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The elevator doors shut, and the car moves. The bell chimes when we reach the ground floor and her finger shoots out and slams on the ‘close door’ button, trapping us inside. She turns toward me.

“I know what you did,” she says quietly. The first thing I think of is Miller and what happened last night. There’s no way she can— “The memories are vague but there… at least until we got in the car.”

Oh.

My mouth grows dry. “I didn’t—”

“I know. You helped me. You warned me and got me out of there.” She exhales. “I don’t know what the fuck you are up to Reagan, but thank you.”

My eyes widen in surprise. “How did you—”

“I knew you looked familiar in class. I just couldn’t put my finger on it. But it clicked after I kissed you.” She rolls her eyes. “You kiss like a girl.” Then her eyes drop to my crotch. “And your dick feels like a rolled-up tube sock.”

I gape for a minute, caught completely off guard, but finally say, “I saw what they were going to do with you, and I couldn’t let it happen.”

“Thank you,” she says again, the glint of a tear forming in the corner of her eye. “God, I knew frat boys were the worst. I fell for the fucking tattoos and that smug smile. I’m an idiot.”

“You’re not an idiot. They’re assholes.” I touch her shoulder. “And I’m doing everything I can to take them down.”

I’m headed to class when I see him, no,them. Miller and Grayson are together in the hallway, talking. I skid to a stop and duck behind a pillar.

A bubble of mixed emotions builds in my chest. What is Miller doing on this part of campus? Why is Grayson talking to him? I analyze their expressions and bodies for any signal, but they just both burst into laughter and Grayson claps him on the back.

What the fuck?

They go in opposite directions, but I follow Grayson. Miller is the last person I want to see right now. And Grayson? Well, I need to know what he’s doing. At least that’s what I tell myself as I push through the crowded hallway and grab a handful of his shirt. He looks down.

“I need to talk to you,” I say quietly. “Now.”

I walk past him and go straight to the storage closet we’ve met in before. This time it smells like floor cleaner—the odor wafting up from a bucket in the corner. The door behind me opens, and he slips in.

“Hey,” he says, eyes skimming from my head to my toes. “How are you? I never heard back from you last night. I was freaking out—”

“What the hell are you doing?” I snap. “Why are you talking to Miller?”

“I was looking for you, you know, since I hadn’t heard from you last since last night, and he was there. I couldn’t just ignore him.”

“Why not?”

“We’re fraternity brothers, Reagan. Just because I’ve graduated, and on the council, doesn’t mean I don’t know current members. Especially the ones that pledged when I was still active.”

Shit. I never thought about it. How close are they? God, what if Miller bragged about what happened last night? Or gloated or mocked me in some way. What if he told him—

“Hey,” he touches my chin. “You don’t have to worry about me talking to Miller. These guys know I work for the Council. They don’t trust me at all.”

“Right.” I give him a tight smile. “Of course.”

His hand is still on my face, fingers splayed under my chin. His warm brown eyes hold mine, like he wants me to read the truth in them. I can’t do the same.

I look away, and his fingers drop. He asks again, “So what happened last night?”

“Nothing.”Everything.“I needed to get him away from Janelle—and you. We just went upstairs to my room. Hung out for a while.”

He nods. “He wasn’t suspicious?”

My pulse races as the lies mount. “Nah, at first he thought I bailed from the party and came to drag me back. Then he thought I was hooking up with Janelle, but I told him she was too drunk. He wasn’t happy I didn’t go for it, but he let it go.” Lies upon lies. I move away from him and reach for the doorknob.

“Wait,” he says, hand flattening on the door, keeping it shut. “Are we okay? After what happened last night?”