“What do you mean?” she panted. “We’re supposed to find them.”
Our breaths pillowed out in front of us in see-throughclouds. It was cold as shit out here. No dude in his right mind would be out if they didn’t have to be. I tilted my head and listened—no music. There wasn’t even a party. This was Greek Row, there wasalwaysa party. I tapped into my magick and listened a little harder, careful not to use enough to register that far. The nearby thoughts I picked up on were shrouded in excitement and nerves. Something about waiting until they made it up the stairs?
“The pledges are going into the houses to find their dates,” I said and pointed to where one girl in Mickey Mouse pajama pants ran out of the front door of the nearest fraternity house with a guy in hand, happily trailing after her.
Rani rubbed her arms as a stiff breeze blew in from the ocean. “I heard one girl whisper about how the fraternities were told not to make it easy for us. This must be the resourceful part of the game.”
“It’s a stupid-ass game,” I growled. “I’m not sneaking into a house full of dudes, breaking into their bedrooms, and blinding myself with boxer-covered asses just to get a date.”
The last time I was in a frat house, I nearly exposed myself and my powers. My freedom wasn’t worth the potential connections Greek life offered. I would get into my program by being at the top of my class. Hard work before dick.
“I don’t want to play anymore.” I spun around, fully intent on returning to the dorm, cuddling under the warm covers, and possibly stealing one of Rani’s ramen packets. Her desperate grip on my arm stopped me.
“Please don’t go,” she begged. “You don’t have to pledge if you don’t want to, but they saw us arrive together, and if you ditch it will look bad for me.”
Her eyes were pleading. There were even a couple of tears, but I wasn’t sure if that was from the cold or if she was just that desperate to fit in.
“Please,” she asked again. “I really need to get into this sorority.”
I winced. “Fine. But I’m not going into any of those houses. We’re going to have to make do with whoever we find outside.”
And that was how we ended up closer to campus in the middle of the night, freezing our literal asses off. There couldn’t be more than fifteen minutes left of the challenge, and the only guys we’d run across were ones already attached to a pledge. We couldn’t even text a friend to help because Paisleigh made Rani leave her phone behind. We might just fail this task.
“Look!” Rani gasped and pointed to where two figures took shape on the other side of the fountain.
We were closer to the middle of campus now. Two dudes wandering in the middle of the night, this far from the dorms or bars was suspicious as fuck. They crept closer, unaware they were being watched, and slowly, their features solidified into more recognizable traits. Tall. Blond hair. Confident stride.
A tingling sense of awareness had me checking out the two strangers a little more critically. One of them had a height and silhouette I swore I’d seen before. The other was recognizable as well, but not as much as the guy on the right. He kind of looked like…That tug in my chest was all too familiar by now. Gods, I couldn’t catch a break? Just a teeny one? My groan was like an alarm, and the two guys made their way over to us. Did I seriously just recognize Kai by hisshape?
“This is perfect.” Rani danced next to me, her hips shimming with excitement. “We can take them.”
“Your idea of perfect and mine are so far from one another, it’s scary.”
Moorcroft University had a curse on it. How else could I explain why it kept throwing me and Kai together like two halves of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich? I guess it was lucky that I knew one of the duo now only a few feet away. Kaicould help Rani complete this stupid challenge, and I wouldn't have to feel guilty about being the reason she didn't make it into the sorority.
But that’s not quite how it worked out. My frenzied roomie threw herself at the platinum-blond stranger before he had a chance to introduce himself. One quick survey, including a walk-around inspection, and Rani was sold. The stranger crossed his arms, preening with smug satisfaction at the cute redhead’s sounds of approval.
Her resigned “you’ll do” hit him like a hammer to the face, and that sly grin dropped.
“What do you mean, ‘I’ll do’?” he scoffed. “Babe, this is top choice. Prime cut. Of course I’ll do.”
I covered my laugh with my hand. The poor guy. His expression was a sad mix of confidence and outrage as Rani huffed and grabbed his hand.
“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.” She gave him a condescending pat on the cheek. “If this prime cut can run, I’ll consider rethinking.”
The two of them took off, and that’s when it registered. I watched their retreating forms with growing horror.
“Seriously?” I shouted. Her answering laugh didn’t ease the betrayal.
“At least you know him!”
That wasn’t the point. Sighing, I turned back to face the man in question and was met with a glare. Woah. I thought I’d seen him angry before, but this…this was Kai furious. There was color on his cheeks that spread down his neck, and his breaths puffed between us in short bursts. The mini clouds of condensation drew my attention to a small scar. It cut through his full bottom lip in a way that made it tempting to trace.
“What are you doing out here so late and dressed likethat?” I jerked as if broken from a trance. He moved to take off his jacket,realized with a glance that it wouldn't be long enough to cover my legs, and chose instead to get me out of the cold altogether.
“What are you doing? Let me go!” I struggled against his grip on my elbow, but just like last time, there was no breaking free.
“I’m beginning to think I’m being tested,” he complained, still dragging me toward the parking lot while he pulled a key fob from his pocket.
