Total pages in book: 85
Estimated words: 80986 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 405(@200wpm)___ 324(@250wpm)___ 270(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80986 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 405(@200wpm)___ 324(@250wpm)___ 270(@300wpm)
He elbowed Bennett. “No more pranking our new friend here.”
A prank.
He was convinced that was all it was. But the other two frat brothers sure hadn’t acted like it was. I watched them as first Bennett, and then Grant gave reluctant smiles. They were acting like Theo was right, that it had been a joke all along.
But I didn’t think it had been. In fact, I was pretty sure that, among the four of us, only Theo believed that.
“We couldn’t resist,” Grant said, more to his buddy than to me. Bennett gave me a curt nod, but his eyes were cold.
Very cold.
Theo tossed the little black dress on the coffee table, seeming to dismiss it from his mind. Easy for him to do, I thought, as he turned to me. “So,” he began before interrupting himself. “Sorry, I didn’t catch your name.”
“Hailey,” I said.
“So, Hailey, are you joining us for the summer?”
No. No, no, no. Every neuron in my brain shouted that one syllable, over and over. Except where was I going to sleep? And how could I afford that, let alone food and basic necessities? If I took this job, I’d have food, a place to stay, and ten times more cash than pet sitting could provide.
Any woman with an ounce of sense wouldn’t trust Grant and Bennett any farther than she could throw them—and they were big, strong guys. I doubted I could even nudge one a few inches.
Theo’s gaze was still on me, and his smile was open and friendly. He didn’t seem like a jerk or a threat. Maybe the other frat brothers staying here this summer would be more like him and less like the President and his cousin?
At least I hoped that was the case.
Grant cocked his head to the side, raising an eyebrow at me, but it was Bennett who spoke. “Well?” His clipped voice echoed the tone of every toxic boss I’d ever had.
But what choice did I have?
“Yes,” I said, biting back a small sigh. “I’m in.”
“You didn’t!” Tori said an hour later after her literature class. We were in the student union—it had the cheapest coffee.
“I did.” But it hadn’t truly sunk in yet.
“Hailey, those guys are…” She trailed off. She hadn’t been to a frat party any more than I had. But we’d both heard things. If I told her about the French maid uniform, she’d go through the roof. “There’s got to be something else you can do.”
“There’s not.” I’d been applying for work for months, with a short break to study for my final exams.
“Can’t you do food delivery again?”
“How, on a skateboard?”
“Oh, yeah. Sorry, I forgot.”
I’d had to sell my car a few months ago. It was the only way to get enough money to finish out the spring semester. My scholarship only covered tuition, not living expenses. So unless I wanted to set up a tent out in the woods, I needed to find a place to stay.
“Look, let me talk to the girls again. You really weren’t bothering anyone staying on our couch.” She was also a scholarship student, but she’d had enough funds to rent an apartment with three other students. Those kinds of places were few and far between in a town like this.
“Tori, they reported me to your landlord.” It was true that I’d worn out my welcome by staying there for a couple of months, but I’d done my best to help out. Tori and I were pretty much the only ones who ever cleaned and did the dishes there.
Tori nodded reluctantly. “They’re such hypocrites, though. Janna’s boyfriend sleeps over all the time,” she said. “I wish you and I could afford a place together.”
“Me too.” I stared aimlessly around the small cafeteria. Since it was summer, it was pretty empty.
“What about your friend? The one who lives with all those hot guys, the former baseball players?”
“Naomi. And no, I’m not going to show up on her doorstep.” As nice as Naomi was, I hadn’t known her for all that long. She’d done some massage and physical therapy at the nursing home where my grandfather spent his final weeks. I’d never met Naomi’s boyfriend, but I knew that she lived with him and his two best pals, for some reason. It sure didn’t sound like they had room for a random acquaintance, and I didn’t know her well enough to ask.
Tori broke her chocolate cookie and slid half of it over to me. “You’ve already paid for your class, right?” I nodded. It had taken the last of my money. “So you just need a place to stay. There’s got to be somewhere.”
“There is.” I didn’t look at her as I took a bite of the cookie. “The Rho Kappa Alpha house.”
“I really don’t think you should.” Concern lit her face. “It's just not a good choice.”