“That doesn’t mean I’m not.” She shrugs.
“Why did I not know about this sorority thing?” I question. “I mean, I did, but I didn’t realize—”
“Is this about Declan’s birthday?” Brinley wonders. “Are you worried about what to get him?”
“No—”
“You don’t have to worry; he won’t expect anything. Plus, the banquet’s the thirteenth, so he’ll spend his birthday there anyway,” Brinley interrupts. “Well, are you gonna tell us what’s going on?”
“Declan’s taking Mollie to the banquet,” I continue. “And I had to find out from my brother.”
Brinley laughs. “That’s funny. Next time you want to make a joke, just send it over text.”
I cross my arms and narrow my eyes.
“You’re not kidding?” she asks, and I shake my head. “No, there’s no way. Declan already hates his birthday; he wouldn’t spend it with Mollie.”
“Cam seemed pretty sure. Unfortunately, I couldn’t dig for details without him getting suspicious but—”
“Fletcher hasn’t said anything,” Tate begins. “Maybe it’s false information.”
“I thought maybe it was, too,” I whisper. “Until I heard Mollie talking about it today.”
“That bitch.” Brinley crosses her arms. “She knows he likes you. She knows you like him.”
“And she’s been making your life miserable for years. Are we surprised she sunk this low?” Maia asks.
“I’m not surprised she sunk this low—” My voice fades because I never thought Declan would stoop to her level.
“Maybe it doesn’t mean anything.” Maia wraps her arms around me.
“Unless you go with a friend, the banquet always ends in… well, something gossip-worthy.” Tate reaches a hand across the table.
“And your brother is going?” Maia’s voice is soft, and I give her a sympathetic nod to confirm.
“And apparently, mine is going with Mollie.” Brin whips out her phone, and before I know it, I can hear the faint dialing coming from her speaker.
“Brin, put your phone away!” I yell, reaching across the table to hang up. “If anyone’s talking to him about this, it’s me.”
A smile spreads across her face as she slides her phone back into her pocket. “Or… you could just show up at the banquet.
I laugh.
“And do what, Brin? Tell the whole world I’m dating your brother? And he already has a date, so what—"
“I never said you were going with him.”
“Oh no.” I groan.
Because by the look in her eye, I know I won’t like where this is going.
twenty-seven
Declan
This banquet fucking blows. I knew it would, which is why I didn’t want to come in the first place, but my dad left me no choice. Even though Brinley got a ton of scholarships to come to school here, my dad pays the rest of her tuition. And he told me that if I didn’t come to this shitty banquet and get my name out there to these snobby assholes, he would pull Brin’s tuition.
So, here I am.
