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Stay sharp.
Keep my head on a swivel to avoid being caught off guard. To evade Finn and his smoldering gaze.
“Your brother is going to be a kick-ass president. I’m so excited for him.”
For as much as Kendall and Max don’t get along, she respects his position with his fraternity. And she’s right. He is going to be a great leader for those guys. That’s why they elected him.
“Yeah, proud. I don’t think becoming fraternity president warrants a rager though,” I reply, my voice dripping with sarcasm.
“Of course it does. It’s a huge honor.”
I honestly don’t get the full impact of it, but I also don’t want to fight with Kendall. She’s a legacy, having joined the same sorority as her mother and grandmother. That means something to her. Max is a legacy as well, having joined the same fraternity as our father.
Me?
I’m anti-Greek. Not that I think there’s anything wrong with joining, it’s just not for me. I like to keep my circle small, and I get along better with guys than I do girls. I can count on one hand how many girlfriends I have, including my little sister.
Am I happy Max was voted as their next president? Hell, yes. He’s been talking about how much he wanted this for the past year. He has ideas on how to make the fraternity better, more philanthropic. To eliminate some of the harsher hazing he’s seen over the years.
So, I’m here to celebrate with him. But that doesn’t mean I want to be here. Because being here means seeing Finn, and as much as I also want that, I know it’s going to hurt the moment I lay eyes on him. My heart is going to be ripped out of my chest the same way it was the morning I woke up and he was gone.
It still doesn’t make sense to me. He wanted it as much as I did. I may have been tipsy, but I know what I saw in his eyes when he pulled me away from the party. I felt the heat in his stare as he locked his bedroom door. And when he touched me, I felt something else. Something more—
“Let’s do this!” Kendall shouts over the music as the doors slide open directly into Max and Finn’s loft.
There are people everywhere, shoulder to shoulder. It looks like he’s invited everyone he knows from campus, which makes me roll my eyes because Kendall was clearly missing her invitation. Not that he doesn’t like my roommate, he just thinks she’s loud and her lack of a filter pisses him off. More so when he’s drinking.
All things I love about her.
Leading the way through the crowd, in search of my brother or alcohol, whichever we find first, I keep Kendall’s hand clasped in mine. Neither of us are tall enough to see over the crowd, my five-foot-three and her five-foot-four stature swallowed up by the large bodies around us.
I recognize almost all of them, tossing a head nod here and there when my eyes connect. Most are part of Max’s fraternity, a few I recognize from the baseball team.
As we finally step out of the throng of people and into the kitchen, I let out a sigh. The open concept of Max’s loft is great for entertaining but that doesn’t stop people from crowding together.
Case and point … the kitchen is empty. Which happens to be where the alcohol is.
“Beer or punch?” I ask Kendall, sliding around the island.
She thinks it over, rubbing the heart tattoo on the inside of her wrist as I fill my red, plastic cup with punch. She stares at my cup for a second, and I immediately know what she wants. Handing it to her, she takes a sip, her eyes widening in surprise. It’s probably stronger than either of us are used to knowing my brother.
If the drink calls for an ounce of booze, he’ll give it two. Multiply that by a hundred to make a large batch and suddenly the punch packs a punch.
“Punch,” Kendall hollers at me over the music, attempting to hand my cup back. Shaking my head, I fill a second cup and clink mine against hers. “To our last night at sophomores. May next year be even better than this year.”
And here I thought this year would be better than last year.
Nope. I was wrong.
Next year can’t get any worse, I think to myself as I spot Brady walking by.
“Hey! Where’s Max?” I ask, placing my hand on his forearm. When he turns toward me, I notice his face pales.
“Willow. I’m so sorry,” he replies, pulling me in for a hug.
“What? Where’s Max?” I ask again, pushing against his chest but he doesn’t budge. Something’s not right. I can feel it. “Brady! What’s going on? Where’s my brother?”
This time he releases me when I attempt to step away. Looking up into his gray eyes, I see his unshed tears. When he points down the hall toward Max’s room, I take off in a sprint. The door is closed, something that would normally make me pause, worried I might walk in on something I don’t want to see, but not tonight. I burst through the door, and everyone’s eyes whip in my direction.
