Palm South University: Season 3 Box Set Read online

  I clear my throat, holding the packet up with a forced smile. “Of course, it’s no problem. Be right back.”

  “Thank you,” she says, squeezing my arm before jetting off toward the kitchen, yelling out demands at every sister she passes along the way.

  The walk to the Alpha Sigma house is short, but I feel every step like an agonizing hour at the gym. I haven’t seen Adam since the dance last semester, the dance where I walked out on him, where I chose Grayson. Just thinking about that night, about the look on his face right before he walked out that door — it sucker-punches me right square in the gut.

  “Just because the timing isn’t right for us now doesn’t mean it never will be.”

  I shake the memory from my head as I turn, walking up the drive to the large, wooden door with his letters proudly displayed on the front. Taking one last shaky breath, I walk through the door.

  Had this been last year, I likely would have knocked. But I’m not a freshman anymore, and I know well enough now that you don’t knock when you go to a fraternity house. I don’t even stop to say hi to the guys playing foosball in the living room, just walk straight toward the back hall. Adam will be in the president’s suite now, and I’m going to drop this stupid packet on his bed and leave. That’s it. The end.

  Except as soon as I round the corner leading to the hall, my plan goes up in flames.

  Adam is walking toward me, head down as he uses a small towel to dry his hair, wearing only a slightly larger towel tied low around his hips. I freeze, breath catching as I watch the water droplets fall from his shoulders to his chest to his abdomen, all the way down to the hem of the towel. When he’s less than ten feet in front of me he looks up, eyes widening at the sight of me.

  And then he freezes, too.

  “Cassie?” he asks, tossing the small towel over his shoulder. “What are you doing here?”

  My eyes are still glued to his chest, to the new muscles stretching over his ribs and abdomen. He’s filled out over the summer. His hair is a little longer, his arms a little bulkier, and his skin just as dark as the day we came back from spring break.

  I have no clue how long I stare, but it’s long enough for him to follow my gaze down to his chest, which immediately makes me flush and squeeze my eyes closed tight. I thrust the packet out toward his chest that I can’t stop looking at and turn, practically sprinting for the door.

  “Hey, wait,” Adam calls out behind me, but I just throw an awkward wave over my shoulder and plow through the front door and out into the humid August air.

  I inhale a deep breath, shaking my head and burying my face in my hands.

  God, what was that?

  I’ve seen Adam shirtless before — plenty of times, actually. So then why did I just act like a sixteen-year-old virgin seeing her first boy sans clothing? All summer I’d been hoping Adam and I could be friends again this semester, get rid of all the tension between us and go back to how we were before. Zero awkwardness, that’s what I was aiming for.

  My arrow didn’t even hit the target, let alone the bullseye.

  WEIGHTLIFTING, PARTYING, and fucking.

  Three things I do better than anyone else.

  I finished the first one early this morning, I’ll be doing the second one later tonight, and the last? Well, it’s like they always say — there’s no time like the present.

  “Oh, fuck, Bear. Don’t stop. Don’t… stop…”

  Lacy bites her lip hard as she rides me, hands wrapped up in her hair and thighs tense as she tightens around me. I grip her hips harder, pulling her down as I thrust my hips, hitting her deeper, deep enough to make her scream my name as she comes.

  She may not be the brightest color in the crayon box, but one thing I can always depend on with Lacy? She’s down to fuck. Down to just fuck. She’d had a moment last year where she wanted more, but it was brief, and now I know I can count on her when I need a distraction or a release.

  And she can count on me.

  “God,” she sighs, rolling off me, chest still heaving. “You’ve ruined me for other guys, you know that, right? Your cock is a fucking treasure.”

  “Yeah?” I ask, standing and pulling her small wrist until she’s standing, too. “Why don’t you show me just how valuable it is to you.”

  She smirks, tongue running the length of her bottom lip before she drops to her knees. She keeps her dark brown eyes locked on mine as she swirls her tongue over the head and I moan, flexing my hips. Lacy takes the cue, swallowing me whole, gagging a little as I groan again.

  It’s so fucking hot staring down at her, brown skin smooth and shining with a thin sheen of sweat as she works my cock with her hands and mouth. Every time she flicks her eyes up to look at me and takes me in her throat I surge closer to climax, and when one hand cups my balls and squeezes, I curse, pulling out of her mouth.

  “Open,” I command and she does, closing her eyes and stretching her mouth open wide, tongue out, breasts perky and waiting. I pump myself twice more and then I bust, coming on her mouth, her neck, her nipples. Lacy trails her fingers along the pearly white lines as I finish, tucking one finger in her mouth and sucking it clean before opening her eyes and grinning up at me.

  “Fuck.” I breathe the word, falling back onto my bed as she giggles and scampers to my bathroom. A few minutes later she returns with a towel, wiping herself clean before handing it to me.

  And this is my favorite part.

  Because Lacy doesn’t ask to cuddle, or talk, or for me to text her later. She just pulls her dress on, tucks her bra into her purse, and slips on her sandals.

  “See you around, Bear.”

  She winks, and then she’s gone.

  Perfect.

  It’s been a hell of a summer. Getting my little brother, Clayton, set up at his best friend’s house and making sure he had everything he needed for the school year was challenging. I hated that I wasn’t there for him, even if Mac’s family was. Still, he made it clear last year that the last thing he wanted was for me to give up PSU and move back to Pittsburgh. So, I’m trying to let it go, to give him the respect and trust he’s asking for, and do everything I can from Florida for now.

  Then there’s the fact that I’m a junior now. Classes aren’t going to be a breeze anymore, and studying is not among my list of things I’m good at. I’m excited for the advanced art classes and harnessing my skills in the Adobe Creative Suite, but I’ve also heard horror stories about my professors this semester.

  Sighing, I try to drop the stress and float on the high from getting my rocks off with one of the hottest chicks on campus as I make my way to the shower. But as soon as the hot water hits my bare back, another girl floods my mind.

  Erin.

  I wash my body quickly, trying not to think about her too much until I’m out of the space we shared after formal last semester. I won’t ever be able to shower without that memory sparking to life, and now that I’m back in the exact shower it happened in, it’s even harder to push the thought away.

  When I’m dressed, I realize I still have plenty of time before the party starts, so I swipe my wallet off my desk and make my way down to the Kappa Kappa Beta house. It’s after nine now, which means the girls rushing are halfway across campus making their final selections before bid day. It’s likely a mad house over at KKB, but I don’t care.

  I need to see her.

  “You’re joking, right?”

  Ashlei laughs, arms crossed as she rests her weight on one hip. The house is bustling behind her, all her sisters still dressed in all black cocktail dresses from Pref Night.

  “I just need five minutes.”

  “You do realize how impossible that is, right? To see the recruitment chair on Pref Night? Even for five minutes?”

  She wasn’t being rude, just simply stating facts, and the truth is I knew it before even walking down.

  “Humor me. Just ask her.”

  Ashlei opens her mouth, likely to shut me down again, but then I spot Erin behind
her as she zooms by, clipboard in hand.

  “Better yet, I’ll ask. Excuse me.”

  I slide past Ashlei before she has the chance to stop me and fall in step with Erin.

  “Hey, Dictator Xander.”

  Erin’s face screws up in confusion as she whips around to face me. When she realizes who it is, she pauses, but only for a second. If I would have blinked, I’d have missed it.

  “I don’t have time to talk, Bear.”

  “I see that,” I muse, walking with her as she continues barking orders at every girl we pass. “How was your summer?”

  “I just said I don’t have time to talk.”

  “Come on, just five minutes.”

  She huffs, propping her clipboard on her hip and coming to a halt. “My summer was fine. Recruitment has been busy, but fantastic. We’re going to have the best pledge class this campus has ever seen. I’m all signed up for classes, my immune system is being pushed to its limits but I’m overdosing on vitamin C, and yes, I cut my hair. I think that just about covers it, right?”

  Erin starts walking again and I chuckle, jogging to catch up with her. “My summer was great, too. Thanks for asking.”

  “Can we do this another time?” she asks, distracted by the long list on her clipboard. She turns to head for the chapter room but I reach for her, gently catching her elbow.

  But gentle or not, the touch triggers Erin in the absolute worst way.

  She jerks back, eyes wide and fists clenching together as she drops her board. It clatters to the floor and I hold my hands up, palms open, and take three steps back.

  Erin watches me, swallowing hard, and the fear in her eyes is like a nail gun to my chest.

  “Sorry,” I say softly, bending to retrieve her clipboard.

  She takes it with shaky hands, tucking her hair behind her ear.

  “I just wanted to make sure you were okay.”

  “I’m fine.”

  I give her a pointed look. We both know she’s not fine, but she’s clearly not ready to talk about what happened last semester, so I opt for distraction, instead.

  “You should come to the O Chi house tonight, let loose a little.”

  This time it’s her who deadpans. “It’s the night before Bid Day, Bear. I’m not going to a fucking party.”

  “Come on, you know half your sisters are going to sneak out and be there, too. You guys need a break. The hard part is over.”

  “I’m not going,” she says, her answer final. “And five minutes is up. I’ll see you around.”

  With that, she slips right back into her role as Recruitment Chair, and further from the girl I was afraid she’d never be again.

  “GODDAMN IT!”

  I throw my phone across the room with a roar, watching as it bounces off Skyler’s bed and plops down to the floor anticlimactically. Having a shatter-proof phone case is not helping in this moment of rage.

  Skyler pokes her head out of the bathroom, curling wand still wrapped around one strand of hair as she eyes the phone and then cocks one eyebrow at me. “Bad horoscope again?”

  “No,” I huff. “Jarrett got a job.”

  “And that made you hurl your phone at my pillows?”

  “Not a job here. They offered him a job at the nonprofit agency he’s been interning at all summer. And that fucker took it!” I punch my pillow, crossing my arms over my chest like a child. I’m whining like a little bitch, but I can’t help it.

  Skyler drops her curling wand on the counter and pads over to me, hopping up onto the bed as Ashlei leans a hip on the doorframe. She’s still brushing her teeth, all of us getting ready to go to the first Omega Chi party of the year.

  “This is a good thing, Jess. He’s worked hard and it’s paying off now.”

  “Yeah, but this was supposed to be temporary — this whole long-distance thing. Now he’s there for, what? A year? Two? Forever?” I flop back against my pillows and pull one to cover my face, muffling my next selfish whine. “I don’t want to be in a long-distance relationship.”

  It’s silent a moment before the pillow is pulled from my face and I find myself staring up at Ashlei, her blonde hair straight as a pin and falling all around her face as she points her toothbrush down at me. “You love him, remember? You’ll make it work. It’s going to be hard,” she concedes, glancing at Skyler who nods with a sympathetic smile. “But he’s crazy about you, Jess. And you’re crazy about him. Don’t make him feel guilty for following his dreams.”

  I sigh. “I know. You’re right. But I’m not ready to admit that to him, yet. Right now I just want to be mad and whiney and drunk. I’ve got the first two down so can we work on that third?”

  Skyler grins and Ashlei pops her toothbrush back in her mouth, speaking around the bristles. “Now that we can do.”

  We finish getting ready just before eleven, and without even trying to convince Erin to come with us, we sneak down the stairs and out the back kitchen door, waiting to pull on our high heels until we’re safely outside.

  Skyler and Ashlei chat as we make the short walk to Omega Chi, Skyler telling us about the national poker tournament she’s thinking of entering while Ashlei talks about how nervous she is to start her internship next week. It reminds me that since I changed my major so late, I won’t even be able to intern until next summer, at the earliest. My boyfriend is off kicking ass and taking names, already working in the government sector for a top nonprofit, and I can’t even apply to be someone’s intern bitch yet.

  It’s not that I’m not happy for him, because I am — I know he deserves this and I know it will make him happy. It’s just that I want to make him happy, too. And I’m not sure how long I can do that from more than a thousand miles away. Still, I try to remind myself that a plane ride to New York City is short, and it doesn’t have to be hard. If we both put in the effort, it won’t be. It’s fine. It’ll all be fine.

  I need to seal that mindset with a shot.

  “SKYLER FUCKING THORNE!”

  We don’t even make it up the sidewalk and into the house before Clinton comes barreling out, throwing Skyler over his shoulder and spinning her around as she squeals and kicks. I laugh, and instantly I feel back at home. I can always count on Palm South University for drunken shenanigans and distractions from girly feelings.

  “Alright,” Clinton says, dropping Skyler’s feet back to the sidewalk. “Let’s get you three to the kegs. Time for the KKB girls to get this party started.”

  We throw our fists into the air with a shout and follow him through the house, the three of us lining up on the backside of the kegs, hands braced on the cool metal handles. Clinton grabs Skyler’s ankles just as two of his brothers slide up behind me and Ashlei, and the next thing I know, our feet are in the air, taps are in our mouths, and every thought of Jarrett is erased.

  At least for now.

  “I love you two,” I slur with a smile.

  “Aww, we love you, too, babe,” Ashlei says, but when she turns and finds me staring down at my two beautiful boobs, she snorts. “Oh, my God, you are not talking to your rack right now.”

  “What? I do love them. I mean, seriously, have you seen them?” I shimmy my top down a little more and push my chest toward her. “What’s not to love?”

  “They are always there for you.”

  “Always,” I agree, hugging them again. “Through thick and thin. I can’t even stay mad at them for the boob sweat terror of the summer.”

  Skyler giggles, handing us another Jell-O shot just as a loud chant begins to break out in the backyard.

  We follow the noise, arms slung around each other and still giggling as we take our shots. When we reach the back, there’s a large crowd gathered around the trampoline that surfaced at the Omega Chi house sometime over the summer. Everyone is staring up, and when we follow their gaze, we find a freshman perched on the roof.

  Well, I assume he’s a freshman, anyway, judging by the fact that he’s in nothing but his tighty whities and is wearing a pirate
hat.

  “Do it, do it, do it!” the crowd chants. I glance at Skyler, whose face is twisted up in concern as she stares up at the naked pirate.

  “This isn’t a good idea,” Ashlei says, her voice soft, but neither of us have time to respond before Clinton pushes through the crowd to join the three of us.

  “What’s going on?”

  I nod up to the freshman. “I think he’s going to jump from the roof down to the trampoline.”

  “What?” Clinton turns, and then his eyes widen as he screams out, “No!”

  But it’s too late.

  The pirate jumps to the roar of at least a hundred people, all of them throwing their red plastic cups full of beer into the air with approval. He hits the trampoline, body flailing as he tries to gain control, but the bounce is too high. He flies forward as the cheers turn to gasps, and then he hits the concrete with a sickening crack.

  “Oh, my God.” Ashlei covers her mouth with her hands as Clinton curses and pushes through the screaming crowd, rushing to the side of the freshman and hollering for someone to call an ambulance.

  Skyler pulls out her phone. “You guys gather up any KKBs you see and get out of here. There’s too much underage drinking going on and Erin will flip her shit if any of our sisters get caught here.”

  “What about you?” I ask.

  “I’m going to stay back with Bear. Don’t worry,” she says when Ashlei and I both start to protest. “I’ll be out of here by the time the cops show. I just need to calm Bear down.”

  We both nod, jogging off in the opposite direction as she runs toward Clinton and the now lifeless pirate. We gather all the sisters we see, ditching drinks and shoving them toward the door until we’re all stumbling back up Greek Row. When we get to the house, we all take our shoes off and tiptoe inside, retreating to our rooms or to the chapter room where sisters are camped out in sleeping bags for recruitment week.

  “You going to be okay?” Ashlei whispers when we make it upstairs. “I’m going to wake Erin and tell her what happened. She needs to know before the morning and I can tell her we got all our sisters home safe.”