"I'll see what I can do." Logan shrugged. "Be way easier this year than next, when I come off the bench as a full player."
"Sure, sure," Ashton said, nodding. "Just let us know as soon as you're able. We're thinking that since you already know Oz, maybe we'd pair you up as roommates. He's… different, but he's quiet. Don't think he'd bother you much. We'd put you on the third floor, near the back. There's a second set of stairs there, away from the noise and commotion of the front. Might help keep things as low-key as possible, going to practices and games and such. Plus, this summer they fixed up the bathroom and showers at the front, so you'd pretty much have the smaller one all to yourself."
"Sounds good," Logan said, nodding. "What'd Wally say about it?"
"Oh, he'll do anything we tell him," Ashton replied, chuckling. "That's what being a pledge is about."
"Except in my case," Logan frowned. "Doesn't seem fair; him being a legacy, same as me."
"Yeah, but is hereallythe same as you, though?" Ashton asked.
His tone was odd in a way Logan couldn't place, his smile twisted into more of a smirk.
As if he knows a secret and thinks I do, too. But Wally's total crap at keeping secrets. Ashton couldn't have met Wally more than a week ago, right? So what's he know that I don't?
Unsettled, Logan shrugged instead of answering, suddenly unsure exactly what question Ashton was asking.
"Hey, so — why d'ya keep calling him Wally?" Ashton asked. "I thought his name was Oz."
"Maybe?" Logan blinked. "I think his name's Oswald or something, but he's been Wally since at least the eighth grade. Especially…uh — "
He cut himself off, flushing as he remembered he probablyshouldn'ttell that tale to someone he was trying to impress. But Ashton was watching him expectantly now, and to wave it off — That would be weird, right? Logan thought fast. If he told the whole story, Ashton here might decide Logan wasn't fraternity brother material after all, and…
"There was a game we— I mean, some of the guys at school played. Someone — "I,Logan carefully didn't say, " — would call out 'Wet Wally!' and the first to soak him with a drink or something, um… they won. Uh — or so I heard. Teachers put a stop to it pretty quickly, but the name stuck, I guess," Logan finished lamely.
And if he left out the two-week suspension he'd gotten for being the one to start that game, well…
Nobody here had to know, right?
Unless —
Unless Wally tells them, a little voice whispered.
Shit.
Ashton was looking at him funny, and Logan cleared his throat.
"So, uh, what's the rest of the year look like?" he asked, trying to change the subject. "I'm assuming it's not all just pledge stuff."
"Nothing that'll be a problem for you, I'm sure," Ashton said, as the door to the outside swung open and a few brothers came in carrying boxes and suitcases. They flashed Ashton and Logan a trio of nods and smiles without breaking their conversation, heading up the wide staircase that dominated the foyer with all the cheerful haste of someone moving in.
"The usual," Ashton continued, nodding to the newcomers. "Our monthly themed parties, obviously. We also pair up with the sororities for the Homecoming float and Spring Folly. Some campus-wide social events the Panhellenic Council makes us do, plus a few charity projects. Oh, and the annual Mu Tau Rho Cattle Call, of course."
"Cattle Call?" Logan asked, watching as more guys came in behind the first, arms equally filled with luggage and boxes.
Ashton grinned. "Yeah, we're famous for our big bachelor auction. Mu Tau Rho is also known as Minotaur House — those bull-headed things from Greek myth? Mu, moo, cattle — get it? Our Bull Riding party in November is huge. The sorority girls come in these sexy little cowgirl outfits. You'll love it. All the houses on campus do an annual fundraiser for each of our charities, but the Cattle Call holds the record for raising the most each year. A lot of the parents come, most of the alumni from the area, some of the sororities, even a few politicians and rich folk… Each of them looking for a chance to bid on a date with a handsome young stud."
"Oh," Logan muttered. "So it's not — It's just a date, right? Like, dinner or something? Nothing…more?"
Ashton grinned. "I'm not sure if you're asking for a yes or no."
"I'm not…" Logan started, and then flushed, trailing off. "Never mind."
"You don't have to worry about any of that," Ashton assured him. "It's all in good fun. It helps bring in a lot of money for the children's hospital so they can get the sick kids wheelchairs or whatever. Besides, we've got a few rules to keep things from getting too…intense. The biggest one is that you can call off the date at any time if the bidder steps out of line."
"Sounds alright then," Logan agreed. "Just so long as I don't end up stuck going with some perv who'll try and stick their hands in my pants the whole evening."
"It's all cleared with the Alumni board first. Usually dinner at a restaurant, though Nate's fiancée had him go work at the soup kitchen with her for a day. Alumni ate that one up," Ashton explained. "No hanky panky, but what you choose to do after your date officially ends is your business. A lot of the guys get their girlfriends to bid on them, but you'll probably —"
