I’m still distracted by my spinning thoughts as I tap my ID on the sensor on the gate to log my entry, and I’m barely paying attention to my surroundings as I hurry down the main walkway and up the steps so I can tap my ID against yet another sensor next to the main doors.
The entire campus, save for a few places, is covered with multiple layers of security cameras and an ID tracking system that uses our school IDs to log everywhere we go. It’s invasive and annoying, but at least we don’t have to deal with that in our dorm since we have our own cameras and security team, and no ID sensors once you get inside the building.
I’m just tucking my ID away as I push the door open with a hard shove.
Normally I’m a little more careful when I open the door because you never know if someone is on the other side, but I’m too distracted to pay attention to anything around me, and I don’t see the group of guys just beyond the door until I literally run into one of them.
“Oof,” I grunt as I crash into the lead guy, our chests hitting hard enough to make me stumble back.
Strong hands grip my arms, and I nearly choke when I see who I just ran into.
Anthony Medici and his three best friends aren’t just my frat brothers; they’re frat royalty, and even though we’re in the same year, I always feel like a naive kid around them.
“Oh shit. I mean, sorry. That was my bad,” I say quickly, trying to cover up my awkwardness.
He releases his hold on my arms, and I take a hasty step back.
A weird heat lingers on my arms, and my stomach does a strange wobble at the little smirk he shoots me. “Sorry.”
“You’re fine. Shit happens.” Anthony shifts to the side.
I give him what I hope is a breezy smile, but it falters as I look at the space between him and the door.
It’s big enough that I can get past him, but it’ll be a tight fit. I could ask him to move back a step, or wave him and his friends through first, but that would just make things weirder.
Making up my mind, I paste what I hope is a friendly smile on my face and squeeze between him and the door, my cheeks heating uncomfortably as my ass brushes against his crotch.
“Have a good night,” Anthony says in a low voice as I pass him.
His warm breath ghosts over the back of my neck, causing goosebumps to rise on my skin as my chest tightens with awareness.
“You too,” I say, trying my best to act normal and not like my body is glitching out at the simple encounter.
He shoots me a knowing smirk, like he can tell how off-kilter and flustered I am, and I do the only thing I can think of: I speed walk away like the devil is on my ass.
I’ve barely made it inside the western stairwell when I’m hit by the overwhelming urge todosomething. I have no idea what, but I need to burn off some of my restless energy.
Instead of taking the stairs up to my room, I push the side door open and leave the house.
The night air is cool against my skin, and I feel marginally better as I circle around the building and leave the property through the back gate.
There are dozens of parties and events going on tonight, but none of them are even remotely interesting to me right now. I meant it when I told McKenna I’m not in the mood to go out, and I go into autopilot as I take the familiar path that will lead me to The Crypt.
What happened at the main door with Anthony isn’t anything out of the ordinary, and even after three years of being frat brothers and living in the same house, I still have no idea what it means. Or if it means anything at all.
Half the time I’m not even sure there’s anything actually happening, and I wonder if I’m reading into things that aren’t there.
Almost every encounter we’ve had for the past three years has gone down like that. On the surface it looks innocent, but in the moment, itfeelslike so much more, and I’m left flustered and confused.
Usually I can at least act like a normal human around him, but I’m in a weird headspace tonight, and my defenses are down, so I can’t mask like usual.
That conversation back in McKenna’s room—and her not kissing me goodbye—threw me off, no question, but I’ve been in a weird headspace since I saw Damon and Xave together. That’s probably why I was so hyperaware of Anthony tonight, and why I reacted so strongly to him.
Seeing Damon and Xave together triggered something in me, and it’s like a switch was flipped. After years of ignoring it, it feels like my bisexuality has been reawakened, and I’m having a hard time putting it away again.
The Crypt is dark, and the area is quiet as I come around a corner, and I breathe a sigh of relief as I eye the large, two-story house tucked up against the woods.
No one knows exactly what the house was used for, or why it was abandoned, but the rumor is there was some sort of deathor murder back in the nineties, and the school decided to keep it maintained, but not use it for anything.
