“Talk soon.”
I end the call, scroll over to a hookup app, and for the second fucking time, my phone rings. What the hell is up with all the cockblocks today?
This time it’s Lance, Alpha Theta Mu’s former president.
“This better be good,” I tease.
“Did I catch you at a bad time?”
“Nah. What’s up?” Now that he’s called, I realize I’m glad he did. I click well with the Alpha Theta Mu guys, and though I transferred here mostly for Cedric, I’ve met some good friends at Peach State.
“Some of us were talking about getting together and going out for pizza tonight. Are you free?”
Excitement flutters in my gut. Unlike Miles, I like being around people, being social, and…why the fuck am I thinking about him again?
“Yeah, for sure. What time?”
“How about six? At Junkies?”
Junkies is our pizza place of choice. “I’ll be there.”
“Great. We’ll see you then.”
I would still have some time to host for a quick hookup if a guy was close, but I decide to skip it. I can always figure something out later tonight. Instead, I do some homework, then shower and get ready to go meet the guys.
I take my car to Junkies because it’s not close enough to walk. When I arrive, Lance and Payton are just pulling up, so I wait for them by the front of the building. They’ve both graduated, so it’ll be good to catch up. “Hey, guys. Managed to sneak away from Ty?” I tease, since really, it’s hard to pry Lance away from his guy.
Lance chuckles. “He’s with some friends tonight.”
“Is it me,” Payton asks, “or does it feel like everyone is coupling up around us?”
“For real.” I pull the door open. “I can’t imagine only having one person for the rest of my life.”
“Maybe you’ll end up in an open relationship,” Payton replies.
I’ve known plenty of people in them, but I answer honestly, “I can’t imagine being in a relationship at all.” Sometimes I wonder why my parents stayed married. They didn’t fight a lot, but they didn’t talk much either. They didn’t seem to have much in common, and Dad didn’t seem to have much time for Mom. Most of the time, he was either working or with Cedric, and I was always with her…and then she was gone. Dead. I’ll never forget how lonely I was in the beginning.
“You never know,” Lance says as we go inside. “Maybe you simply haven’t found the right person yet.” He points to the table where Marty and the other guys are already sitting. I know some of them better than others, but I recognize all of them.
“What’s up?” Jesse, another former ATM, says as we approach.
“You’re late,” Marty complains. He’s always on edge, though I must admit, he’s been better since he got with Ryan.
“It’s literally six oh four,” Lance says.
“Exactly.” Marty’s brows rise as if he made a good point, but, come on, it’s four minutes.
“Mart, we’re good. I promise.” I put my hands on his shoulders and massage lightly.
“I’m just saying,” he argues as I take the chair beside him.
We order pitchers of soda and a few pizzas, everyone around the table talking about being back and school and upcoming parties.
Halfway through my second slice of Canadian bacon and pineapple—yes, I’m one of those—I hear Damien say, “I have a class with Miles—the guy who got kicked out of Omega Psi last year.”
“God, I hate that guy,” Marty says.
“I thought your boyfriend was going to kill him that day he tried to murder Dax, then turned his attention on you,” Jesse says.
