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CHAPTER THREE

I spend the next several days obsessing about Jason and Leo in equal measure.

I know the former is alright now, but I’ve yet to close my eyes at night and not see his contorted face.

And Leo? Well, let’s just say that was the most bizarre conversation I’ve ever had with a guy.

It started out normal. What’s your name?

What’s your major? But next thing I knew, he was asking me if I had visions.

And what is it he called me? Sentient? Of course I’m sentient. I’m a person, not a toaster.

I have a sociology paper due in two days and I’ve been so out of sorts, I’ve hardly written a word.

On top of that, tonight is the Kappa Phi Theta open house.

I’ve considered bailing out, especially because they’re not a sorority that interests me, but there’s no way I can do that to Liv.

Last year, she and I were nothing but strangers trying our luck with the roommate lottery, yet we bonded right away and now we’re nearly inseparable.

Best friends. She’s been looking forward to this open house for weeks and she insists she needs me to go, too.

According to her, I have the right look for KPT, whatever that means.

She’s so strikingly beautiful that I fade into the background when she’s beside me.

I’d say that’s why she wants me with her, but Liv isn’t like that.

The other reason I need to go tonight? Mom. Now that I’m a sophomore and eligible to join a sorority, she’s been nagging me every chance she gets. In fact, last weekend when I talked to her on the phone, she asked, yet again, if I’d gone to any Rush events.

“No, Mom. Official Rush doesn’t start until January.”

“But there’re parties, aren’t there?”

“Yeah. Sort of. Open houses.” No matter how many times I’ve tried to explain to Mom that Rush is different here than it was at the big state school she attended, I can’t penetrate her thick skull.

“Go to those. They’re important. I was already a Tri-Delt long before I was officially a Tri-Delt.”

Thank god there’s no Delta Delta Delta chapter here at Brownhill. The last thing I need is to join my mother’s sorority, no matter how great it may be.

“Going to one next week.”

“Oh good. That’s my girl.”

Annoying as she is, Mom’s right that going to a sorority open house is a strategic move.

If you make a good impression with the sisters, they’ll remember you come Rush.

Of course, if you bomb at an open house, there’s no way they’ll bid on you in January—even if, in the meantime, you win the Nobel Prize, Miss Universe, and American Idol.

As Liv and I dress to go to KPT, she frowns skeptically at the pantyhose she’s unpackaged. “I hate these things. They’re so minuscule. How am I supposed to get my huge ham hocks into these?”

“Your hocks aren’t huge,” I assure her as I slide my arms into the blazer she lent me, the satin lining cool against my skin. I’m not a jacket kind of girl, but I agree that it’s more appropriate for KPT’s “wine and cheese” than my usual hoodie and leggings.

Once Liv has twisted herself into the pantyhose and deemed my hair acceptable, we cross the hall to pick up Caitlyn and Alyssa, two other sorority hopefuls, and set out for the short walk to the KPT house. It’s dark and cold out, but for once it’s not windy—a rarity in the mountains.

Our dressy shoes clip-clop on the sidewalk as we leave campus and turn onto a downtown side street.

Alderford is such a small town that if it weren’t for Brownhill College, it probably wouldn’t qualify to be on a map.

But it’s quaint and safe and easy to get around on foot.

I don’t even have time to get chilled before we arrive at KPT, where we’re welcomed by yellow and pink balloons tied to the mailbox with curling ribbon.

Fairy lights line the front bay window, and topiaries stand guard on each side of the open front door.

As soon as I enter, I’m struck by the difference between a sorority house and a fraternity house.

Since I started going out with Zander last winter, I’ve practically lived at the O-Chi house, at least on the weekends.

And in that time, I’ve become intimate with its sticky floors, dust bunnies, battered furniture, and rancid smell.

Maybe once a month someone will clean the kitchen and bathrooms, but I’ve never seen any of the brothers use a vacuum.

The KPT house, on the other hand, smells like bubble bath, flowers, and expensive perfume.

There are actual lamps in the living room, not those cheap halogen things that stand on the floor, and—wonder of wonders—the sofas match.

The sisters are as lovely and elegant as the decor, all refined manners and beauty-pageant smiles.

Impressive, considering I’ve seen several of them at parties, just as drunk and rumpled as the rest of us.

At the refreshment table, I go straight for the wine and ignore the cheese while Liv nibbles on some crackers.

As we circle the dining room table, I peer into the kitchen.

I’m not sure why, but I half expect to see Leo in there, leaning against the counter and watching us all parade by.

I’m also not sure why, when I don’t see him, I’m disappointed.

I’ll hedge my bets he’ll be at the next O-Chi party, though.

Whatever his business is with me, he’s not through yet.

And since I’m half-fascinated, half-terrified by him, the thought leaves me all tangled up inside.

Caitlyn and Alyssa have disappeared, but I stick by Liv’s side.

I’m here more for her than for myself, so I don’t bother to start any conversations with the sisters.

Nevertheless, it seems like they all want to start conversations with me.

Lara, a girl I’ve seen at a few O-Chi parties, greets us and, after barely sparing a glance at Liv, says to me, “You’re Betts Peterson, aren’t you? ”

“Yeah?”

“Aren’t you going out with Zander O’Leary?”

“Yeah.”

“Omigod, he’s sooo hot.”

Like I’m going to disagree.

“Peyton!” She beckons to a movie-star blond. “Come and meet Betts. She’s Zander O’Leary’s girlfriend.”

“Oh, yeah.” Peyton smiles at me. “I’ve seen you before.”

She’s been at the O-Chi house quite a lot lately, but I’ve never had a conversation with her. Probably because whenever I see her, she’s stumbling up the stairs in the wee hours with Braden. Or slipping discreetly out of his room in the morning.

I link an arm through Liv’s. “Have you met Olivia Shah? She’s my best friend and roommate.”

Peyton and Lara’s eyes dart to Liv. Peyton seems impressed by Liv’s beauty, but Lara can’t be waylaid.

“How did you meet Zander?” she asks me, but before I can answer she squeals, “You have got to be the cutest couple at Brownhill! Look at your eyes. Look at her eyes, Peyton. Aren’t they pretty?

You’re a natural blond, aren’t you? I’m so jealous. ”

Jealous? She’s a Jessica Rabbit redhead. Why would she be jealous of me?

She and Peyton examine my hair up close, playing with the loose curls resting on my shoulders. It makes me feel a little bit like a prize pony.

“Liv fixed it for me,” I say, trying to get their attention on the one who wants it.

Peyton takes the bait and she and Liv start discussing curl enhancers and styling wands.

Lara, however, won’t leave me alone. She babbles on and on about O-Chi—how they have the best parties, and how the brothers are the hottest guys from the wealthiest families.

It’s a struggle not to laugh at her romanticizing.

Like most college guys, the brothers of O-Chi burp and stink and act like overgrown children.

And my dear Zander, their fearless leader, can sometimes be the most juvenile of them all.

O-Chi is his Neverland, his brothers the Lost Boys, and Sweethearts Mia and Jenna, their Wendys.

In fact, Zander’s so determined never to leave the ‘island,’ he’s going to need an extra year to finish his degree.

Which is why, when Lara starts talking about being a bridesmaid in a wedding last summer, I have to restrain my shock. The bride was a KPT and the groom an O-Chi.

In disbelief, I ask for clarification, “They got married right after they graduated?”

“Yeah, I know. Isn’t it great? The wedding was so beautiful. It was at this huge, old mansion in Savannah and…”

As I jam a cracker into my mouth and nod at all the right pauses in her monologue, a sense of panic sets in.

Is that standard practice, getting married so young?

In two years, could I be planning my wedding?

I shudder. No. I’m an amateur. Zander is my first serious boyfriend.

And I have stuff I want to do before I settle down. Whatever that stuff may be.

After I finally escape Lara, I circulate, hoping for a more engaging level of conversation.

Unfortunately, there’s none to be had. Although they’re kind and pleasant, most of the sisters only want to know what it’s like to be Alexander O’Leary’s girlfriend.

It’s as if we’re in high school and I’m going out with the star quarterback.

No one asks me what my major is or what I like to do for fun.

We don’t talk about books or classes or summer jobs. No one even wants to know my hometown.

It’s discouraging. I’m looking for sisterhood. A community. Other college girls who are like me. Sure, I have a hot boyfriend, but there’s so much more to me than that .

Isn’t there?

I can think of one person who might think so, and the thought of him sends a flutter through my belly.

I haven’t mentioned Leo to Liv because I don’t know how to explain the conversation he and I had.

She’d say he’s a stalker, but I don’t think he is.

Yeah, talking to him was unsettling, but that’s because he knew what I was thinking and feeling. No one knows that.

Most of the time, not even me.