smiled. It looked more like a sneer. “I’d like to meet the nerd. I hear you’ve become quite smitten.”

  The more he talked about her, the more he implied he knew her, the more pissed off I got. I lunged forward and shoved my face right up in his. Satisfaction speared me when his eyes widened just a fraction. He wasn’t as tough as he thought he was.

  “Well, since you seem to know everything,” I said, dead calm, “then you must also know that I take care of what’s mine. You might be president of this frat, but I own the campus. Do. Not. Push. Me.”

  An arm wrapped around me from behind and towed me back. “You said what you needed to say, man,” Trent said. “Let’s go.”

  “Bring her,” Zach called after us. “I mean it.”

  The bag was stuffed back on my head, and I stiffened. “Chill,” Trent murmured and led me from the building.

  As soon as the cold air hit me, I reached up and ripped the bag off my head and swung around. Trent and three other Omegas were standing there looking at me.

  “That guy is a total douche,” I spat.

  No one disagreed.

  “You’re supposed to keep that on,” Trent said.

  I ignored him. “So is he that much of an asshole to everyone or just me?”

  The guys all looked around. Trent sighed. “I’ll take him home,” he told the others.

  They all nodded and left.

  “This shit ain’t worth the hassle,” I told Trent as I looked around. The Omega house loomed in front of us. We were in the backyard near what looked like an old shed. Off to the side was one of those old-looking doors that lifted out of the ground. It reminded me of the Wizard of Oz and the shelter they ran to during the tornado.

  That must be where we’d come from. That must be the hangout of the Omegas.

  “C’mon,” Trent said, and I fell into step beside him as we walked toward a black SUV parked nearby.

  When we were in the car, Trent turned over the engine and said, “I’ve never seen him hate someone so much.”

  “Yeah, well, the feeling’s mutual.”

  Trent shook his head. “He’s pushing it with you. We’ve all warned him. He keeps it up and it’s borderline hazing.”

  “No one will tell,” I said. And it wasn’t like I was the type to run and tattle either. I could handle Zach. I could handle any hazing he might decide to dish out. What I couldn’t handle was him messing with Rimmel because he knew it would get to me.

  “You’d be surprised,” Trent said and drew my stare.

  “What do you mean?”

  “I mean the Omegas haven’t been too happy with their leadership in a while.”

  I grunted. “What a surprise.”

  “Look, we all see that he’s going out of his way to make it hard on you. You have more friends here than Zach. He just doesn’t realize it.”

  “I won’t have him messing with her,” I said. There was no give in my words.

  I felt his sidelong stare as we drove silently for a few minutes. Then he sighed. “Yeah. I thought that might be the case.”

  We pulled up to my house not too much later. The sky would soon start lightening with the rising sun.

  Trent put it in park and looked at me. “Look, just get through rush. Once you’re inducted, we’ll take care of Zach.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I mean the reason he didn’t want you last year is because he knew once you made it in, we’d all outvote him as president.”

  I glanced at him. “You want me as president?”

  “Dude, you’re like the most popular guy on campus. The party follows you. Not to mention you’re the quarterback for the Wolves, and if you take presidency now, the Omegas will have a steady leader for the next couple years.”

  Basically, he was saying if I became president of the Omegas, the already popular, exclusive frat would just become more so.

  Maybe he could sense my hesitancy. Or maybe he just knew I was really pissed off, because he said, “You know the Omegas have connections with the NFL. A couple of our alumni, retired Omega, are NFL vets.”

  I knew that. It’s the main reason I wanted in. The NFL was my end goal, and this was a way in.

  “Fine,” I said and opened the door. “I’ll see you at the party tomorrow.”

  “I’ll be there.”

  I leaned back in before shutting the door. “Thanks for having my back. I won’t forget it.”

  “I know,” he replied.

  He drove off down the driveway, and I went inside. I walked through the mess they made in my house, kicked off my shoes, and fell into bed.

  I had classes in a couple hours and I had to be there. Coach wasn’t too lenient on players who missed them during the season.

  But the last thought that passed through my head before I fell asleep was of Rimmel.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Rimmel

  By lunch, it wasn’t any warmer than it had been this morning. I was grateful for the boots on my feet because if I was just wearing sneakers, I knew my toes would be frozen.

  The sky was dim and gray, the sun only peeking through every so often. The air was blustery; the wind would whip up out of nowhere and brush its cold promise of winter against my cheeks. Brightly colored leaves scattered the ground and somersaulted across campus as everyone moved from class to class.

  I skipped breakfast and was starving by the time my lunch break rolled around. Classes had seemed endless today, so I filled some of my time working on assignments while the teachers droned on and on.

  The eating hall (or so I called it) sat almost in the center of campus. The building was two massive levels with the campus store filling the lower floor and the eating hall on the top. I guess it was really more of a food court than an eating hall, like the kind you might find at a nice mall.

  I walked up the stairs and glanced around, trying to decide what I felt like eating. Around the perimeter of the room were various types of restaurants and eateries. There was a pizza place, a taco place, a deli that made sandwiches and offered a variety of chips. There was a place called The Market that offered salads and fruits, granola bars, and fancy bottled waters. There was also the typical burger joint and a place that had chicken. Over on the far side was a smoothie bar that had a never-ending line. There was even a coffee bar, which was also always packed.

  I settled on grabbing a Cobb salad from The Market, a cup of fresh seasonal fruit, and a granola bar (for later). Once I had all that, I got in line at the coffee bar and waited ten minutes to get a pumpkin-flavored latte. They weren’t very popular in Florida, but here in the North, they were practically gold.

  The cold I was having a hard time adjusting to, but the pumpkin latte? Yeah, no problem there.

  When finally I was handed my coffee, I wrapped my one free hand around it and sighed at the warmth that seeped into my fingers. It was busy in here, like always, and I thought longingly of going back to my room to eat, but I was too hungry to trudge all the way over there first.

  I began scanning the room for a s
omewhat quiet seat, when I saw someone waving in my direction—Ivy. When she saw I noticed, she motioned for me to join her and her friend Missy (who was at the bonfire last weekend).

  I couldn’t help but notice the curious stares I got as I walked across the room. It had been happening all day. I knew it was because of the way I looked. There wasn’t anything spectacular about it, but it was better than I usually appeared. In my early class, one girl I’d never talked to before even told me she liked my hair.

  As I walked, I glanced down at my messenger bag and the hoodie I tucked over the top, making sure it wasn’t slipping free and Romeo’s name wasn’t suddenly visible.

  “Rimmel, hey,” Ivy said, giving me a smile when I approached.

  “Hey, Ivy,” I said and then turned to her dark-haired friend. “Hey, Missy.”

  I barely knew Missy at all, only from the few times I’d picked Ivy up and she was with her.

  “Hi,” she said and gave me a little wave and a curious stare.

  “Sit!” Ivy said, gesturing toward an empty seat at their table.

  I set down my food and coffee and lifted my bag off my shoulders and draped it over the back of the chair. I saw Ivy glance at the hoodie, and I tucked it into my lap when I sat down. I didn’t want it to get knocked onto the floor if someone passed by. After all, it wasn’t my shirt and I didn’t want it to get damaged.

  Yes, and pigs could fly.

  Truth was I didn’t want Ivy putting her hands on it. Or waving it around for everyone to see.

  “How did your test go?” I asked, remembering she said she had one this morning.

  “Crap, I hope I passed,” she said and picked up a giant coffee to sip at it.

  Whatever “magic” she worked this morning to make herself look more awake worked. She was dressed in a pair of skintight dark jeans, a white sweater, and an infinity scarf with a red chevron pattern. Before I sat down, I noticed she was wearing her favorite cowboy boots. Her hair was pulled up into a high ponytail that bounced when she talked and her makeup was carefully applied to hide the dark circles under her eyes and give her a dewy, wide-awake look.

  Missy was equally as beautiful. Her dark hair was long and sleek, and I couldn’t help but wonder how she got it so perfect. Her wide gray eyes were done with taste, and she was dressed in jeans, a white top, and a leopard print velvet blazer. I wasn’t one for animal print, but that blazer was totally gorgeous.