After piling them in a big bowl, he set them on one end of the table, then walked over to the bell hanging in the corner of the room and gave it a few good tugs. “Dinner in five minutes,” he called after the noise died away. “Don’t make me ring the bell again.”
His fraternity brothers began pouring into the room a few minutes later, their excited chatter filling the room as they sat at the table. “Who’s missing?” he asked, setting the salad on the other end of the table, then gesturing at theempty chairs. “I thought everyone was going to be here tonight.”
“Jackson and Abby are staying over at her apartment all this week,” Malcolm said. “Her roommate is out of town.”
“Oh, that’s right, I guess I forgot,” he said, still not used to his friend’s whirlwind romance. “I keep forgetting he’s gone off the deep end for that woman.”
“They’re in love,” Aaron said, rolling his eyes. “I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’m enjoying a break from all their happiness.”
Just then, Walker burst through the back door. “Sorry I’m late. Coach has me practicing extra,” he said, collapsing into an empty chair. What did I miss?”
“Nothing, we were just about to eat,” he said, taking his own place at the table. “Come on, it’s going to get cold.”
There was silence around the table as the dishes were passed and plates were filled with food. Then, the only sound in the room was the pleased grunts and groans of his friends as they began to eat. The food on everyone’s plates disappeared quickly, and they were starting in on seconds when Hattie came rushing in through the back door, a worried look on her face.
“Am I too late for dinner?” she called, setting down the packages in her arms. “There was a big sale down at the department store, and I lost track of the time. I hope you haven’t already eaten all the food.”
“Don’t worry, I know what I’m doing,” he said, getting to his feet. “I made you up a plate and put it in the oven to stay warm. I had a feeling you might be late when I heard where you were going.”
“Hey, don’t blame me, it takes a lot of stuff to keep this house going,” she said, a big grin on her face. “If I happened to find a few other bargains in the process, well…”
There was laughter around the table. Hattie was famous for her ability to find a deal, and they’d all benefited from her keen shopping ability in the past. He wouldn’t be surprised to find something waiting for him on his bed the next day, a new jacket or pair of pants, bedding or pillows, he couldn’t predict what it might be. A wave of warmth spread through him for the older woman who took such good care of them as he brought her plate to the table, then got her a big glass of cold tea, her preferred drink.
“Thanks, this looks wonderful,” she said, settling down to eat. “I’ll make a plate up for Sam, he’s out with his buddies tonight, but he’ll be starving when he gets home.”
They all ate in silence for a few minutes, then Cooper pushed his empty plate away and sat back in his chair. “I heard they’ve got a new leader over at the Kappa house,” he said. “He’s one of those late transfer students, but I don’t know much more than that.”
“Do you think they’re going to start stirring up trouble again?” Ryan asked. “I thought we put an end to all of that with Diego.”
“I think we have to be prepared for that possibility. The clan wants us to believe it was an isolated incident, but I don’t believe that,” he said. “There are still too many unanswered questions and no one wants to talk about them.”
“I was afraid of that,” Gabe said. “What are we going to do?”
“There’s not a whole lot we can do but wait for them to make a move,” he said. “But it might be good if we figured out who their new leader is, where he came from, what his major is, where he went to school before this, that kind of thing.”
“That sounds like a job for me,” Ryan said. “I can get online and find out just anything you want about this guy.”
“Go for it,” he said, then looked around the table. “The rest of you keep your eyes and ears open, people are bound to talk about him, find out what they’re saying. If we need to be on our guard, I would rather know sooner rather than later.”
“What are you going to do?” Cooper asked. “I can’t believe you’re just going to sit back and do nothing.”
“I have a few things I need to take care of, but I might just try to arrange an accidental meeting with this new guy,” he said. “Someone needs to make first contact with him, and it might as well be me, but if someone else runs into him, make sure you talk to him. I want to know what we might be up against.”
***Emily***
Emily stood in front of the library, tapping her foot, fuming silently, her eyes scanning the parking lot and sidewalks around the building for any sign of Taylor. He was already ten minutes late, which didn’t surprise her, but she was still angry and disappointed that he cared so little about wasting her time. She’d been planning on doing her best to get along with him, even if he acted like a jerk, but now the last thing she was feeling was generosity toward the man.
Looking at her watch again, she decided she’d give him five more minutes, then get started without him; she couldn’t afford to waste any more time. She hadn’t thought about this happening when they were paired up, and she realized with a sinking feeling that she needed Taylor way more than he needed her. Not only were they partners on the project, but he was her way into the fraternity and whatever secrets they were keeping, that meant she had to play nice, something she wasn’t very good at the best of times.
When she saw Taylor jogging across the parking lottoward her a few minutes later, she wasn’t sure if she was annoyed or relieved, but annoyance won out when she felt the first tingles of desire as she watched him. Cursing under her breath, she looked away, a scowl on her face, suddenly off balance and hating the feeling. Crossing her arms over her chest, she pushed the feeling away, forcing herself to concentrate on why she was there, careful to keep her eyes off Taylor as he approached.
She was planning to wait and see if he apologized before she tore into him for being late, but then she got a big whiff of his cologne and something that was only him underneath that stirred the desire to life again. Anger flared through her at herself as much as him, but that was safer than what she’d been feeling a few seconds before, and she let it come, feeling steadier than she had before.
“You’re late, I’ve been standing here waiting for you,” she snapped. “This class may not be important to you, but I need to get a good grade; some of us rely on scholarships to pay for our education.”
Taylor surprised her by not attacking back. “Yeah, I’m sorry about that,” he said, still slightly out of breath. “It was my night to cook, and I lost track of the time. I would have texted you, but I don’t have your number.”
The tingle of attraction was back, trying to overpower her anger, and she stared at him for a few seconds off balance again. Then, finally, she managed to find her voice and blurted out the first thing that came to mind. “You cook?” she asked, then winced and shook her head. “Never mind; I didn’t mean to say that out loud.”
