Frat House Confessions--Wes--Frat House Confessions, Book 2

by Bethany Lopez

  “And, how do I do that?” Wes asked, stepping toward me.

  I took a couple steps back, and he followed suit.

  “I’m thinking some heavy petting, maybe some under-the-shirt action … definitely some kissing.”

  When the back of my knees hit the bed, I went down and shuffled back. Wes followed, getting on all fours on the bed and crawling over me.

  “Anything else?” he asked gruffly.

  And, the way he looked right then, all sexy with heavy-lidded eyes, those full lips angling toward my body, there was no way anyone would ever label him as forgettable.

  “An orgasm would be nice,” I quipped.

  “Hell yeah, it would,” Wes growled back, and I couldn’t stop the fit of giggles.

  He pounced.

  “What’s so funny?” he asked as he kissed up my neck and his hands slid under my shirt.

  And, just like that, I was no longer in the mood to laugh. I was in the mood for something else entirely.

  Twenty-Four

  Wes

  “I’m sorry, Wes, I know that must have been tough … I should’ve been there for you.”

  Ridge’s face portrayed his regret.

  I knew how seriously my brother thought of protecting us as his duty, but I needed him to know I could take care of myself.

  “No, you were right where you were supposed to be. I know in the past I haven’t been able to stand up to her, but, after everything that happened with you, Karrie, and then last night, Trixie, I finally realized that I don’t have to be the boy who’s Susan Temple’s everything. She’s wrong, and I called her on it. I can’t continue to support her when she’s so awful to you and to people that I care about.”

  Ridge’s expression cleared and he clapped me on the back.

  “I’m proud of you. How did Trixie take it?”

  “Like a champ,” I said with a chuckle. “You should have seen Mom’s face when Trixie said, actually, Susan, my last relationship was with a woman … I thought Mom’s head was gonna explode.”

  “I bet.”

  “Hey, have you seen Crush around?” I asked him.

  “No, why?”

  “Trixie said something about running into him last night. Him and his sister. I didn’t get a chance to get into it too deep with her, ‘cause Mom showed up, but something about their exchange rattled her.”

  Ridge rubbed his hand over the back of his neck.

  “I didn’t know Crush had a sister.”

  “Neither did I.”

  “Well, talk to Trixie and if there’s something I need to look into, or you need me to get involved in some way, just let me know. Crush and I were never friends, but he was a Delta so I still consider him our responsibility.”

  I gave him a rueful smile and shook my head.

  “What?” he asked.

  “You think everyone’s your responsibility.”

  “Not everyone, just my brothers, my brothers, and the women in our lives. Everyone else is on their own,” he joked, but I knew the truth. My brother would protect the world if he could, that’s just the way he was built.

  “When’s your next meet?” Ridge asked.

  “Thursday.”

  “Karrie and I will be there, sorry we missed the last one.”

  “It’s no problem, I don’t expect you to come to all of them,” I assured him.

  “I know, but if I can be there, I want to.”

  I paused, trying to tap down my emotions.

  My father had never made it to my meets, but Ridge had always come if he didn’t have anything going on for school, or later, if he was in town. Just another instance in my life where Ridge was more of a reliable presence than our father.

  “I’ll be able to come to Delta Friday night. I can’t drink or anything, of course, since I have another meet on Saturday, but I’ll definitely be there for Brody and the guys,” I said.

  This weekend the pledges would be made full-fledged members of Delta. It was a big deal, and a huge party. I remembered the feeling of pride, of belonging to a brotherhood I’d have forever. And, it was only made sweeter by the fact that now both of my brothers would be official members as well.

  “Perfect. I’ve been trying to think of something special we can do for Brody to celebrate; I’ll keep you posted. What are you up to now?” he asked.

  “Well, I’m supposed to meet up with Trixie in the commons and grab some lunch. I thought maybe I’d stop by and pick her up some flowers or something, to make up for Mom’s sneak attack yesterday.”

  Ridge threw his arm around me as we walked toward the front door.

  “I’ll share what I’ve learned in my old age, little brother … When you have something to make up for, buy them something that really speaks to who they are as a person, rather than something generic like flowers. For instance, Karrie still fawns over that signed Thirty Seconds to Mars thing I got her. Do something like that,” he suggested.

  “Uh, between now and lunch?” I asked wryly. “I don’t think I’ll have time to make a special order.”

  “You don’t have to. Just make sure it’s something unique to Trixie. And, with that sage advice given, I’m off. See you Thursday, if not before.”

  “Later, Ridge. And, thanks.”

  “You got it, Wes. Anytime.”

  I locked the door as Ridge turned the corner, then racked my brain as I walked to campus.

  What was something easily accessible, would make Trixie happy, and wasn’t too over the top?

  I looked up and down the street, and when my gaze caught on the bookstore on the corner, I turned my feet in that direction.

  Once inside, I perused the shelves, eager to find something perfect for Trixie.

  Crossing to non-fiction, journalism, a name I recognized shot out at me. Lindy West. I remembered Trixie talking about her last year when we had class together. She was a columnist or writer for a magazine, or something, and Trixie thought she was smart and funny.

  “This is the one,” I muttered to myself after reading the back.

  Hoping she didn’t already have it, I went to the register to pay, a grin on my face as I thought about giving it to her.

  It was beginning to feel like every time I felt excited or happy, it had something to do with Trixie.

  Twenty-Five

  Trixie

  You ever have one of those days where everything goes wrong?

  You wake up late, go to the bathroom and find out, whoops, you started your period overnight, you get to the office only to find out your editor has changed the piece you’re most proud of, and you get to class only to find out you have a quiz.

  Yeah, this was one of those fucking days.

  To make matters worse, I spilled coffee down the front of my shirt when I was gesturing, all pissed off, and trying to get my editor to see reason.

  So, now, I was walking to meet Wes, once again late, with a large brown stain on my white shirt, cramps, and a pretty shitty attitude.

  Sigh.

  I just wanted to go home and go to bed.

  I pulled the door to the cafeteria open harder than necessary and scowled as I looked around the tables.

  Of course, he wasn’t there yet.

  I stormed over to the buffet area, bypassed the line of hot food, and stopped in front of the dessert carousal.

  “Excuse me,” a soft voice said from beside me.

  I looked over to see a young guy reaching for the handle to get into the desserts, but my glare, and yes, growl, sent him scurrying away.

  “Chocolate,” I muttered, pulling open the door myself and grabbing a large piece of chocolate cake, and a chocolate éclair for good measure.

  I had already paid and found a table on the far side of the dining area, away from all the people and their annoying sounds and glances, when Wes finally came rushing into the commons, a happy smile on his face.

  Annoying.

  “Hey, babe, how’s it going?” Wes asked as he approached my table.

 
Seriously, were we at the babe stage of this relationship?

  “Not great,” I mumbled.

  “Oh, you’re already on dessert? Sorry, I didn’t mean to be so late. Ridge stopped by to talk after hearing about our mother’s visit. Let me go grab something, I’ll be right back,” he said, dropping his things in one of the empty chairs and heading toward the food.

  So, either he hadn’t heard my reply, or was in too good of a mood to catch the vibe of my tone, but I realized I was too crabby to be good company to anyone, especially someone smiling and talking to every person he passed in the serving line.

  I shoveled the last few bites of cake into my mouth and stood to leave, grabbing the éclair for later, when Wes caught my movement and rushed over without getting the condiments for his burger.

  “Are you leaving?” he asked, setting his tray down.

  “Yeah,” I began, telling myself to remain calm, give him the facts, and get out of there before my temper got the better of me. “I’ve had a horrible day and I don’t really feel like hanging out or talking to anyone right now. I think I’m going to skip my next class and just head home … take a nap.”

  “Oh, no, I’m sorry to hear it. What happened?” he asked.

  Jesus, did he not hear what I just said?

  “Look, I’ll call you later and we can talk about it then, okay?”

  “But, I had something I wanted to talk to you about, it’ll only take a minute,” he persisted.

  I took a bite of the éclair and gave him a look that said, hurry up.

  “Friday night at Delta, Brody and the guys will become official brothers. There’ll be a big party of course, but mostly I want to be there with Ridge and Brody to celebrate us all officially becoming members. Ridge said we’ll do something special later, just the three of us, but I’d really like you to come with me to the party.”

  “Are you serious?”

  I looked into his hopeful face and realized, he was serious.

  “Yeah, of course … for Brody.”

  “You want me to go back to that house, full of guys who hate me, knowing I haven’t been back since this time last year when my article came out.”

  “Well, yeah. It has been a year, and, now that you’re my girlfriend, it’s time for us to show everyone that we’re together and forget about what happened in the past. Some of the guys who were there before may take a little longer to get on board, but none of the new guys even know what happened. It’ll be fine.”

  “You really think part of me being your girlfriend means going with you to frat parties?”

  “I am a member of Delta, so I will be going to parties sometimes … of course I want you with me.”

  I scoffed.

  “You’re unbelievable.”

  “Why?” Wes asked, crossing his arms over his chest defensively.

  “Did you even read my article?”

  “Yes, I did. And, if I remember correctly your issue with the frat had to do with Crush and his makeover idea, both of which have been eliminated from Delta, so I don’t see what the problem is…”

  “Jesus,” I began, so mad it felt like my head might explode. “I know we’re still getting to know each other, and don’t know each other’s temperaments and how to deal with them yet, but I told you I had a shitty day and needed to be alone. I said I’d call you later, once I’d calmed down, and we could talk. But, you just couldn’t let it go, could you? Now, you’re coming at me with the frat business and really pissing me off. I need you to let me go before I say something I don’t mean and hurt your feelings. Please.”

  The last was said through gritted teeth.

  “Sorry, I didn’t realize you were incapable of reasonable conversation when you’ve had a bad day. Guess I know now.”

  Wes leaned down and picked up a bag from the chair and thrust it toward me.

  “Here, I bought you this as a thank you for being so cool about my mom last night. Call me once you’re feeling better.”

  As soon as I took the bag, Wes grabbed the rest of his things and left me standing there looking like a giant asshole, with a bookstore bag in one hand and a half-eaten éclair in the other.

  Well, shit, I thought. I totally fucked that up. Now I’m not only going to have to apologize, but looks like I’ll be going to a frat party this weekend. Yay.

  First, I needed to go home, take a nap, and get my head right.

  Twenty-Six

  Wes

  My meet on Thursday didn’t go as well as I’d hoped.

  I came in second in one heat and third in the other. To be honest, I was tired. It was hard to juggle school, swimming, and Delta. Add in there a girlfriend who I didn’t have quite figured out yet, and I was basically running on fumes.

  Karrie and Ridge did come, which was nice, but also kind of embarrassing since I didn’t do as well as I’d hoped.

  You couldn’t tell by the way they acted though. Karrie was screaming and carrying on as if I’d medaled in the Olympics.

  Brody had an evening class and couldn’t come, not that he enjoyed coming to my meets anyway. We’d decided to meet back up at Ridge’s after, because Karrie had made lasagna and they had leftovers.

  We were back at their place, shoveling pasta in our faces, when Karrie gave Bro and I conspiratorial glances.

  “I’ve been trying to convince your brother that we should get a dog,” she said, her expression hopeful. “You know, to help keep me safe when he’s not around.”

  “A Shih Tzu isn’t going to keep you safe, Karebear, unless it annoys an intruder to death,” Ridge replied, adding more parmesan cheese to his lasagna.

  “It will also give me something to cuddle.”

  “You can cuddle me anytime you want,” he countered, shooting a grin at Brody and me.

  “It’ll teach her responsibility,” Brody said, trying to be helpful, I think. “She’ll have to feed it and walk it.”

  “She’s not ten,” Ridge replied wryly.

  Brody shrugged, apparently out of helpful suggestions.

  “A dog can be a lot,” I said, thinking of how much more work having a dog would be, on top of everything else.

  When Karrie’s face fell, I added, “Maybe start with something easier. Like a cat. It would still give you a furbaby to snuggle and take care of, but is much less work.”

  Ridge groaned, which made me smile for the first time since the incident with Trixie.

  He hated cats.

  “A kitten would be good,” Karrie said, winking at me before turning to Ridge with big eyes. “What do you think, babe?”

  Ridge sighed. “A cat would be just as much of a deterrent as a Shih Tzu, I guess. And it wouldn’t need to be housebroken, so, I suppose we could get one.”

  He’d barely finished his sentence before Karrie squealed and stood up to do a little jig at the table. Then she rushed over to him, threw her arms around his neck, and gave him an enthusiastic kiss.

  “Yay! Thank you. It’s going to be great, I promise. I’ll do everything, you won’t even know she’s here,” Karrie promised.

  Ridge just shook his head, resigned to his fate, and dished up another piece of pasta.

  Undeterred, Karrie danced around the table to give me a hug. Once her mouth was by my ear, she whispered, “A kitten was what I was shooting for the whole time … Thanks, Wes.”

  “I heard that,” Ridge muttered.

  “I know you did, sugar britches,” Karrie replied saucily as she made her way back to her seat.

  Brody busted out laughing.

  “Sugar britches, oh, I’m definitely using that one,” he joked.

  “The fuck you say,” Ridge replied with a glare.

  Karrie just laughed, still riding high on her win.

  “Do you have a place in mind to get one?” I asked, polishing off my food and sitting back in my seat with a satisfied grunt.

  “The local shelter posted that they just got in a litter of kittens who are almost ready to be weaned. I’ll stop by there tomor
row and see if there’s a list or anything I need to get on.”

  My phone sounded, indicating I got a text.

  Hey, I’m at your door, but no one is answering. Are you home?

  Trixie.

  We are at Ridge’s. Want to come here, or me to meet you there?

  I pushed back and got up, grabbing my dirty dishes and walking them to the sink to rinse them and put them in the dishwasher.

  Could you come here, please?

  I put my phone back in my pocket and went back into the dining room.

  “Hey, Trixie’s at our place, so I’m gonna head over there. Thanks for dinner, and for coming to my meet.”

  I leaned down to give Karrie a kiss on her cheek and slapped hands with Ridge.

  “You coming?” I asked Brody.

  He looked at Karrie and asked, “Dessert?”

  She laughed and said, “We have ice cream.”

  “I’ll be along later,” Brody told me, and I nodded.

  Trixie had texted me after the blow up at lunch. She’d said she was sorry and would say so in person, and explain things, once she was in the right headspace.

  Apparently, that took a couple days, because I hadn’t heard from her since.

  I walked to my apartment, hands in my pockets, and wondered how things were going to play out.

  Was that day a fluke and nothing to worry about?

  Could she have decided after the way we’d left things, that a relationship with me was more than she’d bargained for?

  Would she apologize profusely and make it up to me with sexual favors?

  I had no idea.

  I’d never had a girlfriend like her before. No one had ever mattered to me like this, so I was at kind of a loss.

  Did I like fighting with her? Absolutely not.

  Did that mean I wanted to end things? Fuck no.